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Big ol' Day-ssul 6.4 Build Thread

7K views 18 replies 7 participants last post by  brian86992 
#1 · (Edited)
I took ownership of this truck August 2013 from another board member here.
He's already done several modifications including Spartan tuning, S&B intake and exhaust.
It has a Ranch Hand bumper, 55 gal fuel tank in the bed as well as a Vivair 380c compressor and tank that runs train horns (and powers whatever else I need).

Here's the truck the day I brought it home:


My other money hole is a Jeep TJ that I've put more into in modifications than I originally paid for :headbang1:
Unfortunately, the Jeep will be going up for sale soon because I just have no need for two vehicles. ..


I've gotten so good at taking apart this Jeep I can fix pretty much anything with my eyes closed. I've done everything from a cylinder head replacement to fabricating my own suspension.





I drove from Texas to purchase the truck (with Colarado tags) in Louisiana, then registered it in Florida. That got some strange responses in the DMV when registering it. A week later I loaded up the Jeep and drove 1000 miles to Indiana where I'll be most of the year.


The plans for the truck as-is are pretty mild. A few TLC projects to take care of but I'm going to leave it unmolested for the most part.

I've been fighting with a parasitic battery draining issue the past week. Each morning it's flat dead. I believe I've finally found my issue to be a severely damaged passenger side battery that's leaking so much acid there's a current flow all around it.
The battery acid has done a number corrosion-wise in the battery box.
Here is what the retaining bolt should look like:


And here's how it looks on the passenger side:


Needless to say, that wasn't too fun to get out. I had to cut the whole plastic bracket out then remove the battery box and back out the bolt stub with two pairs of vice grips.

On the bright side Wally-world honored the warranty on the two batteries, one partially and one fully covered. I was out the door with 2 brand new batteries for $72. Tomorrow the new batteries go in just so I can drive down to the nearest DIY car wash. I need to get all the battery acid out of that side of the engine compartment before I reassemble everything.
 
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#2 ·
Spent most of the day getting the truck back together and clean.
First I threw in the new batteries (without anything bolted in :p ) and headed down the street to a DIY wash place.

Here's the engine bay before washing it. Note the corrosion all around the 'frame' (is that part of the frame?) rail. The terminals were also covered in a mountain of green corrosion.


After cleaning:


Battery box:


Nice clean terminal:


After everything was bolted back in, wiring re-clipped in, I put on felt protectors and a corrosion preventative.


So with any luck it will start up in the morning!

The other thing I'm working on is replacing the plastic drum that is my auxillary fuel tank. The old tank (about 60 or 65 gallons) has a thin stress crack from sun and the ratchet strap that holds it in. I picked up a reconditioned container for $19.50 at a local supply store.


Oh yeah, anyone want to buy a fifth wheel hitch? :laugh: The previous owner was nice enough to include it in the sale but I have no trailer to pull with it.
 
#3 ·
I got my new battery hold downs from Ford. If anyone is interested it's part number 6F2Z-10756-A and they cost $8.99 each.


I've also been working on my auxillary tank. Here is is mounted in.


As you can tell the tank will never fully drain because of the location of the bung. I've come up with a solution to get the last few gallons out using positive air pressure from the air compressor.

The perspective:


Plan:


Parts:


Air line installed:


I still need to make the pickup. The 5/8" tube did not fit on the lower bung like I hoped so I have to come up with something else.
 
#4 · (Edited)
After reading your thread, the question I have is that aux/transfer tank legal to use? Other than the plastic material of the tank and the nylon straps holding it down, would that withstand an accident?
The fitting on the bottom of container isn't protected and if snapped off would cause a fuel leak that would drain that tank. I wont elaborate on EPA fines and cleanup cost. I have 2 one ton trucks with aux/transfer tanks and was informed they had to be steel or aluminum and dot approved. They are both for commercial use for hauling RV's, but it would seem the tank laws would be the same for a everyday vehicle. Hopefully this is a temporally thing, or you will probably have the same problem as the previous tank!
 
#5 ·
After reading your thread, the question I have is that aux/transfer tank legal to use? Other than the plastic material of the tank and the nylon straps holding it down, would that withstand an accident?
The fitting on the bottom of container isn't protected and if snapped off would cause a fuel leak that would drain that tank. I wont elaborate on EPA fines and cleanup cost. I have 2 one ton trucks with aux/transfer tanks and was informed they had to be steel or aluminum and dot approved. They are both for commercial use for hauling RV's, but it would seem the tank spec's would be the same for a everyday vehicle.
DOT requirements state that the tank directly feeding a carburetor or fuel injection system may not be gravity or syphon fed. Because this auxiliary tank doesn't feed my fuel system directly I'm good to go. You are correct though that commercial vehicles may be regulated by different and more strict rules.

Regarding an accident, the other "rule" that I read (I have not verified this myself) is that if the valve directly attached to the tank is closed while I'm in motion then it's not a transfer tank at all... it's just a closed vessel not regulated under DOT laws.

Today I waxed the truck and restored the color in the plastic trim with a heat gun.

Here's a 50/50 on the bumper with the right side gone over with the gun.


