Gary Lewis

I, too, have used grease. But I don't think that graphite would be a bad idea. It wouldn't collect dirt, but wouldn't lube as well as grease.

I should also say that I'm still interested in getting one of the brackets. I still have Dad's truck to do.

And for reference, here are the connectors, in the same order: As for mounting, here's an EEC-IV ECU laid in the 1990 kick panel bracket from Huck. It probably had a strap across it, but didn't when I got it. And, you can see the "spring thingies" I referenced last night, which are not springy at all and aren't of much use for what I want to do. So I'm coming around to your way of thinking. If I could find a complete 1985/6 bracket and strap, if that's what they used, then that should work nicely. Given that I'm going to ask in another thread if anyone has one, or at least has pictures thereof. I suppose I could buy that bracket on ebay and figure out how to strap the ECU in, but I'd sure like to find a complete unit with the strap. As posted in the thread Looking For An 85/85 ECU Bracket/Strap Combo Or Pictures Thereof, I'm completely confused as to what bracket should fit. So I made one. It isn't pretty, but it'll work. I still need to position it and then weld it to the dash brace. But here are a few pics. The flange on the end is angled such that the ECU wedges in. And then I'll need to create a bottom support, which will screw into the speed control mount.

Shaun - You just never know. David - Thanks. I'm now realizing that those brackets are more common than I thought. But today I made a bracket:

Yes, as does the '85 EVTM. But that isn't what the MPC calls it. I searched for that term, and plenty more, to no avail. But there were lots of hits for "EEC", including one for a "bracket", as shown below. But, that's confusing as i thought that only the EFI trucks had the bracket. However, the MPC says that everything from '85 on used the same bracket - E5TZ 12A659-A. I find that hard to believe as the later trucks had the computer tucked in the kick panel, not under the dash. So I'm totally confused. As for what the illustration show for 12A659, there's only one mention of that base part number, and it is for the "R".

You should be able to pull the battery's positive lead, pull the link from the key tumbler to the switch, and slide the switch around to get the pin through - without pulling the switch off. Then go through the rest of the procedure to set it up.

Thanks, David. But while that computer may be compatible with an F-Series I'm not sure the bracket is. The bracket looks completely different from the one I posted, which is said to come from an F-Series where the one you found came from an E-Series. I'm going through the MPC trying to find out what they might have called that thing so I can see what it fits. So far I've tried EEC, ECU, & PDM to no avail. I did find that for the '89 trucks they called it an EEC Processor, but so far haven't found the brackets.

I'm looking for the bracket & strap/retainer that was used to hold the computer (ECU) up under the dash on an '85 or '86 5.0L with EFI. (I think only the EFI'd 5.0's got the EEC-IV system, not the carb'd engines which still had the EEC-III system if they had a computer.) And if you don't have one to sell then pictures would be a big help. Shaun/salans7 found this one on ebay: 1982-1987 Ford F150 OEM PCM Engine Computer Bracket. Disregard the title of it as I'm sure it does not fit any truck prior to 1985, but it came from an '85 truck and looks like this. However, it appears to be missing the strap or retainer, so isn't as much use as it would be with that.

Bill - I'm thinking you are right. There's something missing that goes with that bracket. There has to be a way to hold the ECU to the bracket, and it isn't via the cover screws - the EEC-IV doesn't have cover screws. And neither of them have the flanges I was remembering - the flanges are on the III ECU. Here's a shot of the EEC-III, IV, and V ECU's left/right. And you were basically right, the IV and V have the almost the same dimensions, not including the connectors: And for reference, here are the connectors, in the same order: As for mounting, here's an EEC-IV ECU laid in the 1990 kick panel bracket from Huck. It probably had a strap across it, but didn't when I got it. And, you can see the "spring thingies" I referenced last night, which are not springy at all and aren't of much use for what I want to do. So I'm coming around to your way of thinking. If I could find a complete 1985/6 bracket and strap, if that's what they used, then that should work nicely. Given that I'm going to ask in another thread if anyone has one, or at least has pictures thereof. I suppose I could buy that bracket on ebay and figure out how to strap the ECU in, but I'd sure like to find a complete unit with the strap.

The TFI distributor is all computer-controlled. It has no centrifugal nor vacuum advance. So even if you could pull a pin and add a vacuum advance, which I seriously doubt, you'd be wasting your time as there aren't any weights or advance mechanism for centrifugal. Basically, if you could do it you'd be right back where you are - with the computer having locked the timing to initial. You are in limp-home mode and until you put the complete feedback system back on to make the computer happy, or change out to a DS-II system you will have poor power and MPG.

Looking good! That's a lot of good progress. On the crossmember bolts & nuts, I'd take the nuts off before you get things jammed and figure out what is going on. I think those are prevailing-torque nuts, meaning that they are deformed so they keep some tension on and won't loosen. If you run a tap through them that feature will probably be removed, so you might need Loctite or lock washers.

That thing looks like a work of modern art! (But maybe not all that warm and cozy.) Man, that is KOOL!

There's one on Ebay. https://www.ebay.com/itm/174757302442?hash=item28b058d0aa:g:VzoAAOSwjlJgkYDA Thanks, Shaun. But I'm not seeing how the ECU attaches to that bracket. Maybe one of you does? I'm going to post pics of the IV and V ECU's as well as dimensions in a bit and we can debate how best to mount the V. But with no screw holes, other than for the cover, it looks to me like it has to be held in a "cradle" of some kind.

