Preface:
- Read the instructions.
- Use quality tools.
- Wear eye protection and proper clothing.
- Disconnect the battery while working on the vehicle.
- Do not lift weights that you're uncomfortable with.
- Do not drink or use drugs while working on your vehicle!
Four Tons of Fun can get you in serious trouble. At 7700lbs. soaking
wet, our F-350 is one Big Truck! Getting our butt's out of the proverbial
sling while deep in Baja, far from the nearest AAA operator won't happen
at the notion of high floatation tires or better than average driving
skills. Honestly, in the humble opinion of this off-road veteran, if
you plan on venturing off the pavement in a serious way, a vehicle of this
size absolutely needs a recovery system capable of pulling the vehicle's
GVWR+ out of the nastiest situation.
Fortunately for us, the kind folks at MileMarker stepped up to the
needs of Project Great White with sponsorship via a full-on, 12,000lb.
hydraulic winch system. What? Hydraulic? Yep, unlike the more common,
electric winch systems, this unit is powered by a hydraulic motor that
derives its power from the power steering pump attached to our mighty
PowerStroke Diesel. "So why is this better?" you ask. Well, right of the
top of my head, I can envision long duration pulls to be a much more
reasonable practice than with an electric unit even while UNDERWATER!.
Hydraulic motors have an incredible life cycle. Same with power steering
pumps. Can you say the same for an electric motor under severe load? The
MileMarker unit is sealed from the elements. Yes, it works underwater as
well as above. I don't want to start a debate here, as we'll solve this
riddle next month when we cover a 12,000lb winch "Pull Off" between our
MileMarker and a very popular electric unit so, let's move on to the
installation.
Our 70-52000C model, landed on our doorsteps on a mini pallet. The kit
included an incredibly stout front bumper and grille guard that acts as a
winch mounting platform, numerous hoses, a remote solenoid control valve,
hose fittings, nuts, bolts and others items. The net weight of this
package is just over 200 lbs. All components are first class. MileMarker
seems to have the corner on super tough industrial grade fasteners. Most
every item was rated extremely high, including the washers.
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| Out of the box and ready for bolt-on. The kit consists of
high pressure hoses, the hydraulic valve assemble, various
fasteners, the stout mounting bumper and the winch itself. All told,
just over 200lbs. are added to the front of the vehicle. |
Nothing but the best fasteners are used on this kit. Take
these cadmium plated, hardened, "Grade #8" items for example.
|
On our F-350, the first order of business involves removing the front
bumper and tow hook assembly. Note, that we left the bottom valance apron
in place as the limited re-insert, plastic fasteners holding same are best
accessed with the bumper laid open from the chassis. An early surprise on
our rig was the proliferation of Metric fasteners. Just about every
fastener we touched on the mighty Ford was measured in millimeters. Before
you start this project on your rig, we strongly advise you to stock up on
high quality, metric wrenches and 1/2" drive sockets.
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| Remove the 4 bolts holding the massive F-350 front bumper.
Leave the apron fasteners attached for now. |
Remove the 6 bolts (3 per side) and the tow hooks. The winch
bumper mounting rails will be attached here.
|
The winch bumper attaches to rails that are fastened to the F-350
frame using the former tow hook mounts. I can't think of a stronger or
more accessible point to attach to the chassis. Now, I'm are
pretty "anal" about details and I wanted to make sure that the
installation was perfect. So, I puckered up and proceeded with the
details.
- Attach each rail and put a light but, not "tight" torque on the
fasteners. This allows for easy yet, small and accurate movements for
alignment, care of my favorite nylon mallet.
- Once the "eyeball" was comfortable, I used a Carpenter's Square to
insure that the rails were perfectly aligned to the truck chassis.
- With the help of Stormin' Norm, we raised the winch bumper into
place for the "test fits" to insure that we had a sure fit on final
assembly.
- Looking good, we then attached all fasteners and lightly torque'd
them as described in step #1.
- We double checked the clearances across the winch bumper and then
removed it.
- After re-attaching the stock bumper we then raised the winch bumper
into place and torque'd the fasteners to spec. Not a hair could pass
between the mounting rails and the vertical bulkhead of the bumper. Call
that "AR Satisfaction".
- The same winch bumper rails provide "perfect fit" accommodations for
the stock tow hooks.
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 |
| Use a carpenters square to align the bumper mounting rails
then lightly tighten the fasteners in the holes previously used for
the towhooks. |
The rails should sit perfectly flush against the side of the
winch bumper vertical bulkheads.
The bumper weighs in excess
of 100 lbs and must be held in place while fasteners are placed.
Make sure you have a strong helper for this task.
|
Wow! The F-350 is already intimidating. With this extra steel up front,
even the most brave, road rager will steer clear when we enter
traffic.
