I have a parts truck 1990 F250 Diesel 7.3 Manual and my truck needing some parts 1985 F350 Diesel 6.9 Auto.

Are the windshields cross compatible as well as brake booster/master cylinder, font and rear brakes (donor truck has all new brakes).

Need to know asap as I have to pull as many parts I can use before the donor has to go...

Thanks,

Steven C.

 

The windshield will work. The cabs are the same, their are just cosmetic changes. The doors on my '85 are off a '87-91 generation.

I don't know about the brakes, but I wouldn't be surprised if they are interchangeable. Just look up the parts online and see if you get the same part number on both trucks.

The only gotcha I see is the 90 will have a Sterling rear axle. The '85 was the first year for the Sterling and it sounds like a few still got a Dana.

Definitely grab the ZF out of the parts truck, even if you don't plan on using it you'll easily be able to sell it.

 

Windshields are cheap to have professionally installed, and a PITA to install and a bigger PITA to remove without breaking. $200, guaranteed not to leak, in your driveway.

Rear brakes are most likely different. Drums def. would be, if the rear is the old Dana with the captive drums.

Best way to check compatibility of those sorts of parts would be to look up both on RockAuto, compare part numbers.

 

The windshield will physically fit, but the 87-97 trucks had the vin plate closer to the driver fender than the 80-86 trucks. Installing a later windshield will cover your VIN plate. Some people don't care, but I would not like to drive a truck with compromised ID. If you buy new, tell the glass company to be sure it's the right one, and check the VIN cut out in the mask before they remove the old one. Getting it right can be quite a hassle (ask me how I know). I made them take out the first one which was wrong, they never could obtain the correct one, so I ended up with a special order windshield that was clear all the way to the edge and they hand painted a primer border to protect the adhesive. Does not look as nice as the right glass, but it works and you can see the VIN... phew...

 

I need a good rear sliding window if available, and maybe some seat belt parts.

 

Windshields aren't that hard to do, just time consuming. It's one of the few things left that I'd let a shop do to my vehicles, but I've had a LOT of bad luck with the 'professionals' in recent years so I may just do them all myself from this point on.

One clown was trying to save on urethane apparently, he just tacked the corners and the top in and called it good. The car leaked so badly a friend and I pulled the glass and saw what the 'professional' did. Cleaned it up and did it right ourselves, no more problem.

Another clown in '08 did the windshield in my '07 F150. He didn't put the clips back in the bottom of the glass that the cheap plastic cowling anchors to. He used electricians tape instead. Not too long down the road the cowlings were flapping in the wind. On a brand new truck. Nice.

When that windshield went I took it to Ford to 'get it done right.' Right.
Instead of cutting the old glass out they kicked it out! It was evening when I picked the truck up so I didn't notice it then. The next morning I get in to go to work I'm noticing my interior has pretty sparkles. The glass shards were everywhere. Driving to work I thought my windows were rolled down, but no, they were fine. The wind I was hearing was blowing threw the gaps in the urethane that hold the windshield in.

Truck goes back to Ford of course. They vacuumed the interior out, claimed to have reinstalled the windshield, but you can see where they filled the gaps with urethane.

They replaced the cowlings, but didn't put the clips in either. To this day my cowlings flap in the breeze.

Screw having other people work on any of my stuff, 'professional' are as stupid as a local meth-head, they just have uniforms and a salary.

 

Wow, either you have had an incredible streak of bad luck, or it's saying something about the job market / work ethic in that part of the world. Around here, the only kind of businesses that tolerates that sort of work are the "Iffy Lube" et al oil change shops.
The local auto glass shop here is now part of Safelite; they come to you. One of our PSDs, cowl area, roof, etc. were chock full of pine needles (truck was from PNW), dude cleaned it all out. Bit of rust (not rust-thru) on the framework, ground off, primed and painted before installing the windshield. I had a Saturn done at a nearby body shop after a deer crash; they discovered the A-pillar was ever-so-slightly bent (insurance guy missed!). Windshield would've gone in, but would eventually have leaked. They managed to straighten it by hand, saved me a bundle.

Even the muffler and brake places around here are pretty on the ball. I guess for the "clowns", there's plenty of employment at the quick-lube emporia.

Another thing to consider about the windshield - it's a bunch of work, only to have another scratched-up 20+-year-old piece of glass. A new windshield is like getting new glasses; you don't realize how bad your old one was until you look through the clarity of a new one.

 

The brake booster looks the same, the cylindar not so much but i could probably swap parts.

I had my fan clutch seize so I have a cold engine and it sounds like a plane taking off. Im thinking of replacing with an electric fan capable of over 2000cfm. If I do go electric, at what tempurature should it turn on at?

I'm tempted to do a cooling system cleaning and flush. For cleaning, Im thinking of installing using the heater core line a high flow hydralic 10 micron oil filter.

I have a feeling my glow plugs are toast but I have a like new set from the donor truck.

Since this is both a family and work truck, im planning a deep cycle battery system inside the cab with control panel mounted on the floor above the auto transmission with mounted inverter, voltage meters, multiple outlets, 12v sockets, and a strip of usb for accessory charging. Deep cycle battery to run things and a toggle switch to isolate from truck power to avoid draining truck.

converting an aluminum waste water tank from industrial carpet cleaning system to a bed fuel tank until i can afford a semi truck aluminum tank. Original fuel tanks rusting out, rear already removed, secondary hydralic filter assembly installed before fuel pump.

Got to get a higher amperage alternator, maybe extend exhaust to be even quieter, setup positive power blocks and relays for multiple in cab switching for future mods and accessories.

horn does not work but i have a traffic blaster horn from a retired emergency vehicle to mount and hopefully wire into the original steering wheel switch.

if i cant salvage from donor vehicle the window wash system, build my own.

So much work to do, lots of major things have priority. my biggest problem is lack of funds.

 

I am currently marrying my 85 f-20 and my 90 f-150. I took the body off of the 90 and put it on the 85 frame. As far as the booster and master cylinder goes, I had to change some of the lines that ran from the brake box on the frame right behind the front left tire. The electrical connector at the top of that brake box that runs the brake lights are different on the 85 frame. The 90 has a big round connecter that came off of a lead wire while the 85 has a connector that runs right into it. I will be working on that part of the truck this weekend and If I figure out how to wire that part correctly I will let you know. Hope this helps, not %100 percent sure of how a 90 f-250 is wired but I assume its going to be almost the same as an f-150.

 

It's not the model difference that'll get you, at least it's not as significant as the generation difference. Ideally, you'll need both '85 and '98 EVTMs, to figure out what's what wiring-wise. Then you get to figure out which dash will fit which cab, and which dash you want to end up with, which engine harness to use, etc.