Project Super Duty

[sscully]

Very cool! I'm glad you got it sorted out and the 22-24lbs of boost is correct for a stock 6.0

When you've got the gauge cluster out can you do me a favor and look to see if there is a back light for the odometer? Mine keeps going out randomly it's driving me nuts and I haven't had a chance to pull the dash apart yet.

Do you have a picture of the cluster ?

Curious if it is like the 99-03 MY with the electronic Odometer or like the 97-98 MY with the wheel type ( or the message center )

[Blown F-150]

Not sure if it is related, but my 2000 F-150 had an intermittent Odometer. It just turned out to be a cold solder joint, it was super easy to spot and fix.

[GreyMichFX4]

My truck's an 06 with the digital message center the truck has 184k on it so the dash has taken quite a beating over the last 7 years with the truck being a F350 on the crappy Michigan roads. I would like to think it's something simple and I've been able to get it come back using the caveman method but I'm not holding my breath.

I can get a picture of the dash today if you need one.

[sscully]

Nope, message center is all I needed.

# 74 ( #37 ? )  bulb ( at least it is on the F150 ) in a bulb holder. 
Crap part is you need to pull the cluster to get to it from the back.

Gray color bulb holder, counter clock wise upscrews it.  Make sure not to go nuts unscrewing it, the bulb socket is not the strongest thing in the world.

The cluster I have does not have the translucent cover on it, think you should have one with little flaps where the bulb holders are at.

It is right above the message center on the back of the gauge ( make sure you are looking on the correct side, I always flip it over and forget to reverse my view ).

Has nothing to do with the roads, that bulb is on anytime the ign is on, so it burns more than any other bulb in the cluster.

[GreyMichFX4]

Steve, thank you for the info it's a big help.

[Blown F-150]

Thanks Steve!

I will take a bunch of pics on the process too, so people will have something to reference.

[Blown F-150]

Well I was able to finally get around to working on the truck last night and a bit this afternoon.

I tackled the cluster lights and I gotta say it was way easier to get that sucker out than on the F-150. You just need to pop out the light switch and then the whole dash cover popped off. Once you get it out a bit, you can unplug the switches. I noticed there a a couple of "dead" plug ins, must be for heavy duty or King Ranch applications (I think one is for a rear sliding window). One right by the power point and one under the 4x4 switch. I had to put the shifter in first gear to get the dash cover right out.

To get the cluster out, it's just four 7/32" screws. The shifter indicator just gets the outside tabs squeezed and it drops down out of the bottom of the cluster. There are two connections at the top, just push down on the stop and the lever folds over allowing the plug to pop out.

Once removed, I just flipped it over and turned out the sockets of the burnt lights. I grabbed 5 bulbs (#74), glad I did as I needed all of them...

The more and more I look into this truck, the more I figure it had some sort of electrical problem which is not good, but what can ya do  .

I found a wire soldered into place that I am sure wasn't factory and there was duct tape on the bottom of it, not sure why.

FYI GreyMichFx4, I didn't see any bulbs specific to the monitor LCD, it did look like the same crappy cold solder joints as my F-150 and I am sure you could spot a broken joint on yours and hit it with a solder pencil.

I then cleaned up all the dust and crap (literally mouse crap...frig) and then buttoned it all back up.

Connections on the top of the cluster


Back of the cluster, the two rows of pins under the 5 clustered lights are for the monitor LCD.


The bulb and socket. The bulb just pulls out.


The soldered wire I found on the back, bypassing a burnt bit on the printed circuit board.


And a done deal!



Today was not quite as productive. My Wife and I went for a ride to pick up a used set of running boards. not pics yet as I didn't get them installed, it was a three hour drive round trip. They aren't mint, but nice enough for the $100 I paid. They are off a '08 by the looks of them.

When we got back, I already had some brake pads that I bought, so I figured I should get the brakes done first. On the Front Drivers, the caliper was seized, I thought something was up when I drove it to work last week, the brakes were kind of sticking and getting hotter than they should have. So anyway, after fighting to get the bugger off, I went a bought a new one. The parts place is only 5 minutes away and they had one in stock. replaced the caliper and pads, bleed it out with help from my lovely wife and then bolted that side back up. The passenger side was not so bad, the caliper looks like it was swapped out the last time the pads were done, but the sliding caliper pins were seized. I used the caliper mount from the drivers side, greased the pins with caliper grease, put on the new pads and buttoned it back up. only one pad was worn thanks to the stuck pins, so I am glad I decided to take the brakes apart. Tried to start on the rears, but I can't get the friggen wheels off. I tried all the tricks I know, so I hit the mating surfaces of the rotors and wheels with PB Blaster and hope to try again tomorrow if it doesn't rain. The rear pads really need to be swapped, so I have to figure something out. I wouldn't be surprised if the pins on the rears are seized too, the truck was only used 3 times in the last 10 Months before I got it.

