New tow rig

[KyleQ]

This is my first post after lots and lots of reading. I've been on the lookout for a tow rig for some time and recently purchased a 1986 F350 6.9 married to a 4 speed. I bought this truck with the main purpose to tow my trailer and Bronco - I've been borrowing a 99' 5.7 Tahoe with success, but it's time to tow my own weight.

Here is a shot of the truck and what it will be towing -

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This is my first diesel and I'm going to admit there is a lot I don't know about them when it comes to proper starting and driving techniques, maintenance and fuel requirements when it comes to additives.

The truck starts right up and runs good (to my limited knowledge) - it will blow a little smoke if I get on it hard, which seems to be normal. I don't think the pump has ever been touched as this was an old man's farm truck it's entire life. The only modifications I can see is a K&N air cleaner (carb style) was installed shortly before I got the truck - made a bit of a difference over the factory setup. Other then that, the exhaust seems to look factory, but the truck is loud (I don't mind it - sounds cool )

Startup - turn they key on, glow plug light comes on and when it goes off I can start, I know that much. Should I let the truck idle a but before taking off or is it ok to drive it nice right away? I'm going to guess it depends on the temperature outside, if it's damn cold out, let it warm up a little?

It seems very typical of people to leave the diesels running quite a bit, is it ******* these trucks to shut down for a short period of time and start back up? Should I let it idle when I run into the liquor store for a six pack?

Additives - I read about in the late 90's the sulphur level changing and it affecting our 6.9 trucks, should I be using an additive year round? Any specific brand to look for? Any negative affects from adding too much?


Thanks for your input - I want this truck to last a long time and serve me well. I plan on replacing the glow plugs before winter, new tires and all new fluids from the front differential to the rear.

Kyle

 

[87crewdually]

Congrats on your purchase and it sounds like your off to a good start. Diggin your bronco has a good stance. Like you already stated if it's cold out or the first start of the day you should let it build up a little tempature before driving it to hard.
As for fuel additives alot of people including myself use Diesel Kleen (silver bottle) per directions and at fuel filter changes I fill the filter with it straight before installing it. Since the truck is new to you I'd put in a double dose of the cleaner.
Post up any ?'s, there's alot of knowledge here.

 

[KyleQ]

Regarding fuel capacity's, my rear tanks leaks and I've yet to investigate where and why, so I'm running on my front tank only for the moment. The gauge was reading right around a 1/4 tank so I filled the front - it only took ~9 gallons. I hopped in and the gauge was WELL beyond the F mark, bad sending unit? I looked under the truck and the front tank looks huge, it should hold well over 12 gallons (assuming the gauge is linear and 1/4 + 9 gallons = 12 gallons)

I guess one way to find out is to fill a 5 gallon spare and drive until empty and see not only what mileage I'm getting, but what the capacity is...

Thanks for the warm welcome 87' - the Bronco is a fun project of mine. It's a 74' sporting a 90' D60 up front stretched 6" forward with long arms and a D70 in the rear. I'm building a EFI 351 with serpentine, cobra intakes, and 75mm TB and 80mm MAF. When that goes in a NP435 will mate to the Atlas 2 3.8:1 transfer case giving me a crawl ration of 110:1 in low/low. Steering is PSC full hydraulic and I've got disk brakes on all 4 corners - it's a damn money pit

 

[87crewdually]

Tanks are either 19 or 17 gallon. My front holds 19 and 17 in the rear. The gauge will read full for awhile then once it hits 1/2 tank it's more like 1/3 (5-6gal.).

