bigcountry78

I had to walk away for a while. This thing is getting to me. The cotter pin came out in pieces of course, and then I couldn’t budge the nut even with my biggest ratchet. I had to resort to my 1/2” impact, and that finally broke it loose. And now, wouldn’t you know the axle shaft won’t move. I’m over it.

1 minute ago, jeepwm69 said:

 

You can unbolt the backing plate from the axle tube, pull the axle, backing plate, and drum out, and then try to press the axle out of the drum with a press (if you have one).

 

Once you get to that point stuff tends to start breaking though, especially the backing plate, which is pretty prone to crack/ break.

I wondered if I could unbolt the backing plate and go that route. Wonder if I could leave the backing plate and just slide the axle out? Would that bring the brake drum off with the axle and leave the backing plate and brake pads in place? To remove the axle, I would take the other tire and hub off, then slide it through, correct?

Well, I’ve heated this thing up, beat on it, soaked it in pb blaster, and it’s not budging. At all. I can still move the cam with a screwdriver so it’s not touching the brake pads, it’s just stuck. Any more ideas before I just set the whole thing on fire?

4 hours ago, jeepwm69 said:

 

I converted my kid's 05 350ES to footshift, so it has the ES meter/ wiring harness.   When shifting with the footshifter, the dash blinks an error code, but it does show speed and which gear the machine is in.

It shows the gear, even with the foot shifter? I figured it wouldn’t show that on mine but maybe I was wrong. It’s not a huge deal, but sometimes it’s nice to know what gear you’re in. So, would I need a 2000-2003 meter, or would a newer one work? Just curious what years to look for as I’m browsing.

No frame shop for this one, it’ll be done old school with some weight and a torch. Maybe a floor jack for good measure. It’ll be me and my dad fixing it again. We repaired all the rust and repainted it about 6 years ago, I guess we’ll add a frame repair to the list. I have another frame I can swap in, but we’re going to try to fix this one first to keep from going through the trouble of swapping frames.

Yea I was wondering about that. Probably not worth the hassle, but it’d be cool anyway.

On 11/22/2023 at 10:24 AM, bcsman said:

Think this is a first here, we have had numerous members convert their ES to a foot shift, but not the other way!  I think @AKATV has set you up to give her a go.  Good luck....

Let me clarify, I want to keep the foot shifter and just add the display pod lol. 

Yep, duals from the factory. Still had the factory style exhaust hangers on both sides, but the accident tore everything loose. Got the rear bumper and bed off today. Passenger side frame rail bent at the trailer hitch and the driver’s side bent at the shock mount. Dad thinks we can straighten the frame, but I’m not sure we could ever get it close to “right”. It’ll be a project for another time. It’s at his house now and I live 2 hours away so it’s hard to find time to get down there and work on it.

And, he just bought a 97 or so GM 1500, single cab short bed for cheap because it took a swim in a pond. Going to try to get it running again and buy it from him to haul my rancher around. It’s a 4x4 too, with 145k on the odometer. Body is a little rough, but nothing too terrible.

lol, thank you. This one is a plain Jane as well, no ac and was ordered with no radio. My dad was cheap in his younger days. The the only extras he got were 4 wheel drive, 350 engine with dual exhaust, and he got the off road tire package which was 10.00-15 Goodyear all terrains and the 8 inch wide steel wheels instead of the more common 6.5 inch wheels. At one point he had it lifted with 14-36.5-15 tires and wagon wheels, but we removed the lift, put 31x10.50-15’s on it and I scoured the internet for months until I lucked out and found the correct wheels again.

Yea gas mileage wasn’t really a thing when these trucks were built. Mine has the 205 transfer case as well. I’m hoping that nothing in the drivetrain was damaged in the accident. My truck actually came off the trailer and landed on the rear of my dad’s truck, that’s  what bent the frame on mine. I’m going to my dad’s Friday for thanksgiving, going to take a battery and see if she’ll crank and move under her own power. Might even start tearing it down to see what we need to do to fix it. As it sits it has brand new shocks, ball joints and tie rod ends. I put a ton of parts and time into it before I parked it.

I thought I’d post some before and after pics of my 78. My dad bought it new, and it was my first truck. Chevy k10 short bed, 350 and sm465 four speed. He and I tore it apart, repaired the rust and repainted it. It was my primary truck for a few years until I bought a crew cab for the growing family. It was sitting at my house not being driven so I asked him to haul it to his house where it could be under a shed. On the way home, he rear ended a dump truck and totaled his truck, my truck, and the trailer. This happened last December and I just now feel like starting to work on it again. The white crew cab is what he was driving. It’s a miracle he lived, because he wasn’t wearing a seatbelt.

I found the how to for adjusting the clutches, but when should it be done? My rancher shifts just fine, but it seems to slip ever so slightly when taking off from a dead stop in first gear. Wondering if that’s a sign that I need to do the adjustment, or if there’s something else going on.

