hey all,

i bought an 83 F250 last friday, and, after driving it around and working on it all weekend, i have discovered some new quirks...

First and foremost, id like to ask any of you that have the 4 speed manual trans (i have the 300) if it is normal for these trannies to take a long time to get into second gear if youre downshifting. Say im driving down my street and im in third, and i want to slow down and get into second to pull up my driveway...Ill pull lightly on the shifter to get into second, and i can hear the synchro start to buzz and whirl, and it just seems to take a long time to finally pop into gear. It seems odd to me because if im downshifting from fourth to third, it goes right in, no pause. Also, the tranny and shifter just seem to be very noisey all around. Is this normal? Should i flush the fluids or something?

Secondly, this is more just informational for me, but since i have never owned a carb'd engine before, i would like to know how the choke engages. Do i have to give it gas, or floor the gas, or does it do it on its own? The truck seems to start better if i feather the gas a little bit while starting if its cold.

Can the clutch be adjusted at all? Mine grabs aaaalllllllll the way up top, but doesnt seem to slip or anything. Its just kinda annoying because the pedal travel is so long.

TIA!

 

Gotta pump the gas to start it =)

 

SOP for carb'd cars for me is two pumps on the gas and turn the key. The only carb'd car I own right now is my Chevelle and it starts almost before you turn the key... My 83 I converted over to a manual choke because the previous owner really buggered the auto choke up... Also, startup with the Chevelle is the same with the old 2bbl with auto choke and with the holley and no choke...

There is a spring in the choke that when you hit the gas it sets it. When it's warm the spring un-winds and when you hit the gas it will take the choke off. It's a thermal spring.

Warm the Chevelle will start right up with out hitting the gas.

Your results may vary...

Also if you flood it you need to hold the gas peddle to the floor while you crank.

Funny story, well not at the time, but funny now... When I still had the 2bbl on my Chevelle I stopped at a friends house and he wanted to start the car. He got in and said "I know these old chevies like the back of my hand..." and started to pump the gas repetedly... He then keept cranking and pumping away evern though I was screeming for him to stop! He said that he owned a few old chevies and that was the only way they'd start... Ummm... Ever hear of a tuneup?? Anyway it was so flooded that it took about 10 minutes for me to get the car started and then I had to change out the plugs before it would run right. All he had to do was turn the key... I still kid him about that.

 

Choke operation.
The bi-metal choke coil inside the choke housing when cold and the when gas pedal depressed ...flips the butterfly on the carb shut ....except for a 1/8" air gap.

The choke may be of electric/heated vacuum type.

As the engine heats up and the heated vacuum flows thru and past the coil inside the housing heats up and then starts drawing on the choke linkage to gradually pull it off..... opening the butterfly to stand vertical and the choke being in the off position.

 

How fast are you going when you try to shift into second?

Here is the shifting schedule for the 4-speed according to my 1981 Owners Manual.

I assume you have a actual 4-speed (Granny Gear), and not a 4-speed O.D..

UPSHIFTING Minimum speed when excelerating:

First to second 10 MPH
Second to Third 15 MPH
Third to Fourth 25 MPH

DOWNSHIFTING Maximum speed when decelerating:

Fourth to Third 55 MPH
Third to Second 30 MPH
Second to First 0 MPH

Somewhere between the two is Normal.

My Recomendation
First 0-15
Second 0-20/25
Third 20/25-40
Fourth 40-+

It's normal to have some noise in First or Granny, or Reverse. Should have very little noise in all other gears. A Oil Change would probably be a good idea, but it may not help much. Check the oil when you change it for metal filings. If there is a lot of filings, it may be a sign you need to have your tranny looked at or repaired.

If the choke is working right...

According to my 1981 Owners manual...

When the engine is cold on the first start of the day. Push the pedal all the way to the floor to engage the choke. Start Engine. If it fails to start, repeat procedure. Take care not to flood the engine.

After truck is warm, or after the first start of the day. Push the pedal 1/4 the way down and start.

On a flooded engine. Wait several Minutes for vapors to clear. Press pedal all the way to the floor. Start engine, while holding pedal to the floor. Release pedal as RPMs rise.


On a manual linkage truck, they can and must be adjusted periodicly. There is an adjuster in the linkage that rests in a dimple on the clutch fork, coming out of the tranny. make the linkage adjuster smaller to lower the pedal travel. There is a proper procedure in doing this that I can't remember at the moment. Perhaps someone here could help you out if you have manual linkage.

If you have a hydraulic clutch, then I would say you may need a new clutch, or need fluid in the clutch master cylinder.

You may need a new clutch no matter what. It's hard to tell right now, without more information.

Hope this helps.

 

83 should be a mechanical clutch, my f100 was.

 

thanks alot for the replies guys. good info there. heres some more.

First off, i dont try to downshift into second from third at 180 mph as i pull into my driveway. Im thinking more like 10 mph...lol

secondly, im almost sure its a mechanical clutch, because i dont think i see two master cylinders on the firewall. just this massive one for the brakes. the clutch i think is a cable. how do i adjust it again? My mustang has a firewall adjuster, is this different? Someone mentioned adjusting it at the fork itself, which sounds fine. i guess i need to get under there and see what i can do...

 

Thanks,

I knew the Clutch mechanisims changed around 1984, but was not too sure. My Memory isn't as good as it used to be cause of health issues.


Yes, you should see the linkage adjuster where it fits into the dimple of the clutch release lever.

I know you use a tape measure to adjust pedal free travel. The specs in my 1981 specs manual say free travel should be adjusted between 1/2 inch to 2 inches. 1 inch I would consider nominal.

Take the tape measure and measure the distance between the floor and the top of the pedal with it fully released.

Then depress and take up all the free travel. Measure again the distance between the floor and the top of the pedal with the pedal depressed at the end of the free travel. Just when you start to get some resistance.

Take and subtract the two measurements, and that will leave you the free travel measurement. If it's more than two or less than half an inch, it needs to be adjusted.

Hope this helps.

 

I don't think it's a cable. There should be a rod off the peddle going to a Z bar and off the bottom of the Z bar is another link that goes to the clutch fork. That's the link that's adjustable.

 

ok ill take a look this weekend.