Gary Lewis

I've jacked them up using a piece of ply under the pan to spread the load. And then I've kept them up with a jack stand under the harmonic balancer. But if you have to drop the crank in back to put the seal in then that won't work very well. As for the flange on the end of the crank, it doesn't come off. So the only place I've seen the sleeve used is in the front. I doubt that your crank is grooved so you wouldn't need it in that case. Anyway, let's see what the others say on these issues.

Did some more work on the bumper. And need your thoughts, please. First, Here's the new "bumper", and it is 4" x 7" x 3/16" tubing. That size makes it essentially the same size front/rear as the top of the old bumper, but it doesn't have the piece that extends under the tailgate to prevent yuk from coming up there, so may need to have a piece added. The top back/right corner of the tubing is in the same spot as the original bumper, but it extends down 1 1/2" from what the original bumper did - you'll see why in a bit. Also, I've increased the height of the tow eyes to 3 3/8" so their bottoms will be flush with the bottom of the frame. That allows me to use pieces of 2 1/2 x2 1/2 x 1/4" angle welded to the bottom of the eyes as well as to the bottom of the hitch cross piece (in blue). And the angle will bolt into the front two holes in the bottom of the frame, the red lines, where my hitch currently bolts. All in all, that significantly strengthens the hitch and the bumper. Then comes the receiver part of the hitch - the tan bit added in this illustration. It has a piece of 3/16" plate (dark gray) bent and welded to the front of the cross piece and to the bottom of the receiver. And it has a piece of 2 1/2 x2 1/2 x 1/4" angle (dark gray) welded to the rear of the cross piece and to the top of the receiver. That's exactly how the hitch that is on the truck was made, so should be plenty solid. An issue I need to consider is the height of the tow eyes. I don't see any reason to carry the 3 3/8" height all the way through the bumper, but it may be easier to leave them that size instead of cutting them down. Another idea is to raise the bumper 3/16" to get gap above the tow eye and below the receiver to be equal. But that depends on the height of the tow eye where it comes through the bumper, so that will have to wait until I decide on the tow eye height. But, for the moment I can turn my thoughts to the spare tire carrier and await your collective input.

Yes. The diaphragm is killing the vacuum. The maximum drop allowable is 3", and it took it to 0. And, it failed the "pedal should drop when the engine starts" test. Now you know what to fix w/o throwing parts at it.

Probably factory. That would have been the base transmission. That truck doesn't look to have many options. Plain and simple makes for a neat truck.

Pretty! It even has at least the passenger's sliding door lock intact, which is rare. And the dash cover looks good. So it appears to have been well taken care of. Not sure about the 3 on the tree, but that could be changed. An M5OD would work very well with the 302.

Wasn't aware that lift prices have come down. But I really like my lift, even if it is a Chinese unit. I've used it a LOT and have not had any problems with it. And, it is stable. A lift is one of those things that you'll wonder how you got along without once you get one.

That is a VERY nice truck! Looks like it has been kept out of the snow & salt, and probably in a garage. $12,500 is a bit high, but if that's what you are looking for you sure can't create the same thing for less money.

About 7 years ago I paid about $2000 for my Chinese-made 9000 lb lift - new. So while that one is American made and less money, it is still only a 7000 lb unit and certainly not new. I'm sure that lift prices have gone up, so I don't know whether this one is a bargain or not.

I'm amazed with two things from that. First, that people try to sell things for thousands of dollars and don't bother to take several pics. Second, that you can get what seems to be a lot of truck in the PNW for a whole lot less than elsewhere.

Steve - That's a good explanation. That would do it.

First, congrat's on getting it to 75! Is it working well? As for the cruise - I mean speed control - here's the wiring diagram: http://www.garysgaragemahal.com/speed-control2.html. And the closest it gets to the turn signals is in the steering column - at the horn pad, which is right above the turn signal switch. Hmmm. Does your horn work both when the key is on as well as off? I ask because a missing ground on the steering column can do that. And it may also cause weird problems on the turn signal.

You are on the map. And, you've helped me understand how those mirrors could be on an F250. That's really rare. But I think I agree with you that the swing-arm mirrors are a better fit.

Chris - You are on the map.

Welcome! Glad you found us. That's a nice looking truck. Interesting that an F250 has the smaller mirrors. I don't think I've seen that combination before, but it looks good. What part of Jersey are you in? Used to live near Kennett Square, PA, and got over your way several times. By the way, we have a member's map (Bullnose Forum/Member's Map). I can put you on if you are interested. Just need a town, not an address.

That's what happens in Step 1. "With the engine stopped, eliminate all vacuum from the system by pumping the brake pedal several times."

