Ok so I am the owner of a 69 F250 2wd with 390 and NP435 4 speed.

Problem 3 is priority, thank you.

Problem 1, Brakes:

Since I bought the truck 8 months ago I have replaced the booster, master, hard lines to proportioning valve, and rubber lines to caliper. Anytime I have had an "emergency" brake were I have to give it any more effort than a regular red light stop the truck has slightly pulled to the right. My last truck a F100 did the same due to bad adjustment so I never looked into it. However the last 2 days or so when going slow it would turn the wheel to the right severely but only going slow and then the brake pedal stuck yesterday where the brakes would stay applied if I didn't pull it back up a FEW times NOT every time. Then today I noticed my brake fluid was a little low not too bad so I just topped it off before I left and had ZERO problems today, note that it was barely low not enough to generally cause concern, AND I never noticed any fluid leaking from drum. The reason that today it was fine is the reason I am bewildered otherwise I would have assumed bad cylinder on one of the front drums and just replaced it.

Problem 2, Clutch:
When I bought it I also resurfaced the flywheel and put in a new clutch kit and it has never given me any problems, until now. The adjusting nut on the clutch fork pushrod thing came slightly loose and made it hard to shift so I just turned it back in and it shifts fine now. However before and after I just recently noticed that with the clutch in no matter the gear/neutral if I rev the motor past 2kish rpm the clutch pedal pushes back slightly. Is the clutch not disengaging enough?? I put a very slight amount of preload on the clutch, maybe not enough, should I just adjust it in more so it disengages sooner? It still works fine just wondering because it doesn't seem normal.

Problem 3, Oil:
Wouldn't ya know a typical oil change which I have done to this truck already, turned into a 6 hour affair yesterday. Long story short I broke the filter chiseled it around till it unscrewed then replaced it and put new oil in. I didn't tighten the drain plug enough and lost about a quart today before I noticed it and tightened it up and filled it back to 6 quarts. I used the cheap 5w-30 conventional oil from oreilly then some random conventional 5w-30 from the gas station for the last quart when I filled it back up. On my way to the gas station (and home after) my oil pressure gauge with has the L-H and needle NOT the dummy light, would read slightly low while driving then would drop almost like it wasn't running with the clutch in. To combat this and not **** my pants I would rev the motor while sitting to keep the needle as close to the "middle" as I could. I have no idea what's causing this and I don't really feel safe driving it because I don't want to destroy the motor. I did rinse the engine bay yesterday after the messy oil change could the sending unit have gotten ruined by the water, just a simple hose no high pressure. This has also never happened before this little escapade always just sat in the middle.

If ANYBODY has an idea please let me know I am mostly concerned with problem 3, as I can't/don't feel comfortable driving on the edge of no oil pressure.

THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!!

 

hook up a aftermarket mechanical oil psi gauge and see what its at.

i wouldnt trust old electrical gauges, especially a oil psi.

 

Brakes- Something is messed up in the wheel. You use a mix of terminology, is it a disc or drum front setup?

Clutch- You need about 1-1.5" of free travel at the pedal pad. You have it adjusted so it's riding the clutch constantly.

Pressure- Since these are an actual gauge and not an idiot light, the gauge will drop a bit at idle. You do also have the wrong oil in it, it needs zinc to protect the cam which is not in modern gas engine oils. I ran 10w30 with ZDDPlus in my 360 rebuild, but 15w40 diesel rated oil is a useable alternative. At the very least, get some zinc additive and put it in ASAP or it will wipe the cam.

 

Drum, drum, drum, sorry bout that. My first thought was sticky wheel cylinder but have yet to get under there today.

I do have at least an inch or so on the pedal before I feel the clutch spring resisting, Ill look into it more but I definitely feel like its not disengaging versus not engaging fully.

Definitely wasn't aware of the zinc problem, ran 10w30 in the last truck for a long time before I sold it. The gauge (which used to stay in the middle for the most part) completely drops off at idle almost like the truck is off. But the gauge also moves dependent on rpm ie. super low at idle and just barely low at normal driving.

Thanks for the super fast responses!!

 

69 on the oil, you should be using 10W not 5W. The 5W is going to give you a lower reading. I don't run the oil with additives like Jarred does, if your jingle is burning holes in your jeans and you feel better spending it then go for it.

You aren't likely going to damage the engine with this change so run it for a couple grand and go back with the 10W at that time.


John

 

1. Sounds to me like you have/had air in the system still. Some of the air came out via the master cylinder which is the high point of the system. This would explain the brake pedal acting wierd and the fluid level dropping a little. When you did the brake job did you bleed the brakes farthest away from the master cylinder to the closest?
2. Did you use a "centerforce" (centrifugal assist) brand or style clutch pressure plate? This can feel different at RPM. If not I'd check the motor and trans mounts.
3. Good thing at first to use the thinner oil. Check dipstick to see if new oil is picking up sludge or not from inside of motor. Previous owner might not have kept up on oil changes. If the oil on stick is staying clean I would put a quality additive in the oil to thicken it up a tad. "Lucas" or "STP" If the additives don't help your gauge reading I would hook up a mechanical gauge temporarilly also to see what the pressure really is.

 

Brakes were done like 4 months ago or something and have had no problems since but they were bled correctly.

I did not use a centrifugal clutch but the three prong style.

I guess I'll do the additive because I took top end apart and did top end gasket kit and cleaned that part real well and also dropped the pan and it looked clean so I think it's just thin oil.

 

If the truck steers hard to the RIGHT, then the left front brake is NOT working correctly. Leaky wheel cylinder--which would cause the drop in fluid level. It also gets the lining wet which makes the brakes not work well, which causes the pull to the opposite side. Brake clean the shoes and install new wheel cylinder. BUT, since the left failed, you know the right isn't far behind so you might as well do BOTH sides. Wheel cylinders are pretty cheap.

Clutch, sounds like you don't have enough freeplay and the levers are coming back against the throw out bearing. Typically even the Long style(3 lever) have some counterweight built into them. That way as the RPM increases it increases the grip on the disc. With lack of freeplay, the levers are coming up and pushing on the bearing and you feel it in your foot. Doesn't sound horrible, but you need just a touch more clearance. Another turn or so on the adjuster should take care of it.

I used to run regular 10w40 valvoline in my '67. The springs on the valves are no where near stiff enough to damage anything due to the lack of zinc. My 352 had about 150K miles on it. Some additive wouldn't hurt.

 

You probably have a busted pivot on 1 of the 3 fingers for your pressure plate. That what happend to me. Also, check for any worn linkage parts. I had to reweld and rebuild all of mine. I went ahead and drilled out all the pivot points and added brass bushings at all pivot points. Works great now. call me for more info. Joe 5627465090

 

I put NON SYNTHETIC 20w-50 in my old 302 and it never ran better. Great oil pressure and good idle. I tried 10w-30 once and the oil pressure was only at 10 psi at idle.

 

The thicker 20W will always show a higher idle pressure. 10 psi on a well used engine is enough.



John