1980 F350 4X4 C6 Project

Just to be thorough and complete with what is included in the 1980 snow plow prep package I was able to get my hands on a 1980 dealer facts book.  This is what it lists for the snow plow prep package in the options section of the book.

Ah, so it did get a group 65 battery and 70A alternator!

I assumed it would have super cooling and a tranny cooler if C6.

Good job, Carl.  

But I rotated it to make it easier to read.

Yes, you were correct.  The funny part is the only place that the 70 amp alternator is listed is with the snow plow prep package.  If I look at alternators under the options section they list 60 amp and 100 amp as options (100 on econoline and club wagon only).  Otherwise 40 amp was standard.

Thanks Gary.  I didn't take the photo that way so I wasn't sure why it posted it sideways.

This forum, like most forums, doesn't read the camera's orientation info in the picture.  So you have to orient the picture in another app, like I did.  I opened the pic in Photoshop and rotated it 90 degrees.  Then I used the Levels tool to make the paper white and saved it.

The 100A unit is for ambulance and cutaway vans intended for things like vending trucks (think ice cream or tacos, with lots of auxiliary lighting)

Ok, now to clear up the lower bodyside molding questions(referred to as molding from here forward).  Again, this is from the 1980 dealer facts book.  This information is not all found together in the book but rather from various sections.  The 1980 F series had 5 trim levels.  Custom, Ranger, Ranger XLT, Ranger Lariat, and Free Wheeling.  The Custom had no molding standard.  The Ranger and Ranger XLT used the brushed aluminum molding (as seen on Shaun's truck photo on the first page of this thread).  The Ranger Lariat used the brushed aluminum with the black vinyl inserts.

Now...when it comes to molding options, the only ones I see listed in the options section for lower bodyside are the ones with the vinyl insert (same as used on Ranger Lariat).

So in 1980 it seems like there were both styles of moldings available.  Brushed aluminum and brushed aluminum with vinyl inserts.

I think this explains how a Custom trim truck (mine) is listed in the Marti report as having lower body side moldings.  It also tells me I was looking for the wrong molding...and thank goodness because looking for the brushed aluminum was like trying to find a unicorn!

What a wonderful day it was being able to work on the truck outside in the warm sun!  I was able to get a few things accomplished.  It started with the accelerator pump on the carburetor.  I disassembled it earlier in the week and ordered a new diaphragm from Mikes carburetor parts (thanks for the recommendation to use them, they were very helpful).  As it turns out the pump was assembled incorrectly with the spring on the wrong side of the diaphragm.  That is why the pin was not in contact with the actuator arm.  It needed a new diaphragm anyway as the original one was dry rotted and had cracks in it.  There is no more hesitation when you press on the gas pedal!



From there we moved to some wiring.  I replaced the 4 pin connector with a new one I found at the auto parts store.  It needed to be changed because the wire for the temp sensor had disintegrated and there was nothing left to splice into.  I was hoping replacing the wire would get the temp gauge to work but no dice.  I think the gauge is OK because the disintegrated wire had grounded out once and the gauge did move.  I guess I’ll be changing the sending unit out in the future.

 

From there we moved to the alternator.  I was able to find a new plug on eBay and wired it in.  So we now have a wire from the stator to the choke.



After all that I started it up.  It seemed to start a little more difficult than normal and didn’t idle very well.  Once warm, I adjusted the idle and the mixture screws and it seemed to settle in.  I wonder if the choke needs adjustment now that it is actually hooked up.  Any tips on how to do that and what to look out for?

Next I want to turn my attention to the vibration I felt driving it home.  Initially I thought upper and lower ball joints were the cause but when I jacked up the front end and checked for movement I couldn’t seem to get any.  Today when I had it running I shifted it between reverse and drive and I did hear a pinging noise so now I am thinking u-joints.  Does that make sense?  Are there any other possible culprits for a pretty good vibration above 40 ish MPH?

As always, thanks for the insight and help as I try to spruce up this truck!

You are really doing well.  

On the choke, I like to set them almost closed with the engine cold.  Leave maybe a 1/16" gap?  But "cold" is a very relative term and you won't get it right on the first try.

As for having to adjust the idle mix to get it to start and idle well, that accelerator pump has been leaking fuel into the mix and now you've eliminated that source of fuel and had to add it back with the needles.

Well done, Carl!

That’s great. I’d check my u joints and get those replaced if they need it, as they probably do from the noise, and go from there.

Nice work
On the "ping" it could be a bad joint.
When lucky sometimes they talk to you with a chirping noise when taking off from a stop or that ping you got. Sometimes they will show rust too.

I was not that lucky 1 time and only had a vibration on take off for 1 or 2 times where it did not do it long enough for me to look for it, then nothing for a month.
Well getting on the high way one morning the vibration started really really bad where I could not drive it, yep bad Ujoint.

Up to that point I had no real signs a Ujoint was bad.
If you can block the wheels & set the Ebrake so you can take the pressure off the drive line and shake & twist the drive shaft at each Ujoint to see if they show any play.
Dave ----

I have been doing some reading on chokes and specifically this 2150 that I have.  It seems that this carb has provisions for both electric and hot air choke.  The hot air choke is hooked up on this carb so I did not need to hook up the electric wire to it.  That most likely explains why the truck ran differently after I hooked up the wire.  I had two inputs trying to run the same choke.  I haven't had a chance to unhook the wire yet and see how it runs.  I'll follow up when I do.

The 2150's didn't have a full electric choke.  It was mainly hot air with electric assist.  This is from our page at Documentation/Fuel Systems/Carburetors, Chokes, & EFI/Chokes:

Hot Air w/Electric Assist: The 1981 factory shop manual says this: "The hot air choke with the electric assist choke cap functions as follows: as the engine warms up, manifold heat transmitted by hot air to the choke housing relaxes the bimetal permitting the choke to open. The electric assist has a ceramic heating pill. At temperatures above 12 degrees C (54 degrees F) to 23 degrees C (74 degrees F), the temperature sensing switch closes and current is supplied to the heater causing the bimetal to pull the choke plate open at an increased rate. The electric assist choke cap is powered from the stator tap of the alternator."

I’m so confused!

Leave it to Ford to come up with a hybrid system.  I never saw any reference to an electric assist choke but obviously it is a thing.  I’ll leave the wire attached and continue to tune as needed to get it set up correctly.  I should go back and check my 1980 engine manual and see if I can find the same paragraph on choke operation.

Thanks again for setting me straight!

I don't know why they made it complicated like that, but that looks like a bandaid to some problem with the hot air choke.  

What fluid is everyone using in their differentials and transfer cases?

The transfer cases use ATF and I'm using Amsoil ATLQT Signature Series Fuel-Efficient Synthetic Automatic Transmission Fluid in mine.

And Scott/Kramttocs likes the Amsoil Severe Gear Synthetic lube, as shown below, for diffs.

I have synthetic Merc-V in my 1356 and I went with NAPA synthetic 75-120 in the 10.25 when I last had the cover off.
I do believe I have Royal Purple Synchromax in the Zf-5.
I know I changed it out a lot in the beginning using conventional ATF.
It had been sitting outside for a while and obviously got full of water .
But eventually the fluid stopped looking like a strawberry milkshake.

Thanks for the insight into fluids for transfer cases and differentials.

What about engine oil recommendations for the 400?  I read about zink levels and oil pressure issues in the 400 so I am curious what others are running.