A few month ago I purchased a 1989 F150 4X4 with a 302/C6 combination and approximately 165,000 miles. It really needed a lot of TLC: valve covers and oil pan were leaking, hole in radiator, rusted thermostat, leaky tranny pan, exhaust manifolds were cracked, exhaust was gone, needed new rotors/bearings, etc. Anyways, after everything was fixed, I cranked it up with my fingers crossed(because it hadn't run since I started taking it apart), and it ran great and sounded real tough with a set of purple hornies coming off the new headers.... but when it came to the road test.. it just won't take off. I can stand on the gas pedal and it won't accelerate. While cruising down the highway, it reached a top speed of 45 MPH. The tranny, to my knowledge, isn't slipping because the RPMs aren't winding up.

There could possibly be two things that I may have done to cause this, but I'm no mechanic...
1. I replaced the fluid and filter in the tranny, put in a new shift kit(double checked it twice) and then I put 6 quarts of fluid back in. Everyone from haynes to Autozone said that draining the pan only required six quarts to fill it back up. I had attempted to drive it but it wouldn't move, but when revved to 3.5 RPMs, the truck jumped forward. Thats when I decided to check the fluid, which wasn't even registering on the dipstick...

2. While replacing everthing, I tore out the air pump and emissions equipment and put in an EGR valve block off plate. I had previously done this in a 1988 Mustang LX5.0 with no problems... while in park, the engine revs great with no stumbling...all the way up to 5.5 RPMS......

I don't know what to do next, except to take it to a mechanic.... but I'd like to fix it myself and save my pride....

PLEASE HELP!

 

check the timing? no cats?

 

Thats when I decided to check the fluid, which wasn't even registering on the dipstick...
PLEASE HELP![/QUOTE]

If the fluid wasn`t registering on the dipstick , then the fluid is still too low??What does the manual recommend for fluid capacity in the trans.?

 

I finally did end up topping off the fluid with another 5.5 quarts... Timing is an issue that I haven't dealt with yet. I will check that in the next few days, currently the oil pan gasket is getting replaced. And there are no cats.