Fixing Ford f-350 problems so its ready to go Jeeping!

It's time for Easter Jeep Safari again, and my Jeep is still broken from last year. Time to start preparing my 1991 Ford F-350 Mom's Spaghetti for the trip to Moab Utah. I tackle some issues with the transmission, rear suspension, and even add a little Bling with a metalflake steering wheel.
If you are in Moab for EJS 2024 make sure to stop by the Bestop kickoff party March 25 in the parking lot behind the Food Truck circle downtown. Fred Williams and I will be down there hanging out.
Brought to you in part by the folks at Bestop. You know them for their Jeep soft tops and 4x4 accessories.
www.bestop.com/
other brands in the Bestop Team.
Baja Designs Lights
www.bajadesign...
PRP seats
www.prpseats.com/
Tuffy Storage
tuffyproducts....
SPOD
www.4x4spod.com/

[@AutoEdits]

I'm really enjoying these videos feeling like just hanging out in the garage with you while wrenching!

[@thedirtheadshed]

We are totally hanging out Jason!

[@Nevermind_Im_Lost]

That's what it's like watching yours too, Jason! Love your channel and pup!

[@toddcovell7288]

That truck is coming along great hope you have fun Whelan👍👍👍

[@mazevx2451]

Woa Jason, you're here 😮 looks like we're all just a big community in some way

[@CLGravy]

Did we just become best friends?

[@RickBallantyne]

I have total respect for someone who truly does it their way. Putting a 70's metal flake steering wheel on a bad ass home built dirt rocket??? And that's just one reason why your channel rocks.

[@thedirtheadshed]

I appreciate the support!

[@ianmankersen]

Love this truck. Glad you keep taking the time to work out issues that make you not completely happy with it.

[@thedirtheadshed]

As I get older I am realizing it’s easier to fix them than to start over

[@ZanalJT]

Just passed you on the freeway in the gold TJ!! Highlight of my day to see mom’s spaghetti and ya in the flesh!!

[@thedirtheadshed]

Ha! Nice!

[@Bobby82568]

Man I remember when you first showed us mom’s spaghetti on Dirt Everyday and now it’s going to EJS. They grow up so fast 😢

[@thedirtheadshed]

Yep. Pretty soon it’ll be all grown up

[@big3fan916]

People who do nothing will never know the feeling of ACCOMPLISHMENT !

[@fv6927]

I know you're a huge truck guy but I have never owned a really cool lowered car and I just want to see you finish up the mustang....... I'm 53 years young and I respect the knowledge and skill that you have.

[@HackeryGarage]

It is always an awesome feeling when you fix something that has been bothering you for awhile. Rad to see the truck coming along!

[@ambrosebrower8760]

It’s a miracle that there are hot rod shops still around and actually have parts in stock. Those places should really be celebrated

[@thedirtheadshed]

I totally agree

[@JeepnJeff]

I want to try out those Holley Retrobrites. I wish more companies would make their LED's look more like sealbeams. Hate the look of most LED's on older rigs.

[@thedirtheadshed]

I can’t stand most of the LED lights out there either

[@MarkBrighton-nb8je]

That's what a truck SHOULD look like !! 😅😅😊

[@thedirtheadshed]

Thanks

[@gamblerspec]

I like the step up idea for welding without weld sitting on top. Super cool

[@thedirtheadshed]

Glad you caught that. Works great

[@mattf6397]

See you soon here in Moab!!!

[@thedirtheadshed]

Right oh. Come by that kickoff party on Monday

[@papercut138]

Vomit on my sweater! Who doesn't love Mom's Spaghetti!!!👍👍👍

[@thedirtheadshed]

Exactly!

[@vanstechcorral]

We were at that Moab food truck circle a year or so ago, had coffee early morning with the director of a Costner movie project, on an 84 VW Westfalia cross country trip. Yep, a Grant style steering wheel installed on that one too. Electric power steering next.

[@thedirtheadshed]

Nice! Sounds like you’re doing it right

[@AS-ng5pi]

Dave, you should get an AWD Ford Maverick and do an air bag set up on that. Something that would be fun and doable but not kill the pocketbook.

[@thedirtheadshed]

That would be a good cruiser

[@babyduckmilitia2186]

Love this truck, great video as always

[@thedirtheadshed]

Thanks so much

[@FergasaurusRex]

Always love your videos man. I totally understand always doing things by yourself as sometimes a helping hand isn't always available. also working in my garage on my mini truck I have to be half contortionist to work on stuff but love your stuff and keep on being awesome.

