i went and looked at a truck tonight in hopes of finding a donor truck, and instead found a deal on a truck that better than my current truck..

its a 89 f250, needs a little tlc, but for 400 who can complain. its a 351 in it, 5 speed standard, and 4wd...

the thing that gets me is that the owner says its extremely close geared and you ( except with a full load ) start in 2nd gear not 1st, if you start in 1st you only get to 5 or 10 mph.. any ideas on which tranny this would be ( im hoping the heavier duty one lol )

the reason its so cheap, and why its parked is that "in 3rd gear it starts 'doggin' " and i do not know what was meant by that, and what it might be as far as its issue?? once again any help on that?

 

I am going to say that you have the ZF tranny. The heavy duty one. The ******* in 3rd might be the clutch slipping? That would be my guess.

 

Oh come on haha every ones finding these now! cept me lol my friend just found a truck with the Dana ZF5 Great trans built to last and to haul. i would second the clutch slipping too.

 

Yes you have the smallblock ZF 4x4. You are very lucky, those transmissions are in very high demand. The owner obviously doesn't know what he has.

If it was a slipping clutch it would happen in all gears, it wouldn't just be third gear. Need lots more information on the problem to help you diagnose it.

 

as said i havnt gotten to drive the truck yet, i am going out on a limb due to i cant beat the price, but the owner says that going up their driveway ( and i can vouch that its a hell of a hill climb, my wife's dakota had to be locked in 4wd ) is that 2nd is too slow but when it was in third up that hill it started 'doggin'.. now what was reffered to by that im not sure, i plan on gettin the truck today and hopefully be able to give a little more insight.. hell as far as i know he may have meant bogging, as in bogging down too low on the rpms, not really sure, but on the bright side im glad to know im getting a highly desired transmission, if per say there is an issue with 3rd and it is in the trans itself, how hard are they to repair, as i would be attempting to repair it myself, also what kind of prices are on parts for it.

sorry for the long winded post, just want to try to cover as much as possible as quick as possible

Edit: and hopefully get some pictures up of it today

 

I'm thinking he meant bogging. But get the truck, do the basic maintenance on it, figure out what else is wrong with it, and then worry about how much it's going to cost to fix.

 

Hey on that truck when you get it could you do me a huge favor and measure the rear drive shaft from weld to weld on it. I have been trying the right length shaft for my 86 that I'm swapping a 5sp into. It would be a huge help!

I would have to agree and think that he means bogging also if it is a slow uphill climb.

 

well bought the truck today and got a tow home. the 351 in it is locked up in it, whatever i have another engine for it... the P.O. said that going uphill in 3rd it was as if there was no power what so ever, and for what the tow truck driver said, and i didnt pay too much mind to him due to he was a real a&&hole the whole ride to my place, but he 'claims' that the ZF's are horribly known to blow 3rd and reverse ( anyone like to chime in and give an opinion either way ) and that he would rather have a E4OD in the truck...

and to top off the whole deal the P.O. felt bad that the engine was locked up so paid for my tow.. gotta love it, 80 dollars i saved ( 80 cash and his AAA covered the hookup charge lol

and coolguy, as soon as i find my tapemeasure here and i get moving again ill get the driveshaft length for ya

 

Hey thanks I appreciate it!

 

ok quick question for somebody.. anybody.. the engine if froze up wont budge an inch, i plled plugs to make it "easier" for the starter due to 0 compression without plugs, the truck "ran great" until it got parked a year ago, hasnt been messed with since, does anyone else think it could be a rusty layer above the pistons or at the rings keeping it from moving, i was underneath it ( sorry coolguy didnt get the driveshaft length yet ) and was trying to spin it by hand with a 3/4 inch breaker bar on the harmonic balancer bolt and it wouldnt budge either direction, without tearing into the engine do you think its worth fighting with, or just swap with the one from my 90, also how far different is the smog systems on these, because the 89 has a rats nest of vacuum lines that my 90 doesnt, is the 90 missing stuff? once again sorry for the 3 mile post

 

I don't know if this is orrect to do but I'd spray some pb blaster in the spark plugs holes and let it set for awhile and see if it would free it up. That stuff is pretty good stuff. I'd check the oil and see if it has any water or anything in it could be a clue on why it's locked up.

 

Use marvel mystery oil. I've heard it works great for freeing up locked engines. I'd try it, it's a whole lot cheaper and easier than a new motor. What's the worst that could happen?

 

hmm... well, it would turn freely... thats bad right lol... no worst that can happen is it doesnt work, and i gotta use my other engine.

im gonna try pb blaster as i have 2 cans layin around handy ( i really need to invest in other lubes lol)