Hello all:

My dad is finally handing me down the family truck which is a 1990 F350 4x4 crew cab long bed with a 460. It has 207,xxx miles.

Here's a little background, I was born in 88 as my dad's first and only son so he went and bought himself a brand new truck to celebrate my birth. This truck has been working hard since 1990 in construction and roofing. So many memories, fishing trips, and camping trips in this rig. Now its time to take the saddle off(lumber rack) and take care of her.

Current issues with the truck is one of the gas tanks leaks into the other. Is this a common issue?

What are some tips and tricks to improving fuel economy?

Any particular things I should look out for?

Thanks!

 

I applaud you for wanting to fix up your dad's old truck. I am actually planning to do the same thing with my dad's Ford F-150. He does not really use it anymore and he is either going to give or sell it to me.

One thing that might help your fuel economy a little is to install dual exhaust. But with the price of installation, I don't know how far ahead you would get with that.

 

fuel tanks are a common problem.. just search around here i can't remember where the exact page was that explained in detail that particular problem but for some odd reason late 80's early 90's trucks that had them did it.. thankfully mine doesn't.. yet..
as for fuel economy it is a 4x4 350 with a 7.5.. if it were 2wd you could be looking at some better numbers but 4x4's in general get bad mpg's compared to their 2wd brothers.. if you are getting close to 10 at all i'd say thats good for this truck to be quite honest.. even 6-8.. its just a heavy beast with an even more beast motor pulling it..

post pics=] we all love pics here

 

The part you need is called a check valve for the fuel tanks. There's a part that sits on the frame rail that your dash switch talks to that goes bad and lets gas go backwards through it. Same thing happened with my 89, so I just dropped the rear tank out of it (it leaked anyway).

Fuel economy however, will be boosted once you have all your fuel going to the motor instead of swapping between tanks. Anyway, think of it this way, your truck could be classified as a school bus if you painted it yellow. With a 460 it's pretty typical to get about 10 mpg whether the truck is empty or fully loaded. Which isn't bad since my 351w only gets me 8 mpg. You could increase your fuel economy with a more free flowing exhaust. It doesn't have to be dual exhaust, but even some bigger pipes would do you some good. I'm sure that the catalytic converter is pretty restricting right now with 200k on it if it is original. If you aren't required to keep catalytic converters on, I'd take it off altogether. Then I'd switch to a better flowing muffler. I like Flowmaster but everybody has their own taste. I'm sure a tune up will also improve your fuel economy. New plugs, wires, cap and rotor, ect.
Hope this helps!

 

Thanks all!

I am pickiing it up this thursday and will post pics ASAP.

And thanks GNR22, I will let my dad know. But from Thursday on, all things fixed will be on my dollar. I am excited to pick her up! It will be like the good ol' days, except I;m driving, not my dad.

 

Cross fueling between tanks is not uncommon. In your case, I would think that the shuttle valve in the fuel delivery module (FDM) in one of the tanks is bad. Solution would be to either lift the bed or drop the tank and replace the FDM, I would think.

 

Turns out will be picking it up this up coming thursday. It has to get smogged. It also needs some kind of brake thing called a rag something??? Dad told me it stops but not like it should. It needs that part. Also going to grease up all the linkages.

Dad told me it doesnt burn oil but eats half a quart a week driving 100 miles a week or so. Also told me to use regular castrol for oil changes, no synthetic.

Its got new plugs, wires, cats, caps, tires, and rotors. Roof just got repainted. New transmission too.

What gear ratio does it have? It is 4x4 with a EO4D.

Any other things I should look at to make her more efficient? I will be daily driving it for a few months while my F150 is getting worked on.

 

http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-...08276088_n.jpg

Since forums love pics here is my F150. Long travel front and rear 4x4.







I will post some pics of the F350 next week

 

Thats an awesome truck! haha.
Your gear ratio will be on the little plate in the door jamb. it should say axle code with either 2 numbers or a number and a letter.
With that many miles on a 460, it's typical to go through some oil. If you're concerned about it, you could have the motor rebuilt.
I thought of one more thing for fuel efficiency and power. You could advance the timing for the distributor a couple degrees.

 

Thanks!

Picked up the truck today. Dad told me a need a RABS sensor or something.

Truck has a brand new transmission and seems to shift hard from 1st to 2nd. Sometimes 3rd to 4th. Is this normal?

Dad also told me when driving city, to drive with the O/D light on. Then on highway to drive with O/D light off. He says its easier on the trans. Is this true?

Thanks again for the help and I will post pics up tomorrow.

 

 

That is a sweet F350!! As far as improving mpg from what you already done. Re-gear if you have oversize tires (bigger than stock), dual exhaust, maybe a K&N air filter, and make sure the tire psi is correct.

Also couldn't hurt when you get the tank issue fixed to add some injector cleaner/lube.

I have a 89 f150 so I am alittle bias to the old brick nose fords. Lol. Does your have bucket seats and center console, or a bench seat?

 

The rear abs sensor going bad is common. I don't like abs so i never fixed the sensor in my truck. if it shifts stiffly that's a good thing. if it slips a lot that would be bad. as far as i know it wouldn't make it any easier on the truck to turn OD off unless you are towing. a cold air intake is a waste of money because your stock intake is a cold air intake. but SCRebel is right in saying that dual exhaust is a good idea. Headers would also be a good move for some power and better mpg.

 

 

Hope the interior pic answers your question Rebel!