Okay guys, i am BRANDY new to fords in general. Life long chevy guy, know them inside and out, part numbers and all. Buuuuuut, just bought a 1986 F350 crew cab 2WD 460/C6. 63,000 original miles! It was a steal of a deal!!! So i had to jump!

Among the various issues it has (broken exhaust bolts, worn out holley 4180, and emmisions junk), one that has me most concerned is the oil pressure. It reads right between the N and the O on the factory gauge. DOesnt matter whether it is idling or hammer down when it is 32 degrees outside and just started up. never moves. and when you turn the key off it takes at LEAST 30 seconds for the needle to fall back to zero or L. I am going to stick a mech gauge on it ( gonna need a ladder and scaffold just to get to it ) but just checking to see if these gauges have a tendancy to get "stiff". The gas gauge reacts VERY slow as well when switching tanks.

I have been told that the exhaust bolts on 460 and 429 have a bad tendancy to break off due to heat from heads/warping manifolds. Any advice on getting them out while still in the truck?? Because i REALLLLLLY dont want to disassemble the top half of the motor while in the truck.

Thanks in advance for any and all help.

 

The simple way to check gauge function is to disconnect the wires at the various sending units and ground them. The gauges should swing to the highest part of the scale. Disconnect the grounds and they will all swing to the low end. This will work with oil pressure, temperature, and fuel. If they all act that way, then the system is fine and you need to look at the sending units if you're getting quirky readings in normal use. If they all don't act that way, you need to check the instrument voltage regulator. If individual gauges act differently than the others, then you likely have a problem with that gauge. (Hopefully all that made sense).

 

Instrument voltage regulator is new to me. where would this be located? i assume undeer or behind the dash.

 

It's a little button looking thing on the circuit paper on the back of the gauge cluster.

 

Not my pic, but it's attached to the little silver bracket on the top right of the pic.

 

Yes, it's attached to the printed circuit via what look like 9V battery clips and is located
on the cluster behind the speedometer.

Looks like this:




This might help ya, too:

 

So i assume that would mean buying a new ciruit board/paper?

 

No, not at all. As I said, it clips on with 9V-like clips.

 

No....its a separate part attached to the printed circuit. It looks like a 9v battery connection.

 

NOt quick enough on the replies. Got it.

 

Are these common to go out? if so is the symptom that it doesnt work or intermitent or....???

 

It's a pretty common issue. They are really going when you get a lot of up and down readings. IVRs are adjustable...sometimes thats all it takes.

 

But, remember, the IVR is suspect if:

oil pressure
fuel level
temperature

Are all wiggin' out together at the same time.

If you have problems with just one gauge, something else is the issue.

 

Well, temp is right on...pretty much. Usually straight up sometimes a tiny bit less.

Oil pressure was straight up 2 weeks ago and now is where i have stated above but moves sometimes (not much)

And the fuel...well it moves a bit but slow to react in general. so not sure.

just not sure how much they should "wig out". i have a slight suspicion that it may be the regulator. but i am going to check the oil pressure with mech gauge.

Gotta fix the turn signal too but i think that is the cam in the column. sometimes it works, sometimes it doesnt.

 

By "wigging out" I mean all three gauges will suddenly read lots lots lots higher together.

The gauges operate on something like 7 volts, i really doubt the charging system regulator
is your problem.

As was suggested above, do the grounding tests of your wiring. I'm betting a new oil
pressure sending unit is called for.