I have had to resort to taking all the threaded joints in the air lines apart. The teflon tape is useless, probably because it is cheap Harbor Freight brand. I am now using pipe thread sealant. I am having some success with that, but both ends of the regulators continue to leak at the threads even with the thread sealant. Very frustrating! I am almost to the point of throwing in the towel and settling for a leaky system... Grrrr!

 

Use both. Tape first then a little dope. The fittings should screw on dry by hand 2.5 to 3 turns no more than that. They may also have cut the threads too deep. While both the tape and dope help seal they are only meant to be lubricants.
EDIT- I forgot to mention it should screw on by hand at least 2 times. By "turns" i mean a full 360 degrees per turn.

 

Make sure the threads are squeaky clean, it really doesn't take much to prevent a good seal. Don't ask how I know that........

 

The goodies are rolling in, almost daily for the last week. I got my new oil pan to clear the Dakota cross member, the new dip stick and tube, the starter, Speed Engineering headers, Remflex exhaust gaskets, transmission dip stick, Painless Performance chassis wiring harness, wiring sleeving, internal coil spring compressor. I have a set of '90 Dakota front rotors on the way (5 lug), along with the BellTech 2" lowering front springs and shocks. In order to get back to where I was with this project, I still need to purchase a Ford 8.8" lsd rear end ('98 Explorer), the entire fuel system, the transmission yoke, and the rear parallel four link suspension and panhard bar.

The headers are mid tube, 1-7/8" primaries, 3" collectors. Stainless steel. They fit really well, after cutting a lug off the side of the bell housing. I am hoping to have the front clip, fenders, and cab off the chassis inside of the next week. I can use my airlines now, they just slowly bleed off pressure untill I get all the leaks repaired. Once the cab is off, and the drivetrain is removed, I will schedule the mobile sand blaster to come over and blast the entire chassis clean.

 

I love the remflex gaskets. Torque 'em once, and that's it. They never leak. The last set of gaskets outlasted the headers.

 

{I have a set of '90 Dakota front rotors on the way (5 lug), along with the BellTech 2" lowering front springs and shocks.}

These parts arrived today, along with my Holley Black Heart transmission cross member. At this point, my wife is starting to ask questions about all the part arrivals. I will tone it down for awhile to let the dust settle. The local wrecking yard has a '98 Ford Explorer that I want the rear end from. They are asking $275 disk to disk. It's a 8.8" diff, 3.73, LSD rear end with the stronger 32 spline axles. Hopefully it's still there in a week or two. I have a cousin coming for a visit next Friday, and she is wanting to help wrench on something with me. So the body and drivetrain removal will be the goal while she is here.

 

Working my way towards the firewall.

 

You have that nice gantry crane, why not take the whole front clip in one piece??

 

I have done this once already. In order to get the entire body on my trailer, including the engine and trans, the fenders and core support need to go in the bed. There is usually a method to my madness. But not always!

 

Yeah, I suppose in pieces, it takes up significantly less space.

The parts appear to be in pretty good shape though, might be able to just run an ad somewhere, and someone will show up on your doorstep to make it go away. Plus, put some money in your pocket.