I have a 1991 Ford F150 that I need a bit of help with. It’s a 6 cyl 4.9L 300 CID 5 speed manualtransmission engine. He’s got about 80Kmiles on him, one previous owner that was a “hack it off if it’s not working”mechanic. We’ve sunk about a grand intoSammie the truck working on no start issues.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>

Things to know. Sammie (the truck) is driven by a 15 yr old girl, I’m her mother and fairlyhandy but have not worked on auto engines. A few things I’m trying to work out myself to save a few bucks, or atleast know if I’m getting ripped off by the local guys.<o></o>

Many a rodent made a snack of this truck from the way the insulation,rubber trim, etc looks.<o></o>

I can’t tell you what all was done to fix the no startissues, I just know the mechanic had Sammie for almost 2 months. <o></o>

Problem: turn signals are not operating properly. There seems to be more issues when theheadlights are on. I’m going to replacethe fuses and the turn signal/hazard warning flasher to start. Anything else I can check? FYI Wiring was cut to dome light as theythought it was some sort of short there causing the no start issues.<o></o>

Problem: excessive heat from floor. Could the catalytic converter beclogged? (google search is whatsuggested this to me.) Can this becleaned/removed? I’m in Kansas and there are no emissionslaws.<o></o>

Problem: takes forever to get heat for cab. No the AC isn’t working. Do appear to be getting air movement thru thevents. If I pull the heater core toclean it, um, what do I clean it with, just water? I understand to drain the antifreeze belowthe core and in my model the core is behind the glovebox. I’ll probably check the hoses to make surethey are good first.<o></o>

Problem: gas/exhaust smell in cab. We had the muffler replaced and the smell isbetter, but it’s not gone. The gear boothas a hole in it (we haven’t gotten around to replacing it), and there is alarger hole in the floorboard. I’mwondering about having someone solder a metal plate in that area to seal it upor even using a heavy rubber matting? <o></o>

Thanks for giving this gal a hand!<o></o>

 

This is our truck, Sammie, before we cleaned him up a bit.

 

And this is my daughter and her two BFF's. Sammie the truck and Olive the Keeshond.

 

what do you mean by " the turn signals are not working properly" ? a description of the symptoms will help in solving the issue . by the way, fuses are either blown or not blown, there's no need to replace any that are not.

you don't need to pull the heater core to clean it, just pull the hoses off of it and force water through with a garden hose in the opposite direction of it's normal flow (don't spend too much time figuring that out ... just flush it in both directions and the job will get done). take note of the rate at which water is flowing OUT compared to the rate at which it is flowing IN and you will have a pretty good idea as to whether it is clogged or not.

replacing the thermostat is a regular maintenance item and doing so COULD solve your cab heat issue.

a clogged cat can manifest itself with a noticeable drop in power. with no emissions testing to worry about, you can just replace it with a straight pipe if it has failed.

looks like a decent old truck ... enjoy !

 

Turn signals are working sometimes and notothers.

Headlights off and they work justfine. I don’t recall breaking to haveany impact on them.

Headlights on and they will eithernot signal at all or the taillights are solid, but brighter than whenheadlights are on.

Good to know about the heater core,sounds like a job even this old lady can do

I thought the thermostat would be agood start with the cab heat. I can’tfind a diagram that shows me exactly where it’s located. Could you point me to one?

Thank you so much! The girl really loves her truck. Mom likes to “borrow” it too!

 

Turn signal sound like a ground problem. I believe the ground for the tail lights is rear cross member and the head/parking lights is on the core support right in front of battery.

 

1. Access the thermostat by removing the upper radiator hose from the engine block. The thermostat is inside the engine block, remove it by simply grabbing it and pulling it out.

Test it by dropping it into a boiling pot of water. If it expands at about 180 degrees, it is working properly.


2. Seems unlikely that the truck only has 87k miles. These trucks only have 5 digits on the odometer, so it's impossible to tell if it's rolled over unless you download the trucks history from some car history site.