this 85 has some front end problems with really bad wear patterns on the tires, very choppy it's pretty rough as it had been neglected for a bit too long. it has a 300 inline six. it's all manual behind the motor, including the hubs, a *real* 4x4 well, an auto tranny would be helpful at times.
also it has engine issues. it runs crappy, galloping and such. it has a lot of power, but the idle is terrible. i've tightened manifold bolts, gutted the cat (as a diagnostic measure of course ). i think a carb rebuild and some emissions diagnostics are in order(the emissions light is not on though) . it will get up to 85 no problem on the road though.
it's a farm truck, and there's no emissions testing here. would be ok with diagnosing the ecm stuff and repairing, need to know how to diagnose everything. also if it looks too costly, will go the deletion route, so what can be totally removed; what should stay; what needs to be unplugged after it is manually/ecm moved to a certain position--and how. i'm pretty good at figuring things out, but a guideline is always helpful. it does look like alot of the emissions stuff can be removed easily, like it was all bolted on as an afterthought. the stepper motors, sensors, etc. on the carb i could see causing the most difficulty. would it be better to get a non-ecm carb? and then there is the distributor/ignition relying on the emissions stuff. i do have a haynes manual to refer to. i guess right now i'm not sure where to start, so if i know some more i can make a decision as to which path to take. it's also gotta be done on a tight budget, as the 95 truck is the primary truck now.

the 85 is a good learning tool, i'll go over the front on that to become familiar with the procedure, so i can redo the front on the 95 f150 4x4 w/ auto hubs and electric transfer case. which is chopping the tires and making a grinding noise, but it doesn't sound metallic. IFS makes it real tempting to find a salvage dodge with a real front axle to swap in.

thanks for help
-karl

 

You did fine until you got down to the dodge part. Ford rules!

 

#1 dodge and ford both use Dana front axles in some applications.
#2 i dont care for dodge myself, but they are the only other of the big three that have monobeam front axles, coil springs, and 5 bolt wheel circles.
#3 i don't intend to turn this into a p... contest over what is better brand, merely i am asking for help to figure out best solutions for this situation as far as $ and ease of repair.

 

thanks for the link. it is eec IV. will need to get a new battery so any codes set will remain stored. the emissions light doesn't come on though (except for bulb test), so there may not be any codes being set.
i did a tune up (plugs, wires, inspected cap&rotor), replaced pcv valve and fuel filter, changed oil/filter. no dramatic improvement (slight increase in oil pressure on guage). it still idles rough, galloping and vibrating i think the engine mounts are shot it moves around quite a bit. choke and idle speed controller function properly. not sure about the other electrical motor on the carb by the float bowl. going to test the emissions solenoids next. i've figured out the screws on the throttle lever, but have a couple questions: there's a screw at the base of the carb on the passenger side, what does that adjust? also the veci mentions an anti-diesel and air flow screw to not touch. where are those located?
the haynes manual is not too helpful with the carbs, they say something to the effect that there's too many so they aren't making the effort to show and tell; which is a bummer. I may end up springing for a carb kit--should i get a $10 or $35 kit ?both are avail from napa, 10 is their economy brand, 35 is echlin or what have you- not sure what's different between the two .

the AIR system is whacked: the upper line's check valve is letting exhaust out. the lower line to the cat along with its check valve are MIA, so there's an open hole by the cat as well. might eliminate this system b/c of budget constraints. hovever we may sell this truck when it's running better, so the AIR system may have to be repaired.
the egr is probably faulty as well. since this is eecIV it has a solenoid (but no evr) so i assume that it should hold vacuum without relying on backpressure. it doesnt.

and i need to find a radiator...

but i'm having fun!
-karl

 

I have the exact same truck. The previous owner removed all the emmission stuff and the Cat. All the vacuum off the carb was pluged. I had to put a manual choke cable on it and play with the carb adjustments and it purrs like a kitten.