[@thedirtheadshed]

Haha. It’s a struggle sometimes

[@gregthompson1609]

That sweet sweet vindication of fixing something that's annoyed you for far too long. Love Mom's Spaghetti!

[@thedirtheadshed]

I still haven’t driven it yet… it still has time to let me down

[@mavericksteer831]

Nice work finding the clunk! You’re the man Dave!

[@thedirtheadshed]

I’m trying!!

[@richardharvey8939]

Fun video as always

[@thedirtheadshed]

Glad you liked it

[@yermoffroad]

Ive had two zf5s, seems like the sycros kinda get shitty after 100k. Some shops didnt want to work on them for some reason to I found. The small block verson is aslo kind of hard to find, f100 guys love em.

[@thedirtheadshed]

All things I’ve found as well!

[@grahamgeiger3206]

I love the close ratio diesel ones. I just wish they had removable bellhousings.

[@samuelnoller1565]

Small block ZFs are the most desired because bronco and f150 guys want em. Just gotta watch the junkyard inventories and jump on one when it shows up. And yeah, the 2-3 synchro especially likes to wear out.

[@iToy80]

I forgot how cool the suspension on this “Jeep” was. It’s a really awesome truck! Almost as manly as Louisvitten 🥰

[@thedirtheadshed]

That truck is cool too… but not sure it’ll ever be Spaghetti Cool

[@mrmeyers26]

I really hope you can go back to doing this full time. I will do whatever I can to support this channel to make that happen 🤘

[@thedirtheadshed]

I appreciate that!

[@Foxcanfixit]

The dash lyrics. Perfect

[@thedirtheadshed]

Details

[@colubrinedeucecreative]

Nice work!

[@thedirtheadshed]

Thank you!

[@frosty_silver_fox4292]

With my trans fresh out of the trans shop, with zero miles on the rebuild, i couldn't & still can't downshift my Zf5 from 3rd back to 2nd without grinding. Sooo frustrating. The only way i could do it without grinding was to be barely rolling. Sweet truck Dave. Also, i really enjoy the intro to your vidya's. 🍻

[@thedirtheadshed]

So frustrating! I wonder what the solution is.

[@hendo337]

I've had a '97 F250HD 351w ZF-5 S47 and I have a '94 F250 393w ZF-5 S42 now. The 351 with just bolt ons, true duals, smog delete, UDPs, electric fan, ecthad 220k with he original S47 and it still shifted perfect up till the day the truck was totalled. The 393w stroker with AFR 175 heads, lightning lower, explorer upper intakes, 70mm TB, Cobra MAF, Doug's long tubes, 5.0 HO camshaft, converted to SMPFI makes crazy tq, the HP is gone by 5k, the S42 has been rebuilt and it's shifting a little hard when you try to shift it fast so it's probably that you have the S42.

[@thedirtheadshed]

It definitely doesn’t want to shift fast

[@adrianw3985]

We are going to Easter Jeep Safari, will be rocking a LC100. Just doing easy trails this year. Hope to bump into you. Cheers!

[@thedirtheadshed]

Nice! It’s fun in any rig you are in

[@adrianw3985]

@@thedirtheadshed we will try and attend that Best Top kick off event.

[@rjfreimuth]

I learn so much stuff from you Dave. Thanks for sharing the goods.

[@thedirtheadshed]

Thanks for watching! Tell your friends

[@abcsd1254]

So awesome that the redline and the missing bolt fixed that transmission; love Mom’s Spaghetti

[@music10293]

As a dodge guy it's common to put gear oil in g56 transmissions to reduce noise instead of the atf as recommended

[@thedirtheadshed]

Yep! That is one of the reasons I didn’t hesitate putting gear oil in this one

[@kailuagarage]

I seem to have the best luck with Pennzoil Synchromesh for reducing noise in my NV3500, which is just old school dino oil.

[@thedirtheadshed]

Good to know. Heard about it, but never used it

[@HoundofWar]

YOU CHANGED THE STEARING WHEEL?!!! That was my favorite part.... great video Dave.

[@thedirtheadshed]

You can’t be serious…. Thanks!

[@ssarkees]

Thanks Dave! Mom’s Spaghetti has a special place in my heart!