Ok guys, I've decided that I don't want to put the EVTM's on the website as pdf's, either partially or in toto. The main reason is due to the ease of downloading them that might be an issue with those who are selling them. So I've removed the 1985 EVTM - Test page, and redirected it to the 1985 EVTM page. And, I've done a ton of work on the '85 EVTM. The main thing was in getting all 216 of the previous/Index/next section links top and bottom of each page. (Yes, I added an Index link that takes you back to the first 1985 EVTM page that has the section listing, description of what is in each, and links thereunto.) Please check it out and see what you think. Then Prashant called wanting a wiring diagram for the fuel system on his '86 460. I wound up sending him links to both the '85 and '86 because his truck didn't originally have the 460, so I'm not sure what his wiring is really like. But, while looking at the two fuel system pages I realized that I couldn't tell which was which. There was nothing on the page that said 1985 or 1986. So I added "1985 EVTM:" or "1986 EVTM:" to the top of each page so you can tell where you are. And with that, I'm going to take a holiday on the website work. I know there's a lot more to do, but for now my brain is fried and my fingers are sore. Plus, I have powder coating to do! BUT, if you find errors on the '85 EVTM, please let me know. I'm going back through it, but would appreciate a few fresh eyes taking a look.

Ok, you did the first step of testing the pump. Now you need to connect the pump to the brake booster and have the gauge teed into that line. I'm guessing that you'll have more than a 3" drop in vacuum. But don't forget to also dump all the vacuum and push the pedal all the way down. Then start the engine and see if the pedal drops like it should. If the booster isn't functioning properly the pedal won't drop.

The internet issue might cause it to load the page part way. When it happens again, maybe do a refresh? Surely it would stop at a different spot?

The General Hydraulic Brake System chapter of the 1985 factory shop manual says: That means we go to the Brake Booster Vacuum Pump - 6.9L Diesel Engine chapter. That has two tests, the first of which says that the pump should pull 21 inches, minimum, at sea level within 30 seconds of starting the engine and running it at idle - with just the gauge hooked to the pump. (But, there is a reduction due to altitude chart, which shouldn't apply to FL.) So that looks good. The next step says that you reconnect the vacuum system but put the gauge in via a tee. Start the engine and you should have vacuum within 3" of the previous reading. But if the vacuum is more than 3" low you should replace the brake booster. Does that make sense?

Steve - That's strange. I've seen some odd things, but not that one. What machine and browser? Still the Win 7/Chrome combo? If so, how about doing a Control - to decrease the zoom slightly? I've had some oddities with different zoom settings and wonder if this is associated with that. In my case decreasing the zoom fixed it - but I have no idea why. Anyway, if we can figure out what is causing it or a way to get out of it maybe we can solve it.

I'm not sure I understand. Did the vacuum pump on the engine pull the 25", or was that using the HF pump? I think you used the truck-mounted pump, but don't want to assume anything. And on the secondary test, you pumped the brake with no vacuum on the system and then started the engine and the brake pedal didn't move? I wouldn't expect the pedal to move by itself just because vacuum is applied. So I don't think that proved anything. Or, did I misunderstand?

I found this truck on Facebook, and thought you guys would want to see it. The contact info is shanehickey95@gmail.com. $7,500 Dublin, CA Price is OBO first of all. I'm interested in taking offers on my 1986 F250 XLT, she has a 460ci with a C6 trans. Always been a California truck. No rust!!! Oh and 2 working gas tanks I've owned it since March of 2016 and when I bought it, it had some where around 21k on the odometer. Truck now has 29xxx miles on it. I've seen the car fax and I can print them out for you if you are serious about this truck. There are 2 instances on carfax where it just showed that someone put the mileage in as a 6 digit number. So instead of putting 19,234.6 they put 192,346 for example. I am the 3rd owner of this truck and I have talked to the Original owner who the 2nd owners were family friends of. Truck has always been well maintained, oil changes and fluids checked properly. Truck spent most of its life in a garage at a summer cabin. I just recently redid the entire brake system down to the lines. The truck currently has a spark issue, sometimes the key will start it and other times I have to arc the starter solenoid with a screwdriver. I have replaced the ignition switch, starter solenoid, and a brand new High Output starter was installed recently from Summit Racing. I'm assuming that the rod that goes from the tumbler to the ignition switch is misaligned. I bought this truck to tow my RX-7 as I was going to make it a track oriented car but plans changed and it turned back into a street car so I have no use for this truck other than looking at how pretty it is. Seriously a gorgeous truck for its age. I'm selling in AS IS Condition. I can always entertain more pictures (didn't take the greatest interior shots, very clean inside) and questions with a DM. Feel free. I hate to sell this truck but my loss is your gain. Someone take care of Blu please.

The others are waiting for me to say it. I liken these trucks to onions. We peel them, layer by layer, and cry. But eventually we have a mess of onion rings!

Yes, you should be able to connect it to the pump and just read the gauge. But the base heater doesn't use vacuum, so that doesn't prove you have adequate vacuum. And if your C6 has a mechanical system that doesn't prove it either. You should be able to see a vacuum line going to the tranny if it uses vacuum. Bill - Good info. Thanks.

Welcome to the Bullnose Forum! Glad you found us. But, you don't have an addiction. You are just doing your part, one (several?) truck(s) at a time, to save good old American iron from oblivion. That's our mantra, and we are sticking with it - else all of us would have to admit to an addiction. Are you into building the engines up? Jonathan/FordF834 is working on one that will be quite stout. Anyway, you found the right place. A group of nice, helpful people who share a like (love?) for the Bullnose trucks.