rattle_snake's random shop projects v0.1

[Boosted1]

Nice work on the AC install. The Fr bumper and winch setup looks really clean / nice.

 

[zmotorsports]

Nice job on the A/C compressor mounting Justin. I've done enough of accessory mounting and belt aligning to know it is not an easy task to get things perfectly aligned and to be noise free.

 

[PhantomEB]

Justin....I know you and I would be good friends, we both belong to this vehicle for this, that vehicle for that!

 

[rattle_snake]

Nice work on the AC install. The Fr bumper and winch setup looks really clean / nice.

Thanks Boosted! Getting closer on it.

Nice job on the A/C compressor mounting Justin. I've done enough of accessory mounting and belt aligning to know it is not an easy task to get things perfectly aligned and to be noise free.

Thanks Mike. Yes have to guess and zero in on the placement, iterative process. I used a handful of existing spacers and washer to get close before making new ones out of DOM. Changed directions and plans a few times. 4 trips to 3 different parts stores to get the right length belts. and so on

Justin....I know you and I would be good friends, we both belong to this vehicle for this, that vehicle for that!

When you bronc is 'done' you should make the short trip here to AZ for some wheelin'!

 

[rattle_snake]

So like some others here I want a tractor but I don't really need one. Got a few neighbors interested going in on a shared machine, then my dad was going to give me one he got for free and fixed up, but nothing yet. Had a new neighbor move in that has a JD, so approached him about partial buyout/share scheme. He said don't buy another, and we agreed to swap some repair/upgrade work for use of it.
It's a 855 from the 90s I would guess. Mechanical diesel, hydrostatic drive. Bucket is roached, and needed replacement. He decided to upgrade loader with a skid steer style detachable system to make it more versatile. So he bought a 60" skid steer bucket and an adapter kit.
Unfortunately getting the new bucket over to my place with the bucket (fork attachment is next, haha) ended up breaking a hydraulic fitting and spraying fluid everywhere. I think that is how it is supposed to go.


Plan to copy procedure found on utube, so step one was to harvest the 855 specific bucket brackets off the old bucket. They will be welded to the the quick connect adapters. There were several inside corner welds to cut off, so easier to just hack brackets off with plasma. Used lift to get to comfortable height. Works just as well on a rusty, hydraulic fluid coved mess.


Example of how SS adapters connect to bucket


So next step is to clean up brackets and use some 2x4 rec tube to space off plates to allow pins to clear lock mechanism.

 

[rattle_snake]

Put another long day into A/C system details. Was about to install underdash box final time, then decided to get longer elbows to avoid another pair of spices at firewall. When I was searching for info on generic 90* elbows I saw they could be had in sizes from 6" to 24". I found some with 18" long side at local parts store and another hose close enough to work. Torqued flare fitting on A/C hoses as I knew it was not possible when installed, ready to go in.
After wrestling the box in I worked on the wiring, cables, hoses, firewall seal and condensation drain. I temporarily used the existing HVAC circuit in the main harness to test, all works ok. The fan switch is a bit sketchy, high speed setting on the switch has a dead spot, but still works. I ran a heavy gauge wire to fuse block to remove current from main harness, but need to add a relay so HVAC is only on when key is. The run/acc wire is not present in engine compartment, so did not use space in relay box there, and plan to place relay behind dash instead.


Coil over towers complicated heater hose mounting, so made a bracket with captive stud that mounts to fender sheet metal.


I upgraded to a 4 port heater core bypass valve, hoping it will keep core flow to minimum. Didn't connect hoses yet.


Next step is to decide on oil and port fittings. I picked up some universal oil w/ die from local manufacturer.

Retro Lube A/C Compressor Lubricant With Universal A/C Dye For 134a & R12 8oz

Fluoro-Dye Retro Lube with MPD™ Universal A/C Dye is a 100 Ester / POE based lubricant compatible with most Compressors,Refrigerants and lubricants. It is compatible with 134A and R-12, systems with Mineral, Pag and Ester/POE based lubricants and combined with MPD™ Multipurpose Universal A/C...

www.aircomponents.com

Could pull pump, remove rear cover (supposedly) and dump out old oil. Measure, put in same amount or a few oz more. Not sure it is beneficial, but time is now.
The R12 fittings are a pain and spray refrigerant all over when disconnecting. This seems to be inherent in design, and blows out o-ring on hose fitting before shrader valve gets closed. So considering using adapters for 134 quick connects. But refrigerant will remain R12 and hence a mismatch. WWGJD?