[@ronizard1674]

Shoulda put the hiem joints in the vice and pivot the arms so that you could verify the source of the noise.

[@thedirtheadshed]

They don’t make the same noise in the vice. Need all the other pressures on it.

[@bobbolieu9013]

You've got a lot of travel in the rear-end. That's pretty cool. It is pretty rad when we can fix things that have been annoying for a long while. Great work Dave.

[@OjaiBonsai]

Mom spaghetti is such a great name

[@thedirtheadshed]

It’s a good one!

[@fv6927]

Love Mom's spaghetti such a beast but I'm going to keep bothering you for more slammed mustang content... please. I really really love the mustang and how you have it looking.

[@dougmorris9107]

Dave, i agree, the steering wheel is rad. :) keep up the good work!

[@thedirtheadshed]

Wait till you see the next round of mods!

[@ianfosbrook8406]

love it when you fix a repair...good day in the shop❤

[@thedirtheadshed]

Nobody likes doing work twice!

[@matty86suk]

I swapped out all the hiems for enduro joints from my 2 rigs over the last year

[@thedirtheadshed]

Some reason my Mazda is on heims and it’s quiet. This one I have had nothing but problems with

[@KC-7mm]

Dave your personality cracks me up. I don’t mean that in a bad way I truly enjoy watching your videos.

[@thedirtheadshed]

I appreciate it .

[@jakengle]

Always great to see new videos from you!

[@thedirtheadshed]

Thanks for watching, and commenting

[@TurboDog73TX]

Rad stuff! I love Mom's Spaghetti.

[@thedirtheadshed]

Thanks! It just keeps getting better

[@hunterbrock2347]

Thanks for reminding me that I need to get to work on my brick nose Ford looking stack of parts. The 302 spun a rod bearing and the M5OD clutch is almost non-existent. Naturally to fix it I'm going with a 300 i6 and ZF5 from an F-250. If I can ever talk my dirt track racing buddy into helping me, I want the engine to make an HP per cube but I'm at least on the way to a hot rod intake and header hopefully sucking wind through a Holley Sniper.

[@thedirtheadshed]

Nice. My friend is in the process of doing a 300/zf5 in his early bronco

[@hunterbrock2347]

@@thedirtheadshed oh, I've had those grant steering wheel parts sitting around for a while too but the wheel I got is wood and the center is anodized black. I pulled the horn button out of like an F-800 bucket truck. The engine having catastrophic damage really set my plans back but a 3/5 lowering kit is the plan and 20" Ram steelies with vintage Ford hubcaps.

[@TheMerc1950]

No clunks for the win!

[@RCJesus420]

I've got a ZFS5-47 I'm going to put behind my 460 in my 79 Bronco. However, that 460 already has good power and will be quite a bit more powerful when I build it further, so I'm having the whole tranny rebuilt and beefed up. I'm a little concerned about the case since I'll have 700+ ftlbs of torque, but it is what it is. lol

[@thedirtheadshed]

It will probably be fine

[@RCJesus420]

@@thedirtheadshed I hope so They're supposed to be tough, but I know blowing the cases up does happen on rare occasion. I just have to watch my foot I guess. lol

[@brianward3944]

RIGHT ON DAVE!!! Way to trouble shoot and solve! Always totally digging your vid's! Keep us updated on the gear oil instead of ATF thing. Please?

[@quadbilly2106]

Just watched ur episode of roadworthy rescue. Then went amd watched you and Fred on dirt every day. You guys had great chemistry together. So disappointed in motortrend cancelling ur show! Hoping ur channel blows up!

[@ricksshop]

I ran half a quart of Lucas in my ZF. Fixes 90% of the noise, makes a man out of you until it warms up. I replaced the syncro blocking rings as well, that's not a fun job (syncro hubs are pressed on the shafts).

[@thedirtheadshed]

I hope I don’t have to tear into this transmission ever

[@EdwardRoss-tb5hz]

Mom's spaghetti is growing on me, cool rig. Look forward to the up grades.

[@thedirtheadshed]

This next video is a fun one

[@Hillbillypunk]

"grinds between 2nd and 3rd" It's a Ford!🎉

[@Roy-h4z4y]

Have the same problem with my zf5 will definitely give that a try 👍🏾

[@thedirtheadshed]

Let me get some miles on it first… in case it doesn’t work

[@matthewmcclelland709]

Can't wait to see the wheels on with the steering wheel!