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Install all fasteners and tighten to spec.
Note:
carefully remove the pressed in, plastic fasteners on the valance
apron with a common, claw hammer and screwdriver. The fasteners must
be re-used in the best possible condition. |
Drive the vehicle over uneven road surfaces and around town
for approximately 50 miles, adjust alignment as necessary and
re-tighten all fasteners. |
With the bumper firmly in-place, the next order of business is the
placement of the winch mechanism and motor. And here folks, we find a few
problems and present rules to remember on assembly.
Trick #1. Do not use washers on the inside of the fairlead bolts. The
winch mechanism sits so close to the front of the mount that washers will
raise the exposure of the head bolts and misalign the mounting holes for
the winch.
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| The fairlead bolt should be inserted without a washer on the
winch side of the bumper, or the winch will not align with the
mounting holes. |
Remember ol' Norm? We had him grow a third hand because it takes five
to lower the winch onto the bumper and guide the coiled winch cable
in place through the fairlead.
Trick #2. Anchor the cable outside the fairlead at first
opportunity.
Fasten the winch assembly to the bumper.
DOH!! The mounting holes do not line up!
No problem, a stout drill, a slightly oversize drill bit and a liberal
amount of cutting oil will open the hole to provide alignment. What'ya
bet, that MileMarker has this fixed on your install?
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| You'll need four or more hands to place the winch on the
bumper without unraveling the cable. Once in place the winch cable
should be secured outside the fairlead. |
Oops! Not all of the mounting holes were in alignment. We
drilled out and de-burred this hole to make the fit.
|
All the heavy lifting is done and it's time for technical
craftsmanship. The trick at this step of the project is locating the
proper mounting point for the control solenoid. The F-350 engine
compartment is complex and crowded. The front of the truck is a very
efficient airdamn that offers little in the way of passages for routing
the hydraulic hoses. To get the proper access as well as a perspective of
the best control valve mounting points, we removed the large plastic tray
assembly for the air filter system, snorkel and second battery. Do not be
intimidated, this entire assembly is attached by no more than 8 bolts.
Once out of the way, even a ham handed guy like myself can squeeze
grapplers into the many tight space areas to perform the job.
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| To access the power steering
box and mount the control valve, you must remove the battery and air
filter box. Take extreme care with all battery leads to prevent an
electrical fire. As a practice, I tape the positive (+) lead
excessively with durable tape while I am working in the surrounding
area. |
Four hydraulic hoses are included with the milemarker kit. Two hoses
run from the winch motor to the valve, and two from the valve to the
vehicle's power steering system. Since our rig is Diesel Powered, the
power steering pump also serves as a boost mechanism to the vehicle's
brakes. This is commonly called a "Hydraboost System". MileMarker places
the solenoid control valves into the vehicles power steering system,
between the hydraboost mechanism and the steering box. Attach the new hose
to the steering box leaving the fasteners loose. Note: it is almost
impossible to avoid a power steering fluid spill at this step. Insure,
that you have a drip pan in place to protect the garage floor as well as
the endangered, spotted, ring-nosed, hermaphrodite whale that may be
affected if the demon, fluid spill finds itself mysteriously into
the gutter, then the flood control system and on to the ocean via
transcontinental river system. Most of all, watch out for the Green
Police!
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Identify the original hose from the steering box to the
hydraboost assembly (power brake). This is the steering box side.
Remove the hose at this end first.
Note: Spillage of power
steering fluid will occur at this point. Make sure you have a drip
pan in place to protect the floor. |
The new hose in place. Place the opposite end of this hose
above the motor temporarily, to prevent further fluid spills.
|
Disconnect the same factory hose at the Hydraboost system and attach
the other hose from the control valve. Leave the fittings loose.
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Remove the old hose at the hydraboost assembly.
Note:
Pry apart the various hose routing clips and consider re-use of the
chaffing buffer material. |
The new hose attached.
Note: this image was taken
with the air filter and battery box re-installed.
|
Make sure that the Freewheel Orifice Checkplate is placed in the
control valve behind the hose that is fastened to the top port of the
winch motor. With all lines routed and installed, wiggle the control valve
into the most optimum mounting position. Test-fit the battery and
airbox tray back to insure that proper clearances between all points are
available. Once you are satisfied, permanently fasten the control
valve mounting plate and valve assembly.
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Make sure that the "Freewheel Restrictor Orifice Plate" is
inserted in the valve where the hose from the top fitting of the
winch hydraulic is attached. The slotted side of the orifice plate
should face outwards.
Consider marking one of two hoses
between the valve and the winch motor for identification. |
With all hoses routed and attached (fastened lightly) to the
valve, choose and attach your mounting location and secure the
valve.
Make sure that the battery and air filter box as well
as the air inlet snorkel have adequate clearance. The proper fit
will require considerable trial and error steps before you attach
the valve mounting plate to the bulkhead.
