I bought a 1986 F-150 Lariat 351 W with the HOLLY 4 Barrel Carb as you can see in my other threads I have been having a few problems but I have the truck running as I drive 60 miles with round trip to work five days a week.

My first question is I have a small oil leak and I think it's coming from the cap on the oil thing in the engine. I replaced it with a new one and it seems to leak still I am not sure what I need to do to fix this. I have a family friend has been helping me fix stuff on the truck but I am not trying to take up his time all the time so I thought I could ask on here and get some direction.

Secondly I drove about twenty minutes the other day and when I got there I was leaking so much coolant. I went to Walmart to buy more and I saw this additive you add to it to stop leaks and it actually worked. I put that and more coolant and it hasn't leaked since but the owner before me somehow disconnected the coolant reservoir not sure why. Is it bad not to have it hooked up? If I need to hook it back up how would I go about that?

The owner before me also took out the A/C compressor so right now I don't have A/C which is fine. But I would like to have it eventually. If I bought the compressor from Pick N Pull what would I need to do to hook it up?

I have two gas tanks I am not sure the capacity. But I have the tire in the bed right now so I think I would like to buy a new one for the back. The one in the back doesn't read on the gas gauge would that be a hard fix? I read that it could be the floats but not sure what I would need to do to fix that. I was looking at a 38 gallon one on AutoZones website for around $180. I would also like to buy a new one for the front because I think it has dirt and stuff in it. What would the best one to buy? I am looking at this one. Would this work for the rear fuel tank? http://www.carparts.com/details/Ford...L/F670173.html

Lastly my right tail light is out. The tailgate doesn't come down at the moment. I think it has something to do with the hinges. I need to replace the bulb but if I put the tailgate down I need to be able to put it back up. Does anyone have a guide on how to do this?

Thank you everyone I really appreciate the help.

 

My first question is I have a small oil leak and I think it's coming from the cap on the oil thing in the engine. I replaced it with a new one and it seems to leak still I am not sure what I need to do to fix this. I have a family friend has been helping me fix stuff on the truck but I am not trying to take up his time all the time so I thought I could ask on here and get some direction.
Do you have the breather type of cap? If so, make sure your PCV valve on the other valve cover sucks on your thumb if you pull it out with the engine running.

Secondly I drove about twenty minutes the other day and when I got there I was leaking so much coolant. I went to Walmart to buy more and I saw this additive you add to it to stop leaks and it actually worked. I put that and more coolant and it hasn't leaked since but the owner before me somehow disconnected the coolant reservoir not sure why. Is it bad not to have it hooked up? If I need to hook it back up how would I go about that?
If you want to run the coolant to the very top of the radiator you will need to hook up the reservoir. If you leave a air space in the top of the radiator, then you can run without it. If you fill the radiator full, when the truck gets warmed up the coolant will adjust itself, puking out the extra coolant on the ground and when it cools off there will be a air space in top of the radiator. On a really hot day it may adjust itself a little again.

The owner before me also took out the A/C compressor so right now I don't have A/C which is fine. But I would like to have it eventually. If I bought the compressor from Pick N Pull what would I need to do to hook it up?
Carefully look/take pictures with your phone of what you have. When you go to the junkyard, anything missing get it. That would be brackets, belts, hoses, accumulator can, etc. You can also google it and click on images and study those pictures.

I have two gas tanks I am not sure the capacity. But I have the tire in the bed right now so I think I would like to buy a new one for the back. The one in the back doesn't read on the gas gauge would that be a hard fix? I read that it could be the floats but not sure what I would need to do to fix that. I was looking at a 38 gallon one on AutoZones website for around $180. I would also like to buy a new one for the front because I think it has dirt and stuff in it. What would the best one to buy? I am looking at this one. Would this work for the rear fuel tank? http://www.carparts.com/details/Ford...L/F670173.html
That tank is listed to fit, but you will always have to keep your spare tire in the bed if you use it. The original tank is 19 gallon, the 38 is thicker and leaves no room for the spare tire. Also do some research on sending units for that tank, I think they make extensions for the stock sending units since that tank is deeper/thicker. They will read full for a long time, and then give you a accurate reading till it goes empty. If you get a new sending unit, that usually fixes the gauge problem.

