Ok guys, so i bought a 94 F150 XL(which i will convert into a custom XLT lol) 4.9l 300 I6 that i know nothing about from a knows even less about anything dealer for 1800(i couldnt pass it up)

it runs(quite smoothly/quietly btw) and all that . . . here is where i need your help and advice

iv decided that my best bet is to basically assume that it was never touched. in other words, do all the maintenance that it has needed over the years. i started with spark plugs, wires fluids etc

so far i have literally finished :
spark plugs(motorcraft)
spark plug wires(autozone-w/lifetime warranty)
can of seafoam into the crank case
can of seafoam into the gas tank(rear)
half a can of seafoam into the gas tank(front- its what i had left and im only using the rear tank for now. . . )
replaced alternator with reman'd palladium(it wouldnt hold a charge)
replaced a bad alternator harness(the bottom one of the two plugs, now that i think of it, this was probably the problem but like i said, i am assuming nothing has been done to take care of her so i wanted a new alt. to be comfortable with a "new" one rather than one just hasnt died -yet- . . . does that make any sense?)

i will try to do the following this saturday morning:
finish replacing the serp belt that i just HAD to walk away from last weekend cause i couldnt figure the damned thing out for the life of me
solder(sp?) the plug connections to the alternator
change the oil and filter now that the seafoam has run its course and i have driven it for a few mins
inspect the leak on the steering pump and figure out what can be done(if i have to replace the pump or not . . . im not sure, it looks like its leaking at one of the hoses . . . i can literally move the hose around in and a bit out of the fitting and it leaks ever so slowly . . . you wipe and it comes right back. . . not a gush though, it was empty when i bought it)
i have a fuel pump ready to go but i dont know how to change it, do i just unplug the lines from the old filter and pop the new one on? do i have to clamp something? empty the lines? what?



i have tried searching for some of these things but i feel i am suffering from the "im gonna name my thread on exactly how to change a fuel filter(or other part/process) something like "here it is" or "PLEASE HELP" instead of "how to change the fuel filter, a detailed process" syndrome lol
seriously, its hard to find the right threads cause all i come up with sometimes is someone talking about something else entirely that just happens to include the word im looking for lol


can you please take a look at my list(s) and add anything you think i should do this saturday morning(something important i should check or do that i havent mentioned and may be forgetting) or stuff i should do soon before i take it on a long trip for example

can you also please give me some pointers or instructions or point me in the right direction of detailed instructions on how to perform some of these
i have my haynes manual and it helps plenty but i would appreciate personal experiences and tricks some of you may have learned

i am having a bitch of a time figuring out the belt. everytime i think i know which way i need to snake it around the fan i realize it should have been the other way . . . its happened 3 times now, its like one of those damned mind puzzles you see at cracker barrel . . . i hate those lol

ok im done . . sooo soorry for the long post. and thank you so so much in advance guys! FTE ROCKS!

 

ok, well as for the serpentine, there is usually a picture of how it's supposed to go somewhere around the hood. Take a gander. If not you're not out much time. It should be black, and have the belt diagram outlined in white. And it's more than likely covered in soot so if you see a sticker, clean it off and it may be your salvation. To my knowedge, you don't have to clamp the fuel lines out of the tank, but it couldn't hurt. Vacuum from the fuel tank should keep the fuel in the tank, but it's dangerous and messy and stinky, so if you can just clamp to be safe. Don't clamp any hard lines of course.

I would add coolent lines to your list. They should all be replaced and the engine flushed. This will keep you cool for a while. And make sure nobody mickey moused the wiring all to crap in the truck's previous lives. Other than that you got a great truck. Take my word and anybody else's word that knows engines; the 300I6 will last a looooooooooooong time.