 

[rattle_snake]

With weight of heavier front bumper, winch and A/C system the front end has dropped about 3/4", so it was time to swap heavier front springs back in. Had already broken the rules and added an inch of preload to the 200/300 combo, so didn't want to go any further. So back to 250/350 setup with no preload, which hits target ride height. Easy enough...

Well not so much. The right bump mounts was binding against coilover, so I clearanced until it didn't when limit strap was tight, 'full droop'. But this hack didn't address beyond limit strap limit, like when swapping springs. Problem is, to get bump mount off, shock is in the way. And now now visa-versa, which is an unacceptable conundrum. Shock shaft was not happy. Disconnect track bar to get springs in.
So had to revisit bump mount. Cut another 1/2" off the outer side. Had to fill and move 2 mount holes also.

Now have 1/2" gap with strap tight, and more margin to work with when going beyond. Some day I will re-engineer bump mounts....

 

[Jlarson]

I love those lil 855's, maybe not the most powerful things but I've got several people that have one and they just keep running, and I rarely have to do much to one.

 

[rattle_snake]

Hopefully will get to see how it performs soon, need to do some light digging and grading. A gannon/box is on the list too.
The rear tires are a different size and that needs to be addressed to grade with.
And the hydrostatic drive creeps forward.
Needs a new seat, and some paint. Guess it got fertilizer spilled on it.

 

[Jlarson]

Check over all the peddle linkage and rollers, lots of times they wear and stick and wont go back to neutral or get kinda sluggish. There should be some grease points too.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Justin, since the forum changeover I haven't been getting any emails. Took me a minute to catch up.

As stated, 855's are great little tractors, they just go. Box blade with ripper teeth and or a land plane are good additions.

Pickup mods/changes/additions are looking good!

 

[rattle_snake]

Check over all the peddle linkage and rollers, lots of times they wear and stick and wont go back to neutral or get kinda sluggish. There should be some grease points too.

Thanks, I did a quick search and some solved with pedal adjustment as you have suggested. If I pull up on fwd pedal it stop creeping.

Justin, since the forum changeover I haven't been getting any emails. Took me a minute to catch up.

As stated, 855's are great little tractors, they just go. Box blade with ripper teeth and or a land plane are good additions.

Pickup mods/changes/additions are looking good!

Thanks Marc. Jealous of your new toy. All clean & new, no leaks!

 

[rattle_snake]

Completed the loader detach system. Welded it all up.


New hoses on bucket rams, so could install the adapter section


tractor lookin' **** with new bucket


Check travel limits. ram hoses clear. Added stops in down direction to keep ram rod from binding on the stop for the other direction.


Ready to dig? not so much. The right arm ram leaks pretty bad past seal, so it needs work. How it goes with old stuff.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

I know how big that tractor is, but parking it next to your '72 makes it look like a lawn tractor

 

[StormcrowAz]

Cool tractor project, I am jealous! Been plenty of occasions I could have used one for pushing dirt around and just as many if it had the fork attachments for lifting stuff. That looks to be just about the right size for my little slice of paradise. I just never seem to have enough time, money, or motivation to actually get one. Looking forward to seeing what kind of stereo system you put in it.

 

[Mark_17]

My buddy has a similar Deere and the hydraulic fittings on the front rams and they always seem to get hit by a tree or a branch that we are trying to move and end up getting broken.

I don't know if you or anyone else has that same issue, but if you think it might happen, now is a good time to build some guards to protect them.

 

[csp]

This thread finally pushed me to order the parts to convert my CUT to a quick connect bucket setup.

The parts are pretty darn cheap and I had never even looked.

 

[WoodsTruck]

A chain hook on the back of the bucket was always a big help for lifting things.

 

[rattle_snake]

I know how big that tractor is, but parking it next to your '72 makes it look like a lawn tractor

I agree it needed tires that large.