[@thedirtheadshed]

Yeah buddy! Me too

[@saturnfivehynrgrc581]

Good stuff Dave. Like button energized

[@thedirtheadshed]

Thanks again!

[@lukeromeril2052]

Love this truck! When is it getting a dirt every day type paint job? This thing is sweet!

[@thedirtheadshed]

I need to make that happen.

[@rediron44]

Love that truck. Kinda old school cool, combined with cool fab work. I love it too, when I find a problem and actually fix it. It's an awesome feeling. Funny how a simple steering wheel can make a truck or Jeep fun. I did the same thing on a '77 Jeep Honcho pickup once..

[@davidjames2788]

Can you please do a video on all of your current air bag setups? I really want to bag my 65 El Camino, and I’m looking for inspiration.

[@thedirtheadshed]

Yeah. I will do that this spring

[@jacobrowley8283]

So stoked can’t wait to be down in Moab this year 🤘🏻

[@thedirtheadshed]

Same! Should be a blast

[@nwoffroader]

Please bend that front driver side bumper back 😆 Great video!!!

[@thedirtheadshed]

I need to. Or just build some proper bumpers

[@WayawayAdventures]

totally feeling this.. I have brand new sway bar bushings in my F150 and they squeak on every damned bump.

[@thedirtheadshed]

So frustrating

[@fv6927]

The bags are so darn awesome!!!!!!! Way cool

[@patvirgin8822]

I love your work process. Will Mom's spaghetti ever get rear wheel wells and a bed floor?

[@thedirtheadshed]

It may! It has an aluminum bed floor that’s pretty legit. Needs the inner tubs and shock covers though

[@dakotawilkins2474]

Here to request a video on air bag knowledge again please share your wisdom!! Another great video boss!

[@thedirtheadshed]

Thanks! I have had a few requests for that video now

[@billyfoster6449]

That steering wheel had me scrolling through Mooneyes til midnight. Lol. Got some dice valve caps for the work truck

[@brettsmith4962]

Love your content. Hope this Easter jeep goes better than last year with Freiburger. Keep up the great work.

[@Andy_C_aka_Cliff_McCrawl]

I used to run MT-90 in the transaxle of my VW vanagon and it was always money! 👍

[@thedirtheadshed]

I’ve heard good things!

[@BionMTG]

Great Video! Used to watch dirt everyday, and then kinda fell out of the off-road scene when I moved to Washington. Talking to a buddy last night and he told me about your channel that you started, post the motor trend thing. He also mentioned that you're located in Spokane, which is where I'm at. Curious if there are reasonable places to wheel in the area, other than the OHV park on 5 mile? Really miss the wheeling / camping community, and would love to get back into that. Thanks a ton, and will be watching your vids today, and dreaming about the day I get to roll out to Jeep Safari Easter Weekend!

[@thedirtheadshed]

Right on! Not a ton of good rock crawling here. Need to travel a little. But that keeps things interesting

[@thenomad01]

I tend to over change my oil. When I write it down only then do I see I was early. Glad I'm not the only one that hates random noises....

[@thedirtheadshed]

We are in the same boat

[@dirtdiggur]

Definitely like the new oil in the trans mod. I have the same issue. Gonna tey it next oil chenge. Keep up the great work man! Love the channel.

[@xozindustries7451]

Nice work, the tearing wheel looks way more comfortable than that old hard stock ford one

[@thedirtheadshed]

It’s a good mod so far

[@jonhill9564]

Support

[@thedirtheadshed]

Thanks

[@jasonscharf97tj]

Good job Dave it's so satisfying to track down annoying noises I've been trying to find a rattle in my tj for ever I can't duplicate it and find it at the same time so annoying but you gave me hope lol!

[@andywagoner4869]

I love this truck. I think it’s my favorite truck.

[@thedirtheadshed]

It’s one of my favorites too

[@jimanderson4495]

Thanks Dave. Still watching, just not commenting.

[@thedirtheadshed]

Hey. You commented here. I appreciate it

[@DaleCrisp-e8t]

ZF uses tapered roller bearings and uses shims for preload. the noise and grinding is because the preload has decreased due to wear. the thicker oil will help for a while.

[@thedirtheadshed]

I sure hope so!

