Gary Lewis

Yes, it pretty well has to be the ignition switch. And while we have the alignment info from the factory shop manual on the page at Documentation/Electrical/Ignition, I'm doubting that is the problem. I say that because it seems to have gradually happened - right? That tells me that there are only two culprits - either the nuts holding the ignition switch in position have loosened, or the switch has gone bad.

You are now on the map.

Here's the best shot I can quickly find:

John - You can't trash this thread! It wanders all over the place. And I hope you get your faucet sorted out. Ours dribbles when in use, so I understand. And now for today's results. Let's start with the Garmin Montana. It works, but there are issues and I have a lot to learn. But one that that doesn't work too well is the Bluetooth to the Sony. Each time the thing comes on to tell us about an upcoming turn we lose about the first two syllables. For instance, when she says "Continue on..." we hear "you on...". That may not sound like much of a problem, but when she tells us how far it is to a turn we lose the first part. So if it is "one and one-half miles" we get "one-half miles" I'm going to see if there's a way to connect the Garmin to the Sony via USB, which might fix that. But the truck ran perfectly. I am continually amazed at how different it is. Now when we pull into a little town with a 35 MPH speed limit I can putt-putt through in 5th at 1000 RPM and never shift. And corners are taken at least one gear higher. So overall the shifting has been cut in half. And the speed control is soooooo smooth. Plus, the ability to drop or increase the set point in 1.0 MPH increments with the touch of a button is wonderful. Today I was catching a slow poke and just dropped the speed two MPH and followed her w/o having to kick it off cruise. And, I ran it on speed control the whole way today at a true 65 MPH, up hill and down. So imagine my delight when I filled up at the same pump and realized we'd gotten 13.6 MPH! So I'm absolutely sure that I can feed it manually and easily get over 14 MPG. To put this in perspective I've included the MPG spreadsheet from the trip to Ouray last fall when we were running the carb. If you take the first two and last two tanks, which is where the land was pretty level and I know we were running on cruise, we got an average of 10.9 MPG. Yes, we were running a bit faster at maybe a true 70 MPH. So if I compare that to today's trip we are up by over 2.0 MPG, which is a 17 - 20% improvement.

Clearance looks great! And that air flow is impressive.

Wow! That's a lot of water! Glad you are safe. And you are right, after that surgery you need to take it easy. That head is way too much. Be careful!

Just a quick report before we leave. Started the truck up in the shop where the temp was 71F and the R's went to 1300ish and stayed there for several seconds. I wasn't data logging so don't know the engine coolant temp, but I'm guessing that it had gotten just below a threshold where the high idle kicked in for a bit. Will investigate later... And I got the Garmin Montana paired with the Sony, so it looks like we'll have turn-by-turn guidance. That is big since it frees the co-pilot to actually enjoy the scenery instead of keeping their nose glued to the screen. Not only that but I got a notification on my Apple watch about guidance, so apparently having Garmin Explore on the phone and paired it via BT to the Montana I'll get guidance that way as well. So I may have more than I want, but I'm sure I can turn it off if need be. Now off to Mr. Bass to fill up before heading out of town...

The gauges won’t fit your cluster. At least not w/o a lot of work. So I think you’ll need the whole cluster and the connector.

Nice looking truck. But there are some things that raise flags in my mind. First, the lift. If not done well the truck won't drive nicely. Second, the "hot air intake". Why someone would ditch the factory system that pulls air from in front of the radiator and install something that pulls air from inside the engine compartment I'll never understand. But on the plus side the truck has a Rosewood instrument bezel. I can't tell about the radio bezel from the pics, but the '85 burled wood bezels faded badly into a purple haze () and Rosewood is a significant upgrade.

It is relatively easy, but the biggest hurdle is that the plugs for the two clusters are different, so in order to do the swap the cluster you will also have to swap plugs (which also means cutting and splicing your cluster harness). I don't know if Gary has a write-up on here for this swap or not, but it has been done before. I sold a cluster plug with wires to a guy last year that was doing this very swap. You would also have to change your oil switch and replace it with an oil sender for the pressure gauge, but that's cheap and easy. No issues there. I'm not 100% sure on what wiring changes are needed to run the battery gauge, but the guys on here will know for sure. The pinouts on the connectors are shown on our page at Documentation/Electrical/Gauges and the Printed Circuit Pinouts tab. And the circuit numbers & wire colors won't have changed, but what each circuit does isn't obvious, so you'll have to go to the EVTM to work that out. Some place I have a spreadsheet I created that shows what each circuit does, so if you are interested I can see if I can find that. As for the "battery gauge", that isn't going to work. The trucks with gauges have a shunt in the harness that generates a very small voltage drop at high current to run the ammeter in the factory gauge cluster. But a truck with idiot lights doesn't have that shunt, so the ammeter will not work. However, you can send the ammeter to Rocketman and have him convert it to a voltmeter and we can help you with that wiring. Also, the alternator warning light, and the associated resistor, bootstrap the alternator in. But the gauge cluster doesn't have that so you'll have to add a resistor to get the alternator to work. Bottom Line: It can be done but some wiring will be required. We don't have a write-up on it, but can help you make it happen.

Ok, thanks guys. And it is a very interesting book. I'm amazed at the differences, many of which are minor, which shows Ford was learning and adapting.

I don't know that they make them for your application, but I'm running L&L headers on Big Blue and are reasonably pleased with them. One thing I really like is the thickness of the flange that bolts to the head - 1/2". Surely because of that I've not had warping or leakage.

