I have a 90 f250 with a 460 and 5-speed and I had a guy tell me that the timing is factory retarded and that advancing it will gain me 60hp and anywhere between 3-5 mpg. Is this true?...thoughts?

 

BS, Retarded timing chains went away with the advent of fuel injection in 1988.

You can try advancing the ignition timing a couple of degrees.
That might gain you a little responsiveness, but not any substantial horsepower.

Welcome to the forum.

 

Don't you just love these "guys" that ain't got a clue?

 

Thanks guys I was about ready 2 try advancing the timing but it sounded a little to good to be true. Glad I asked first.

 

If you're talking about ignition timing, most of us here have advanced ours a bit (better power & fuel economy). I went from 8 to about 10-11 (after spending a week getting the distributor unstuck) degrees, and I think I could go another one or two as I am not hearing any pinging on 87 octane gas.

Keep advancing it until you get some light pinging under load and then back it off until it stops. It's an old, shade-tree mechanic method but it still works.

 

Thanks for the advice. If you have anything else about this pickup you think would be useful, I would be glad to hear it. This is my first truck and my first ford cuz my family is all chevy guys.

 

This is a great site and pretty much everything has been covered - search will be your new best friend. If you're going to keep the truck for awhile and work on it yourself, I highly recommend a set of factory ford manuals (there are multiple books covering different systems).

You can get manuals directly from these sources:

www.helminc.com

Bishko Books, Repair Manuals, Owners Manuals, Parts Books & Sales Brochures

Also, Ebay can be a good source as well.

Be aware that manuals are a lot more expensive than they used to be, even for older cars - I remember being able to get a full set of manuals for under $100, and those days are gone ($100-200 now). Sometimes you can get a good deal either on Ebay or Craigslist or at a swap meet or yard sale - you just have to keep your eyes peeled.

I have no brand loyalty myself - I have had a Chevy truck for 14 years and it has been great, but it's really hard to find crew cab 4x4 Chevys out in my area, so I've got a Ford now. It's all good!