'86 f150-does have the feedback ignition,no vacuum advance, truck is running very rough from sitting a long time, heard these 1bbl carbs are junk-so i'm not sure if i want to rebuild it? who has changed carb and intake and is it a pain to make it work with this ignition or can i just run a different carb with this intake? thanks marty

 

Hi Marty,

The only carb that will work properly with your feedback ignition system is the stock feedback carb, complete with its feedback solenoid. When running properly it is considered a good carb, particulary in terms of gas mileage.

If you want to put a different carb on your truck, you would need to retrofit your ignition system with the earlier "stand-alone" non-computerized DS-II ignition system, or one of the various aftermarket systems that are available. That system advances timing with engine speed based on mechanical components in the distributor (centrifugal weights and vacuum advance).

Do a search of this forum for "DSII Conversion" and you will find lots of helpful information on this.

Others will undoubtedly chime in on what types of carbs/spacers one can use and what modifications would be necessary, I'm no expert in that.

 

Changing the present carb on your engine is likely an exercise in futility unless you buy carb, distributor, module, coil, and wiring all at once and change it all. Your present dizzy won't operate correctly if you change just the carb, and it's against federal law to do so.
Anyone who has told you that the Carter YF carbs are junk isn't a good enough mechanic to work on my vehicle. Ford installed them as original equipment for a reason-they WORK. The "dreaded feedback carburetor" as it is referred to by some, is really a good carb, if one will take the time to learn how it works. It is tied into the computer (located under the dash, just beneath the radio) and the computer controls the ignition timing. If/when something goes wrong, you can pull the codes and the computer will tell you what is wrong in many cases. In the cases where a problem is caused by a vacuum leak or dizzy module failure, etc, you'll have to figure that out by yourself, but you'd have to do that on a non-feedback truck as well.

Now that I'm finished ranting, The answer to your question, yes, you can rebuild it IF the throttle shaft and bores are still tight (doubtful, though). You're probably better off buying a reman carb (holley does a good job) and putting it on.
Installing an aftermarket intake and exhaust is fraught with obstacles, and it's rare that one actually improves the performance AND driveability of their truck when they do it. Yeah, yeah, some do, but it's rare. Any change to an aftermarket intake will require the ignition to be swapped out as well. And mileage-you have the best setup you can have for good mileage.

Good luck. Let us know what you decide, and we'll do our best to help.

 

For reference, there's a lot of DSII-swap stuff here:

Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums - View Single Post - '80-'86 Tech Tips, Tricks and Projects:

 

I have an 85 with the feedback. I bought a rebuild kit from a local parts store and did it myself. After replacing the O2 sensor and some other normal tune up parts, then sorting out a number of vacuum leaks mine runs pretty good.

I get good gas mileage from mine. It is a 4 speed manual with overdrive. It is geared high so RPM stays low. I can get well over 20 mpg on the highway and rencently averaged 16 mpg mostly city driving with around 1500 lbs in the back over 80 miles.

It is by no means a speed demon, but it ran about the same empty as it did with the 1500 lbs in the back. I was really surprised how well it did pull with that load in the back. I guess I should have expected more, but its had a long life and wasn't all that well taken care of.

I have been tempted to yank off the feedback, but I'm pretty happy with it now. It does have times when I don't care for it.