I though I could live with it too, but if I want the door open, I want it to stay. Today I was pulling mesquite roots out and that's a lot of open/close action when by myself. Wind kept closing it.

 

I just did 2 bed loads of dirt filling holes in the yard the dogs dug so it was a lot of moving the truck to the next hole but that did not bother me as much as needing to shut the motor off and restarting it
To each their own I guess?

Oh you can use a short 2x4 between the door and the hinge post to hold the door open.
Just dont forget it is there and close the door it could get ugly unless you are adjusting the door, old body man door adjustment
Dave ----

 

Looks like they updated the design compared to yours. They have a wheel with a flat spring. If you bought the whole complete hinge assembly you might get all you need together. Those springs are not fun to replace.

 

Even with the spring the wind can close the door on you, so you have to know it holds the door well if the wind isn't blowing. I hit a pot hole on the interstate at night and the jar was pretty hard. Hard enough to adjust my driver's side front fender making it interfere with the door. I had to loosen the fender bolts and move the fender forward. I had the door open and was pushing the fender forward when a gust of wind came up and closed the door. My index finger on my right hand got caught in the door fender gap as I wasn't looking back at that second. With my right finger stuck I had to reach across my body to get to the door handle and just barely could reach it. I can testify here that you never should put your fingers in that gap without the door being positively held open.

 

I had a huge cabinet project to finish that was preventing any meaningful work on the old farm truck, but with that mostly behind me I am ready to trade saw dust for grease!

PS, I really don't enjoy woodwork, but it's a means to an end that I couldn't get any custom cabinet maker to quote. Took far longer than I expected but turned out well. Does anyone have a good place to order cabinet doors? I'd rather buy those than make them, but can do that too if necessary.

So yeah, it's been a while, but I've been busy on the side and have uncovered a plethora of untold ills this pile of parts has.

The engine has a terrible vibration. I thought it was a dead miss, which it had, or just ran like crap, which it did (does?). But no, I found this to be the main culprit:

What's wrong with this picture?

Then the charge light was blinking at idle. Well that could be due to the WIRE NUT, yes wire nut holding what's left of the charging circuit together:

Yes, the main charge wire from alt is spliced with a now melted wire nut.

Fixed all that and it charges great now. Onwards!

The wiper washer doesn't work. This could be why:

I had a heck of a time getting pump out, but did succeed.


Next I dropped the fuel tank suspecting that something isn't right with the sender and potentially the fuel pick up as the PO claimed vapor lock, but it clearly wasn't.


The sender is about 2" short of reaching the bottom of tank at least. It wasn't vapor lock, it was running out of gas because it could not pick up any less than a 1/2 tank. Clearly this isn't the correct sender, but I have been unable to ascertain the correct unit. I also noted the fuel gauge does work, but anything over 1/2 on the sender reads full on the gauge or more, it's a scaling issue as it goes to zero or empty when the float is all the way down. So I need the correct sender, and to repair the scaling that exists in the truck gauge. I ohm'ed the sender and it is 75/10 full to empty(or vice versa). I'd appreciate some comments on this issue.

But the creme de la creme of the month was the rear end. As mentioned I pulled it out, the whole thing, as it was far easier to work on and boy does it need work! I expected to rebuild the posi with new clutches, but it needed far more than that!

look close, you see that crack? It goes all the way around. This unit is junk, so I bought a Yukon dura grip posi with the aggressive lockup. Just waiting on all the misc parts to put this back together.

Of course it needed wheel cylinders, brake shoes, and all that goes with that.

Once I receive all that's needed to setup the gear set, I'll finish that and move on to the front end, but I hope this is the last of the expensive surprises. This was about a $600 repair in parts. Fortunately I have setup plenty of 9" Fords.

That's your farm truck update for the day! Please help me with the fuel gauge issue.
Thanks!

 

Not going to the first post know year but looking at the tank looks to be a 19 gallon side tank with a small hole so as a guess you could use say 83 F150 long bed, 300 six, 19 gallon side tank for the sender.
Have you tried LMC? https://www.lmctruck.com/fuel-system...and-components

I looked at O'Reilly's but they listed something that was not for my truck "but" may work so dont know if you can get the sender local or not?
I did not check Auto Zone.
Dave ----

 

So the truck your talking about is a 81, 4.9, wait, I have to go back to page one, Well tht didn't work. I know you have AC, and I think manual tranny and 4X4 ?

If you put it in your sig... we all would know what truck we're dealing with. Remeber we view lot's of post on here, so it's hard to keep track of who has which truck...