 

[icanfixall]

Welcome to the forum. Your truck has a 19 gallon front tank and a 17 gallon rear tank but..... Usually these tanks are empty around 1/4 tank on the dash gauge. Thats because the fuel pickup in the tanks has broken off. So the now pickup will only draw down to around 1/4 tank and you go empty... Thats a bad thing for the injection pump. The fuel being pumped thru it actually cools it and lubes it so don't run the truck out of fuel. Changing a fuel filter can be tricky. Filling the new filter with fuel additive is a great idea. Some just fill it with atf fluid. Run it for about 1 to 2 minutes and shut it off. Now the additive will be able to "work" on all the pump internals. I run 4oz Stanadyne Performance Formula in evey tank. The front tank pickup is easy to remove and repair but the rear is a real pain. Just get under the front tank and look at the lines and wires going to it. Remove them and then use a hammer punch or flat screw driver to drive the holding ring loose. Then lift it out. Add about 4 inches of diesel fuel rated hose and that it. Really easy. Watch how the pickup comes out. It must be aligned by the tiny dowl on the sealing edge. Nothing to it. All ford fuel tanks are the same as to how the pickups are held in the tanks. Find on in a wrecking yard and practice removing and installing it. Wont matter if its a front or rear or even a gas motor tank. Even a sedan tank is the same.

 

[KyleQ]

Welcome to the forum. Your truck has a 19 gallon front tank and a 17 gallon rear tank but..... Usually these tanks are empty around 1/4 tank on the dash gauge. Thats because the fuel pickup in the tanks has broken off. So the now pickup will only draw down to around 1/4 tank and you go empty... The front tank pickup is easy to remove and repair but the rear is a real pain. Just get under the front tank and look at the lines and wires going to it. Remove them and then use a hammer punch or flat screw driver to drive the holding ring loose. Then lift it out. Add about 4 inches of diesel fuel rated hose and that it. Really easy. Watch how the pickup comes out. It must be aligned by the tiny dowl on the sealing edge. Nothing to it. All ford fuel tanks are the same as to how the pickups are held in the tanks. Find on in a wrecking yard and practice removing and installing it. Wont matter if its a front or rear or even a gas motor tank. Even a sedan tank is the same....

Thanks for the heads up - I've done a few fuel pump on Contour SVT's and I'm confident that I can get it back together correctly. I'm not certain that the front pickup is broken off, I've yet to run the tank below 1/4 - I'll fill a yellow can and toss it in the truck box so when I find out if the pickup is broken or if the sending unit is off I'll have a way to get home.

... Thats a bad thing for the injection pump. The fuel being pumped thru it actually cools it and lubes it so don't run the truck out of fuel. Changing a fuel filter can be tricky. Filling the new filter with fuel additive is a great idea. Some just fill it with atf fluid. Run it for about 1 to 2 minutes and shut it off. Now the additive will be able to "work" on all the pump internals. I run 4oz Stanadyne Performance Formula in evey tank.

What is trickey about changing the fuel filter, it is located under the hood and looks like an oil filter. Screw it off, pre-fill new filter with diesel/additive mix, screw on and crank motor until it fires. Am I missing something? Why only run it for a minute or two and then shut off? I presume that is a good routine to perform if filling the filter with nothing but additive?

When I filled the front tank I found some Amsoil additive in the truck box, thinking the front tank was very large I tossed in the last 1/5 of the bottle, but to only get 9 gallons in the tank. The gauge was reading 1/4 tank, but I didn't have any fuel issues - bad sending unit or does the gauge not move at all for the majority of the tank and move fast towards the end?

 

[Diesel Max]

Thanks for the heads up - I've done a few fuel pump on Contour SVT's and I'm confident that I can get it back together correctly. I'm not certain that the front pickup is broken off, I've yet to run the tank below 1/4 - I'll fill a yellow can and toss it in the truck box so when I find out if the pickup is broken or if the sending unit is off I'll have a way to get home.



What is trickey about changing the fuel filter, it is located under the hood and looks like an oil filter. Screw it off, pre-fill new filter with diesel/additive mix, screw on and crank motor until it fires. Am I missing something? Why only run it for a minute or two and then shut off? I presume that is a good routine to perform if filling the filter with nothing but additive?

