So yeah, ive been going back and fourth on getting a cheap truck vs. buying something new and sweet. I really want a Superduty but I just dont want to spend the money. I could but I would have more fun with my Jeeps if I got a cheap truck

sSo anywho I think I worked out a trade with my buddy for his 1989 F250 standard cab long bed with automatic and a 460. I should get it Sunday. He was told by the PO that is smoked and thats why it sat for two years.

I dont fully know why but I think the PO put a gallon of diesel in the oil and it sat for 2 years. My buddy change the oil and I guess it fired right up. He said it smoked from old fuel but I dont know. I still havent seen it run, but for a set of tires i'm not using ill trade sight unseen pretty much.

Anyways my buddy got the truck and has had it for about a month and it hasnt moved once other then to test it. So I talked him into parting with it.

Thats about as much as I know. I cant wait to get it

FYI I was debating between this or a 6.9 diesel with a broken rod and I just dont know enough about diesels to get a fixxer upper one. My buddy is a diesel mechanic but its still out of MY comfort zone. Gas we go


So my plans for it are a small lift just to make it look a big better on stock size tires and a straight through muffler. Anything from a turbo style to a glasspack but that stock **** has to go! Other then that I think I will keep it as is. Im also not sure what it has for overload springs so I will be looking to possibly add camper style overloads or just bas t ard pack the leaf pack.

 

Well, I got the pickup. Changed the oil in it and plugs and plug wires. Got the wrong set of wires, but theyre close enough to work. Coil wire is way short though Had to use the old one.. Have a bone to pick with napa! Since the diesel sat for so long it probably dislodged anything that was loose so I put in my Mystery oil and I ran a light SAE 30W and after a weekend or two out with the Jeep I will change it again with a new filter and a fatter oil.

Two of the plugs were completely fouled out. Rear passenger side plug I think number 7 was covered in wet nasty oil. Hope it burns itsself clean but we will see. I really hope that cylinder doesnt need new rings or something like that. So I will need to watch that plug and see whats up with it. I ended up using NGK V4s, V5s came out of the truck which are a step hotter. Im having a tough time figuring out why there were v5s in there other than personal preference.

Had a miss on two cylinders before the tune up and now no miss, runs great. Thought to leak alot of oil but it was way dark to tell and I had to leave. Wont know till I mess with it next weekend. Transmision shifts great, but doesnt seem to have an OD. I guess its just a 3 speed auto? Must mean a C6. 4x4 seems to work fine. Possibly posi in the rear. Only think its got 3.73s but Its hard to tell . Eventually I will go thru the VIN when I bring it home.

OTher than some paint fade it seems like a good truck that needs nothing but tires.



I totally forgot my real camera.

Has nothing but the bottom fat overload leaf. Needs camper style overloads.

 

Ford numbers it's cylinders 1-4 on the passenger side and 5-8 on the drivers side.

Look for a metal tag on the differential cover to find the ratio and whether it has limited slip.
You will see an L instead of a . in the ratio if it is.
"4L10 XXXX" would be 4.10:1 limited slip for example.
The other numbers Xed out have to do with build date and spring mounts.

Most of us prefer good old fashioned copper core Motorcraft or Autolite plugs to platinum, iridium etc.
They seem to run better and cost a whole lot less.
Maybe the PO had hot plugs in there to try and burn off some of the oil???

You'd be surprised about the springs. It takes a LOT to even get mine on the overload.
Personally I like my teeth as much as I like my wheels hooked up and following the ground.
How are your sway bar mounts in the rear?

Post up a pic of your door jamb tag. It should show the spring pack code and GAWR front and rear

Good luck with your new truck!

 

Sorry, double post.

 

I learned alot of stuff but I would like to say I do not like Autolites, if I got cheap ones I would probably buy champs. If these NGKs foul ill get some cheappers to try, thanks.

I didnt realize the tag would say about the limited slip. I didnt care to look at night to see the ratio I figured I would look some other time but I will know both by this weekend..

As far as springs go I had a 1974 GMC half ton with a 4'' lift. Stock springs in the rear with blocks and ill tell you that thing was stiffer than the rears in this truck. This truck does need new shocks which will tell but I can say with certainty that these springs have a softer rate than my last truck. Although with just a cherokee or a scout to tow I cant imagine it would sag that bad. Maybe I wont need different overloads. Cool!

Sure hope I have 4.10 gears though.

I am working away from home every week so I only have weekends to mess with stuff. I cant wait to get back to it Saturday.