Lastly my right tail light is out. The tailgate doesn't come down at the moment. I think it has something to do with the hinges. I need to replace the bulb but if I put the tailgate down I need to be able to put it back up. Does anyone have a guide on how to do this?
You have to put the tailgate down to pull the light out to work on it, there are two phillips screws in there you have to take out. You will have two projects, the light and the tailgate.

 

Would this Tailgate Cable RH Or LH | Dennis Carpenter Ford Restoration Parts work for the tailgate? Would I need to order two?

Do I have any risk by not using the coolant reservoir?

So I was driving on the second gas tank earlier and when I got home I noticed gas dripping on the side of the truck. Not from the tank but it looks like from the fuel cap. Do you know what would be the issue with this?

Yes I have the breather type cap and I replaced it and it still leaks out of it.


Thank you for your input I appreciate it a lot. Sorry for my replies being out of order.

 

Hope that helps
Dave ----

 

I'm sorry I don't know how to check the PCV. I can post some pictures on what I am dealing with.

 

On the gas leak, did you just fill the tank? I would say bad cap gasket - replace the gas cap.


That chrome breather is partly doing its job. What is in the other valve cover any thing? How about a large vacuum hose to the base of the carb. from some place?
Stock the chrome cap had a hose out the top going up to the air filter housing that had a filter type thing to pull air thru.
Air should flow into that cap, thru the motor and pull out gasses thru the PCV back to the carb/intake to be burned up again.


Once you find the PCV with the motor running pull it out and put a finger over the end and if it sucks your finger it should be working. Let us know if you have that and we can go from there.


Now your coolant over flow / washer setup. It looks like you have anti freeze (green) in the washer side of the container as you see a pump at the bottom of that side. Also the radiator goes into the top were you have the open hole. A cap with a hose reaches down to the bottom and the radiator over flow hose hooks on to that cap. You can try just putting a hose on the radiator that reaches the bottom and see if that will work.
Or make a 90* out of metal tubing to take the place of the cap. as long as the hose reaches the bottom you will be fine not need to cap it.


Cant help on the gate issue as my style side did not come with a gate when I bought it so don't know how the handle should work. Neither did my flare side come with a gate but that is a different story!
Dave ----

 

The gas cap is brand new. The first picture is where it was leaking from. I filled the tank yesterday.

I bought the chrome breather because the other one had a black thing hanging off it that went nowhere. The owner before me did some crazy stuff to this engine.

That is actually washer fluid I know it looks like coolant but the bottle a friend has just happened to be green.

So if I just hook the hose to the coolant container and fill it up it should work?

Thank you.

 

There you go.
Dave ----

 

I don't know if the old one had a gasket. It didn't have one so I had to buy a new gas cap from AutoZone to pass inspection.

It had the stock one but it wasn't hooked to anything. It was just hanging out there.

 

Check if the new one have a gasket and if not check out others at AZ to see if they do.
Or it is not the right one to seal it.


If you still have the old oil cap you could put a hose on it and run it to the air filter. Get a piece of metal that will fit between the top & bottom plates of the air filter and a little wider than the hose. Put a hole in the metal the hose fits tight in so the hose runs from that metal to the stock cap with the fitting.


You also need to look for the PCV to make sure it is working as it should as that could be why you have oil vapor coming out that chrome cap.
Dave ----

 

Cam, what you can do is hit the beneath any post you want to respond to, that will allow you to "quote" the text and write a response, just like I'm doing here.

Responding to a whole bunch of people all in one post with no attribution as to whom you are speaking is hard to read and is a turn-off for many people.

 

Who? Other than Franklin it has been me
No you are right best to do it right from the start right?


So silent have you found the PCV yet?
Dave ----

 

I still don't understand what the PCV is. I just now started learning about cars. Up until I got this truck I drove a 15' ecoboost mustang so this has been a curve but I like driving an older truck I just want to get it running reliably.

 

I honestly never read the thread, just the most-recent posts of ALL threads and I saw what he was doing.

 

Positive Crankcase Ventilation = PCV

I am not up on the Ford v8 as I have not done any work on one since early 80’s so I cant point you to where it would be but a good guess would be the other valve cover. Is there another oil cap in it with a fitting in the top? If so on both cap & fitting is there a hose hooked to the fitting and if so where does it go? Maybe you can take a picture of the other valve cover and that side of the motor so we can see if we see something.

Dave ----