tow pig build

[f250rollinon37s]

yep thats right, im going to start another build thread. just like my other build it will most likely take years and never really get done.

i know its a tow rig, and we have a tow section, but its a ford ( duh ) and there are to many dodge guys in there anyway








so a little story to start.

this rig gets towed into my shop buy a good customer, wanting and inspection and estimate on repairs to make it useable / nice. i never asked why - just did the look over. the list was kinda long. it wouldnt start, crank or really anything and had been sitting for 3--4 years untouched. the customer auth some new cables and batterys, after some love it started, but missed and had some, well issues.

i come to find out it was his fathers who passed and it has been sitting, probate closed and he is in charge of moving dads stuff. so i offered to buy her. after waiting 4 months for the courts to say ok, payment was exchanged. after some paperwork issues ( wrong pink ) all was well. except for the truck.

ill see if i can find a pic of when i got her, before i cleaned it up and edit it here -


1997 F350 CC 4x4 DRW 7.3 ZF

it needed



steering collum - the outer bearing by the wheel was missing -
clutch petal bushings -
clutch position switch -
batterys -
cables -
fuel filter - wow, it was like jelly, with some rust, and sandy plastic shit
IDM -
injector - shorted out
interior door handles - in front
rear wheel seal -
tires - all were diffrent bands, flat, and bald
ball joints - i think they must be bad as the knuckle will almost fall off
shocks -
and a good cleaning






as of now i have fixed

new batterys -
new cables -
the clutch - new bushings and an adj and bronze bushed rod
5 used tires - for free
one injector, with all 8 soon to follow.
valve cover gaskets
glow plugs
glow plug relay
LOF
tranny flush
fuel filters and cleaning the housing
new grill, vallance, headlight rings, un bent the hood
used auto collum -
new ash tray -


a half assed cleaning

and a few door handles later

[f250rollinon37s]

on the to do list for this weekend


compression test, and if all is well ( im sure it is as there is little to no blow by, but i want to know. ) pull the injectors and have them all rebuild, as i have a hessitation and a light miss, along with a lack o power. pull the front fuel tank ( the only one that works ) clean, reseal the sending unit. remove the fuel filter housing and clean - again -

and if i have the time, flush the tranny again.


also with 180k on it, i dare you to find an oil leak ( besides the rear axle seal ) it really is just clean under the truck.

[fishforlife2007]

looks like a pretty clean truck.....now.

[f250rollinon37s]

no - its the white paint on the white snow - in the shade

























i have a undented bumper for it behind the shop. im going to pick up a, um, well, parts truck this weekend . the flat bed should be going soon \, so if your near northern cali and need a flatbed

[OregonMudder]

nice rig. wish i was closer. id be all over that flat bed for my superduty

[bowtied_micky]

I think its is Gilette Diesel that offers an upgrade if you want to stick with the mech fuel pump. Some of those older 7.3 will drop fuel pressure very easily.

[HEEPJEEP]

http://www.thetireclub.com/item.wws?...7T&safe=active

Loving these joints so far!

[f250rollinon37s]

Originally Posted by bowtied_micky

I think its is Gilette Diesel that offers an upgrade if you want to stick with the mech fuel pump. Some of those older 7.3 will drop fuel pressure very easily.

ya the injectors are being overhauled, to stage one specs ( 160 cc vrs stock 90cc ) works well with the factory pump. the factory fuel pump will be going soon to.

[FORDTECHGURU]

i got some bling for that thing, holla son...

[mikevyota]

Looks good so far. Remeber to use ULSD o-rings for the fuel bowl when you reseal it.

[billybob_81067]

Those fucking inside door handles are the shits aren't they? I've started building my own out of 3/8" or 1/2" rod (1/2 rebar actually looks freakin sweet!) and taking the door panel off and welding them directly to where the stockers bolt on. Then also while you're there weld the whole damn mechanism to the door otherwise the sheet metal will bend over time and you'll end up with a non opening door handle...

After owning many of these body style rigs you finally start learning a few tricks! Lol.

[f250rollinon37s]

Originally Posted by FORDTECHGURU

i got some bling for that thing, holla son...

so what ya got for me weave ??

Originally Posted by mikevyota

Looks good so far. Remeber to use ULSD o-rings for the fuel bowl when you reseal it.

yep all the new kits from ford are the upgraded orings.

Originally Posted by billybob_81067

Those fucking inside door handles are the shits aren't they? I've started building my own out of 3/8" or 1/2" rod (1/2 rebar actually looks freakin sweet!) and taking the door panel off and welding them directly to where the stockers bolt on. Then also while you're there weld the whole damn mechanism to the door otherwise the sheet metal will bend over time and you'll end up with a non opening door handle...

