WhitsEnd Transformation

[WhitsEnd]

Passenger side photo, ready for the final pinion adjustment.
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I measured the carrier housing to now be at 7 degrees up, which is about 3.5 degrees more than it was.

I measured the engine across the heads of the oil pan rail bolts to be at 4 degrees (typical for Ford). I'll loosen the U-bolts a touch and rotate the axle pinion down to 4 degrees, or maybe back to 3.5 degrees to allow for some slight spring wrap upwards under acceleration. The plan is the perches will remain in position against the springs and allow the axle to freely rotate. Then, I'll lock down the U-bolts and weld the perches to the axle tube.

On second thought, I'll probably have to remove the U-bolts for better access to weld the perches completely, then re-install them.

Well, that's the plan.

[WhitsEnd]

I’m interested in what you think of the Hughes converter, mine has an ATI that is pretty tight and selections are thin...

DR, I haven't driven it yet, only ran it in the garage. Once I re-set the pinion angle from the rear suspension mod, I'll get her on the road and report back!

[WhitsEnd]

I was able to get out in the garage tonight and clock the rear axle to 3.5 degrees. With the truck up on the lift and the U-bolts loose, I simply hooked a large crowbar around the yoke and cranked it down.
Welded the perches in place, threw some paint on them and bolted it back up.

I won't be able to test drive it for a few days. When I do, I'll take a couple pictures of the new stance and report back.

[DuckRyder]

Sweet...

Vibration seems a bit baffling....

[WhitsEnd]

Sweet...

Vibration seems a bit baffling....

Yeah, I've been doing some research and consulting with others. The leading candidate at the moment is exhaust resonance. I think I'll have my daughter rev the engine and hold it at 1700rpm while it's on the lift (wheels chocked and parking brake on). If it's the exhaust, I should be able to feel that with some welding gloves on.

Over the years, OEMS have addressed exhaust resonance with weighted dampers. I may pick up a couple of these and do some testing if it feels like the exhaust is the source.

[WhitsEnd]

With the truck still on the lift, I decided to throw some grease in all the joints up front now that they have been run a bit. While at it, I thought I would change the sway bar links.
I had previously stated that the ride of the new front end wasn't as good as I had expected. Some of that was due to the rear of the truck still being awkwardly high and resulting in poor geometry up front.

However, most of it can likely be contributed to this:



When building the front end, I didn't like the links I had received from RockAuto and I sent them back. The old ones from the donor weren't in terrible shape, so I bolted them in and moved on. As it turns out, the lower studs were too long in relation to the lower spring plate for the Moog strut assemblies.

Yeah, I'd say that was effecting the ride a bit.

[WhitsEnd]

Got the truck out today for the first time after dropping the rear and replacing the front sway bar links that were binding. I'm very happy with the ride, finally. Got some more time on the EFI for self-learning as well.

While out, I stopped and took a shot of the stance. The front is slightly uphill in this shot, making it look completely level. In reality, the rear sits ever-so-slightly higher. I think it's about perfect.

[WhitsEnd]

I’m interested in what you think of the Hughes converter, mine has an ATI that is pretty tight and selections are thin...

This converter is only a 2000 rpm stall, so it's great for highway cruising and general around-town driving. Not much different than the TCI converter, only a couple hundred rpm different stall.

The only thing in the drivetrain that still needs attention is the rear end. Each shift is accentuated because of the slop in the differential. I need to order a TruTrac differential, a differential bearing kit and an axle bearing and seal kit. Will probably wait until fall to do that.

[Joshgt87]

That's sitting perfect! I love the way that looks! Awesome work!

[WhitsEnd]

That's sitting perfect! I love the way that looks! Awesome work!

Thanks. It's reassuring when someone else agrees with the direction you take.

[DuckRyder]

Yep, I think it looks really good!

Thanks for the info on the converter!

[WhitsEnd]

I think I'm on to something with the vibration issue.

I believe my Tri-Y headers and the general configuration of my exhaust are creating a resonance. Perhaps it's the 90 degree angle or location of the h pipe, or maybe the length of the h pipe. I don't know.

I did find that although there was a very thin visual gap between the exhaust and the tranny crossmember, it must have been touching while revving. I massaged the pipes a little with a crowbar and the vibration from within the cab substantially decreased. This confirms its exhaust related.

My goal is to completely eliminate it by either adding dampening weights, re-configuring the h pipe to an x pipe, or eliminating the crossover altogether.

[WhitsEnd]

Well Ford fans, this build is winding down. This week, I had the A/C system charged and got it functioning. It functions fine for a cheap unit, but the fan is simply too loud on the highest setting. Luckily, the next highest setting still blows sufficient volume. The lack of a replacement faceplate still bothers me.

Still need to install the LED headlights. You would think such a simple task would be done already. May get my daughter to help on that one.

The brakes still aren't as firm as I would like. It stops fine, but I couldn't lock them up if I tried. I've bled the whole system twice. Maybe it's time to upgrade the soft lines and bleed again.

The gas and brake pedals are in awkward positions. They're both too high off the floor. The brake is an easy fix once the system is firm. I'll just shorten the rod to the master cylinder. The gas is a different story. I think I'm going to change the pedal to an aftermarket unit that hinges at the heel and mounts on the floor. I also have an idea for making the travel truly progressive, so I still have good initial feel without being too touchy, still have full throttle capability, and doesn't require as much overall pedal travel. Those with a Sniper EFI setup are aware of the touchiness and I've documented a couple things I've done, but it has resulted in too much travel at the pedal. More to come on that.

The last "open" issue is the differential (see what I did there?). I was going to wait until my daughter was off to college to tear into that, but it really has a ton of slop. I have no history on this truck, so I don't want to assume what's inside is what the build tag says. I'll get it apart and determine bearing sizes and axle spline count before ordering anything.

[JoshT]

I can't recall, did you swap to the progressive secondary linkage on the Sniper?

[WhitsEnd]

I can't recall, did you swap to the progressive secondary linkage on the Sniper?

I did add the progressive secondary link and modified the software to account for it. I also added an extension bracket on the primary, which resulted in too much travel at the pedal.

I have a plan that involves an aftermarket pedal and an old Porsche 924 throttle lever. I'm shooting for 50% pedal movement to be 25% throttle movement and still get full throttle at 100%, all while having less travel than I currently have in a more comfortable position.

What really frustrates me is Holley offers a true progressive throttle wheel on their LS throttle bodies, but won't sell it or offer it as an option on the standard Sniper. I've been on the phone with every manufacturer of throttle bodies and none can sell them separately. I believe every one of them comes from the same Chinese supplier, but I can't find the supplier. So, I went with the Porsche lever, which is truly a 2-stage progressive cable arm.

I'll post pictures when I do the conversion. Pedal assembly isn't here yet.