Gary Lewis

The shroud is the right one as E3TA-FA is E3TZ-F, as shown way below. But your blades should have numbers on the backside on each blade, as shown here. And as our page on cooling system fans shows, that cross-references to E4TZ 8600-Z, which is the right fan. However, I cannot find those #'s you found on the clutch in the catalog.

Yes, I guess you are right about the snorkel enrichening the mix. The choke is a good analogy.

Yep, to all of the above. And I think the "good enough reason" is that the 460 can draw more air than the single snorkel wants to provide, which probably leans the mix - at just the wrong time. But, introducing such warm air also leans the mix, so they must have jetted the secondaries rich. It certainly does add a bunch of complexity as to meet emissions they had to hold the AFR pretty close, which meant they had to hold the inlet air temp pretty close - with carbs and mechanical flappers. So much easier with a computer and EFI. EDIT: No, warm air enrichens the mix!

We also have to consider the inlet air temperature that Ford designed their emissions systems around. I forget the number exactly, but seem to recall that the thermostatic vacuum control inside the air cleaner is calibrated around 105° F. I know underhood temperatures can get much higher than that, but I also expect the truck is moving right along if the throttle wide open for long enough that the 'vent flap' is actuated. Many places might see ambient summer temps in excess of (105) whatever the calibration temp actually is. In the other discussion about fans and shrouds it is pointed out that at highway speed the fan isn't doing much in 'pulling' air through the radiator. This seems (to me) to suggest that the temp delta in front/behind the radiator is less. At least less enough to begin to unlock the fan clutch. I'm not sure what the underhood temps compared to ambient are at highway speed. Or how high the in-snorkel temps are compared to ambient given the black uninsulated stock system. Yes, 105F was the target temp for most of the trucks, as shown below, but there were others. As for the true inlet temp, we have a link to the Carburetor Facts And Correcting Myths page on the Way Back Machine and that guy said: I didn't check on Big Blue when he was carbureted, but with the EFI I'm seeing essentially ambient temp at the air cleaner due to the insulation. But that air cleaner is on the fender and I don't know what temp air is actually getting to the throttle body and it is certainly higher as I don't have those hoses insulated yet - and they are very black.

Oh, I forgot the dual-snorkel bit. I pretty sure that no truck came with one, although a few of us have created them. I used a 351HO air cleaner, which has a larger steel base than the aluminum ones most trucks got, and grafted on a 2nd snorkel. But others have adopted the dual-snorkel air cleaner from an HO Mustang. Rick/Lariat 85 explained what he did in a series of posts here.

I think more warm air is better than less cold air, and apparently Ford did as well since they put that air cleaner on the 460's. But be careful of comparing 2bbl vs 4bbl carbs via the CFM ratings. The two carbs were flow tested at two different vacuum ratings, as explained on this page, and quoted here. Or, read a different explanation at The Carburetor Shop. And Wikipedia says the 2150's used on the 351's in these trucks were rated at, oddly enough, 351 CFM. Multiplied by .707 that says those carbs compare to a 248 CFM 4bbl.

Yes and yes. You are going to want it loose at some point, and it is easier if it hasn't rusted to another part.

I hadn't heard of road force balancing. That's an interesting read. I'm getting new tires, Falken WildPeak A/T3W's in 285/75R16, on Big Blue on Tuesday. But unfortunately the little shop that is mounting and balancing them doesn't have that kind of equipment. On the other hand, the tires that are on the truck are so bad that it is going to seem like I have a new truck when the new tires go on.

Ask and you will receive.

I agree the main culprit is probably the fan. BUT, I think the radiator may also be at fault. A radiator is designed to shed X BTU's in a given period of time with a certain CFM air flow at a given temperature differential. So if you reduce that air flow, like with the wrong fan, then it won't shed as many BTU's, all else being equal. But if the radiator is partially plugged then it is running at reduced capacity already. So if you then reduce the air flow you really have a problem. IOW, it could work fine on the highway but not in traffic. I would address the fan/clutch combo first. If the fan isn't the right one I'd get the right one and see if that gets you enough cooling in traffic. If not, then I'd think about a new radiator. BUT, I'd check the temp with either a non-contact thermometer on the thermostat housing or an aftermarket gauge with numbers on it. And to answer the question about where to put the probe for that gauge, I put mine in a fitting in the thermostat housing. That way I can see the engine warming up on the factory gauge and then see the thermostat open and the aftermarket gauge starts climbing.

I used Blue. It held it enough it didn't adjust when I closed the doors. But if you then adjust it you'll have to hit it with Loctite again. And IIRC, I took the mirror off and dribbled the liquid down into the ball.

I hope the new stuff solves the A/C problem for you, Dave. On the mirror, have you thought about Loctite on the adjustment? I've used it on things like that before and it has worked.