Since our plate
was mounted in a blind location, we chose to use self tapping screws
to mount the valve mounting plate. |
Torque all hose fittings per spec. Reinstall the battery and
airbox tray and refill the power steering pump reservoir.
It goes without saying, that all hydraulic hose runs should avoid sharp
metal and plastic abrasion points. Yes, even plastic can wear through a
stout rubber hose when pressure is applied at the right angle.
As an extra step, we will return to our installation after putting a
few hundred miles on our vehicle to make sure that hoses have not
settled into dangerous positions. If they have, we will use top quality,
rubber insulated hose mounting clamps to pull the hoses into protected
locations. We'll cover this step along with the wireless system
installation next month. Stay tuned.
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Route hoses away from sharp metal or plastic areas.
Re-inspect all hose runs after they have settled into place
or approximately 200 miles. Consider using rubber insulated mounting
clamps to further route hoses properly. |
Our system is now completely plumbed and leak free.
|
Electrical connections for the MileMarker hydraulic winch system are
extremely simple. Quality connectors, wire and zip ties are provided. Use
them!
We chose to mount our hand control receptacle up front on the bumper. A
quick trip to the Trailer Supply store offered the proper size and color
in mount. We used surplus, stainless fasteners from the winch kit to make
this part of the install "AR Tech, perfect".
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Our semi-final electrical connections are tidy and safe.
Solderless connectors are used throughout.
We will further
secure the electrical work when we add the wireless system next
month. |
We purchased a standard, trailer light jack, mounting plate
to fasten our wired, remote control receptacle to the bumper.
|
Follow the instructions on bleeding air from your power steering
system. Clean up your mess and you're finished. Once we have proven the
system to be leak free as it appears, we will flush the entire power
steering system to insure that we have a common fluid base with all
possible contaminants purged.
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| Our installation is complete. We are ready for next month's
"Winch Pull Off" where we place the Mailemarker Hydraulic against a
similarly rated electric winch. |
This image depicts the approach angle with standard vehicle
ride height. Our suspension mods and tire/wheel upgrades will raise
the bumper height by approximately 10 inches.
|
What's next?
Enjoyment of a cold beer and a comfortable chair in the semi-well
lit yet, plush garage at ORC headquarters.
Seriously, we will place our MileMarker Winch System against a well
known electric winch of the same capacity on a similar truck platform for
the first ever, "Off-Road.com Winch Pull Off". The folks at MileMarker
seem to be extremely confident. In early conversation, with a snicker in
their voice, they insured me that they would pay for any damages on the
electric winch vehicle. I I think their confidence is well grounded.
My guess is that the electric unit will become a smoking heap of ozone
spewing wires and insulation.
We shall see for sure.
Stay tuned!
| Tools
Used |
| 3/8"
Ratchet Drive |
| 3/8"
Drive Extension 12" |
| 3/8"
Drive, Air Ratchet |
| 1/2"
Ratchet Drive |
| 1/2"
Drive, Air Impact Wrench |
| 1/2"
Drive Extension - 4" |
| 3/8"
Drive, Universal Joint |
| 1/2"
Drive, Universal Joint |
| 8mm
Socket, 3/8" Drive |
| 10mm
Socket, 3/8" Drive |
| 13mm
Socket, 3/8" Drive |
| 15mm
Socket, 3/8" Drive |
| 15mm
Socket, 1/2" Drive |
| 18mm
Socket, 3/8" Drive |
| 18mm
Socket, 1/2" Drive |
| 1"
Combination Wrench |
| 3/4"
Combination Wrench |
| 11/16"
Combination Wrench |
| 5/8"
Combination Wrench |
| 9/16"
Combination Wrench |
| 1/2"
Combination Wrench |
| 12"
Crescent Wrench |
| 8" Vise
Grip Pliers |
| Diagonal Wire Cutters |
| Needle
Nose Pliers |
| Solderless Wire terminal Crimpers |
| 31/64th" Drill Bit |
| Cutting
Oil |
| Alignment Punch |
| Strong
Helper with Three Hands |
| Work Time: |
| Primary
Person |
10
Hours |
| Helper |
1
Hour |
| Skill Level Required |
| Off-Road Race Truck Fabricator |
|
| Indy
Car Master Mechanic |
|
| Nascar
Crew Chief |
|
| Rocket
Scientist |
|
| Senior
Gearhead in Residence |
|
| Backyard Mechanic with Good Tools |
|
| Gearhead Groupie |
|
| Squid |
|
| Poet |
|
| Eco-Extremist |
|
| Victim
of Freeway Muggings |
|
| Key |
| Fully Capable |
| Needs Minor
Supervision |
| Don't Leave 'Em Alone |
| Forget
It! |
