Hey all,

Just joined up after looking around to try and find some info on my old, beat-up farm truck that I bought a little while ago.

A little history on what I've found so far on the truck. It is a 89 Light Duty F-250. It has the normal rust out above the rear fender wells but the cab corners, doors and the cab in general look to be pretty solid. It has a 302 mated to the M5OD Mazda tranny that is in dire need of that nifty little bushing rebuild kit (nothing like playing the ol' hunt and stab while trying to run through the gears!(and thanks to whoever found that kit!!)). Under the hood is where it gets fun . The PO decided to "wire" up and aftermarket high pressure fuel pump on the rail, and by "wire" i meam that in the loosest of terms I possibly can...... Also, on the ignition coil, the 2 wire plug no longer exists and has been replaced by a couple of crimp-on blade connectors that aren't very well crimped to be honest! While the truck starts and runs fine (still need to replace the old Power Kings though, think a belt left go in one of them), I have a little issue with keeping the battery charged. If I let the negative battery hooked up, the battery will drain in a matter of days. But if I unhook the neg. cable, the battery will stay charged normally (already took the battery and got it checked and load-tested.) Checked the draw off of the battery and it was sitting right around .75A, which I had two people tell me different things (one that it was high, and one that it was within range). What do you guys think it could be?

On a good note, seems that my tank selector switch is functioning properly and I'm not getting and fuel transfer between tanks, but the gauge is reading incorrectly. I'll have to check the grounds and wires for that circuit to make sure everything is hooked up correctly.

When I first got the truck, the started seemed to be cranking slowly and when I started looking into it, I noticed that the starter solenoid on the inner fender was pretty corroded, so I changed it out. As I was changing it, I noticed what looked like solid copper house wire attached to the old solenoid, and sure enough, that's what the PO used to jerry-rig his trailer brake in the cab. Needless to say, all that came out as the the solenoid was replaced.

Alright, enough of the novel for my first post

Any ideas on the barrery drain issue?
How about a site or resource for our little-loved "heavy halfs"?

Thanks all,

Bill

 

As far as the battery drain issues, I've got some troubleshooting help here;
Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums - Grubbworm's Album: Troubleshooting help, for anyone that needs it.
And welcome to the forum.

 

Not a lot of info on the light duties, lighter gauge frame rails, semi floating 10.25 and d44 ttb in the front. Could be had with most engine/trans combo's except for the diesel or 460. Not sure if they offered the 351w or not.

I picked up this 89 light duty not too long ago, great little truck that looks like a big truck.

Scott

 

Thanks for the links to the troubleshooting pages. I think they will help out a lot!

tbirdscott,

That's a great looking truck you have there! I honestly wish that mine had the 300 with the ZF5 behind it considering that would be the perfect long life combo for what I'd be doing with the truck anyway!

Since the truck isnt my DD, I'll just be taking it slow with it and get it back to the way it should be. Not a restore job by any means, but just make it a reliable ride that I won't be worrying about, knowing it will start every time and drive like it should.