And a date with a pretty lady tomorrow! Yep, all the above: It was a good day; it was an easy fix; we get to take BB; I may have found a buddy to go overlanding with; and I get to be with the love of my life, a very pretty lady! In addition, as if that isn't good enough, we are taking the Garmin Montana along. I've learned enough about it to be able to create a route for today's trip and hope to pair it to the Sony in BB so we get turn-by-turn guidance. Not that we need it as these are roads with which we are familiar, but want to ensure I have the Montana working properly. But, I probably do need to update the thread re the Montana as I'm finding the learning curve to be quite steep on this thing. I think it is going to work for what I want to do, but there have been times I've had my doubts. For instance, our son and family are headed to the Olympic National Park in a couple of weeks and I'd told Bret I would send the Montana to him so he could take it along. But from what I've seen on the Montana, and what I've heard about his job, he isn't going to have time to learn how to use it. Instead I've recommended he use Gaia. Anyway, I'll report back on the Montana awa the MPG today. The route is a bit over 100 miles long, so should be a decent test.

This is a great site for the bullnose trucks. Over the years I have owned 3 of them and my favourite was an 86 300 np435 3.08 regular cab long box non catalyst 2wd F150. It was the absolute definition of a work truck: simple, reliable, low maintenance and tough. Unfortunately it rusted away. I had the same year and setup. Wish I would have kept it. It was a beast. Welcome! Glad you joined. Where's home? I ask because we have a map (Bullnose Forum/Member's Map in the menu) and we can add you with a city/state or post code. But I'm guessing you are in Canada since you said "favourite". As for the truck, you should start your own thread in the main section. Show us some pics!

Yep, Scotty recommended the 180 vs the 195 so I changed. And the logging ability is a geek's dream!

Just got the truck back with the A/C fixed. There was a bad O-ring that was easily fixed, and the system is blowing cold again. But I wasn't out the door of their shop very quickly. First, the guy wanted to talk about the EFI change. He'd driven the truck last summer with the carb on it, and he said today that "The EFI made it a completely different truck!" Then he asked if I've had it on the Ozark Trail. A further conversation determined that Marty and the owner of the shop are planning to go overlanding on that trail late this year. So we are going to have a longer conversation as my son, Bret, and I might want to go along with them. And, speaking of trips, I think Janey and I are going to take the truck on a trip tomorrow!

Glad you are getting back to this. And, glad the Spals appear to work. Interested in that fancy relay, so I'll read up on it. But are you bringing both fans on at the same time? Have you thought about bringing one on first and then the other if needed? And what about a PWM controller to bring them on softly and only as much as is needed? On the temp dropping, you said "into the low 70's". Did you mean the low "170's"? I've been seeing Big Blue's temp drop as shown below, and then not get above the thermostat's rating of 180F even after quite a bit of driving. So I don't think the thermostats close very tightly.

You know, one of the beauties of being almost three quarters of a century old is that I can't remember everything I've said. (But you probably don't remember how good your memory used to be, right? ) Anyway, if I questioned it then I now understand. Coupled with the E4OD instead of the C6 that must have been a major transformation. I'm anxious to get this thing out on the road for a long enough trip to check the MPG. I'm not expecting miracles, but there has to be some improvement there as well.

Thanks to Dane we have a new document for the site: 1986 Engine, Emission, and Related Systems - Truck. Basically it tells what changes were made to the 1986 engines and emissions systems over the 1985 systems. For instance, in '86 the front main seal on the 4.9L engine was installed in the timing cover from the front instead of from the inside. (See below for the rest of the document.) Yes, I know we have a thread called Minor Re-org - Input Requested but that didn't really address something like this. And when I look at the spreadsheet you'll find on the page at Manuals & Literature I don't see a good place to put it. So I'm looking for help. Can y'all suggest something? It is fair, and maybe good, to suggest a complete re-do on the organization.

Welcome! Glad you joined. Nice looking truck. And it is great to buy one from the original owner. We have a map - Bullnose Forum/Member's Map in the menu. Would you like to be on it?

Yep. But your idea of hanging it from the bolt would work. And, of course, you know that an 8mm tap cuts threads nicely in there.

That port we filled with epoxy would almost work - except that the coolant is usually a bit below that point. And it may be too small to get the anode in there and still insulate it.

Yes, I think it was Scott. Let's see what he has to say...

Yep, that is right, David. I suppose I could have taken the truck out to the lake for a better background, like John did. But it was hot (91F) and sunny yesterday and I was dirty and sweaty so didn't want to be in the truck. Today it is 71F and it was raining when I took the truck to the A/C shop. There goes the wash job. However, we needed the rain. And, speaking of the trip to the A/C shop, I'm still marveling at how well the truck runs with the EFI. It starts so easily, there's no bog when the choke comes off too early, the throttle response is always crisp, and it just seems like a different truck.

Yes dissimilar metals, especially when in the presence of an electrolyte, are a serious problem. And one that most owners don't think about. Not only does it cause serious problems like we are seeing here with steel, aluminum, and cast iron in contact with each other in the presence of the coolant, there's also the aluminum intake manifold many of these engines have and it is in contact with the iron heads. I've seen the sealing surfaces literally eaten away on aluminum intakes. But it doesn't have to be! There are ways to prevent it, as explained in this article on HOW TO PREVENT GALVANIC EFFECT IN YOUR VEHICLE’S COOLING SYSTEM. And the main way to do that is to keep the coolant up to snuff - and do NOT run straight water. Here's what they say in part: However, when things are as far gone as they are in this case it is going to be either expensive or time-consuming, or both, to fix. And I'm with you, Matt, I think I'd do my best to get the timing cover off w/o ruining it, but accept the fact that it is likely a new one will be needed.