 

amish, thanks a million man! just hearing you say those words "great truck" "looooooooong time" makes you my new best friend lol


about the diagram, its there but i just couldnt seem to get it right lol

i looked it over and over and said to myself, ok, it goes from the steering pump the ac pump and then the bottom part goes over the water pump and snakes around the crankshaft pulley and then . . . etc etc but whenever i would snake the damned things between the radiator and the fan it would get stuck etc and when i finally got it through after deciding that was the way it needed to go, it wouldn't work, i would look over the diagram again and again and then realized i needed it to go the other way lol im like WHAT!?!?!?!?!

ooooh i got so pissed! i just had to walk away! lol whats your number, im gonna call you when im there on saturday lol (j/k of course)

i WAS thinking about the radiator hoses, i forgot to put them up on my list. here is my stupid newb question of the month . . . its just the two from the radiator right? upper and lower? or is there more somewhere else. i might as well replace the thermostat too, i can hear it swishin around when i squeeze the hose. the hoses look and feel ok but for some weird reason, the upper hose sucks itself in, like there's a vaccuum effect goin on or something. . . is that weird? anyone know what could be happening?

when i open the radiator cap i can hear it hiss a bit and the hose plumps up a tiny bit but it looks like its stuck in that formation. clogged maybe? i will do a radiator flush as well.

uhm what else? . . . i will just go ahead and clamp both sides of the fuel lines . . . any pointers on what to use for the clamps?


i think i need to replace the throttle cable too, the pedal kinda has funny/no response when you first push it. the last truck i had(86 f250) had this problem and it turned out it was the throttle cable that was bad. is it a simple plug and play type of deal? i never did it on my other truck

anything else guys? thanks soooooooo much!

 

oh i almost forgot, about the serpentine . . . what do i do with that tensioner thingy? how do i get it back to normal tension or whatever. i dont have my haynes manual with me right now and i wanted to get some experience rather than directions from a book

 

It's an auto tensioner - you just put the belt in place and let the tensioner do the rest.

You should also replace the distributor cap and rotor if you did the plugs and wires.

You said fuel pump - but I think you meant fuel filter. There may be a special tool you need to get the lines off the filter. Any parts store will sell them. They're cheap.

I would also replace the air filter, breather filter, and PCV valve if you haven't already.

As for the cooling system, what I would if I had your enthusiasm is get a flush kit from autozone or wherever and a couple bottle of coolant.

Dump the flush stuff in and drive it around for a week. Before you start doing anything, VERY carefully look around the water pump for leaks. If it leaks, even a little, replace it. Don't get the waterpump from Autozone. Yes, they have a lifetime warranty. You will be replacing it at least once a year for the rest of your life. Spend the money and get a GOOD waterpump, preferably motorcraft. Rockauto.com is the place I buy all my "good stuff" - water pumps, brake parts, etc. They're quality. Auto parts from Autozone belong in the junkyard.

Ahem... anyway...

Then hook up the flush tee and flush it until it runs clear. Disconnect all the hoses (upper, lower, and heater core hoses - they're smaller, and run from the water pump & thermostat housing up to the top of the firewall on the passenger side) and let it drain out.

Then replace the thermostat. If you're going to replace the water pump, do it now. Put everything back together, using new hoses everywhere and fill it with a mix of the new antifreeze and water - I would go with 75% water in FL.

If you decide to replace the water pump, you'll need to rent a special fan clutch holding tool to get the fan clutch and fan off the water pump shaft. This is the hardest part of the whole job, really. I had to reef on mine pretty hard. The nut spins backwards, so the motion of the motor actually tightens the nut.

So you'd need to buy:

thermostat
thermostat gasket
tube of RTV sealant
heater hoses (2)
radiator hoses (2)
clamps
flush kit, including flush solvent
2 gallons of antifreeze - keep whatever you don't use, obviously
something to catch the coolant in
water pump & water pump gasket *
rent the fan clutch tool *

* only if you replace the water pump

If you do this, your cooling system will be good to go for a long time.

 

before you remove the fuel lines,remove the gas cap to avoid a mess.

