I replaced the whole regulator assembly on my 87..It was a about $10 more for the kit with new regulator and motor off ebay than just the motor but it was worth it..the old regulator was loose/worn..and it was just as simple to replace as the motor by itself.

 

Drove the truck 5 1/2 hours to Lake Ouachita in Arkansas and parked it at the boat ramp, it's a beautiful lake and had a great time camping on an island with my girls,

highlights of the trip,
40 minutes into the drive had a rear tire blow out, luckily 2 miles from a discount tire so I got six new ones (they were seven years old so I figured I was on borrowed time)
pea soup fog sunday morning for the ride back to the ramp, visibility was about 100ft
boat cover shredded on the way home (it was already two years old and I anticipated it happening)
A/C stopped blowing through the vents and only thru the defrost, luckily it was overcast and not to uncomfortable (reading up I see it's hopefully just a vacuum line)

Good news is boat ran great like it always does and the starter worked every time I turned the key so I didn't have to jump the solenoid with a screwdriver !

 

and forgot to mention,
just after the tire blow out and then for the next hour and half I had the flashing O/D light, I was at highway speed, 60mph and 2k rpm so it seemed to be driving fine, it finally stopped and didn't come back on at all, I'll check the codes later this week,

Also,
in the driveway just before departure had to change the wiper fluid pump, new one went in easily but I guess it didn't seal good with that weird push in metal retaining ring, and leaked like a sieve, so I'll be pulling that out along with the o/d codes and vacuum line check, uggg, at least I have six new tires on it!

 

I changed out my CDR valve,(Ford now calls it an "Adapter", paid $54 for it from the stealership) was starting to burn some oil, hoping that clears it up, was for sure some oil getting past it. Other than that, 6.9 L keeps on trucking. Seen 2 6.5 L Detroit Chevy's die this year, and 1 funnins. 6.9 just keeps on chugging.... Reliable is an understatement when it comes to these engines.

 

Something about new tires angers these trucks..put 6 new tires on my 86 F350 and it blew the driveshaft.

 

I got my alternator and starting solenoid put on and got the supplies to rig up a fuel tank so hopefully, I can get it running

 

put a new vacuum line on so now my A/C blows through the vents! and installed a new starter relay to hopefully fix my intermittent starting problems,

 

Radiator swap, 4 row Champion to replace my leaky old one. Leaks through the trans cooler and maybe the upper hose port so I'll try to find a shop to clean and repair it for a spare or if anyone else can use it.

 

Changed the master brake cylinder. Hope the mushy brake pedal is gone now. And that the RABS valve is still ok.

 

Installed a Baldwin BF1222-SP 1 piece fuel filter to permanently remove the 2 piece design that Ford used which was causing my air intrusion. Also did the ATF in the fuel filter trick while I was at it for good measure. Bought two new 850CCA batteries to swap out tomorrow and will try to figure out what is wrong with my glow plugs since this truck is a b**** to start on cold mornings unless it is plugged in for an hour.

 

Started smelling coolant through the vents, I meticulously searched around the engine bay but no leaks could be found, passenger side carpet was dry as a bone, crawled underneath and saw a droplet below the heater box and knew right away it must be the heater core. Luckily us ford guys have it pretty easy and I got it pulled in ten minutes.

I stuck it in a bucket submerged in water and rigged a bicycle pump up to it so I could pressurize it.

Luckily the pin hole was on the outer side of one of the veins! It looked as if it didn't get enough solder as it had a little dimple there. A dab of solder with the map has torch and it was all sealed up! I'm still running the brass/copper style and it was in amazing shape so I figured I'd try to save it before I throw $65 down the drain.

I used some windshield sealer I had left over from another project to seal around where the tubes go through the firewall.

Figured it was a good time to fix it as we're in between cold fronts for the time being. She'll put out 150-160 degrees at the vents when it's cold as hell out.

Got a wife that gets cold alot? Better keep the idi. Best heater I've ever had, best truck too come to think of it..

 

Sucessfully fixed my non-working fast idle solenoid just in time before the cold weather over here in Germany. It was just the enameled wire that was loose at the terminal that made the cold idle not to work. Quick fix with the soldering iron. While the whole thing was off I cleaned the plunger and bracket itself thoroughly.

 

Ol' gal is getting 2 new fuel sticks -

Using a stethascope with a thin rod replacing the diaphragm, can listen to the motor and fuel points to pin down the most offending of the clackers.

Sun's a shining. . Good day to all.

 

Today I removed grille bits, mirrors, and most of the fender mounts. Putting a '94 cab on this truck. Perfect frame, crap cab, go figure! I'll start a thread for this project shortly...

 

I drilled out the vacuum port-thingee to install a Schrader so I can monitor my filter condition. . The old fitting appears to be some stone/metal substance that is limited permeable to air, and I did not have the proper fitting. Near zero vacuum!

Access port to check condition of filter via vacuum