Cool tractor project, I am jealous! Been plenty of occasions I could have used one for pushing dirt around and just as many if it had the fork attachments for lifting stuff. That looks to be just about the right size for my little slice of paradise. I just never seem to have enough time, money, or motivation to actually get one. Looking forward to seeing what kind of stereo system you put in it.

Well it's not mine, so no stereo system. Kind of better that way, like a pool. There when I need to use, but not mine to maintain.

My buddy has a similar Deere and the hydraulic fittings on the front rams and they always seem to get hit by a tree or a branch that we are trying to move and end up getting broken.

I don't know if you or anyone else has that same issue, but if you think it might happen, now is a good time to build some guards to protect them.

Yes some guards would be a good investment. Both hoses were beat.

This thread finally pushed me to order the parts to convert my CUT to a quick connect bucket setup.

The parts are pretty darn cheap and I had never even looked.

Glad I could help you spend your money!

A chain hook on the back of the bucket was always a big help for lifting things.

I would have put one on, but with forks in the plan I held off.

 

[rattle_snake]

Put the little tractor to work and did some grading along the 300' of irrigation ditch. Main reason was to level the areas were 10 cottonwood trees used to be. Stumps ground but humps remained. Basically scrapped off the bottom of the slope and put it back on top. Made a flat area on top of slope big enough for horses to stomp on, hopefully to reduce erosion.
This little old machine dug better than I thought it would. As good as the newer JD's I have rented of similar size. Soil is rock hard and difficult to just take off sod and a few inches and make it flat/level.
Got to 90% in time for irrigation cycle, so got to see results immediately. Some areas need touch up.

Removed the last 2 cottonwood trees on north side of shop. was able to fit the tractor sideways to dig perpendicular to slope.

Felt like Austin Powers in this scene...


4 cottonwood removed in west/big pasture, put in 2 ashes and an Elm to replace in different locations. Can see water didn't make it to berm edge, so some work to go here still. The fence is up 3-5" too high all along so filling in the low areas along it helped out.

 

[rattle_snake]

Got the bobber project mostly complete. We got a lot done in 2 days. Made some sheet metal covers for below saddle area. Not the best but good enough. rewired for LED stop/turn/park lights, but switch has issues. Got fuel system complete, leak tested, and tank installed. Bike fired up and runs OK. Adjusted rear brake enough to ride and took it out for a spin. Wasn't registered since 2006. Drilled a 3/8" hole through all the baffles in the stock pipes. Improved sound some, not to loud or different than before.

Still need to do front brakes, strip charcoal canister and related **** off, plug fitting on carbs and a few other items. But it runs and rides.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Burn out mark from the Raider?

Bobber looks good!

 

[rattle_snake]

Finally wrapped up A/C system on the old Ford. Changed directions a few times on oils, refrigerants, methods. Ended up converting to 134a so system is maintainable. I replaced about 75% of the oil by draining compressor and refilling with POE/ester 'retro' oil. Didn't want to wait for new condenser and/or new mounts so just used old as-is, no flush to it or evap. New hoses, drier, orings, 134 adapters.
Started to fill with refrigerant and OEM 30a heater fuse blew. Looked like heat damage instead of overcurrent, solder melted out. So even repaired the circuit was not usable due to higher resistance of contacts. Fan current is only 12A. Switched over to the new dedicated HVAC circuit I added but it is not switched with key, but allowed me to finish service. 20A fuse, 12ga wire.

Put in three 12oz cans of 134a, vent temp at 50, park, idle. 25* split. Pressure low at 25/250, but stopped there to evaluate further.
Added relay to HVAC circuit. Had some left over 0.25 disconnect terminals that fit relay sockets, so was able to add cleanly without any splices. My understanding of the Snipers A/C control was not correct, so had to rewire somewhat. I think it only does WOT cut out, and control is just that 'off' only. Assumed it did over temp, stall/startup and so on but no.

Took the truck on a short camping trip, now in comfort with A/C! Hit grocery store for necessities, system was able to cool hot cab (120+) quick enough in the sun. Once rolling vent temps are around 40 on low, and low is plenty to freeze me out. High fan speed is obnoxiously loud. Fan belt started slipping, now out of adjustment range. Coolant temps were in 200-215 range. Appears clutch wants to operate between these numbers, I see temp fall on steep grade climbs even with A/C on. Same results this morning when it was only 70* ambient, so it appears cooling system is just doing it's thing. Would be nice to tweak fan clutch to a lower range.
Some light wheeling. More brakes would be good.