 

thanks for the heads up and yes i did mean fuel filter lol

 

don't forget the spark plug wires, distributor cap, and distributor rotor.

you could also clean the intake, throttle body, and IAC

 

i did the wires but not the cap and rotor yet . . .running low on cash for now lol

i already deep creeped the throttle body . . .what else could i have done to it? there -was- plenty of gunk in there . . .anyone else ever gotten a cut on the webbing between your fingers from the intake edge? lol

i gotta replace the iac along with things like the pcv valve. . . any other pointers? the iac can be "cleaned" as opposed to replaced?

 

it can be cleaned, but they're not the most expensive. I think the one I bought for my beater was about thirty. I guess Andym covered it but just for good measure check and make sure there aren't any coolent lines around the throttle body. They'll be small, about an inch in diameter or less, and they are used to heat up the throttle body in cold times to save gas(I'd go further into this but that's a thread in and of itself) I forgot to replace those on the beater when I was doing most of the stuff you are doing right now, and they blew out on me. Not too hard to forget about those things.

I've used a rebuilt water pump from advance auto and it's done fine for me. Andy's probably on point on this one as well though, a couple extra bucks couldn't hurt for a quality water pump. I use an overkill method to install it though. I use the regular paper gasket and put a decently thick bead of special RTV sealent on either side of the gasket, get it finger tight with the socket, then come back the next day and torque it to spec. I did all this and ended up with no leaks for about 20k miles so far.

 

i say put a new iac on and K&N air filter, O2 sensor, Check yoru drag link and tie rod ends, Inspect your U-Joints or jsut replace em... i had one go bad so i just did all 4, if the stearing is good then leave it but i chenged my stearing box too cause it was a little loose.

 

Hi everyone, I am new with all of this, and I have also just recently (earlier this week) bought a 1994 Ford F150 XL, with the 300 4.9L l6. It is in really great condition, and i want to keeo it that way. My issue is this, i know just enough about cars to get myself into trouble, can you Felixr, or anyone else tell me EXACTLY what it is i need to buy to give her a decent tune up. I really dont know a WHOLE lot, but for instance can you tell me what kind of spark plugs (size? is there sizes?) what distributor cap, what rotor (what is a rotor?) what wires? I also want to change the oil, and the other fluids, but I'm not really sure what fluids I should be changing, so guidance on what fluids I should change, and also specifics on which fluids I should buy. I know that it is quite obvious that I am a newbie, but I am really excited to do this stuff, I just need a little bit of guidance. I have done this stuff before, but it was in High School, and the vehicles werent mine! : )

Thanks for your time in advance!

 

First off: Welcome! and btw, you just brought back a thread from the tomb, it's from 2005.
Well, i'll try to help you with some of your questions:

As for the sparkplugs, just ask at the autostore for some Autolites or Motorcraft brand ones for a Ford 300 I6, they should give you the right ones, you should also learn the proper gapping before installing them. As for wires, cap and rotor, get all Motorcraft ones, they will work just fine. What's the rotor? The rotor works inside the distributor, it rotates distributing (sorry) a current at the cap, wich sends it to the spakplug wires, activating each cilinder's sparkplug in an order (firing orden) wich is given by the camshaft.

Wich fluids should be changed? first of all, you have to tell us if you got an auto or a manual, but in general: Engine oil, tranny oil, differentials oil, radiator coolant. The specifications (type/viscosity/quantity) are in the Owner's Manual (OM).

It's not quite the same year, but it should help you: http://www.motorcraftservice.com/pub.../96f12og1e.pdf

Save it on your hard drive for future references!.

You can get other Ford's brands and cars manuals here: https://www.fleet.ford.com/maintenan...ls/default.asp

 

Alright, first of all, yes, I am an idiot and I do apologize for resurrecting a 5 year old thread, i know better than that. Second of all, I have the 5 speed manual tranny. I will take a look at the links that you gave me, and any help you can throw my way.
I did a search for 6 litre tune ups, and this came up, didnt even occur to me to check the date, again I do apologize.

 

The motorcraftservice link will not let me use it, saying that I am not authorized, and that I need to log in...?