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Opinions?
Hello. I am new to these boards but not to ford trucks. I have an 89 f150 4x4 with the 5.8.
It is currently stock. The problem I had was out of the blue the temp gauge shot all the way up then the truck shut down. Now that it has cooled off it will start right up. It stinks of antifreeze and has a miss. There is no coolant in the oil so I am thinking that I smoked a head gasket.
I think the gauge was not working right or was stuck for it to suddenly shoot up like it did. My plan, if it is head gaskets, it to completly rework the heads. But how can I improve the mileage? This truck gets like 6 to 8 miles a gallon? However it would pull anything it was hooked up to. The part that was not so funny is a friend of mine hauled it home with his trailer for me and had to go all over town showing his chevy towing a ford.
Thank You for any help, Shaun
It is currently stock. The problem I had was out of the blue the temp gauge shot all the way up then the truck shut down. Now that it has cooled off it will start right up. It stinks of antifreeze and has a miss. There is no coolant in the oil so I am thinking that I smoked a head gasket.
I think the gauge was not working right or was stuck for it to suddenly shoot up like it did. My plan, if it is head gaskets, it to completly rework the heads. But how can I improve the mileage? This truck gets like 6 to 8 miles a gallon? However it would pull anything it was hooked up to. The part that was not so funny is a friend of mine hauled it home with his trailer for me and had to go all over town showing his chevy towing a ford.
Thank You for any help, Shaun
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From: scottsdale
well sounds of a smoked gasket as for MPG well theirs a long list the ignition upgrade for one free flowing exhaust ( headers good muffler) pullys , run a electric fan step your tire size down go with a more road friendly tread and since ya got the heads off anywho throw a set of roller rockers on there?
i mean
as for your other problem.... shoot shawn send his truck to the crusher to be beer-can-erized use the money to buy some beer and put pictures of his truck right as the claws are digging in to it on the cans??
i mean
as for your other problem.... shoot shawn send his truck to the crusher to be beer-can-erized use the money to buy some beer and put pictures of his truck right as the claws are digging in to it on the cans??
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Joined: Mar 2002
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From: Bonita Springs FL
The temp gauges aren't reliable on these trucks, so I would do a compression check before you start tearing the engine down. Maybe you just have a leaky water pump. It's worth a shot.
6-8 MPG is not right. Don't listen to anyone who suggests e-fans or a free-flowing exhaust to correct it. You have a sensor out of range or something else wrong for your mileage to be that low. Are there any codes present? E-fans and exhaust upgrades will help performance, no doubt about it - but the smart approach is to fix what's wrong first and *then* do your upgrades.
If you do end up tearing into it, you can get a set of aftermarket heads that flow better right out of the box for what it would cost you to have your heads rebuilt. I would also recommend a cam change and a more free-flowing exhaust once you have the mileage figured out.
6-8 MPG is not right. Don't listen to anyone who suggests e-fans or a free-flowing exhaust to correct it. You have a sensor out of range or something else wrong for your mileage to be that low. Are there any codes present? E-fans and exhaust upgrades will help performance, no doubt about it - but the smart approach is to fix what's wrong first and *then* do your upgrades.
If you do end up tearing into it, you can get a set of aftermarket heads that flow better right out of the box for what it would cost you to have your heads rebuilt. I would also recommend a cam change and a more free-flowing exhaust once you have the mileage figured out.
FTE Legend
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 31,930
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From: Ottawa, Ontario
How many miles on the motor? If it's not totally used up then Id suggest having the heads checked for cracks and if they are good simply reinstall them with new gaskets. It's pretty easy to spend a lot more on heads then they are worth so don't do anything more to them than is absolutely necessary, if you live in a larger center I be you could get reconditioned heads pretty cheap if you need them.
This truck should get better milage than that so there are a few things to check, but the first thing to determine is how accurate your speedo is because if you have larger than stock tires installed you odometer will be off and that throws your milage calculation off. Stock tires are 235/75-15 that are about 28.5" in diameter so if you have anything other than that size on it you can pretty much assume the speedo is wrong, to recalibrate it you just have to change the driven gear on the transmission end of the speedo drive cable.
Once that is sorted out check for the fuel trasnfer problem if the truck has dual tanks, and also check fuel pressure and pull the codes from the computer.
This truck should get better milage than that so there are a few things to check, but the first thing to determine is how accurate your speedo is because if you have larger than stock tires installed you odometer will be off and that throws your milage calculation off. Stock tires are 235/75-15 that are about 28.5" in diameter so if you have anything other than that size on it you can pretty much assume the speedo is wrong, to recalibrate it you just have to change the driven gear on the transmission end of the speedo drive cable.
Once that is sorted out check for the fuel trasnfer problem if the truck has dual tanks, and also check fuel pressure and pull the codes from the computer.
