I have an 85 F150 with a 302 and an AOD, here is where the problems start :

1) Slight Knock in probably the front two cylinders, it started knocking shortly after replacing (horribly leaking) valve cover gaskets, I am guessing that some of the "stuff" on the inside of the valve covers got inside the engine and have made thier way to the bottom of the oil pan and clogged my sump causing oil not to be pumped correctly? any ideas?

2) Very Very Hard downshifting from 3rd to 2nd and hard upshifting from 3rd to overdrive have no clue why any ideas?

3) how hard is it to convert from 2wd to 4wd? and about how much can I expect to spend on the conversion or even converting from AOD to manual tranny?

I love this truck but sometimes it makes me wonder if I should have bought an ol' chebby for $500 less? any help here is much appreciated and I will keep you 85 f150 owners up to date on what happens so if it happens to you, you can find a problem

 

*bump* hmm I guess the chebby comment makes you all not want to answer? ahh well...

 

is it knocking or ticking?

how is your oil pressure?

 

my oil pressure starts high and slowly goes down as I drive... and it is knocking... and the speed of the knock increases with rpm

 

bad main bearings

 

I agreed with f100guy.. how low do you consider low? 5,10,15psi? usually, when your oil pressure keeps dropping after your truck is fully warmed up, that means your clearances are too big (ie lack of good pressure for a while mains going bad). You could pull the motor and replace the mains and oil pump, but there are probably other problems now (cam bearing / wrist pins getting fried etc).

So, the inevitable has happened. time for a rebuild or a swap

btw, how many miles do u have on it?

 

umm well I got it at I believe 196,000 could be 296 though?! the title says 196 but you know how that is.... anyway I have a buddy that wants to give me an engine and a C6 tranny (both recently rebuilt for $400 and I am in need of cash so I'm thinking that would be the best bet at this point?! thanks for all the help though I really appreciate it!

 

not a damn thing wrong with 500 dolla trucks
beats them damn truck payments ; )

i would def go with that deal ur friend is offerin
400 is good deal

mine is knockin too
ill take that motor if u dont want it
hehe

 

unfortuneately I need the motor.. however i will need a cherry picker to put the motor in and take the old one out... any ideas where i might find one of these (rental) as I have no garage space (st. louis)

 

Some auto parts stores can lend you parts out for a deposit. It wouldn't surprise me it they had a cherry picker.

 

Ok,,, not sure if this applies to your engine.... but does to my 86 302 ..... the factory put out a tech bulletin on knocking which says the first four main bearings may need either the lower main bearing replaced or both of them.. depending on the clearance... the 5 th does not need to be checked according to them.. check with a Ford dealer close by or something like Alldata.com and plug in your specs...

 

Ok,, just checked the printout... it says 85-87 light trucks with 302... so I think it does apply to your vehicle... it is article number 87-11-12 Engine ' knocking ' noise - incorrect main bearing clearance.....

 

My guess is that after 196k miles, there will be bad clearances in quite a few bearings..

 

But they could be more severe than normal if this is one that came out of the factory with this problem in the first place...

 

go rent a front end loader and use it to lift the motor out. i have an old ford diesel backhoe with a front end loader and i use it all the time to pull engines. it works faster