 

The axle and spring codes from your door tag can be decoded to give you these answers as well.

 

I totally spaced the vin and tag numbers. I was more concerned with oil blowing out of who knows where and a locked up brake .

I took some pics, of course I forgot my nice camera again. Awesome me.

As best as I can tell it looks like it came out of the dipstick, which is weird because it was still on tight when I checked it. This is after about 10 miles of driving and a solid 1/8 tank of gas. I know the engine was pumping hard because of a semi locked up rear brake. I can feel it and kind of smell it. I didnt have time to tear into that as we were replacing a my buddys Ford 9 outter axle bearings.

But anyways I dont know why but I never did check the air filter. Now apparently there isnt one, and there is some built up oil in it. This was the problem the PO was having before he parked it. To me this screams blocked PCV valve but I cant be sure untill I replace it. What does anyone else think?

Leaking out of the air box




Where it hit on the hood



Cant tell **** because its a crappy camera!



And the gnarly air box



I think just too much crank case pressure but what else could cause this if its not the pcv valve?

 

It likely is a blocked PCV valve, or the hose coming from the PCV to the intake, or the port on the other end (going into the intake) is plugged.

Have you done a compression test?
Broken rings or scored cylinders can allow too much blow by and overwhelm the PCV valve.

There should be a breather filter and an air filter in the air box.
I would say it's time to disassemble the intake plumbing and clean all the overflow out of there with carb cleaner and paper towels.

The spew under the hood looks a lot like when I turn the front wheels with the engine off and my power steering reservoir spits up.

 

Does it have an OD cancel switch on the dash right hand side of steering column? If not, you have the 3 speed C6.

x2 on the clogged PCV system!



Looks like a great truck!

 

Thanks for all the good info. Yeah it looks like it needs some parts and some cleaning. I would have never thought about the hose being plugged.

No compression test yet, ive been meaning to buy a tester anyways. Any brand to get or should I just go get whatever napa happens to have?


Nope, no overdrive switch.

And thanks, it will be soon. It has to take me to Moses Lake Sunday. I'm taking this



to the mud flats

 

There's not much to a compression tester.
Make sure the throttle is wide open, and remove the coil wire completely.
A remote starter is nice so that you can see the gauge when on the drivers side, but not necessary, just jump the S terminal to the hot post of the solenoid.

 

Compression on the cylinder that wets plugs is good and holds. Holds at 100 to 110 peaks at 120.

Replaced the PCV valve cause its cheap but still no help, The old one was good anyways.

Sprayed down the engine and cleaned the area and ran it, still does it. Ran it for only a few minutes and it only did it a small amount. Drove the truck home 30 minutes and everything was soaked.

When it was only ran for a few minutes the only drip I could find was on the oil fil cap on the valve cover. Its almost like the cap isnt sealing. The rubber on the cap is hard (because its old probably) but I cant imagine with that cap tight that the oil can build up enough pressure to blow out of there. Ive been wrong before though.

So I am going to try and get a new oil fill cap and see what else happens but I had a guy I know tell me he thinks its some rubber grommet inside the valve spring on the number 4 cylinder because of how it wets the plug. It doesnt open fast enough or wide enough so I need a new rubber thing. I didnt totally understand what he was talking about and wont till I go buy myself a book and read up on motors a little more.

 

The valve seal on the #4 intake valve?

Some valve seals had little spring garters.
I think the ones on my truck are just a Teflon-like material.

 

Yeah it must be a valve seal he thinks is bad. Although he never said the word seal. I forget his term... but Its probably the same thing. I cant imagine there are many different things inside the valve spring.

He said it could be done with out taking off the head. Do you think this is causing my problems possibly?

 

If you've got so much excess crankcase pressure that it's blowing out your airbox and oil filler cap, there is something else going on. There is no way that leaky valve seals are going to cause your symptoms. You may have broken or stuck rings in that one cylinder which is allowing a lot of blowby into the crankcase. I had this happen on a 1981 Rabbit Diesel and it was blowing an amazing amount of oil out of the valve cover!

I'd do a leakdown test next, where you pressurize the cylinders and see how fast and also where the air leaks out. You can actually listen at the intake, exhaust pipe, and at the crankcase for the leaking air. If you do this on multiple cylinders, you should be able to see if there are any relative differences between readings and sounds (amount of air leaking at the various places).

You gave us the compression number for the bad cylinder, but what were the numbers for the other 7?