Jein. The EEC-IV cases that I have are the same size for the body, but they have a mounting flange that the EEC-V cases don't have. I'll post a pic of the two side by side tomorrow. I don't know that the difference would preclude mounting a V in a IV's spot, but I think it might. I do have the panel that mounts in the kick panel area on the EEC-IV trucks, like Huck, and the retainers are too far apart to hold an EEC-V ECU. However, that has given me a thought. There are springy things on that panel that I might be able to use on the bracket I'm thinking about to hold the EEC-V ECU. They might be just the thing to put tension on the ECU to prevent it from rattling. But they are too far apart to clamp the EEC-V computer where they are on the panel. I'll post pics tomorrow morn to explain what I'm talking about awa what I'm thinking about.

Thanks, Scott. With the 30A rating that I see on the Metri-pack 280's I think I could be happy with them. But is it easy to pull the pins? So far I've not figured out how to correctly pull the pins on the Chinese set I bought, and that bugs me. Plus, the 12A current rating isn't quite enough for some of the things we do.

There are several advantages to the newer master cylinders, like the ability to see how much fluid you have w/o pulling the cap, a cap that doesn't leak, and the ability to put a pressure bleeder on and bleed the brakes that way. But the older ones work fine, so there's no problem with staying with it. On the vacuum reservoir, if it doesn't leak then it isn't a problem. But if it is rusty it might leak. So if you don't want to clean it up and paint it to stop the rust then replacing it is a good idea.

I'd use the booster you have until it fails, and watch for a better one in the interim. As for the master cylinder, did you go with the later version? I really like the ones with the plastic reservoir.

Thanks for the suggestion. And I did get the same kit, only the 200-piece one. John - Here are my thoughts of what connections you'll need for the PDB: Headlights: You'll need four connections: 1 for the low beam trigger; 1 for the high beam trigger; one for the low beam output; one for the high beam output Voltmeter: That relay will have two connections to it: 1 for the trigger; one for the output Blower: There are two things that can be done if you want to do it to take the load off the switches and speed up the blower motor. You can use a relay to supply power to the motor, and you can use a relay to supply the ground for the high speed setting. To do that you'll need two connections per relay, so four connections if you want to do this. I don't know how effective it is, but I think Scott did some tests so you might search for that. Fuse Links: You could replace the several fuse links with fuses if you want, but I'm not sure it is worth it. I did it on Big Blue and Scott did it on his truck, and I may do it on Dad's truck as well. But, there's no huge advantage to it, so I don't know that you need to do it. Ground: You will need ground, but the way I recommend is to bring your ground lead out and terminate it with a ring-tongue terminal. Then put it under a ground connection that you probably already have. That way you don't need a connector but can remove the box. What other functions or relays are you thinking about? Fog lights? Backup lights?

Did you let the RTV set up before torquing the valve cover bolts down? When RTV is "wet" it is a very good lubricant and the gasket can easily slide off one way or the other and cause a leak. So I let things like that set up over night before torquing the bolts down.

Well, it fits! J.U.S.T. The back edge of the case of the computer scraps on the metal of the bottom of the dash and the front edge is up against the firewall as it slides in. But once it is in and above the bottom edge of the dash there's a bit of room. However, I may want to grind a bit of metal off the lower edge of the dash just to allow it to fit easily. Here's a pic of it all the way up with the programming cable on. And what you can't see is that the hole through the firewall is directly in front of it and the programming cable is through it. Perfect. So that brings up the question of how to mount it, and this picture shows a bit of what I'm thinking. I'm thinking that I'll make a bracket out of angle on either side and a piece of it on the end that will capture the top of the computer. The bracket will be welded to the dash support arm that you can see in the following pics, and then a piece with a slot cut in it to go either side of the connector will slide into place and be secured with the screws that originally held the speed control's bracket in. I'll put some sort of padding in so that the computer doesn't rattle, but I think this approach will hold it securely. Thoughts? And here are a couple of shots looking up under the dash to either side of the computer.

If you have the glass replaced make sure they put the right glass in. The newer windshields fit, but obscure the VIN. I suspect that is illegal, but the glass companies do it all the time. And it can be a huge pain when you sell a vehicle. HUGE!

Welcome! Glad you joined. In pieces? Been there, done that, and am still doing that. So I can sympathize. Where's home? We have a map (Bullnose Forum/Member's Map) in the menu and can add you with a city/state or zip. How 'bout starting a thread in the main section to chronicle the rebuilding of your truck? You'll be amazed over time as you look back on it and see how far you've come.

Well maybe mine is ok as it dose the same thing It seams if I give it just a little throttle or little hill it dose the same, runs 14's to 15's But most of the time it is high 12's to mid 13's and that is on flat ground 65 to 70 MPH (70 is the speed limit) in over drive around 1800 RPM. At 55 MPH not in over drive the RPM is also 1800 but I know I am pushing more air at the higher speed so have to use more fuel right? On back roads where speed limit is 55 and not in over drive I get the same reading on the AFR gauge so I think the carb has got more MPG in it somewhere I just need to find it Thanks for the information Gary Dave ---- Yes, if you are running high 12's to mid 13's then you do have MPG left in the carb. I'd try to get it to 14 or so on flat ground at 65.

That's a cool article, Bill! Good read. Thanks. I looked up Brent Hajek and discovered he's in Ames, OK. Never heard of the place, but it is only 140 miles west of me. He has a website which says: Come on out and we'll go.