I owned a '95 single cab 2WD XLT from 95-97 that had a 5.8L in it. My wife and I affectionately referred to it as "Chuck, the Big, Bad, White Truck". The gas mileage and lack of 4 wheel drive made me sell it while I was in college.

I sold my '67 F100 yesterday to a happy couple. The 67-72 is my favorite style of Ford, with the 92-96 a close second. Since the '67 is gone, its time to get a 4x4 supercab!

I found a '95 4wd that has an E4OD and 5.0 with only 116k. I spoke to the 3rd owner yesterday, and headed 2.5 hrs away to check it out. No rust, no leaks. He said the transfer case has a "hum" to it when driving, but he was told that was normal? Does this sound normal?

It has new 31" Kelley tires on it. If I get it, the plan will be to clean it up and look for the aluminum mod wheels like my original XLT had.

Here's the '67:




Here is the '95:

 

a "hum" is not normal, but it might be one of those things that "has been there forever" and hasn't really gotten any worse, different, or broken during that time so he just deemed it to be "normal".


fluid check would be the first thing, but I wouldn't be so confident that he has the ability to isolate the noise strictly to the t-case. could be a lot of things, but either way nothing is all that expensive to fix on these trucks.

 

The owner also said that the truck doesn't feel like it is a powerhouse. What have you done to wake the 5.0 up without harming it?

 

oh hes definitely right about that! driving a stock 302 is as bad as it gets, the throttle pedal feels like it does nothing.


you cant work any miracles on the 302 in a truck, unfortunately. you can wake it up a bit for very little money with some ported gt40(p)'s, a cam, and long tubes. it wont harm it at all, itll just make it run like it should have originally from the factory.


if you want more power, a 351 is better, a 408 or other stroker combo is best (excluding 460) with a good set of heads.

 

My '67 had the inline 300 in it. When I changed the exhaust manifold and exhaust, it gave it an extra shot of energy. Any such luck with the 302?

 

yea, long tubes and a high flow cat will give it some pedal feel, but wont work wonders for the total hp though. . .the heads are too awful to produce any real power. but, as said above, long tubes will give the pedal a "crisper" feel; the pedal under light throttle will actually do something.

 

I picked the truck up today. 119k original miles. Drove well. Valve cover is leaking, and it has a "hum" to it, but it may be the tires. The normal preventative maintenance will happen this/next week and the oil leak.

I got it home and the driver's inside door handle got really hard and won't open. Argggggg!

The paint on the hood & roof has typical AZ clear coat that is shot, but the rest looks decent. Overall, I'm pleased!

 

Congrats on picking a solid OBS! Your old truck was a good lookin old girl! It looks like you have a lot to work with with your new one! I wish the only issues mine had were pealing clear coat and a whine! Heck, mine doesn't even have a clear coat anymore!!! Lol!

Anyway, I look forward to hearing more from you on the progress on your new truck!

 

You got a really nice truck there! Personally, I have to agree with the other comments about the 302, but I have also owned a 97 F150 with the 4.6 5spd manual, and it was worse then the 302. The 302s have been around for ages, since 65, so they have proved their worth in my book. You have a lighter truck with the 1/2 ton, a 351 will definitely give you more power, but there is the cost of purchasing another engine and then the work of installing it. I am not sure about the computer connections, but there are a ton of wires in those trucks. I am not sure on how all the electrical connectors work from a 302 to a 351. The connectors are color coded for the harness that connects to the engine. So ultimately, it comes down to the cost of things. The money that you spend on getting another engine, any possible extra parts or what ever, has to be weighted against just building up the current engine. The other thing to consider is what are your plans for the truck? Lots of heavy pulling, mostly a highway truck, or an around the town use, to off roading. Depending what your plan is, to me, would dictate which way I would go on building an engine. IMHO.

 

If that were mine, I would just invest in a better exhaust system. I have shorties and a magnaflow y-pipe, but if I were to do it again I would use long tube headers and custom make a y pipe into a 2.5 single for a 302. Judging from comments here, the Long tube into single pipe exhaust provides the most torque capability for a stock or near stock 302.

Along with the general maintenance things you do, one of the things that makes a difference is advancing the base timing to 12 deg BTDC or as much as the engine can handle before detonation. There is a write up of this known as the 6Litre tune up that advocates a hotter coil and low resistance wires, but IMO if the ignition system is in good working order the timing bump will be just as effective.

If you are like me, then optimizing the powertrain you have will be satisfactory for your needs.

BTW, nice pickup. 92-96's around my area seem to get rusty faster than other generations, so wash out the wheel wells and such on a more regular basis than you would otherwise.

 

I picked up a 95 that's the same exact setup you have but in a regular cab (short bed). I've completed every maintenance I can think of and my 302 has a decent amount of pep. I just had new exhaust run from the cat back (Previous owner had an exhaust system that was illegal in my area). That motor has plenty of potential. Unless you plan to do serious offroading or racing I'd just invest in pepping up what you have. How is the steering in the truck? Does it have much play in the steering wheel?

 

No play in my steering. The truck is tight!

 

That's great! That was one of my biggest issues until last month when I got around to fixing it (without spending a penny actually). It looks like you have a good solid truck.

 

I checked the tag on the door frame and found that I have A H9 r&p. I deciphered that to have 3.55 gearing with limited slip to push my 31" tires. Perhaps the whining noise is actually the rear end, instead of the transfer case? I pulled the fill plug out of the transfer case and bright purple fluid came out. I used the push button 4x4 on my driveway to engage and disengage the transfer case. I then backed the truck up 30-40 feet. The noise persists. While driving, I take my foot off the gas and put it in neutral and it remains.

 

I hate noises like that. What I'd do is put the truck up on jack stands front and back, one at each corner, then start it up, put it in gear and crawl around underneath with a mechanic stethoscope. I'd have someone "drive" it while I listened for noises under acceleration, gear changes, etc.

If you try this, you do so at your own risk. Watch out for rotating shafts and tires.