Hi all.

I just bought a 95 F150 4x4 XLT with a 351. I was lead to believe it was medicly and mechanicly sound. Im not completely naieve, i knew it wasnt as good as he was saying, but its a little sicker then i expected. I took it to get inspected and ended up with a half-dozen or so problems to have fixed.

Problems from inspection:
-Left inner tie rod
-Right outer tie rod
-Pitman arm drag link
-Right side Bearing
-Rear drums
-Cracked windshield
-Highmount brake light
-Left side e-brake cable

I looked at having the shop fix them untill they offered to fx my rear tie rods for $800, i laughed at them and walked out. Im not that dumb merely inexperienced in the automotive repair world.

I have since fixed the right side tierod, the rear drums, and the highmount brake light. I have the left side inner tie rod, and am waiting on the pitman arm drag link to be ordered in to them both at the same time.

I do have some other questions about things the inspection didnt tell me or the shop was vauge on...

-What are the torque specs on the tierods and pitman arm drag link? if i tightend down the nut on the outer tierod and then loosend it, would that have pooched the joint?

-How do i check the drum brakes for proper tension? and if they are too tight do i simply spin the star wheel? after installing them i took a little drive and didnt hear grinding or anything but the creep seemed a lttle bit slower... also, even if i put all the pressure i can on the brake pedal my motor still overpowers the brakes.... which is my concern for the proper tension...

-How do i know which Bearing on the right side to order?
-There is a nasty vibration between 105km/h and 120km/h but not below or above... is this an alignment/ balance issue or the bearing?

- there is a delay and then a clunk switching between R and D. is this my U-joints or a tranny issue or simply mounting bolts needing tightened?

- As far as i can research, My dancing speedo sounds like a problem with the VSS. Is this a hard fix?

-my front gas tank is full, the guage shows it full, but when i switch tanks it chokes out. is this the low pressure pump? or clogged lines? how do i check ?

-How do i check which motor i have? i know its a 5.8 351, where do i find out if it is the windsor or clevland or marine?

lastly
- There is a highpitch drone occasionaly while driving coming from the eng. but only during acceleration, as soon as i take the foot off the gas it stops. almost sounds like something that is supposed to be turning is starting to not want to turn... could this mean he lied about the last oil change and i just need to do an oil change? or could it just be that bearing throwing its voice?

Any help anyone can provide would be awesome.

Mechanicly inquisitive

I have spent a few days searching around the site for simmilar problems but nothing that exactly fits the charachteristics of mine so i thought i would post and ask...

 

It's a 351W, unless it came out of a '70s truck.

Are you switching from the front tank to the rear? Just because the indicator shows full, doesn't mean it's trustworthy. Try pouring in a gallon or two just to make sure there's something in it. Did you fill the tank yourself? Nobody EVER sells a car or truck with a full tank, unless there's a big reason why.

 

Most of the time tire balance but with your other problems may it is also the rear end.

Maybe the play is in the rear end.

The the VSS sensor in the top of the rear end and not hard to change. But be careful with it as you can break it taking it out and leave part of it in there. This can also be the tone ring on the rear end doing this.
As You might have seen the RABS module can do this also.

I would guess a bad fuel pump inside the front tank and the fuel pump is also inside the Fuel Delivery Module.

Windsor

Are you sure it is not coming from the rear end?

 

Hey there.

I'll answer what I do know, or suspect, to help you out. Others will have to chime in on some of the others

When you install the new rear brakes, they should just drag when you spin the wheel by hand, like a shhhing sound. If they make no drag sound they are not taken up enough, and if they bind when turning by hand they are too tight. Yes this is done by adjusting the the take-up cam, star wheel. When I've adjusted these, I've had the drums on and off a dozen times. LOL

To me this does sound like either alignment or tire balance. I'd have them both checked, since you'll need an alignment after the tie rod ends and draglink.

The clunk is most likely the u-joints IMO. As far as the delay, that could depend on the idle speed, or trans problem, not exactly sure.

That sounds valid. The vss can get dirty, gummed up, etc and could throw off the speedo, but if that is the case, I would think the ABS light would come on then as well, since it controls the ABS too.

I would guess that, unless the PO swapped motors, it is a Windsor. The Cleveland wasn't offered in the trucks, and the M motor (modified) I don't believe was used in the later trucks anymore. A marine motor wasn't even an option that I know of.

Hope these help you out some. I know others will chime in soon to confirm or deny my opinions, and add info about the other questions I couldn't answer.

BTW, welcome to the site!!!!

 

Thanks to all for their timely adivce... many seem to think it is a problem wth the rear end, this could be. he told me he just had it replaced. whether that meant he did it hmself or had it done by a mechanic i dont know. i will have to look further...

If this is the rear end.. what does that mean... adjusting stabalizer links or buying a new axle, or leafs...

thanks again to all

 

Well no it just means buying a bearing and seal set (about $110.00) plus a set of wheel bearings (or repair bearings), seals and installing them and setting it up.

If the gears are bad (most of the time they are not) you may have to replace them and the tone ring also.

It has nothing to do with the adjusting stabilizer links or the leafs.
As far as replacing with a new axle I have never priced one but would think maybe 2-3 thousand $$.

You could try a used one from a salvage yard but it may have problems also and around here they get about $1200.00 for them.

I have bough return cores for $50.00 from salvage yards and put new bearings and seals in them and then set them up and they have worked out very well.