 

[rattle_snake]

Broke down an bought a new vac pump. Had an relic that would slightly seize and not start without bumping armature. I tried to pump down the system immediately after filling pump with oil and installing drier. New oil is hygroscopic.

Had to add some 90* adapters to the service ports on the compressor to allow use of quick connects. R12 threaded ports **** and make a mess before shrader closes. System was cooling well with only 24 oz, pressures didn't rise much after 3rd can. Takes awhile to fill vapor from low side as can gets cold, and it's pressure drops relative to the rest of the system.

New drier and final install. That one 90* fitting is different than the rest...

Not terribly ugly or overwhelming in engine bay.

Glove box is lost to the HVAC system and become access door. But fits gloves and an EZ deflator.
Didn't get a 2nd defrost tube so used the previous hack of plastic flex tube. The temp control/t-stat appears to not work, won't cycle off. maybe probe needs to be secured better.

 

[zmotorsports]

Truck looks great Justin. Sounds like you got the A/C system sorted and the cooling system is functioning perfectly.

Off-road pics looks great.

 

[rattle_snake]

Almost. some details left to go. Core support seal up, belly pan. heater. roof insulation. Window tint.
Was nice to run down highway with cool breezes.

 

[rattle_snake]

After assessment of A/C performance I went to hook up heater hoses to new 4 port valve and noticed I bought the wrong flavor. Need push to close and had push to open. I'm a cheap ******* and highly impatient so looked into mods to swing the other way. Analyzed the 2 flavors and flow diagrams to figure out if manifold body was the same, a different bracket or what exactly. Ended up rotating bracket 180 which puts it out of line with lever, but was able to drill a new hole for cable clamp and orient cable at different angle. Works well enough.


Hoses hooked up. more and more **** in engine bay. Next is wiper washer system to further clutter, but of course coil over tower is where reservoir should go.

 

[rattle_snake]

Cab is loud and hot so going all in to mitigate. Pulled headliner and installed some Kilmat on roof.


Then a layer of bubble insulation, mostly because I had it on hand. Factory had some Jute insulation already.


The 50 yr old headliner was faded, warped and sagging. Broke it just handling it. Being a proud 'Murican redneck a flag seemed the right addition and repair to honor vets. Unfortunately I put flag on upside down, and it sags worse so going to get a new ABS molded headliner and do a better job.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

The 2 layers will for sure help in your AZ sunshine.

Flag being upside down is subjective....technically from the driver's seat it is correct if you look up.

 

[LXCam]

So cool J but I have one critique. As nice as that front seat is, it really needs the ole Mexican blanket routine or...

If you want, I gotta go walk a project in Page next week. I could swing by the Cameron Trading post and pick you up a Indian one??

Name you poison bud: https://camerontradingpost.com/?product_cat=0&s=blankets&post_type=product

 

[rattle_snake]

drove by many times didn't realize those blankets were thousands wow.
Plan for seat is distresses leather. tried a basic black seat cover and didn't like the result.

 

[LXCam]

drove by many times didn't realize those blankets were thousands wow.
Plan for seat is distresses leather. tried a basic black seat cover and didn't like the result.

Ya the pricing is crazy bucks. We swung in there last year on our way back from Powell and needless to say, I was floored at how much they go for.

 

[rattle_snake]

Been brain dead for awhile so puttered on a simple project, fill hole. Edge was mangled from install/removal of fill pipe, so went to work with hammer and dolly until I had a flat edge to work with.


Bed metal is 18 ga so found a scrap to make a filler out if. The surface is radiused so put a bend in the patch before cutting to circle or welding. What you don't see here is the large crease and dent that extends from hole down to the bottom contour. I didn't either until paint.


I put a skim of filler over wound, sanded most of it away, a few coats of primer, and rattle can of factory (mis)match. Once dry I noticed the damage below. Used a long pry bar with dolly between metal to distribute force. Got most of it out, didn't want to hammer the new paint, so good enough for now.


