I bought this truck yesterday and it ran fine on the way home.
I went this morning to get a state inspection sticker and it dies on me about 5 miles down the road. I had it towed home (ouch, not off to a good start with this one)

1. the main tank is dripping fuel and the bottom of it is mostly wet from the middle on
back. if I siphon the fuel out of this how hard is it to drop? I see the front bolt is under the carrier bearing. what am I likely to find? are these leaks common?

2. the wiring on the passenger side between the battery and the firewall has all been spliced with a couple dozen butt connectors and wire nuts, but all the lights worked yesterday and it was starting and running fine.
is there a source for wiring harnesses?

battery terminal (negative) on the drivers side battery is loose enough to spin back n forth.
I need to replace battery cables or at least a new end on the negative.
whats a good source for the cables? they're fat and look expensive!

3. Disconnect the fuel line from the lift pump at the fuel filter housing and nothing comes out when I crank it. there's a rubber cone washer there that's disintegrated so that aint going back on right away. the exit line going to the IP I took off also and the rubber cone washer looks fine. the orfice bleed off port is capped with a plastic cap and a zip tie
can I just get brass fittings for the lift pump and ff housing and do away with this line?
looks like it has a heater built into it?


I'm semitired and have more time than money but not sure about parts and where to get them. namely a new FSV valve, fuel lines and wiring harnesses for now.


many thanks in advance.

Paul
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Fuel tanks rusting are a common problem. Also, people modifying the vent system off the top of a diesel tank are common, so if they did not do a good job, it may be leaking there if you filled the tank. If you do end up putting a new tank in it, I would highly recommend you do modify the vent, so you can get fuel in it. These trucks are terrible to get diesel into. What I did with mine is take the white plastic roll-over valve out, found a plumbing elbow that fit the gromment snug, and then ran a 1/2" line from there to the outside of the frame, looped it up, and wire tied it up inside the fender, pointing down with a screen on the end to keep bugs out. I did both tanks.

Another common problem with these trucks is the fuel sender pickup. They had a large "shower head" plastic pickup inside the tank, and these like to break off. When you get to about 1/4 tank, it runs out of fuel. Most people take a FUEL line, cut a vee in the end, and stick it on the pickup tube to replace it.

Those rubber seals are commonly known as "olives". Do a google search for that and see what you come up with. I am not sure the threads will let you put any other fitting in there.

There are currently no new wiring harness available for these trucks, so you will have to carefully fix yours.

 

About the FSV, the parts stores carry them, but they are a generic thing that will work, but you need to do a little retro fitting to make it hook up. I believe if you do find a Ford valve that fits, they are very expensive.

Mine is still working, I tried it the other day. But if it ever quits working, I am going to do away with it, hook everything up like I have a single tank, and then put a cheap electric pump on the output of the rear tank, and use it to transfer fuel to the front tank. I think that might be a doable thing, and make it much simpler.

 

this truck has a diamond plate flatbed that looks heavy as hell.
I don't think I'll be trying to lift that off. I definatly want to get the tank dropped and fix whatever is making her leak when full.
looks like the front tank strap bolt is behing the driveshaft carrier bearing?

I'm going to try replacing the lift pump that was replaced in 2009 and see if that gets er going, if not then I'll probably try and bypass the FSV temporary to see if that works.

either way it'd be nice to get her going enough to get state inspected.
I've PM'ed typ4 over at oilburners for a set of olives and can't do much till those get here, but eat turkey n pie

 

thats not a bad idea!
I think though before I do that I'd install a couple of manual vales in the cab floor and redo the fuel lines. I really hate electrical stuff, (it's mutual)that's why I got the 6.9 with a manual tranny

 

The manual valves will work. You will have to switch two, one for the supply and one for the return. You will also have to do some re-wiring for the fuel gauge sending unit. The FSV is a motorized valve, and it has a set of aux contacts in it that does the sending unit switching for the fuel gauge. That's why it has so many wires going to it.

About the fuel tank straps. If it looks too hard to get to, you might as well cut it and get a new bolt. They usually break off anyway if they are very rusty. I would also make sure to use a jack under the tank, even a little bit of fuel is very heavy, and it will want to slosh back and forth and makes it very hard to handle.