Sorry for the long post ahead of time. I am looking at buying a 89 f-250 4x4 with a the efi 351 for a extra plow truck. The guy wants $1200. The truck body wise is in good shape for the year and being from the north. I know the guy selling it he is a friend. He bought the truck with a blown motor and put the 351 in the truck, it burns a small amount of oil but nothing major. 4 wheel drive works and all interior stuff, radio, heater, lights work. My questions are .... Are these trucks good trucks? Are they easy to work on? It does seem that there is very little electrical wiring to deal with. Did the 351 efi come in this year truck or is it a newer motor? Can the front end of these trucks handle the weight of a plow without to much problems? I just don't want to buy something that is not going to do the job I need it to. I wish it had a solid front axle, but o well. I am pretty mechanically inclined, I work on my Powerstroke with no problem it is just going to take me a min to get used to working on a gas motor again. So what are your guys thoughts? Thank you for your help.

 

A running 4x4 here in WV cost at least 2 grand so it sounds like a great deal. I'm almost positive EFI came in 87-88? My 87 F-150 was factory EFI but it was a 300-6.

The only problem is the weight of the plow on the TTB front-end is going to make your front tires do this /-\

 

That will make a good plow rig. the 250's and 350's hold up well to the abuse.

 

I had thought about the front tire thing. I can deal with that cause I am only looking at a max 8 ft straight blade no v or anything. I just don't want to get something that is a pain to work on and such. It does need the transmission shift points worked on as well as the idle adjusted. But other then that right now it is good I think. Are those hard to adjust on these trucks?

 

They are actually tough trucks and easy to work on for the most part. If you have any mechanic skills at all you won't have any problem.

 

How hard would swapping a solid axle out of a 350 be? Or can it even be done?

 

It can be done and has been. I've read quite a few threads dealing with it and some were more informative than others. Do a search on "solid axle swap" and start reading. I'm just wondering if the cost/effort is equal to the benefit in your case.

 

that will be a good plow truck. plan on 6-8 mpg plowing, and 12-14 mpg without the plow.
the weak point is the front end, but a D-60 solid axle is a direct bolt in one day job.

 

I was hoping to here that about the front in. So that motor did come in those years? I just dont want a truck that I will have to have a difficult time getting parts for. Had a truck like that once and I had to take the part to the parts store so they could match it up in their books.

 

1988 was the first year for the 351w EFI. Try to find out if the front axle is a Dana 44 or a Dana 50. A 50 will hold up a lot better to the plow, but a 60 is a bolt-in swap. You also might want to consider add-a-leaf springs in the front to help with the weight.

Do not adjust the idle! There's an adjustment on the throttle body but don't touch it. If it doesn't idle right then fix the real problem. Clean out the throttle body and check for vacuum leaks. Also clean or replace the IAC and the idle should improve dramatically.

If the tranny doesn't shift right that also indicates a vacuum problem so I would definitely be checking it out for a leak.

In general, these are very tough trucks that are pretty easy to work on.

 

Thank you for the advice. I am going to probably look at the truck again this week and will do a closer look at it. When the truck is in gear it idles fine. It is just when it is at no load it has the problem.

 

If it's fine in gear, but idles weird without a load, defenently sounds like a bad Idle Air Control Valve, or the TPS. These older EFI Fords had alot of problems with the stupid TPS!

 

I really appreciate all your guys help. Anybody have anything else to add?

 

yea. it ain't gonna make any money ideling.
got in it, and pedal to the metal!!!