When I filled the front tank I found some Amsoil additive in the truck box, thinking the front tank was very large I tossed in the last 1/5 of the bottle, but to only get 9 gallons in the tank. The gauge was reading 1/4 tank, but I didn't have any fuel issues - bad sending unit or does the gauge not move at all for the majority of the tank and move fast towards the end?

Nothing tricky about changing the fuel filter......... Spin it off just like an oil filter. You can also fill the filter with straight transmission fluid if you don't have an additive or extra diesel fuel laying around. Just be sure to fill the filter as full as you can get it when you put it back on to keep from getting air in the system. Always good to run it for a few minutes to get any air out of the system and get the trans fluid or additive used when filling the filter pushed through the system.

Not sure if you have the 2 piece filter........ (cast piece with drain on the bottom of the filter with water sensor). Sometimes they can be a pain to get back together and then keep them from leaking. If you do have the 2 piece and you have a leaking issue, Napa sells a complete one piece filter with a drain and water sensor port on the bottom so that you only have a complete one piece filter like an oil filter, it's what I use and I like the one piece style much better.

 

[KyleQ]

I'll take some under hood shots when I get home tonight - I'm not sure what is all going on, there is some suspect wiring that I'll take care of (twist connectors) and some things needing attention (battery cables and ends) but beyond that, its looks like a V8 with all sorts of foreign tubes and hoses on top of it.

 

[KyleQ]

Snapped a few pics -

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Under hood - intake.

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This is under the cruise control, I'm guessing it is the water/fuel separator as it's got fuel lines running into it. How do I drain it? Do I need to drain it? I think there is a light on the dash for it, what does that indicate?

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Tire size looks to be stock - 55mph is ~2000rpm.

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Here is the door tag - fun note. This truck was assembled here in the Twin Cities - kinda neat that I live ~30 min away from where the truck was put together

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Looks like I've got 3.55's - sweet. I'm thinking with some slightly larger tires, new injectors and timing I should be able to score around 16-18mpg unloaded.

 

[Diesel Max]

Ok..... The orange Fram filter is your fuel filter. I had no clue Fram made a one piece filter for these trucks. Typically these trucks have a two piece filter setup and the bottom cast piece has a water drain and a sensor port on it for your "water in fuel light". Napa sells a one peice filter with a water drain and a sensor port built into the bottom of it. I would say if you look around the filter base you will probably find a wire with a lead on it that would hook to you sensor port if you had one. If you don't have a really good history on the truck, I would start the maintenance program with the changing of all fluids and filters.

Yes, those are the stock size tires that came on the truck.

 

[93f250idi]

yupp 39 is 3:55s non posi. thats a purty good looking old truck. i like the air filter!

 

[KyleQ]

yupp 39 is 3:55s non posi. thats a purty good looking old truck. i like the air filter!

Thanks - I'm wondering if a Spectre style double ram air intake setup would be better. It's gota get hot under that hood...

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[dsltech83]

Ok..... The orange Fram filter is your fuel filter. I had no clue Fram made a one piece filter for these trucks. Typically these trucks have a two piece filter setup and the bottom cast piece has a water drain and a sensor port on it for your "water in fuel light".

6.9's have a seperate seperator and filter thats why it doesn't have a drain on the filter

 

[Diesel Max]

Ok..... The orange Fram filter is your fuel filter. I had no clue Fram made a one piece filter for these trucks. Typically these trucks have a two piece filter setup and the bottom cast piece has a water drain and a sensor port on it for your "water in fuel light".

6.9's have a seperate seperator and filter thats why it doesn't have a drain on the filter

Ok, I stand corrected........ I was thinking 7.3, not 6.9.

 

[93f250idi]

Thanks - I'm wondering if a Spectre style double ram air intake setup would be better. It's gota get hot under that hood...

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If u route it to a ram air hood then then that would be a great setup! U can cut two holes in the hood and put two scoops there and route it there. I'm debating doing that to mine