Ive always been a Mercedes Diesel guy so when I acquired a 1979 300SD with a straight 5 turbo diesel, I thought I did great...that is, until I needed parts, THEN I realized I made a huuuge mistake. I ended up trading it for a 1982 F250 with a T19 4 speed 4x4 and a 351. It has a flatbed on it and I figured I could do better repairing IT and making a nice work truck out of it. Well, I inspected it and I had a few questions about repairing it that I could use the help from some of the Ford gurus.

First of all, how different was the 1982 F250 compared to the more common 150s in terms of interior parts? I see a lot more F150s than 250s at the pick your part.

1. How does the speedo cable connect to the tranny? The guys I bought it from have just left it dangling under the cab.
2. My entire dash needs to be replaced...the dummy lights are all gone, the electronics are a mess and they just butchered the wiring...does anyone have a wiring diagram for the chassis and perhaps advice on how to completely remove the dashboard? Will a F150 dash drop right in or is the F250 unique?
3. The linkage is missing for the transfer case, any advice on where to get NEW linkage or rig something up?
4. The 351 idles too high...they ripped out vacuum tubing and maybe even jacked up the carb...can anyone explain to me HOW the emissions/vacuum system works with these older trucks so I can try and rebuild the system?
5. Is the ZF superior to the T-19 or is it more application? ZF being geared lower vs T19 being stronger etc?
6. Under the cab, the piece of metal that holds the step side brackets is completely rusted away...any advice on how I could replace it without pulling the cab?
7. Would a 300 Straight 6 bolt right up to the T19 without any modifications?
8. Does anyone have an online Haynes manual available?

I appreciate any help I can get...after a good power wash and degrease I want to tear into this mess and maybe bring some sparkle back into this old girl.

 

First of all, welcome to FTE!

Have you seen Gary's site? Tons of useful stuff, including diagrams. Maybe start there and see if it helps: Link to Gary's site

Second, I purchased the "Dave Graham" factory service manuals from RockAuto (CD / PDF), and they are great! For my 1981, they cover both the 300 and 351 (and all others). They also go into electrical, showing wiring and harnesses, etc. They aren't too expensive, and I highly recommend them for your truck. I use these manuals first, and never touch my Haynes manual (many people also complain about inaccuracies in the Haynes / Chiltons manuals). I purchased a separate hardcopy "Emissions" manual from Amazon (I think, or maybe Ebay), because it's not included in the FSMs that I bought. This is a really great resource for understanding the emissions (too much to explain in a forum, I think).

Other than that, the nice folks here can answer most of your questions (I cannot )

 

1. How does the speedo cable connect to the tranny? The guys I bought it from have just left it dangling under the cab.
You have a 4x4 truck, the speedo cable attaches to the transfer case. You should have a large threaded piece sticking out where the cable hooks up, or you will have a very large hole where the gear assembly goes if it is missing.


2. My entire dash needs to be replaced...the dummy lights are all gone, the electronics are a mess and they just butchered the wiring...does anyone have a wiring diagram for the chassis and perhaps advice on how to completely remove the dashboard? Will a F150 dash drop right in or is the F250 unique?
Here is a link for 1981 diagrams, they should be very much like your 82. 1981 EVTM - Gary's Garagemahal (the Bullnose bible) F150 dash is the same as a f250.


3. The linkage is missing for the transfer case, any advice on where to get NEW linkage or rig something up?
If you are in the yards getting a used f150 dash and other parts, look also for a transfer case linkage, they are the same also if you find a f150 with the same 4speed and transfer case


4. The 351 idles too high...they ripped out vacuum tubing and maybe even jacked up the carb...can anyone explain to me HOW the emissions/vacuum system works with these older trucks so I can try and rebuild the system?
The emissions on these trucks are the same as any other vehicle, a lot of things going on and a steep learning curve. You can learn about this stuff, or take it off and put a intake manifold and small 600 cfm 4bbl carb on it and leave all of it off, if you do not have underhood inspections.


5. Is the ZF superior to the T-19 or is it more application? ZF being geared lower vs T19 being stronger etc?
The zf has overdrive. That is the main difference between it and your 4 speed. In my mind the overdrive makes it superior, better fuel mileage, quieter operation on the highway, and less engine wear. What you have to watch out for is the bellhousing is made onto the zf trans, so you have to get a zf that was behind a 300 six, a 351w, or the rare 302 application. Unlike your 4 speed, which the bell can be change for the different engine types


6. Under the cab, the piece of metal that holds the step side brackets is completely rusted away...any advice on how I could replace it without pulling the cab?
Need pictures of this, sounds aftermarket to me


7. Would a 300 Straight 6 bolt right up to the T19 without any modifications?

Yes, it will bolt up to the trans. But it will not bolt in to the motor mounting, you will need different frame brackets. And then a different radiator, etc, etc.


