I'm still falling in love...for now...

[Desertfireguy]

WITH MY TRUCK!!!

So, I don't know proper procedure on this , but I had a couple of other threads that didn't quite fit anymore, so I'm starting this one. To summarize for those that didn't read the other ones...

I bought the truck in my signature about 2 months ago for what I thought was a good price . Seller was a kid, but seemed pretty solid. Not sure what all he rigged up or the PO before him, but I'm slowly working my way through her. He did mention that she needed a new radiator, but I didn't have any problems until 2 days ago when she puked all over the parking lot . Got the radiator out and to a shop that fixed it by removing 4 tubes. They ensured me that it wouldn't have much of an effect since it holds about a million gallons of coolant.

I'd been trying to track down an oil leak (and still might be). I was finally able to get it to my buddy's place and a lot of the bolts up top were fairly loose. Got them tightened down, so I'll monitor over the next week to see if she stops dripping everywhere.

Some other things I'd done were replace the throttle cable, put in a new clutch/brake pedal assembly, remove the clutch switch jumper and wire in a couple of switches (as part of my horn/cruise troubleshooting), and repair the blend door actuators under the hood/dash. I also painted her and relocated the spare to the bracket in the bed. The search for cruise continues, but I did manage to track the horn issues to the power distribution box under DS of the hood. Currently functioning horn until I hit the next bump in the road .

And now the reason I started this thread (which will be a catch all for any future issues that won't happen)...

While I was under the hood tightening up bolts and cleaning up, I noticed a wire was disconnected from the DS engine block. I hooked it back up and nothing apparent happened while driving. Already long story short, it is the engine temp sensor wire and the light came on tonight while driving home. I know engines get hot, so should I swap the sensor or is there another troubleshooting technique ? Coolant runs in the normal range and engine sounds fine. Any help appreciated and I'll get some more pics in this post soon. Thanks in advance!

 

[lotzagoodstuff]

WITH MY TRUCK!!!

Got the radiator out and to a shop that fixed it by removing 4 tubes. They ensured me that it wouldn't have much of an effect since it holds about a million gallons of coolant.

I hooked it back up and nothing apparent happened while driving. Already long story short, it is the engine temp sensor wire and the light came on tonight while driving home. I know engines get hot, so should I swap the sensor or is there another troubleshooting technique ? Coolant runs in the normal range and engine sounds fine.

As long as your radiator isn't too corroded inside, blanking out a couple of tubes won't have any effect. I've done it on at least half a dozen gassers, including a wrecked Crown Victoria that had the top four rows damaged during a front end collision that went over 200K with the top four rows pulled out and soldered shut. Two thumbs up from me on this method of repair

The gauges in these trucks are commonly referred to like the hot dogs at the Quikee Mart on the Simpsons: "Strickly ornamental" Don't get too involved in fixing the temp gauge unless you really have some time on your hands. Go get yourself some dependable gauges and you'll get a much more accurate reading.

Good luck, sounds like your well on your way to making your truck your own.

 

[IDIoit]

The search for cruise continues,

if this means that you are looking for cruise control, i just picked up a 89 460 gasser parts truck,
the diaphram off my 87 was disconnected when i bought it.
if you want it, send me 12 bucks to ship it and its yours.
i dont know if it works.... ive never used it.
but it looks like its in good condition.
any way to check these?

 

[icanfixall]

As for getting the engine hot. How did you determine this? If you felt the light coming on did this I feel that could be a bad sender. Try removing the wire again and see if the engine gets hot. To test the sender for operation just ground the wire and see if the dash gauge travels way past the L"L in normal. If it does it works. That sender is the large one in the front of the drivers side head. It is supposed to close and bury the dash gauge at 242 degrees.

 

[Desertfireguy]

This guy at this link had my exact same problem. http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1089109-is-she-overheating-engine-temp-light-stuck-84-6-9-a.html

I'm starting to think that I may just be overreacting, but there's definitely reason for caution. I think the engine may be getting hot, but not crazy. I don't think I'd want to tow anything uphill at this point, but unloaded I'd be fine with it. The connector to the temp sensor switch on the block is kind of loose. I swivelled it around and the light went off. I don't have a temp guage other than the stock coolant temp gauge. I only have an "engine temp" light to the right of the steering column. I decided to go ahead and swap the fuel filter and do an oil change today.

