ckuske

I'll look for the POR cleaner, thanks Gary (and add some elbow grease also, of course)

Thanks guys! Any advice on a degreaser to use before paint?

No worries, Dave. If you stumble upon them, great! If not, your description will get me in the right direction.

Hi All, I'm asking for opinions on this (everyone's got one!)... Here's the story: My truck has never been in snow, or salt. Southern California its whole life pretty much except for a brief stint in Nevada. No snow there where I lived either! The frame has some light surface rust, but even then its spotty at best. No body rust. My question is I was toying around with the idea of painting the accessible areas on the frame. I need to take the bed off to replace the wood and front cross member of the bed, so painting the back will be easy. Where I'm struggling to make up my mind is the front of the truck and under the cab... I don't plan to take the cab off, or pull the engine or any more of the front clip off. Should I bother painting the bottom side of the frame in these areas, even if the top of the frame (like what the cab is sitting on) isn't going to be touched? I was planning on using POR-15 in conjunction with the UV top coat as I've read about in other threads. I imagine in wont be fun... it will all be painted with a brush on my back (under cab and front clip) except for the bed area unless I get a bigger compressor (just have a pancake one right now) Just seeing what others think if it's necessary. About the only benefit I'll get for the forseeable future is a better cosmetic appearance of the undercarriage. Thanks, Chris

Thanks for the feedback! I hadn't seen much in the way of comments about fitment before, so thanks for answering. Now I know that it'll take some extra work on my part, I'll be sure to put comments back into this thread with pictures if possible. By space out, do you mean I need to put some sort of shim on when attaching the condenser, or will I need to actually cut the radiator support up to make room for the tubes? I agree, it'd be nice to maybe have a "matrix" of sorts where users can search for a part type then part number, and maybe see notes or links to threads that mention that part number? It'd be a nightmare to maintain, but it'd sure be cool to not get the same questions over and over. AKA can 35's fit on stock suspension?

Just sending a friendly ping, does anyone have experience with replacing the A/C condenser on these trucks? Or am I a trail blazer? haha

OK, update and a couple questions. I got the radiator support out - it was more difficult than I would have liked as a J-Clip broke from the plastic wheel well to radiator support while I was trying to get all the screws out, so the screw was just spinning (I marinated everything first in PB Blaster, but still happened) So, my first question is does anyone have a preferred source for these clips? And, I'm looking at getting a new A/C condenser. On Rock Auto, there are three available: GPD 3605C OSC 3605 APDI/PRO 7013605 When I Google these, people complain about having to modify the radiator support to get it to fit. Any feedback from you folks on this? Pic with support removed - looks like I can clean/scrub more now.

Merry Christmas everyone!

That looks great man, as good as anything factory in appearance. Thanks, I appreciate it. You got me on the right track, so thanks for your help!

Hey, I appreciate the double check! Nothing worse than finding out you ordered the wrong thing! I had already replaced the sender for the coolant temp (for the gauge) about a year ago, but I should have thought this through one more time just to make sure apples were still apples. I think what I installed is correct, I'm sure the ECU will let me know if that's not the case.

The wires coming into the connector are green/black

OK, I lied. I found it. It was covered in grime. The number on the sensor is: E4AF-12A648-AA It comes up on Google but I gotta run, will fill everyone in later

Thanks for the tip, Jim. How can I verify? I couldn't find an engineering/part number on the old sensor/(sender?) The sensor is 3/8 NPT while the other fittings are 1/2". I had to put a reducer in for the sensor to plug into the tee. This is a CA truck so I have all sorts of extra goodies and sometimes its hard for me to find them in the parts catalog, etc. I do my best to look, but I know there is an army of Ford librarians that may be able to help as well. :)

Thanks Gary! I'd like to declare victory at this point, but we all know there are more layers of the onion to peel away. I'm working on getting the radiator support out - it has lots of surface rust and I'm going to be painting it so the front of the truck looks like (well, its more about ME knowing its nice than anyone else!) I have most of the bolts out, except for the two that come through bushings from the frame. I read on another thread to NOT take the bolts out, but rather just take the nuts off that sit on top of the bottom end of the radiator support. My question is - how are you guys getting to these nuts to torque them off? Are you using a deep socket with a super long extension or something? I can't see how to get a tool on there to get them loose and off - oh yeah, some PB Blaster is marinating on them right now too....

Got it installed today, no issues!

Thanks guys, hoping to install tomorrow. In the other thread, there was a bit of banter about PTFE tape vs Permatex. I bought a bottle of Loctite PST 592, will that get it done?

