I got one from ebay(really cheap) and hoped it might help diagnose my cruise control............no troubleshooting in there at all.........what a great help

 

You'll still come out way ahead. Besides the obvious repairs it will help you with, it will familiarize you with everything.

 

Sorry, but I'm still of the opinion that the chilton and haynes manuals should be reserved for the small buildings at rural camps, cause thats basically what they are worth.....

 

I love the way they say... "This Is too complicated for you. Go to a experienced mechanic."

What a joke... I buy the things to help me fix a problem, not to tell me that.

 

I like to have a Chilton, a Haynes, and a factory manual. Depending on the vehicle and the repair, I have found having all three has been useful in finding the best way to conduct a repair.

 

And remember, replacement is reverse of removal...

 

I agree with Zane. I have Chiltons for quick ready reference, then I have factory service manuals to get into the details.
Ford service manuals are voluminous. The 83 manual comes in 3 books. If I were to want to look up the location of a part, I'd spend half an hour finding it. It has its' place though. Happy holidays!

 

Try this resource. www.alldatadiy.com. It costs about $25 for a year but is vehicle and year specific and FULL of information about your truck. It is the reference that the shops use, including mine!

 

By all means get a factory shop manual, the "Body, Chassis, Electrical" volume (at least for '83) contains complete diagrams, illustrations and "How-To" test procedures. The speed control chapter is pretty long and detailed. Most of the speed control problems I've encountered are due to dirty switch contacts in the steering wheel. Get some electrical contact cleaner from Radio Shack or Ace Hardware and clean. Use a thin piece of cardboard like found on the back of a pad of paper to buff the switch contacts. Never use emory or sandpaper! Speed Control works off the horn power so if the horn works you should be getting power to the steering wheel switches. There is also a vacuum release "dump" valve on the brake pedal mechanism that may be misadjusted and won't allow the servo to engage and for manual transmission trucks there is a clutch pedal operated switch that can cause engagement problems.

 

thanks for your reply........ive been looking for factory manuals but havent found any yet......Im gonna start tryin to figure out the speed control. the tranny was rebuilt 2 years ago so I need to make sure everything is connected down there

 

Nothing on transmission except speed sensor on speedometer cable in engine bay near upper cowl on drivers side.

 

Try www.books4cars.com for a manual. I got an "Electrical and Vacuum Troubleshooting"(used, in good shape) for my year. They have decent selection of factory manuals.
griff777