I agree that looks like a 19 gallon tank. Call around to local auto parts stores and see what they have.

 

OH I would also like to know HTH do you crack a carrier like that
I did have a posi clutch pack wear a hole in the carrier housing, factory GM part no less that was in my 86 K5 Blazer with just around 12k on the clock and less than a year old.
Dave ----

 

Sorry about that. I updated my sig or sold my SS #. not sure...we'll see.

I'm waiting for parts so I have other issues to look at like fuel delivery and level sensing/display. It's a new tank, I assume 19 gal since it is mid-ship. It's 60" long. I have to assume it is the correct tank. The sender does not fit well and, as mentioned, does not reach the bottom; by a lot. The float travel is miles off, but, it ohms out correctly which means I can use it to troubleshoot fuel gauge circuit. Speaking of which, when the gauge travel is at empty, the gauge reads right on empty. However, as you increase the sender "level" to full, the gauge goes off the map past full. Moving the sender to various positions does result in anticipated reaction by the gauge. It's a scaling issue, or that is how it can be described. Could be the voltage regulator is allowing too high or low a voltage throwing the scaling off, I dunno. Could be the gauge. I have yet to do a meaningful attempt to find troubleshooting info.

LMC shows 1 sender for all trucks with side mount tank, EXCEPT diesel, 80-84. What I've got looks just like this https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo...pt=4436&jsn=21 In fact, RA indicates several possibilities, but none look like a winner. This offering from RA for a 1979 version of my truck looks like a ringer, but you can't really tell from a pic online. https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo...t=4436&jsn=654

Here's another wrench thrown in the gears... I find that because it is a build date of 8/80, there are several carry-overs to the 80's and 81's from the dentside era. Like my door hinge for example (S-spring door catch), radius arm bushings are another. So that is always in the back of your mind when things aren't as some would expect.

 

You better look again at the side tank senders as there should be 2 different ones for the gas motor trucks.
If you have a short bed truck with a side tank it would be a 16 gallon tank.
If you have a long bed truck with a side tank it would be a 19 gallon tanks.
Look at the senders and the gallons for the tank you have. I dont know what the "60 inch" long tank is, 18 or 19 without measuring mine and that is not going to happen anytime soon.

It almost sounds like you have a 16 gallon sender in a 19 gallon tank but that is a guess.
Again look at the gallons for the senders to match your tank.
Dave ----

 

Here's what NAPA has for sending units. Is this something like what you have ?

https://www.napaonline.com/en/search...nit&referer=v2

 

From what I have learned; 60" tank = longbed = 19 gal. The 16 gal tank is shorter. I'm not too worried about the sender presently as it adequately sends a correct signal to the gauge, it is the gauge, or supporting circuitry, that I am more interested in repairing. Perhaps I should start a new thread on this subject only?

 

If the temp and oil gauges work right even with out numbers (got you covered Dave ) then I would think it would be the gauge or bad connection?
I would pull the cluster and pull it apart for a good cleaning. I used really find sand paper, 1200 grit, to clean the contacts on the board and the gauge nuts and the little tabs on the bulb holders.
I replaced the bulbs with LED's but new normal bulbs without the colored dome as it blocks the light and see what happens.
Dave ----

 

FWIW, back in 2011 the trusted mechanic replaced the tank and sending unit/pump in my 86 302EFI truck. Even before that the guage always acted funny. When I fill the tank, the gauge reads at full or slightly above, but drops to half a tank quickly. Then takes a while to get down near E, where it will sit for a long time. I have carried a gas can with me when it get's that low, but I find the needle needs to go below E before it runs out of gas.

Nov 2011 for my truck was 6,000 miles ago.

 

LOL, well.... My truck has oil light, charge light, temp gauge, and fuel gauge, that's it. The senders for all of those were either wrong (gauge sender instead of oil pressure light sender) or was deleted altogether. I installed the correct oil pressure light sender, but no light still. I installed the missing temp sender yesterday, but have no fuel in truck to run and test it out (plus its sitting in shop on jackstands). The fuel gauge does move, but not as it should i.e. reads way past full when "full" as mentioned. The charge light works as it should, woot!
So, while I agree tearing into the cluster might be necessary, I'd like to have more in my toolbox other than 1200 grit or similar before I go in, though that is also probably a good call. Don't get me wrong, I am a factory gauge fan, but understand they are barely more than an idiot light, except for the fuel gauge, which in my case sucks too.

Really crappy weather in central TX today, stay indoors type of weather unless you're a duck. So it's either pull the instrument cluster, or do some tile work. Retirement has its' benefits, but the work never seems to end.