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Joined: Jan 2009
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From: scottsdale
The temp gauges aren't reliable on these trucks, so I would do a compression check before you start tearing the engine down. Maybe you just have a leaky water pump. It's worth a shot.
6-8 MPG is not right. Don't listen to anyone who suggests e-fans or a free-flowing exhaust to correct it. You have a sensor out of range or something else wrong for your mileage to be that low. Are there any codes present? E-fans and exhaust upgrades will help performance, no doubt about it - but the smart approach is to fix what's wrong first and *then* do your upgrades.
If you do end up tearing into it, you can get a set of aftermarket heads that flow better right out of the box for what it would cost you to have your heads rebuilt. I would also recommend a cam change and a more free-flowing exhaust once you have the mileage figured out.
6-8 MPG is not right. Don't listen to anyone who suggests e-fans or a free-flowing exhaust to correct it. You have a sensor out of range or something else wrong for your mileage to be that low. Are there any codes present? E-fans and exhaust upgrades will help performance, no doubt about it - but the smart approach is to fix what's wrong first and *then* do your upgrades.
If you do end up tearing into it, you can get a set of aftermarket heads that flow better right out of the box for what it would cost you to have your heads rebuilt. I would also recommend a cam change and a more free-flowing exhaust once you have the mileage figured out.
ya no sleep i ment do that then >.> performance mods ^.^
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Joined: May 2010
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Antifreeze
I just got an 1989 f150 300 and I cant find out what is going on with the antifreeze. Is this something that is normal? First time Ford owner. I only paid $600 for it but fill it up with antifreeze and its gone by the end of the day. No drips no leaks that I can see and oil is fine. It doesnt smell like its getting burned off. Should I check the headgasket as well?
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I have 2 plugs that are fouled with coolant. I am running 31x 10.50 tires (they were on the truck when I got it) and being friends with the local police officer I had him check with his radar at 35 mph and it was dead on. Also I cannot use the front tank. Not to worried bout that right now. I had an engine code for the tps but replaced the sensor and the code went away. Also I have been looking at msd ignitions. I used to use them when I was racing and was always happy with them then.
I have only had this truck for about 2 months. It has 172,000 miles and is all stock. It is the shortbed with manual hubs. I love this truck and it has already proven itself against the chevys in town (pulled a couple out when they died in the mud) . My wife also has said she loves the truck and I am open to do "whatever I need to to get her back on the road".
I have only had this truck for about 2 months. It has 172,000 miles and is all stock. It is the shortbed with manual hubs. I love this truck and it has already proven itself against the chevys in town (pulled a couple out when they died in the mud) . My wife also has said she loves the truck and I am open to do "whatever I need to to get her back on the road".
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Post Fiend
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 19,402
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From: Bonita Springs FL
I have 31" tires on my truck and my speedometer is accurate at slower speeds but off by 6-7 MPH at 65-70. I wouldn't rule it out. What does the driver's door sticker say the stock tire size is?
The fuel crossflow problem can still impact you if you don't use your front tank. Return fuel can end up in the other tank. Although if you're having that problem presumably you'd know because fuel would be coming out the filler.
The fuel crossflow problem can still impact you if you don't use your front tank. Return fuel can end up in the other tank. Although if you're having that problem presumably you'd know because fuel would be coming out the filler.
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Thank you. I had not even thought about the fuel return going to the front tank. I know the tank was empty but is reading full now. I figured that whatever was stopping the tank from working was causing the guage to act weird as well.
I am going to get into the truck this weekend. I just wonder, should I go ahead and replace the timing set while I have the engine tore down. I have no idea how old it is and it may be the original. Also with the cam upgrade what would you folks suggest? I do not want it to lope like a dragster and with this truck I need good street manners. Shaun
I am going to get into the truck this weekend. I just wonder, should I go ahead and replace the timing set while I have the engine tore down. I have no idea how old it is and it may be the original. Also with the cam upgrade what would you folks suggest? I do not want it to lope like a dragster and with this truck I need good street manners. Shaun
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From: Long Beach, Calimexiforia
Thank you. I had not even thought about the fuel return going to the front tank. I know the tank was empty but is reading full now. I figured that whatever was stopping the tank from working was causing the guage to act weird as well.
I am going to get into the truck this weekend. I just wonder, should I go ahead and replace the timing set while I have the engine tore down. I have no idea how old it is and it may be the original. Also with the cam upgrade what would you folks suggest? I do not want it to lope like a dragster and with this truck I need good street manners. Shaun
I am going to get into the truck this weekend. I just wonder, should I go ahead and replace the timing set while I have the engine tore down. I have no idea how old it is and it may be the original. Also with the cam upgrade what would you folks suggest? I do not want it to lope like a dragster and with this truck I need good street manners. Shaun
FTE Legend
Joined: Jun 2006
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From: Ottawa, Ontario
You have the fuel transfer problem.
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