Decided to tint the windows now that I can drive it in the heat. Went 20% on doors and back window. It was hard to find anyone willing to call back or work on old vehicle that is not in pre-cut database. Seems art of hand-cut tinting is mostly gone. I found a local small business willing to do it. They expresses concerns with ancient dried out rubber seal, 50yr old scratched glass and imperfections from hand cutting. The young man doing install really liked the truck and especially headliner. Took him 3 hours and he did a great job. He showed me every imperfection and what would not go away, like it was his own.
I did my share of tint back in the day and it would have taken me 8 hours to end up with a mediocre job. Well worth the $ to have a pro do this work.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Patch job came out nicely! But why didn't you just use the duct tape/peel 'n seal like on the cab?!

Tint should definitely help with the heat, honestly looks better than I thought it would. Any darker and it might be questionable...

 

[rattle_snake]

Thanks. My dad has been giving me a hard time about the cab fill hole duct tape job for some time now. I think the tape has been on there for 3 years or more. I needed to block off that hole as it goes into cab directly. Sub woofer port pressurized that spot. Other side of tape is sound deadener.
It will be harder to fix correctly as there is a body line the fades away right at that spot. Real block is that I have no paint to match that color, and can't get it. Even if I knew the color, it is so faded it wouldn't matter. The original wintergreen ford paint is still in decent shape for 50 years. One could argue this is the beginning of the paint job...

I'm happy with tint shade, not that dark, seems to go OK.

 

[Bears Fan]

Wow! The ole' Ford is looking awesome! Great job

 

[bradpac]

Thanks. My dad has been giving me a hard time about the cab fill hole duct tape job for some time now. I think the tape has been on there for 3 years or more. I needed to block off that hole as it goes into cab directly. Sub woofer port pressurized that spot. Other side of tape is sound deadener.

Why not just get a filler tube and cut it real short and mount it in there with a new rubber grommet and a chrome gas cap. Just secure it and seal it real good. No body work. Better than tape anyway.

 

[rattle_snake]

Thank 'Bear, it's getting there. Been about 2 years since it was a complete driving vehicle. Guessing I have at least 1500 hours in it now. I guess other people put more hours into social media... At least I have a truck in the end.

Puttered on a few other projects.
Back porch audio system damaged from heat and old age. Gets direct sun and temps over 120*, so rough life. Sub amp died. 1992 Sony dual tape/CD/radio still going but no aux in or BT, so time to upgrade (30 yrs?) Bought a cheap bluetooth/radio/aux/USB 2-ch amp and a mini 200w class D sub amp. Speakers are still OK, 10" sub and 2-way mains. Works OK but no provisions for sub amp connections.

So I made a speaker-to-RCA level converter. Most any speaker output today is driven differentially, so can't just hook up to single-ended RCA, or will drive voltage into GND of destination. First attempt was to use just one leg of speaker out, but had completely overwhelming 60 hz hum. Fail. Need differential sense to cancel out noise in crappy, noisy output.

Being a sub application, I want to pass low freqs, so a typical attenuator/capacitive coupled network needs big non-polar caps. An easier way is an audio transformer. So tried that, worked OK, no hum at all, but cut off freq was too high in sub amp. likely has no filter and just the inherent limit of this cheap class D topology. Sub is located in between the mains that are far apart, so you can hear it by it self (unfortunately) else it wouldn't matter.

So I added a low pass RC filter. used a cap and pot to find sweet spot, and then put in a fix R. 0.1 uF and 25k ohm get me cutoff around a 70 hz to filter out voices in music from sub. Filter slope is shallow.

Also replaced the broken car stereo in my hot tub with a cheap unit that has radio/BT/aux-in/USB. It is only 20' away from the other system. So patio tunes are well covered.

 

[LXCam]

Why not just get a filler tube and cut it real short and mount it in there with a new rubber grommet and a chrome gas cap. Just secure it and seal it real good. No body work. Better than tape anyway.

Oh I like half that idea. Forgo the cap, weather proof that thing and stick a rag in it

 

[rattle_snake]

Why not just get a filler tube and cut it real short and mount it in there with a new rubber grommet and a chrome gas cap. Just secure it and seal it real good. No body work. Better than tape anyway.

Hey Brad, good idea. Had similar so searched through junk boxes and found the original cab filler tube. Could use a rag instead of gas cap like the Farm truck. The emissions test guys are already quite confused with all the holes.