Glad you got the belt issue resolved. Just a random nugget of automotive knowledge. Some idler pulleys are not symmetrical, they have different offset in the hub/bearing portion. Make sure you know which way is which

 

@Patman
Yes sir,, and thanks for the nugget! I was very concerned about those idler pulleys, and the pulleys on the other components. I did not what another 'event' like the one that started this whole thing. I put all of them on and cked that they were all in the same plane and they were. I think it was just the nature of that cheap belt to squeak. I say that because all I did was clean off all the pulleys, which were not at all dirty, and put the new belt on. The new belt was silent. I will say that they were slightly different sizes... not much different but different.... that could have been it I guess. ... I took it all off again to install the new AC compressor et al for the rest of the system, reinstalled the belt and we are still squeak free, and now cool in the cab to boot!

Thanks again for the thought.

Schaeff58

 

This was my BIL's injury, (Brother-In-Law, GREAT guy, from the marines,) not my injury. Lack of depth perception cost him his extended-family jewelry career, too. And, imagine what that youngster, now at least middle-aged, still feels, now and then, for his accidental error in trying to help. Another lesson though, dangerous work - with kids around... bad mojo.

 

So true. Thanks for clearing that up for me.... Used to hunt with a guy that snipped the end of a spring that was poking through the seat of the old truck he drove. It got him in the eye. He did not loose the eye, but it messed up his sight and he did not hunt much after that. Safety is important.

 

Well after just over a year I am back! Same truck, and previous issue that I resolved.... FINALLY!
I swear I posted pics in this thread of the collapse/rust breakage/failure of my factory hitch. I was taking a loaded covered trailer up to my daughters new rental and in route there was a very loud bang. I thought it was something in the trailer falling over and just thought, 'something else Ill have to fix'. Turns out it was the hitch receiver. It was soooo rusty it was bent at a 45º angle, Great.... well I read and looked around and there is some info out there but none, that I found, that fixed it the way I did. It took me the better part of a day, Id say 6 or 7 hours. Every thing was so rusty it just was hard to get the bolts out or cut off after I rung off what would not unscrew. I got a Curt 14357 hitch. The reason this is such a problem is that the factory hitch seems to be only replicable with the factory OEM hitch. If you are willing to do that, then you really have no issues other than potentially doing it again down the road. At least that is what I thought. So I took parts off the hitch off, and cut the receiver out. This left the old parts that held the bumper in place and made it easy to reinstall with the six torques bolts. The only place I was not able to reattach the bumper was at the bottom under the license plate area. I may make a couple brackets to attach to the new hitch as there is a way to do that. Some flat stock would work fine I think I was not at all sure any of this would work but I wanted to try and to share the result here. Here is what I did in a few pictures.


Shows bent hitch and rust


Spare removed... holder almost rusted out... mechanism/wench still works but I am going to look for another one....



I am pretty sure the guy before me had a boat and just dunked the whole rear of this truck in salt water each time he launched.
What a freaking mess!


Here I am popping the plastic bumper wrap/cover up. Several clips broke...but I did not care
you have to remove the wires from the license plate lights And the trailer plug connectors.


Torque bolts, size 45. The key to these fittings it to
1) spray some penetrating juice on them.
2) use the right size bit, here I used a T45
3) clean out all the crap in the hole... I used a pick to get all the stuff out...
4) blow it all out so the bit goes into the fastener,
5) I tapped/smacked the bolt with a hammer
several times and then I tapped the socket/bit into the bolt hole to insure a good tight fit. If you don't do those things you will
snap off the bit, or strip out the fastener. I did not have issues on this project but have in the past. There are six of these three on each side.


The bare stupid looking poorly built OEM hitch receiver.
(This is my opinion not trying to offend)
Man what a rusty mess!


So bad I took two pics of it!


So here is where it gets fun! I did not remove the whole hitch. Just the parts I needed to so I could install the new one.
There are two down brackets that attach to the frame and to a bracket welded into the factory hitch. I had a hard time with the
bolts on the frame. They use those clip on fasteners which put the bolt on the inside of the frame, One did not come out on both sides.
So I ended up cutting them off with a Sawzall that took time for sure... Then I cut the hitch between the two brackets that are on the hitch.
The outside on on each side, I left. The inside ones, are where the frame mounted brackets were bolted in. Cutting the receiver here was also a pain. As rusted as it was
I thought it would practically fall of... but the welts holding the bracket to the hitch were still good and lots harder than the rusted metal that it was still
attached too. Sooo after realizing I was trying to cut those welts, I ground them off and jaggedly cut the mess away....


You can see my mid rise scissor lift. This thing has been a game changer since I got it back in 2017!
But in this case it was making it hard to get the new hitch into place
I lowered the truck to the ground and It was much easier on a jack. The directions for the hitch said to remove the exhaust but mine is so rusty
that was just asking for more trouble so I was able to slip it up and in. With the truck in the air, the hitch is pretty unwieldly, and I could not get it into place because
of the exhaust and springs etc... Lowered the geometry was way better and I got it all in the correct place.
The bolt snakes/fixh wires that curt included really helped. Could not have done it with out them!


