Just need a little help here. I recently bought this 85 F250 Diesel.. was a 6.9 IDI, now a 7.3, T-19, 4wd.. runs like a tank, almost zero blowback, but it's as ugly as sin!
By no means am I trying a complete restoration, but it does need a bed, a cab corner, a door skin, a fender, front hubs, rear break cylinders, floorpans, and probably a thing or seven I haven't come across yet.. but first things first... namely, I don't want it to catch on fire.. then I'll turn my attention to getting it to stop reliably.. then have 4wd, then look better.
Unfortunately, the wiring has been highly "customized." The truck has a U.S. OD Gearbox installed in front of the transfer case (which is awesome btw), but whoever did it has made an absolute mess of the wiring harness by the pass-side battery/voltage regulator area where the control box for the gearbox is wired in. It also draws power directly from the driver's side battery, so I have to disconnect it every eveining to avoid killing the bats.

Thankfully, my question is shorter than the explanation of the problem. What wiring harness(es) and such do I need to pretty much completely redo the engine compartment? Part #'s or hyperlinks would be much appreciated. Also, any thoughts on how or where to get that gearbox controller wired and mounted up inside the cab. It certainly doesn't appear to be made to sit exposed under the hood. All responses should be written as though you're explaining things to a rank noobie - cuz you are! Thanks.

 

Best thing I can suggest is to get yourself a factory wiring diagram, here's one:
Lloyds Auto Liturature available for 1985, Fordtruck, Wiring Diagrams

Also eBay as well as other places that sell these things (use google).

I suspect you're gonna end up making it by hand, unless you can find a decent one in a
junkyard (I RARELY see diesels of this vintage in the junkyards). Read this:
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/8...ml#post7877864

There is somebody called Painless who sells brand new stuff but they're far from
inexpensive:
Painless Performance: New Web Catalog

If we can get NumberDummy's attention, he might be able to provide Ford part numbers
but I'll bet they're all obsolete at this point; however, somebody in the country may have
what you're after.

For your OD gear box, see if you can get instructions for it to learn how it should be
hooked up.

 

Cool,
That at least gets me headed in the right direction. I had looked at the Painless kits before. They are a little pricey. If I were to go that route, I'd probably try and do the entire truck in one shot.. just a little skeptical of my ability to do so and still drive to work the following monday. I'm ok at following directions and installing new parts, but have zero experience with wiring or electrical diagnosis, so I'm having a real tough time "undoing" all the patchwork stuff that's been done. Maybe best for me to just order the painless kit and start anew? I have the wiring diagrams (thanks to the shop manual). What I don't understand is the huge number of "wiring harnesses." It seems like there is a harness for nearly every component. Will the painless kit include all of these, or are they entirely separate?

Thanks again,
BJ

 

I have no idea, I've never used 'em. From what I've seen, except for discrete harnesses for
specific purposes, they *look* fairly generic and you have to finish assembling them (plug
the wires into the connectors, what goes where would depend on what you're needing to
make work). Again, that's just what I recall, I have no direct experience with the things.

I understand there are around 6 different under-hood harnesses for your truck, it'd depend on
options & calibration code (if applicable) and the easiest way of identifying your specific
harness(es) would be with the tags on 'em, but those are generally LONG gone by this
point.