Before and after of the windshield trim, which was the most faded piece:



Nice and clean:

 
#7 ·
Thanks! The temperature from the heat gun is about 1000 degrees, give or take. When you hold it close (but not too close) to the plastic it causes a chemical change that brings out the natural color it had leaving the injection molding at the factory.

I much prefer this method over painting or Armor-alling because it's permanent (until it fades again) and there's no need to even remove trim from the vehicle.
 
#9 · (Edited)
A few new things over the past couple of weeks:

I removed the 5th wheel hitch and gooseball plate (which I'll hopefully be selling) and put a locking job box in its place. Now I have dry and mostly secure storage in my bed.



I also removed my Rigid LED lights from my Jeep and mounted them on my bumper. For their size, these things are stupid bright. I do plan on adding more in the future, it's just a matter of if I can justify the cost because these things aren't cheap.
Here's a bad photo in the dark:


For the switch I got some ideas for another thread here where I removed the ash tray (which I had no use for) and created a lexan panel in its place. The switches are wired in parallel so I have both a constant on option as well as a momentary button. Don't mind the four holes... I thought the switches were going to go in those locations but they ended up not fitting and I didn't feel like cutting another panel.



 
#10 ·
Last week I had to deal with a faulty EGT sensor. It ended up being an easy fix but it took a little to figure out what was going on. Here's the content of another thread I made about the fix.
http://www.powerstroke.org/forum/6-4l-problems-forum/576569-how-fix-no-crank-egt-sensor-erratic.html

Symptoms: Truck started up and ran fine in the morning. I drove to the store and was inside for about 15 minutes. When going to leave I turn the key on then turn it forward... nothing. No engagement of the starter whatsoever. Cycle on and off and no change.

Here's the code my DashDaq pulled:
P242E: Exhaust Gas Temperature Sensor Intermittent/Erratic Bank 1 Sensor 3


And here's the behavior of the sensor that caused it:



After your truck throws the code it will put you in a 1 hour no start condition. No cycling of the key will turn the truck on. Here's how you bypass the hour lockout: (Big thanks to Big Angry Hillbilly's thread.)

Set the parking brake.
Turn the truck to the on position.
Ensure the truck is in park.
Pop open the hood.
On the back (towards windshield) of the passenger side battery box there is a wire with a black plastic cylindrical part in line.
Depress the two sides of the ring on it to separate the two ends.
Touch the male pin to your positive battery terminal and your truck will start.
Reconnect the wire.





That afternoon I ordered a new sensor from River City Diesel. I ordered it at 5:00 pm and it was delivered at 9:00 am the next morning, no joke. That was standard shipping, too.
The sensor you need is here. River City has it for $57.27.


Here's the old sensor next to the new. Fortunately mine came out without much trouble.


And here is now the temperatures look now:


Hope this helps.
 
#12 ·
I went ahead and bought an an alarm/remote start system. Man, is it going to be nice to have a warm cab when I walk outside.



Viper 5704V (2-way)
XPRESSKIT DBALL that will spoof the key chip to allow the truck to start
Backup battery cost $16 and my insurance company will give me a discount for having it
XKLoader is for flashing the DBALL with the Ford firmware

I'm having a shop install it in two days. Although I could do it myself, I just don't have the time to solder wires for a full weekend. Not to mention the temperature....
 
#17 ·
Sorry I'm just now getting back to this... I'd love to sell them to you but at 100 lbs and the size that they are I think shipping would totally kill the deal.

Why not do a DPF delete exhaust?
What DPF? :D



The Viper alarm is turning out to be a great investment. I really enjoy the 2 way communication and the range is actually much better than I was expecting. It's nice to be able to glance at the remote and see that it's still locked and no one's tampered with it. Not to mention the remote start capability.

I've had only one false alarm. One night the truck was covered in thick ice. The air compressor (in the bed) kicked on and the vibration amplified by the ice coverage set off the shock sensor. Seeing that it the alarm is connected to a train horn... I felt bad for my neighbors.
 
#18 ·
Just chiming in on this. Seems like the investments are turning out good so far. :thumb:
 
#19 ·
I've been meaning to put this on here for a while but I'm just now getting around to it.

I made a new mount for my DashDaq. Although the glass mount works well, I didn't really like having the unit up in the windshield so visible from the outside.

If you're familiar with machine shops at all, you'll recognize that this is Locline. It's supposed to be used for coolant but it also works to hold tools if you're able to make a bracket.

I start by removing my ashtray and drilling a hole in the center coin slot


The Locline pipe adapter fits snugly and I thread on a loc line female pipe thread on the back so it's tight


Locline in place. This is a lot more length than I'll be using


Now I need to build a bracket for the DashDaq


All of the Locline fittings are pipe thread so there's no standard straight thread bolts that will thread into it. I found this metric size that had a close enough thread pitch that I could get 4-5 turns before it binded. That will work for what I need. This is the head of the bolt ground flat for later welding



Small piece of steel plate with the 4 mounting holes drilled and a 1/2" hole for welding from the "inside"


Welded. I wanted a really clean look so I welded only from the side that will be flush against the DashDaq


And ground clean


Finished mount



Painted


Installed



It holds the DashDaq nicely but it'll change positions if I hit a pothole. I might look into something like Loctite to help it stay in position.
 
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