2002 Edge - Manual - 2WD Snow Truck... - Member's Projects Showcase - Tech Section

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Hails from the land of rust!

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Oh wow, that's actually the (screw) type i've been looking for, basically a just a bolt, washer and nut though?

I have to see what my Ford parts deliver, i'm betting they're imperial instead of metric, but i might be able to use the bolts that i'm supposed to mount the handles with.

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Posted: Sun Dec 10th, 2017 11:07 pm

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Hails from the land of rust!

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Chose 2, 9-inch LED bars to fit behind the grille. Cheap wiring harness, awaiting the cab switch though as the one that comes with the kit is a nasty cheap surface mount.

I need to mount the bars forward from the housing, in order to both allow clearance from the center moulding inside the grille area as well as place them right up behind the grille for effectiveness.

To that end, i bought a length of alu strip with some nuts and bolts - points for noticing i have one odd, over sized nut that i have to take back! :(

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Posted: Mon Dec 11th, 2017 06:22 pm

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RiggerWings
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Nice! I though about a light bar behind my grille as well. I have the bar style grille though so I'd need a single row light bar, I've found some but I don't NEED it.

I just bought an '04 Hyundai Tiburon for my son and it needs some things here and there so I'll be fixing that up as I can. He gets his license in June when he hits 16, so he's get the car then.

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Posted: Mon Dec 11th, 2017 11:10 pm

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Hails from the land of rust!

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Yeah, this one was really a don't need it either, but the lights were cheap enough and i felt like i could justify it for emergency lighting, which the truck is for (emergencies etc.)

What kind of height do you have for the lights to shine through?

Speaking of lighting, the cabin switch came today :)

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Posted: Wed Dec 13th, 2017 07:35 pm

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Hails from the land of rust!

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So some new parts arrived, two grab handles to go with the trim pieces i posted earlier.

4 bolts, which i guessed were the mount bolts for the bracket based on the 'associated parts' list, along with 8 inserts, which i guess might have been for the A-pillars.....

Anyone have idea what they're for? I don't *think* the bolts are right, or the inserts, but would love to know what they're for.

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Posted: Wed Dec 13th, 2017 09:13 pm

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mhoward
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The bolts look like the bolt that holds the steering wheel on. The white plastic pieces are for the "B" pillar trim... they snap into the metal cab, then the "christmas tree" fasteners push into the hole to hold the "B" pillar trim in place.

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Posted: Wed Dec 13th, 2017 09:16 pm

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Hails from the land of rust!

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Balls.

Looks like i'm going to need a rivnut setup after all.

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Posted: Thu Dec 14th, 2017 04:08 pm

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Kealel
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MaDMaXX wrote: Finally got some A-pillar trims with grab handles that fit correctly! :) (thanks Kealel!)

Got the rest of the parts on order, haven't decided how to fit the rivnuts yet, thinking of cheating with a bolt/nut and grease. Have to wait on delivery end of next week at the earliest.

Looks amazing on carpet! :q And I'm glad to hear you found some handles!

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Posted: Thu Dec 14th, 2017 04:11 pm

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Kealel
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MaDMaXX wrote: So some new parts arrived, two grab handles to go with the trim pieces i posted earlier.

4 bolts, which i guessed were the mount bolts for the bracket based on the 'associated parts' list, along with 8 inserts, which i guess might have been for the A-pillars.....

Anyone have idea what they're for? I don't *think* the bolts are right, or the inserts, but would love to know what they're for.

no idea what those are for, but they are not near anything on the dash or pillars of any truck I have seen! If you need some bolts by the time I go to the junkyard for a header panel I can grab you some. (Actually, I'll be grabbing some either way, just in case!)

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Posted: Thu Dec 14th, 2017 08:29 pm

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RiggerWings
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MaDMaXX wrote: What kind of height do you have for the lights to shine through?

I think I'm right at about 2", but I'd have to measure to make sure. Also I think about 18-20" long max. I've searched online and have found a few, but I'm nowhere near ready to purchase one.

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Posted: Fri Dec 15th, 2017 12:41 am

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Hails from the land of rust!

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RiggerWings wrote: MaDMaXX wrote: What kind of height do you have for the lights to shine through?

I think I'm right at about 2", but I'd have to measure to make sure. Also I think about 18-20" long max. I've searched online and have found a few, but I'm nowhere near ready to purchase one.

The lights i have, the lit area, are a smidge under two inches high, no need for a single row with that much gap to use :)

Both lights in a 2 pack for $30 something.

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Posted: Mon Dec 18th, 2017 09:13 pm

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Garfield
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Very nice truck!

Clean and simple, how it should be.

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Posted: Wed Dec 20th, 2017 10:11 pm

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Hails from the land of rust!

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Thanks, i like clean/simple, but also like to hide stuff behind the scenes :)

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Posted: Wed Dec 20th, 2017 11:05 pm

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Well, one of my front wheel bearings was loose, luckily i was in getting some other work done and this only took a minute to tighten up again.

It was so loose i thought the lug nuts had started undoing, it's hard to capture the movement on camera.

Quick adjustment to the nut and it's all good :)

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Posted: Sat Dec 23rd, 2017 01:07 am

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Alright, so the welding that was going on in the wheel video (above) was for the exhaust - let me show you how ridiculous the cats are on the '02.

This is 5 (five) cats in total, 3 pre-cats and two main cats.

Here are all 3 pre cats, right up to the engine, best place for pre-cats, worst place for the engine.

Oooh, plasma cutters are cool....