I think you have the wrong fan, and maybe the wrong shroud but I'll measure Big Blue's shroud tomorrow to see how big its opening is. On the fan, it isn't just the diameter but also the pitch of the blades that is different. I think the fans for the 460's and diesels have very aggressive pitches and are intended to move a lot of air. And I don't think the ones for the smaller engines are as aggressive. If it was me I'd pull the fan and find the # on it. And while you are at it I'd check the # on the clutch.

Wow! I can't get my head around all of that in one go, but have gone through it bit by bit and it does make sense. However, there are some noises that Ford trucks make when new. For instance, back in '72 I bought a new F250 and going from Drive to Reverse there was a clunk. In fact, all the trucks I test drove had the same clunk. My truck never got worse during the time I had it, and I've heard that same clunk from many Ford trucks since - and all of them had the C6. I've come to expect it. I believe that sound is due to slack in the whole of the driveline and is then essentially amplified by the hollow driveshaft. And the reason I said "C6" is that an auto is quick to go from one direction to another, and the C6 is the auto that was used in all of these trucks I've driven. But that doesn't take away from anything you said. You are right, it takes a lot of detective work to figure out what the problems are. Both noting what conditions bring on the sound as well as a close inspection of the truck. And you have a bunch of good ideas on how to do that.

By the way, the #'s in the last column of the snippet above are the ID #'s that you should find on the fan. This is just one of the few places in the MPC where they helped us by supplying the ID #. Normally they don't bother.

This is the info on 460 fans. There were only two and they were both 20 1/2" in diameter.

There hasn't been a part number on any Ford part since 1966. In their infinite wisdom they decided to put ID #'s, aka Engineering #'s, on the parts but list the actual Part # in the Master Parts Catalog. I have cross-reference books and can usually come up with the part # that way, but not always. Anyway, I don't know where the #'s are on a shroud, but I have a shroud or two that isn't installed and tomorrow I'll see where the #'s are. That's not to say yours will be in the same place, but they usually are. But at first blush your fan doesn't look like it fills the shroud out very well. I think you should measure your fan and the shroud's opening and let us know what you find.

Jim is right - as always. The firewall wasn't designed for the pressures the hydraulic clutches put on it and many of them cracked. So Ford came out with a TSB and two different braces - one for firewalls that were flexing and one for firewalls that were badly cracked. But the mechanical linkage doesn't cause a problem so you are good with the firewall. On the paint, I'd shoot the inside and outside with the same color and then paint the interior trim with SEM to match. That's what my paint/body man did on Dad's truck since we had to change cabs.

I see Pic 2 in a separate post and then Pic 3 in another post.

I did on Dad's truck. You can see it below or see the post about it on FTE here.

I see the images just fine. But what do you think isn't working? Anyway, you seem to have gotten to the bottom, literally, of the paint question. But you seem to be questioning what to do inside the cab. Why not use the same paint? And when you are on FTE tell Franklin2 hello for me.

When drilling through carpet its always an issue, I found the best way to do it if something is being mounted atop the carpet, I like to use a razor and cut a slit in the carpet and the jute and then spread it open and hold the jute and carpet away from the drill bit. You have to be careful as I have had instances where punching a hole through the carpet and then drilling resulted in the drill bit grabbing carpet fibers and pulling a whole strand of carpet out. Not a huge deal with cut pile but is a huge deal with loop carpet as it creates a line of no loops. I hadn't thought about slitting the carpet and the pad, but the mount's screws are ~1/8" from the edge of the mount so I didn't want to do much cutting for fear it would show. So I came up with the idea of slipping something over the bit to prevent it from grabbing the pad and that worked - finally.

It probably would hold up well. I just out of personal preference found the arm rest and visors in the right blue already just to be safe. I forgot the arm rests! Yes, I painted those as well and they are doing fine.

Ive seen that aircleaner listed on ebay as a 351HO and a 460 aircleaner. I dont know what it came on but I believe that vacuum closes the door because every photo Ive seen on ebay shows the door wide open without vacuum. I suspect with manifold vacuum it closes and only opens up under heavy load acceleration to allow for more air to be pulled in. The 351HO base is different from the 460 base as the 351HO didn't have the opening on the back. And yes, vacuum closes the opening and it pops open below some value that the 460 apparently goes below at WOT.

SEM when used properly is very durable. However I personally would not use it on soft vinyl such as sunvisors or arm rests as I would be fearful they wouldnt stand up to the flexing and touching they receive. But for hard plastic pieces it should be great. As far as door panels goes, Dennis Carpenter sells reproduction door panels for our trucks made off the original molds that only come in black. Might consider just going that route and not even coloring it since you already have a black interior. I used SEM on my sun visors and they are holding up really well.