 

today i checked the purge solenoid and the bowl vent solenoid. they operate fine with battery voltage applied.
then i plugged the hole from the missing air tube to the cat, and removed the rest of the air system, leaving the tab and tad solenoids in place, but plugging/sealing the vacuum hoses for each. did the idle speed adjustment per veci label, and everything is in order, it still seems a bit rough at idle to me. the gas tank is full, but it was last filled in the fall, and it was already half full of year+ old gas. so maybe i just have to run a few tankfulls through it.
are there any additives i could put in the tank to restore the gas to like fresh performance?
thanks.
karl

 

As I recall from my boating days there is a product for that problem. I can't recall the name. You would add it to the gas after the boat sat all winter. I had 2 50 gal tanks on my boat and it worked great. Check with your local boat dealer

 

sta-bil would be the ticket....if i had a time machine!

it seems that the only time something gets parked for an extended period is when it has a full tank and you aren't expecting to park it that long! breakdowns seem to occur with the same type of odds too....
-karl

 

This is the correct procedure for pulling codes, and it has a link for the full code list.

Techron is the best fuel additive for EFIs, but if you suspect bad fuel, just pull the filter off the frame rail, stick the line in a bucket, trip the fuel pump, and empty the tank. (Had to do that Monday night on Mom's car! ) Then change the filter, hook everything back up, refill the tank, & test the fuel pressure at the rail.

 

not the correct procedure on this truck, it's carbed with a mechanical fuel pump!
but the carb is controlled by an eec-iv system. so it's a very tail end carb model.
i'm wondering about the behavior of the emissions lamp on fords. i'm used to gms where it's on whenever the key is and the engine is not. on this ford truck it only illuminates briefly then goes out with the key left on. anyhow once i get a new battery so it keeps charge (and then i can also monitor for parasitic losses of batt voltage as well) i'll let her run awhile and give it a chance to discover any malfunctions and then pull the codes.

 

You should still be able to pull the codes using a multimeter, as described in that thread.

 

did you take care of that front end yet? i didn't see a post on it, but just in case................ i have similar problem with my '85 bad wear patern and drove all over the road. had the ball joints changed and everything was fine cept for the head gasket that blew out 2 weeks later. oh well. tell me bought that '95 is it 5.8 or 5.0 l

 

yeah i know. there aren't any codes to pull if the battery is dead and doesn't hold charge and you have to start it with a jumper. so once a battery gets in there and it's run a few times i'll give it a shot. every part seems to have the ability to work right (unless they aren't getting the ecm signal), except the egr which i'll get to later, since it doesn't affect idle and overal driveability.
as for my inquiry about the emissions lamp it's just a function question vs. a gm feature--on a gm the emission/mil/ce lamp stays on indefinitely if the key is on and motor off. so i thought maybe the fords would do the same thing. haven't paid attention to the 95 though since it runs perfect.

karl

 

front ends on both haven't been touched since i needed to see if the 85 could be made to run correctly first, and also i have to work out in the open elements, and the couple days of spring we had have now turned to winter again...also the front ends are bigger money pits and the stress level is still high (but falling) from tax week here so i'm not quite ready to hit my dad up with "i need 500$ for parts on your trucks." especially since i'm swapping a tranny in his mail car which need other work as well 350k miles on the mailroute will do that to a car. i can use the neighbors garage but i dont want to put him out. it's all a matter of timing, since it isn't wise to have every vehicle tied up in the middle of a project at the same time. the 85 isn't a main vehicle anymore so it's great to get warmed up on. and then there's the farm machinery to work on too...if only i got paid for this

i think first some tires will be in order on both vehicles so that broken cords and worn tread patterns won't be a factor in the road testing. people (as in my mom and sisters) like to bump curbs hard... then after that i can check out the bj and tierod ends. have access to a shop press and some other goodies so should be good to go. my uncle had his 89 f25o 4x4 front redone at a shop for 1500$ or so...i'm sure it can be done for much cheaper (probably less than 500) under the oak tree or in the neighbor's garage.

here's the specs on both trucks: both are stock.
85 f150 300cid , eec-iv carb, 4spd manual trans, manual transfer case and hubs. reg. cab longbox. plain jane rims. p235-15
95 f150 5.0 efi. 4speed electronic auto tranny, electric transfer case, auto hubs. ext cab short box. alloy rims. p235-15xl

there you go
-karl