Hitch all installed minus the bumper cover. It snapped in despite the absence of a few snapped off clips.
Still have not mounted the trailer lights hook ups yet. That will complete things I think. The spare will fit back up in there, but
it leaks so I need a new one, new rim too.


If you buy this hitch from Amazon be for warned they do not package it well. Mine came all bent up. I was able to get it straight enough to install. but what a pain. FYI
Hope thhis helps someone. I am so glad this worked.

Schaeff58

 

I haven't contributed, but loved following this Schaeff58.

Thanks for taking the time to detail your saga.

 

I would have gotten a refund.

 

@serotta
Hello, thanks for your comment! I am glad your enjoyed this journey. I belong to several repair type forums and even though I am not a ford person per say, I have enjoyed this forum more than most if not all of the ones I glean info from! The people here are the best!

 

@Fifty150
Thanks for the comment. I hear ya, It went on ok, got a good partial refund. Tows great and its not gonna break almost off like the factory one did, being all rusted up.

 

Hello! Truck has been fine! Just want to report this latest small wrinkle:

My son has been using the truck and I was noticing small trails of fluid leaving the drive way. Looked into it and found it to be a leak at the heater hose going into the firewall. This has some wierd fitting on it. The hose brok off all the way as soon as I touched it. Found the hose at Advance Auto, online (Only way I shop with them, speed perlks, an online discount usually etc) So the part was not cheap, but it said it did not fit my truck... well it did, an exact fit. So back on the road, no leakes etc...

Not sure if any one else has found this but for my 2004 Ford F150 I have found that parts that fit this truck are not listed to fit it... I think this truck is what I am calliing a Tweeny, an inbetween vehicle that is not represented properly in the parts data bases... Found that to be especiall true with the parts from the radiator and trans lines connectors...

Any way, just wanted to add this to the ongoing saga that is this truck.

Realistically it is really a good truck!

 

Ah.... as with any 20 plus year old vehicle the saga does continue....
So rewind a bit... to about the last part of August... Guy I did some work for gave me some cabinets and the granite that was on them. Got the granite in two separate trips... the last one was with my truck. Loaded up and headed home, truck sputtered, then caught and ran fine then just died and left me on the side of the road. Called a friend and we towed it to his house/garage. We Checked it out and were pretty sure it was the fuel pump. Finding the right pump was a chore. Gotta know the tank size, 27 Gallons, Wheel base... I think 139,5 or 144?... He offered to fix it with me, on his lift. So we dig into it. It takes 4 hrs to get the tank down... of course it was full....We siphoned out as much as we could.... first pump I got was wrong.. so it sat another week waiting on the next pump... Got it all back together and it ran great.... until yesterday, 9/27/25. And this situation is why I am here.

So I was cking the lights on a new to me trailer. Nothing worked.... Original 7 spade style plug on the truck, six pin old style on the trailer.. converted the trailer to the same as truck... pretty sure I got the wiring setup correct... but no lights on the trailer... so I am checking the plug for power and I have the key on in the truck. I hear a noise from the middle of the truck (Never even touched the plug with my meter probes) and I think there is a cat in my bed playing around.... and think nothing of it.. but it kept making the sound sorta a scratching, scrubbing sound... I looked and there was no cat.... the noise stopped... I never did test the plug with the meter, but I found a trailer plug tester I had and used that. I recall that the tester showed the lights should work on the trailer. But when I went to start the truck, it cranked fine, but no start..... Used some either and truck started. So now I am thinking fuel pump again? It was not a high dollar pump that I bought $60. it was the correct one for the truck.

Question is, and I dont think its likely, (But there are people way smarter then me on the forum) Did I burn out the pump or fuse or relay messing with the trailer wires? I did learn that in this year truck the fuse and relay are soldered to the fuse block on the passenger side kick panel, a joy to work on by the way. I am going to look at it again today and ck if there is any fuel pressure at all.... and as for hearing the pump run, even right after we installed it we could not hear it... ????

So if anyone has some thoughts I would appreciate it. This place is better than just about any forum I have been on. ( I worked on a jeep not long ago, an old one,,, the folks at the jeep forum I found a bit snobbish... wont go back to them... )
I am going to see if there is any fuel pressure... that should tell me if the pump is working or not, but not about the fuse or relay situation...

Thx!

 

Well..... after a little more research on you tube u, I found this video:
. Found another good video... good idea to paint that area under the module. Also shows how to use the studs for a standoff..

I remembered seeing this module and seeing it was messed up, cracked, corroded and in bad shape... thought it was an emission component and did not even think about it... but it turns out it is the fuel pump driver module. I found one at advance, and installed it... all is good now!

new one installed. You cant see it well but it is lifted up off the frame to let debris fall through.


I know I did not give anyone a chance to reply, sorry , but I am so glad it was not the fuel pump again. Maybe this was the cause of the first issue and I swapped out a good pump... That was the original pump though and it was time I am sure...

Thx to all that viewed and considered helping... Great Group of folls here!

Schaeff out.