Letters Of the Month
This month, everyone who got their letter published is getting hooked up with a shirt from Lip Service Clothing. You can get your own Lip Service by checking out www.lip-service.com online.
Good Deeds ARE Rewarded!
Ed update: In the August 2010 issue, we put the call out to see if anyone had a spare Ranger four-banger for Michelle Holder after she took the time to help out another reader. One of our favorite readers, David Tucker, answered the call and Michelle was able to pick up an engine and get her truck running again.
Thanks much for your kindness, David! Some OFF-ROAD gear will be coming your way soon.
Letter 1: I read the wonderful article you wrote concerning my plight about needing an engine. Thank you for being so kind! I have indeed spoken with Mr. Tucker and he has an engine for my truck! It turns out he lives about four hours from me! How cool is that?
Letter 2: I picked up the engine! It was great meeting Dave. He is such a nice man. Thanks for all of your supportive help in making this happen for me.
Warmest regards,
Michelle Holder
Heim Joint Steering
I was writing to comment on the Letter of the Month (June 2010) about the steering ends. I have a '78 blazer that I run 38.5 tires. I changed the steering links over to Heims. I drive it on a daily basis in Wisconsin weather, so I was concerned about salt and other contaminants on the steel spherical balls as well. What I did to help the situation was take two OEM tie rod end boots and cut them down to sandwich the Heim. I also loaded the inside of the boots with grease. You can see in the pic how well it does preserve the Heim. Also, you can tell that the truck is driven and used often by all the rust and debris on the other components. This setup has held up quite nicely for about three years now, with no signs of wear or rust. It definitely helped the steering and the longevity of the steering components. You also can get more angularity if you use a bushing to extend the eye height. I just wanted to share this info with you guys, for what it is worth. Thanks!
-Ken
Thanks for the cool tip on the rubber boots, Ken!
We Made A Mistake!
I was looking back at the May 2010 issue of OFF-ROAD and noticed little bit of misinformation about the BW1350 transfer case (specifically regarding what models and years the T-case was available in. Here is a link http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/TransferCases.html from a site that I am a member of. If anyone asks you about tech info in any RBV's (Ranger-based vehicles such as the Bronco II , Explorer, and Mazda B-Series) we have a great tech library and a lot of wonderful people on the forums , so give us a shout out if you could please.
Thanks!
Dan Neal
Dan, thanks very much for the correction and the information. I'm sure this will help out a lot of our Ford readers!