I have the same reader, works great for me (so far!) 302 with 2150 carb and EEC-IV ignition

I got those fittings off, I invested in a rubber mallet and boy did it help. Some of you may have seen my questions about the water elbow that screws into the manifold, in this thread: http://forum.garysgaragemahal.com/intake-manifold-heater-hose-junction-part-tp40348.html Just an update on that... I "built" my own part by going to Lowes. It's a bit more hacky than I'd like, but since the real part is no longer findable, it should work. I wanted to go stainless steel using the parts that Cory had suggested. I bought the parts actually, but a test fit revealed that the elbow on the top of the street tee was just too tall, it hit the steel fuel line that runs above the elbow, and it just didn't work. So, I went with a normal tee fitting for a lower profile, and as long as everything is oriented parallel to the engine itself, there is clearance. (If it's not pointed straight front to back, it will hit the distributor and/or valve cover) For others with the same issue, here are some pics of the assembly. I'll update this thread with results after it is installed and hopefully soon I can start the engine again and verify it doesn't leak. I just put it together on my desk to show it - it doesn't have thread sealant etc yet, and that's on purpose. I'll put some on everything when I install for real... Here's the old part (butchered a bit, I sawed off the hose barb so I didn't have to take off my distributor.

https://www.rearcounter.com/D30Z-18599-B-parts983838.html Ooops! I just noticed the - A vs. what I found: - B. Sorry! Thanks all, the parts are rolling in for a replacement. Now how to get the old one off the manifold... Any suggestions? It's not budging with an open-end wrench, but there's isn't much room to get a lot of torque on it. Maybe cut the top off and find a correct size socket to use with a 1/2" ratchet or something similar? One of my buddies suggested penetrating oil?

Like this: https://www.fastenal.com/products/details/421635 One of these in the top, although there are much cheaper versions I'm sure. This is what I have in my manifold (no sensors in non feedback carb trucks like mine). https://www.cjponyparts.com/edelbrock-heater-hose-end-fitting-90-degree-with-1-2-npt-and-5-8-barb-black-anodized/p/EDL8178/?gclid=CjwKCAiA8Jf-BRB-EiwAWDtEGmASBMRUfPe9VPb6SQ9MlFIt3Ozx__3lvreb_Tb2pA0fx-Y9gsP_9xoCky8QAvD_BwE And a 3/8" x 1/2" bushing in the side of the tee for the sensor. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-1-2-in-MIP-x-3-8-in-FIP-Brass-Bushing-Fitting-802289/207176817 That's all I was just thinking if a fella had to build that fitting with hardware store parts. Thanks Cory, this is probably the road I'm gonna go down. I can't stand to leave that there with all the nice new parts I'm replacing the cooling components with (Radiator is backordered, but that's another story...) Regarding sealing the threads... RTV? Teflon tape? Wanting to it the right way and have no surprises

Thanks, all! I think after further contemplation (and later noticing the sensor inlet on the back side of the fitting) that it is a Type #14 (D30Z-18599-A) - (see http://www.garysgaragemahal.com/elbows.html like Gary posted above) - the description in the PN tab makes sense now also. They seem to be extremely rare as replacements. The question is - do I leave it alone, or try to build my own? What would you guys do? I'm afraid given the condition of it that I could end snapping something off the manifold and having a bigger problem on my hands...

Did you ever find a part that worked? I am in the middle of replacing my cooling system and my elbow looks exactly like yours (I have an '84 California Emissions 302), I can't find any part in the catalog that looks similar. Top view (note module screwed into the side of it? not sure what it is, need to research)

Yep, here in Ventura County its every two years. Just had to PNO my truck because I didn't want to put it back together just to get it smogged and take it apart again haha. There was hope of getting 1983 and older vehicles to be excluded from smog tests. The bill didn't pass in the State Congress. My truck is an 1984 so it wouldn't have helped me anyway. Maybe next election cycle? Probably not though. We've been stuck at 1976 and older for 15 years or so, it used to be a rolling thing. So frustrating. My truck passes smog no problem, but I have a genuine fear that by the time my kids can drive, the internal combustion engine will be outlawed in CA. I love California and have lived here all my life, but I'm not a fan of their rules as it pertains to older classic (IMO) vehicles like Bullnoses.

OK guys, I've gotten the water pump off and I'm gonna start scraping off the old gasket material, and order parts. I've hit a snag with the A/C condenser though - I'm using a 3/4" open end wrench on one nut, and an adjustable wrench on the other (1" maybe?) and I cannot get the A/C lines off the condenser not matter how hard I try. I've tried WD-40 (not really rusty though) and I can't get them to budge on either line (from compressor to condenser, and accumulator to condenser). Any suggestions? Even though nothing comes out of the A/C servicing ports, I'm afraid that perhaps its still pressurized and that's why I can't loosen the fittings (this is probably a remote thing IMO though)

Thanks for the feedback! I have something similar lying around in the garage, I'll have to find it. Never occurred to me to use that, but makes perfect sense! Got the water pump knocked loose - just needed a couple light slams haha. I keep having to remember myself that lots of this stuff on this truck is more durable than what I'm used to in my day job...