Time for an adult beverage...

[Too Stroked]

Sounds like a fun day! Good results though.

One word of caution on the Slider Pins. The fleet of SD's that I drive and sometimes work on has certainly gone through its share of brake parts and we've learned a few things. One learning is that once a Slider Pin sizes up (due to corrosion), it's time for a new pin. Our mechanic fought me on this one and insisted that cleaning the old pin up on a wire wheel, cleaning out the bore on the Caliper Bracket with a drill and gobbering Slider Lube over everything was a satisfactory fix. I finally convinced him that you really need to install new pins because they have a plated surface designed to resist rust. Slider Lube doesn't have much of anything when it comes to corrosion inhibitors. The other thing we've found is that the rear sliders take the worst beating.

Hope that helps!

[Rollingrock]

man, you are brave. 

[Blown F-150]

Thanks for the tip TS! I am not one for re-using parts, but the ones on the front drivers side were actually in good shape so I took the chance. For the rears, I am expecting the pins to be seized. I will see if I can get pin kits as I don't want to fork out the dough for two rear calipers.

Any thought of good anti-seize instead of the caliper grease? more anti-corrosion properties, but I'm not sure about it holding up the the heat or causing other issues.

Raining out today so I won't be touching the truck until I am back from Miami on Saturday.

[Too Stroked]

I was told (in no uncertain terms) by one of the instructors at the college my son went to (Toyota T-Ten program) not to use any type of Never Seize - high temperature or not. Apparently it all fails due to the high heat from the brakes whereas the Silicone Slider Lube does not. From that I'd take it that having a good, corrosion resistant surface (on the pins) in the first place is the best place to start. 

Hell, what am I doing here lecturing you? You know what the heck you're doing!

[Blown F-150]

Agrees TS. I am going to order rear pin kits and some caliper grease. I need to add some grease to the fronts too.

Hope to get some stuff done on the truck this weekend. I noticed that the overhead light switches don't work...

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

[Blown F-150]

I haven't had a chance to tackle the rear brakes yet, I hope to one evening this week.

I used the truck to go biking yesterday, and it worked really well except for the auto hubs. I had to manually lock them for 4x4 to work...gonna have to look at that now too.

Anyway, today I figured I would try to take care of a couple of little things. I started out fixing the center arm rest. It would move a fair bit when you put your arm down on it. It didn't really come apart since the apoulstry was stapled in. I found that a screw came loose holding the mounting bracket to the body of the armrest, tightened it up. Easy fix, thank goodness.

I then swapped out the lower (curved) mirror on the passenger side. they just pop out and snap in. Another easy fix.

Then I figured I would tackle the heated seat that doesn't work on the drivers side. I pulled the seat out and took it inside. A quick test with the Ohm meter let me know that the circuit was open somewhere. I pulled up the seat cover, loosened up the ring clamps that hold the cover to the foam and found the culprit. There was short in the wire between the elements. I stripped the wire back, gave them a quick twist together and checked the resistance again, and it was good so at least it was the only short. I pulled out the soldering pencil, a bit of 20g wire,  heat shrink and solder. Soldered the wires up leaving a little extra so it wouldn't get pulled apart. Then buttoned everything back up. With the seat back in the truck, gave it a test and it works!

biking


Culprit


Good after the making the connection


Soldered up


Extra slack to allow for movement

[Blown F-150]

I gotta say that I am glad I didn't have to buy a turbo for it. 

I tackled the rear brakes last night. I picked up a couple of slider pin kits in anticipation that they would be seized. Well the slider pins were actually in real nice shape, no corrosion, lots of grease and slid nice. The same couldn't be said for the calipers as they were seized on both sides! I'll order a couple un-loaded calipers today and try and get them swapped tomorrow.

I also wasn't too happy with the batteries, they didn't load test super strong and since the truck will be in for a cold winter I bought a couple of good 880CCA legend NAPA batteries.

I can't wait till I can get to the detailing, it's gonna be a lot cheaper than the rest of this stuff  .

I plan on correcting as much as I can and topping it off with Opti-Coat. Any recommendations on how warm it has to be out before I apply the Opti-Coat?

[Pockets]

My goodness just read the whole thread

You sir have some motivation!

Glad it is all going without any major major issues and hangups