After owning many of these body style rigs you finally start learning a few tricks! Lol.

it is very common to break the door handles on the later 90s truck, when they went to the cable pull, insted of the linkage. most of the time i find the door is cracked and the cable levers are binding. after i repair the door and fix the cable, ive never had a problem. its always someone who dosent fix it, just starts to yank -

and i should know alot about these rigs, ive had a few , plus being a tech ive worked on a few also

[f250rollinon37s]

well i did the compression test tonight, and was very pleased. ford does not give a "spec" for this engine - that i could find anyway. however i have found a few good numbers to go by, from a few techs and online searching. a new / reman that is broken in should be 425-450 psi. many will be on the higher side. anything around 400 is great. from 375 -400 is good and anything under 325-340 needs to be looked at, but i have talked to a few that had good running rigs in the low 300s, they just smoke a lot

so after letting her idle, and a quick trip to bring the temp up a little, i pulled her apart and was kinda supprised to see that there were 2 more new injectors on the drivers side ( havent pulled the cover on that side yet, but the weak cylinders were the last of the originals ) the high was just over 400 and low was 370. in fact the missing / weak cyl #6 had the best and the lowest was the #7 that i had put the new injector in.

all the injectors are all cleaned up and boxed ready to ship out for reman / upgrading. new glow plugs are ready to drop in, new valve cover gaskets / harness and an oil change will happen again after she is running again -

so in a around 10 days i should have her running again, and i hope nice and smooth.

[f250rollinon37s]

some older pics - i cant find a good one of when it first came in. you can see whats left of the 2x2x.250 roof hack that i cut off in the bed. i forgot i had to put in a window too --

[FORDTECHGURU]

the issue with the inside door handles is the cable stretches out, now you are pulling the plastic handle against the stop and it breaks, ford now services this as an assembly.
that and the sheetmetal breaks out...

i got some diamond cut corners fer dat', think i got some n.o.s. parts too..

[AllGoNoShow]

Is there any way to adjust the cable? I have been rolling down my windo and opening it up from the outside all winter and it is finally getting too cold...

[f250rollinon37s]

no not really, but i have bent the cable mount out a little and added a shim to hold it there. best to just get a new one. they really arent that bad ( $ )

[Monster67]

Looks like one hell of a tow rig. Im sure youll end up making it cool as hell. Now that you got the tow rig you really gotta finish the truggy and come down this way, Hollister is calling...

[f250rollinon37s]

yep thats the plan. get a good running tow rig, then finish the truggy. i was kinda worried about using my f250, cuz she is right at 300k, has the 5.8, 35s and 4.10s. ive towed a LOT of shit, big and small - i just did it slow and had to baby her so she will live linger. but i hope this was i can get in and go - without the $ of a new / newer tow rig.


i hope to get it reliable, and just driver her.

the plans

get the new injectors in, along with glow plugs and gaskets. fix the light grind i get from 1 to 2nd i get sometimes. replace the down pipe and exhaust with some 4". rebuild the front end. new shocks and other matinance items. readjust the doors, they are starting to sag. and find a regular bed. i might even toss a top on the bed, but im hoping for a GN to replace my bumper pull by the time the truggy is done.

then some new tires / wheels. im going with 245/70 19.5s - should help to drop my rpm for a nice cruze speed. also plan on fixing up the inside, to make it quieter, cleaner and get some new tunes so it will sound nice

[f250rollinon37s]

well what a diffrence.


i got my reman injectors installed yesterday after work. and let me tell you, she gets up and moves.



they are from Rosewood diesel, in ohio. they are a " stage one " basic built injector. the factory rating is 90cc and now they flow 160cc. they are also flow matched to much closer tolerances than the factory, new and normal reman injectors. i forgot the exact number but i think it was something like 2% vrs 8-10%. i knew i had one bad injector and a possible 2 other weak ones, but she drives like a new truck. the idle is smooth and has very good throttle responce. in fact i think it drives better than most of the low mileage 7.3s ive driven. in fact it will walk away from a customers 7.3, and he has a chip.

from what i understand, i will see no power increase untill i get it tuned and tell the computer there is more fuel avalible. i think the matched set makes a diffrence.

but she is now making 18 psi of boost vrs the 11-12 i had to try hard to make.


so if you want to make your tow rig move - call jim, he will hook you up



edit for linky
http://rosewooddieselshop.com/







as soon and my tax money gets here she will be getting the new down pipe and 4" exhaust, along with the new ball joints / shocks.


for a big rig, its kinda fun to drive now. i doubt i will get any good mileage any time soon though, cuz it hard to keep my foot out of it.

[86 slo-vo]

looks good, hope to find one of these for myself soon

[FORDTECHGURU]

hmmm, i think i got some 4" tube and def. a 5" tip if you need... maybe a mandrel 4" tailpipe too, i will look..

[f250rollinon37s]

really weave ? ill be sure to hit you up if you do. im planning on a 3-3.5-4" down pipe, and then exit in front of the tires.


let me know what you have

[billybob_81067]

I got rosewood diesels DIY injector kit and built my own stage ones. They are a hell of a lot of fun like you said! I have a generic bullydog chip program and it'll make 30psi of boost and empty my HPOP pretty quickly!

[tboy111]

How far north in Cali are you? I have a brandnew never been on the road dually box that I will sell you. Maybe meet half way if your interested. I will try to get out to dads place and take a pic. PM me if you are interested.