8. Does anyone have an online Haynes manual available?

If you are looking for a Haynes manual, make sure you get one like the one below with the red cover. It is very good and has good diagrams in the back. The newer versions are not as good as this older one.

 

Wow! Thanks for the info! I knew this was the right place to go. I'll get a pic of that bracket I'm talking about. The truck was his "trash hauler" and it was neglected but I gave it a once over and I have seen much worse. Needless to say, coming from a Mercedes diesel to an early 80s Ford truck will be a learning curve but so far I am loving this site...lots of really bright members on here and some great write ups.

We have emissions in our county but supposedly they are going away soon...if that happens before I get this truck road ready, I'll look into the 600cfm carb for sure.

So, while the 300 will fit the tranny, it may more work than its worth to modify the mounts/engine bay?

If the speedo cable is hanging, I bet there is a good chance that transfer case has no oil in it or they plugged the hole...ugh.

 

If the drive gear assembly is still in the transfer case, it will be ok. It' a large round piece of metal with a o-ring on the od, and the plastic drive gear through the middle, and the threads out on the end where the cable screws on. It's usually held on place by a bolt and little metal tang.

If you had the truck there with the 300 in it, it would be easier, you would have all the little parts you need to make the swap.

 

There are variations, here is what some of them look like. The center one is the cable drive, more like you would have. I see it doesn't have threads on the cable, but it has a clip that holds the cable to the drive.

 

I looked up under the truck today to see where the speedo plugs in and I found this...it looks like they replaced the rear axle and did a shoddy job of it...it also looks like this is not an OEM axle...It has a couple of shocks but nowhere for them to attach to the axle. This is under a flatbed that they installed...would that even make a difference? Also, it looks like they clipped the parking brake line...WTH!? The fuel tank is being hung in the front by a moving strap and the middle strap isnt straight...like its crossing the fuel tank at a weird angle.

Can anyone tell me what they did here?! Is this a Dana axle upgrade or something else? Why would they do this!?

Upper shock absorber bracket...no shock absorber nor place to mount it on the axle.

Shock just hanging and nothing to attach to

Clipped brake line and look how poorly this axle was attached...why!?

 

The older f250's like yours came with dana 60 rear axles. Later on in the late 80's they started using the Ford/Sterling 10.25, which I like better because the brake drum comes right off. If you have a dana axle, your brake drum will be mounted behind the axle flange. That means the axle has to come out, the spanner nut has to come off, and you have to pull the hub to get to the brakes. What a pain in the neck.

 

Well that sucks! I gotta take half the axle apart to repair the rear drum brakes!? That's gonna be a pain...do I have to replace seals too?

So, this looks like a Dana 60 in the pics? Why are there no places to attach the shock absorbers?

Does anyone have any advice on how to align the rear axle in the likely event that it was botched from day 1?

 

I ordered the exact manual, thanks for the tip. This is what the bracket looks like under the cab...you can see where the remnants of the step side brackets remain...what do you think? Repairable? Replaceable?

 

On the bracket, do you still have the running boards on it? If not, just take the bracket off. If you need it, I would fab another on up and bolt it in place. It's aftermarket. As far as the rearend, I can't be sure what you have from the pictures. The dana rearends had a oil fill plug in the rear cover. The Ford/Sterling rearends had no fill in the rear cover, their fill was on the driver's side front of the pumpkin. I do not know why you do not have the proper shock brackets, I suppose it's not the correct year rearend. Since it is 4x4, I would double check the ratio to make sure it matches the frontend ratio.

 

Crud, i didnt think of that...how can u tell the ratio?

 

You can look for a tag under one of the bolts, but they seem to leave the scene a lot and cannot be found. You can also look for a tag on the front. If you think the front axle is original to the truck, and the cab is original to the truck, you can look at the door tag and give us the code for the axle and we can look it up.

The easiest way other than taking the rearend apart is to jack up both rear wheels, put a white out mark on the driveshaft, and then get someone to help you turn BOTH rear tires exactly one turn, while counting the number of turns the driveshaft makes. A very common f250 rearend is 3.55, so the mark will go around approx 3 1/2 turns when you turn both rear tires one turn. Another very common ratio for f250's is 4.10. So the mark on the shaft will go around approx 4 turns.

 

I am having a similar experience. Truck converted to flat bed. They put in air shocks, but they changed the mounting point to the outside of the frame, instead of the inside. Then at some point, they came unwelded, and are strapped up. The bracket at the rear of the fuel tank rusted thru, so back half of tank is also "strapped up"! Lol

 

That's what they did with mine...but they did it poorly. I have some work ahead of me. They installed a gooseneck ball and put it under a metal flap that they very poorly built. I'm hoping this won't be a money pit but it was better than trying to find rare parts for my old mercedes...