Has anyone ever done this? I have a 2001 rancher foot shift, but I would love to have the ES clock, hour meter, and speedometer. It seems like it would be a bolt on affair, but I’m wondering if the wiring is there and is plug and play or if it’s more involved. I know the Canada foot shifts got the display, wondering how different their models are from the US market.

Casually looking for the following pieces for my 2001 rancher as mine are either damaged or missing altogether:

recoil starter cover (missing)

muffler heat shield (missing)

left and right side engine covers (cracked)

right rear flare (dog chewed)

and if anyone has some good orange plastic, I’d be interested in changing from my red set.

I’ll play. 2001 rancher 350, 4x4. Mods are minimal:

Warn 424

OE size Mudlites 

Pack rack gun rack

Atv logic tank bag.

And if your flowing my thread, non functional rear brakes….

Thank you sir for all the information. I don’t do deep mud or water anymore, I saw the effects of that on my big bear that I sold earlier this year. It had a good bit of rust and some snapped bolts because of it. I spent a lot of labor on it to fix the damage done, and I got lucky to get this Honda that has lead an easy life for the most part. Planning on keeping this one forever so I’ll do my part to not abuse it. 

4 hours ago, AKATV said:

I think you should be able to get it no problem.
Let us know how you make out.

-AKATV 

I will. And for reference, when I get the cam out I’m planning to sand it smooth and grease it. I’m curious though, from the factory, is that piece painted or polished at all? Is there something else I can do to improve it where it functions better, or longer?

58 minutes ago, AKATV said:

One thing I forgot to ask, is, can you move the opposite tire?
A few times it seem to help having somebody rotate the tire just back-and-forth just like six or 8 inches in each direction while I was tapping on the brake drum

-AKATV

Yes, I can rotate it, I just don’t have any help. But after I run a strap over to the mower and put some more pull on the drum, I can rotate the tire with one hand while I smack the drum with the other. Surely with all that movement and some heat something will give.

I’ve got the brake cables disconnected so I can move the brake pads by hand. Well, with a screw driver to overcome the sticking cam. Good idea on the heat, that’s something I hadn’t thought about yet. The pads looked new when I had it off around March, so I don’t think they have swollen. I’ll strap the other side of the frame to my mower so I can put more tension on the drum without having the whole atv fall off the stands. I’ll try some heat, thanks.

Well it’s been. Minute but I decided to try this brake deal again today. I’ve been sick for the better part of two months with bronchitis and then pneumonia so that knocked me down for a while. Anyway I ended up making a couple of hooks to go behind the drum. Then I hooked a ratchet strap over to the frame of my garage. It still won’t budge. I think I have the brake shoes where they aren’t contacting the drum, but it’s hard to tell what’s going on back there. I guess I’ll keep beating on it and see where I get. I’m open to suggestions if anyone can see something I’m missing.

You might be on to something. Anyway, let me know what you find out, if anything. I wouldn’t be as worried about it if the rear wasn’t also the parking brake. I’d at least like to have that work.

So the brakes on my 2001 rancher are better than when I bought it, but still not “right”. So, what’s the agreed upon procedure for getting them adjusted to factory specs? On the front, do the shoes need to just slightly touch the drum while released, like on a truck or a car? Or do they need to be just barely backed off from touching? Same with the rear? 
 

At the rear, do you make the initial adjustment at the cam, and then fine tune with the wing nuts? The rears give me the most trouble, it seems almost impossible to get the front and rear cables tuned in with the double mechanism they use. But, I know it’s possible as the dealer always seems to get them right. 
 

And finally, what can I use to keep the rear cam moving like it should? Mine moves freely, but when the rear brakes are used, either with the handle or the foot lever, it’s like it moves too far, gets stuck, and I have to smack it to get it to release. I cleaned and greased it when I first bought the machine, but that didn’t last. And, I haven’t been in any significant water or mud, just normal dirt roads mostly. 

Women just seem to discount the importance of a comfortable workspace.

Yea I’m going to have to come up with something to hook behind the drum. Problem is I had it torn down on the carport, which my wife has claimed as “hers”. And she wanted it moved before her friends come over tomorrow. So I had to put everything back together to love it back out to the shop. So I’ll get back to it next week or so, my work schedule has me working this weekend, and then off next Monday Tuesday Friday Saturday and Sunday so I should have some time.

it’s times like these that I miss our old house. I had my 22’x25’ foot metal garage on concrete and could leave trucks or atvs torn down inside for however long I needed to. When we moved, I brought the garage with me but pouring concrete hasn’t been in the budget so I do all my work on the single carport. Unfortunately my wife parks there so I’m limited in how long something can sit there torn down.

Got hot and aggravated and gave up for the time being. I’m fed up with rear drum brakes. My big bear kept giving me trouble with the adjustment mechanism and the parking brake seizing. I had high hopes for the rancher since it all came apart easily the first time. But now it’s same old same old. If I still had hair, I’d pull it out.