Pre-cats appear fine, so no reason to think they're causing issues

Mocked up with regular pipe

Some tack welds and final welding after taking it off again

Slight issue with a gap that wasn't there in the test fit, oh well, fill with weld :) (see the upper joint on the right of the picture)

That didn't fit, no idea how it got that over extended joint,m so it was cut and welded straight again.

Now for the ~22inch muffler at the back - with essentially 5 cats on the system, it doesn't need that muffler, so i had elected to remove it

Now those of you who have been keeping count, will have realised that 5 cats and a muffler, subtract 1 muffler, does *NOT* equal 5 cats and no muffler, if you *ALSO* removed 3 cats as well.

Short version, it's not really too loud, but it does sound like a hole in the exhaust :(
It really doesn't help that we missed this pipe being a little too close to the frame rail, and that on the way home, it settled further and now sounds really bad.

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Posted: Sat Dec 23rd, 2017 01:11 am

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Hails from the land of rust!

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Cheap glass pack at about 22 inches is on order, should be plenty to just smooth it out and remove the 'hole in the exhaust' sound it makes right now.

That should be here and fitted Wednesday, we'll put a hangar on there as well, that will allow us to hold the pipe off the frame rail and fix that noise.

I have already noticed that it doesn't feel as wheezy or restricted as it used to, especially when cruising or trying to maintain speed up gradients, so the pre-cats are certainly a bad thing for this engine.

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Posted: Sat Dec 23rd, 2017 10:09 am

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JAMMAN

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The wheel bearing thing is bothering me. This simply does not happen and if it does there are a few reasons and they are all bad.

Either
1. You didn't tighten it in the first place.
2. The race wasn't pressed in completely and wiggled in to place during turning.
3. Your inner bearing is disintegrated and you are tightening against metal fragments.
4. Your castle nut was wrong or there was not a cotter pin installed.
5. If you replaced the spindle, the spindle could have been poorly heat treated and the threads stretched.

Take it back off please, inspect throughly the inner and outer races and rollers, if all is OK grease and put it back on, borrow an inch pound torque wrench and tighten it to specifications.

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Posted: Sat Dec 23rd, 2017 02:41 pm

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Taper bearings sometimes need tightening up normally though?

I actually don't know how to do what you said off the top of my head, is there a brief how-to anywhere?

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Posted: Sat Dec 23rd, 2017 03:00 pm

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JAMMAN

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MaDMaXX wrote: Taper bearings sometimes need tightening up normally though?

No. If set right in the beginning they are there for life or destruction whichever comes first. If you tightened them up too tight with your crescent wrench you will cause extremely speedy self destruction resulting in locking and spinning bearings on your spindle destroying it.

Take it to a mechanic buddy and tell him my thoughts along with what you did. The reasons I listed above I stand by, those are the only reason a bearing could be loose.

If it was originally left loose it will cause uneven race wear and premature failure even if you did get the correct amount of torque on them which is possible even with a crescent wrench. I have done so many that when I do my own I don't use a torque wrench, I have a stubby 3/8 ratchet and a 3/8 to 1/2 adapter to put on the socket that fits the nut. I hold the head of the ratchet and use my wrist but only on my vehicles... I look up the specs and use an inch pound torque wrench on anyone elses.

I don't know of a tutorial, I'll look a little tonight after dinner.

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Posted: Sat Dec 23rd, 2017 04:25 pm

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Hails from the land of rust!

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I can't be certain, but i think they were all good until i put maybe a couple of hundred miles on it, including some very mild slow off road.

It still turns very smoothly and that was my mechanic who was checking and tightening it.

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Posted: Sat Dec 23rd, 2017 05:09 pm

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JAMMAN

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OK so that was a mechanic, perhaps he has a feel for the right torque. If he wasn't worried about it I will become less worried but those things just don't come loose.

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Posted: Sat Dec 23rd, 2017 05:18 pm

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mhoward
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I was an auto mechanic until 1984. Repacked/replaced a lot of front wheel bearings in my time. Never used a torque wrench on any of them. There is just a "feel" that I go for. I always use a pair of channel locks to do it. Hmmm... I wonder how many wheels fell off because of me? LOL

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Posted: Sat Dec 23rd, 2017 05:19 pm

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Well in my little experience with tapered bearing 'stuff', i know they will wear, but you will have tightening opportunities before they die - mine might not have too much time left, but i'll ask him again when i'm getting the glass pack fitted next week.

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Posted: Mon Dec 25th, 2017 05:57 am

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Michael71009
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Awesome write up. Definitely interested in hearing how the exhaust work turns out.

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Posted: Mon Dec 25th, 2017 09:13 am

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JAMMAN

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MaDMaXX wrote: Well in my little experience with tapered bearing 'stuff', i know they will wear, but you will have tightening opportunities before they die - mine might not have too much time left, but i'll ask him again when i'm getting the glass pack fitted next week.

Seriously,from my experiences I have never seen one wear. By the time they move it is too late and the damage will quickly escalate.

Then again I am real bearing particular, I design ball bearing components for turbochargers that turn in the 90,000 RPM range and also have set up a couple angular contact high speed lathe spindles. I have seen 180,000 mile front bearings that looked rather new when un capped, and have seen 70,000 mile wheel bearings completely wasted.

Just worried, I'm surprised nobody else has chimed in with bearing experiences.

I'm not going to say how but I know how a 3.0 V6 runs with the cats cleared and it is night and day. Like they are saying "I CANNNN BREATHEEEEE!!!" it is an incredible change.

Who came up with 5 cats anyway? Was it really necessary? Who can really afford to change the entire exhaust system have you priced it?

AND a 3.0 runs rather clean any way, the other cat delete project I'm familiar with didn't put out enough bad exhaust to trip the downstream O sensors, CEL is still off.

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