When I pulled the pan drain, a piece of what looked like gasket material fell out. Wasn't huge and it was only the one piece that I saw. Got me thinking my oil cooler may be clogged, but I'm not as concerned about the coolant flowing since I get good range on the coolant gauge (i.e. hotter when the engine is working uphill, cooler when just putting around town). Doesn't look like I can pull the cooler in my current deggs, so hopefully she'll make the trip from Vegas to TX! Is there any kind of test to see if the oil cooler is clogged?

She did seem much happier/quieter after the oil change, but she's still leaking. I'm pretty sure it's an oil pan gasket that has a minor leak, so I may just feed her oil as needed. The power steering pump seems to have some issues too, and I'm thinking a good amount of the oil on the ground is from that. It also REEKS! I'm not sure what a normal PS fluid should smell like, but this one ain't good at all. No sir! :***:

Other than that, I pulled the tach sensor and did a good cleaning of it. Hopefully that will even it out. Seems to work ok at speed, but reads 0 at idle. Didn't have time to start it, since the wife was pulling me to the dinner table. She's a keeper! Let me know what y'all think about the truck. My mind is already made up about keeping the wife, so don't try to talk me out of her!

 

[lotzagoodstuff]

So a couple of "WAGS":

Although there are gaskets on the ends of the oil cooler, I'd be pretty surprised to see them getting into the pan. Since you think you have a known leaking oil pan, I'd guess that might be the source of your gasket material. I usually see oil pan gaskets getting pushed out due to crankcase pressure, but if somebody installed it wrong and/or overtorqued it, all bets are off.

How bad is your pan leaking? That a pretty long road trip, I'd try to button up the leaks before heading out, but it sounds like maybe you don't have the time/space.

Good luck, lots of people/insight here to help try to diagnose your issues.

 

[Desertfireguy]

The oil cooler gaskets seem fine, I'm just wondering if it's clogged on the inside. Is there a test for this? I've been driving the truck for 2 months and it was only about 2 qts low. I'll check it at every stop just to be sure. I plan on changing the MT fluid today.

Cleaning the tach sensor and taping up the wires seemed to do the trick. My truck is reading (what I believe to be) closer to actual RPMs.

What are your thoughts on the power steering fluid. I've never smelt something as funky as that! I think the leaking oil pan gasket will make it just fine.

 

[BDCarrillo]

Gear oil smells like hell, power steering smell is between brake and tranny fluid. You sure the front diff isn't leaking?

 

[Desertfireguy]

Pumping a little life into an older thread

So big life changes happened and we finally moved out to Northeast TX. I had the truck loaded down with a VERY full bed and cab. I'm happy to report she made the trip without any problems (though on a few on the hills across the divide, I covered my wife's car in black soot! ). I even got my cruise control working about a week before the trip and it's still holding . The short that was in the main distribution box was part of the problem. The other was someone had jumpered the clutch safety switch, so I didn't need to push the clutch in to start her up. I wired two switches through the jumper and through trial and error, I found the right procedure to get the cruise working while driving.

She popped a little hole in one of the coolant lines the other day, but it was a super easy fix. Just had to cut out the split section and re-clamp it back on. Thankfully there was plenty of hose. So far so good, knock on wood . She's turned out to be one of the best purchases I've made.

I finally retired from the USAF on 1 Apr 2015 , so I'm only about 2 weeks into real retirement. Looking to get a little more active on here again and have a little fun tinkering with her in between fishing trips .

 

[Agnem]

Thanks for your service! Hope you can enjoy your retirement.

 

[IDIoit]

as Mel said, THANK YOU FOR SERVING!!!

as far as retirement, my father is 2 years into retirement, and i see him working more now than he ever did
but he is doing projects he wants to do and loves doing!

you never really retire, you just quit working for "the man" lol

have fun!

 

[OLDBULL8]

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE

Now that your retired, you'll get plenty tired working on that truck.

You'll have to visit the Lounge and see what Adrianspeeder is doing. Might enjoy it.

Hope you have a long and Happy retirement as I've had for the last 28 yrs.

 

[Waystro]

Cool another Texas Member.

 

[Desertfireguy]

Thanks to all for the congrats on my retirement. Scary times, but definitely looking forward to not "working for the man"! Running the truck around and the "Rear ABS" light came on. Is this a pretty common issue? Doesn't seem to affect drivability at all, but I'm pretty easy on her (as if I have a choice). I do get a kick out of watching all the cars go past me! I've got nowhere to be and I ain't in a hurry!

 

[direwulf23]

If I understand stand correctly, you have a manual transmission. If so, it won't effect the way your truck runs. However, you'd do well to check your brakes. It could be the sensor, as well. Have you noticed any problems with your braking?