[@beyondmaintenance]

Such a classic Jeep to take ✌🏽😎

[@thedirtheadshed]

Only the classics

[@paulhardman2515]

Awesome job Dave!

[@samuelnoller1565]

Gear oil in the ZF isnt all that bad. I bought an 88 f250 with gear oil in the ZF, put in there by a transmission shop. It shifted fine and when i took the ZF gearset out, all was fine. The one issue that can arise, i have read, is the gear oil eating away at the synchros. Also, big fan of RedLine. I run their heavy shockproof oil in my diffs and in an NP435.

[@thedirtheadshed]

Nice . Yeah this stuff is supposed to be specific to synchro trans.

[@christianb5110]

Ik with the ZF5's little brother the Mazda M50D if you run gear oil in them instead of ATF it will burn it up. I've always wanted to put a ZF5 in my f150 instead of the m5od, hope it works out

[@thedirtheadshed]

We will see!

[@chrismyers5487]

Coming along! Digging the gold color way so far 🤙🏼

[@thousandoaksauto1696]

Way cool Dave, the benefit of watching you do stuff like this is I learn new things!! Bitch'n truck, I've always thought it is cool!

[@thedirtheadshed]

Glad you’re getting something from the videos. Thanks for watching

[@dieselman86]

Great vids. Awesome truck.

[@thedirtheadshed]

Glad you liked it!

[@JimBosGarage49]

Still my favorite truck ❤

[@thedirtheadshed]

Glad you are still liking it. Wait till next week. It just gets better

[@olafsoncurtis]

Try Valvoline Mercon V Synthetic ATF if you are unhappy with the MT90. It is dirt cheap.

[@thedirtheadshed]

I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks

[@Fordguy9906]

Can you do an in depth explanation of the airbag suspension? I’m building a low and slow ford ranger, and really want to try the airbags like you did!

[@Fordguy9906]

Rock crawler low and slow that is.

[@thedirtheadshed]

Nice. I can do a walk around on some of the setups

[@tsvw2007]

Great video....but I feel like I got teased with that mustang II

[@thedirtheadshed]

After Jeep Safari I will focus on the street stuff !

[@Udink]

You can do anything you set your mind to.

[@thedirtheadshed]

I believe you’re right

[@JoeReese-kh1jc]

A day without Dirt is like a day without sunshine...

[@thedirtheadshed]

Yep!

[@fletchermania]

Nice truck makes me want to bag my 35 ford

[@thedirtheadshed]

Thanks!

[@stoneshrink]

As a person with 6 4x4s, 2 race cars, and a couple 'other' cars (along with tractors and such stuff).... writing the date/mileage on the oil filter really saves bucks so you know how long it's been since. On the DD's that use synth oil, every 5k miles along with using the 2nd odometer as the mileage.... when all else fails, blue tape on the air intake with the date and miles.... fuel filters get date and mileage written on them.... or I just ignore it, the last oil change on my forklift was 2/5/2015.... but I KNOW when it happened.

[@thedirtheadshed]

I’m usually good about windshield static stickers

[@stoneshrink]

@@thedirtheadshed this is as ironic as it sounds but I don't like stickers on my cars...

[@peterrehrmann9196]

Pocket full a shells

[@thedirtheadshed]

Rage

[@patrickhall782]

Ford Escorts had atf in the manual transmissions. I put recline mt90 in mine and never shifted smoother.

[@davidcombs8458]

I was hoping I had a ZF 5 speed in my F100. Unfortunately, it’s the M5ODR2. So far so good. 🤞🏻

[@thedirtheadshed]

They do seem good.

[@samuelcookphippen]

awesomeness

[@thedirtheadshed]

Thanks for watching

[@cjg1482]

Grease those new joints!

[@thedirtheadshed]

I did.

[@shoutingatclouds1050]

I'm really missing the trim pieces that you took off Mom's Spaghetti, maybe could you paint the wheel color a bit over the wheel and the bottom half of the door?

[@thedirtheadshed]

The truck was super base model work truck when I got it. No trim. That front clip sheet metal may have had trim on its truck

[@deadgameguns]

Nice!

[@SPPTA]

Easily my favorite rig.

[@thedirtheadshed]

It’s a good one. Hopefully these fixes make it more fun to drive

[@SPPTA]

@@thedirtheadshed looking forward to seeing that. Great workmanship btw.