I inherited a 1989 F150 4 X4 gas 302 from my elderly father who recently passed away. I will say upfront that I am female and know almost nothing about pickups but I am all about learning! I have never worked on any vehicle but I want to be a good owner and take care of this truck. It did not have a manual so I ordered and received one so that is a good start! It has been sitting for a long time, I put 2 new tires on it and then had a local auto shop check fluids and had the oil changed. They also replaced the serpentine belt. After driving, I have noticed some issues:

1. There is a small leak(s) under the engine and seems to be coming from the front end but the oil/coolant/transmission fluid levels are okay. This causes me high anxiety!! Is it normal for old pickups to leak a little?
2. When I switched to the rear fuel tank, after about 10 miles, the oil pressure gauge went wacky, then low and the engine died. Switched back to front tank, left overnight, and next morning it started. It has been running fine since then. I put gas in both tanks to make sure there was fuel and neither tank took a lot of fuel so they did not run out but wondered about water in the tank? I did put some HEET in both tanks but have not tried switching to the rear tank again. I believe this might be high priority but don't need to use that tank?
3. The AC is R12 so wondering about cost to charge or convert to the 134A system? Don't really need the AC to work, windows down works for me! but not sure if it could be related to heater issue stated below?
4. The heater does not work according to my dad, he bought a little plug-in heater. The AC blows hot air so the blower seems to work.
5. The engine is very dirty but not sure I should wash it as I find different opinions about doing this. I don't know what to cover so I don't cause problems. Does this even matter?
6. Also noticed the muffler pipe is rusty and half missing the end of the pipe. Cause for concern or just a cosmetic thing? It's a little loud but no biggie.

I can't afford to put thousands into this truck so I guess I am just wanting some direction and ideas of what could be the issues so when/if I take it to a shop, I appear to know a little something I will not drive this all the time, it is just here when I need to haul something but I want to drive it at least weekly to keep it in good shape. I promised I would take good care of it and hoping you all can share your wisdom with me to help me keep that promise.

 

Hi TLC4DadsPU, Welcome to FTE.

I'm going to leave the questions for those better suited to your truck then I.

I just wanted to say, Sorry about your father, I recently lost mine as well!

-Enjoy
fh : )_~

 

Normal? Yes. Acceptable? Eh, it depends. Having a leaking vehicle gets annoying after a while. A slow leak from an oil pan gasket, or engine main-seal can generally be ignored if you check the oil so often. Coolant and transmission fluid leaks on the other hand generally should be addressed quickly.

If the differential is leaking, the fluid level should be checked and replenished if necessary. It's rather difficult to reseal the front diff in these trucks, so unless it's really leaking, I wouldn't worry too much about it.
If the rear tank has been rarely used, it's likely the fuel pump in it is failing, or there was a lot of bad gas in it. The fuel system is unrelated to the oil pressure sensor/gauge, so you may have some wiring issues (or a problem with the oil pressure/sensor)
It's not terribly expensive, you need new lines, a new filter-dryer/reciever and a new metering valve. You also need to replace all the oil in the compressor with r134a compatible oil. It could be a broken blend door/cable, or a plugged heater core. See if you can hear a change in the fan sound when you move the temperature selector from hot to cold.
Washing the engine is fine. Just avoid using a pressure washer. The best engine degreasers are also generally a little harsh to aluminum (they can actually corrode it), so don't leave them sit on the engine for an extended period of time. For the most part, just avoid spraying the distributor, wires and ignition coil.
The worst that could happen really is that it breaks and you lose the muffler/tailpipe on the road. Up to you to decide if that's a critical issue.

 

Thank you and sorry for you loss as well. It is tough but something we all have to deal with I guess.

 

Thanks! Some great info here and I appreciate it! Not exactly sure how to check the fluid in the differential? I google a lot but some of this stuff just isn't on You Tube, I need visuals LOL Don't suppose you have a pic of the ignition coil just laying around???

 

There's a fill hole on the differential. You pull the fill plug out, and if the fluid level is correct, it should be right at the bottom of the plug, or a little should come out. You fill it by putting oil into the fill hole until it starts to come out.

Just follow your ignition wires. The wire connected to the center of the distributor will be connected to the ignition coil.

 

Great details, thanks! Just regular motor oil? 10W40 or a special oil?

 

Nope, front differential should have gear oil put in it. Manual should describe what weight oil it needs.

 

Got it! Thanks!