85lebaront2

Not to my truck, but to my wife's "truck" (that's what it comes up under) the 2011 Flex Limited. Yesterday when she got her hair done, and went to leave she said it sounded like someone had slipped a "fart can" on it. I listened and it definitely had an exhaust leak. I pulled it in the garage and jacked it up and found this:

Actually, the later trucks with the old style starter used the flat relay. Problem is more caused by crap Chinese relays, their copper is junk, probably reclaimed scrap and they will weld together if you look at them too hard. I used to grab all of them I could find in junkyards, particularly if it was an older Motorcraft one. At a couple of bucks maybe less, if they didn't work it wasn't too bad, if they did, great!

If it will help any I can take some measurements on the HVAC from the 1995 parts truck.

GM for a few years had their ECM in a box under the air filter housing, the harness was sealed with a rubber grommet so when the air filter housing was attached it was weatherproof.

Gary, FWIW, the later vehicles have the filters in different locations, but all have them so any air drawn into the cabin are is filtered. The best way I can think of would be a filter holder of some kind in the right side air box probably right behind the firewall opening into the blower fresh air intake. It would mean having to remove the access panel to change it but (a) a gasket instead of sealer and (b) maybe some aircraft style Dzuz fasteners for quick open/close.

That's a 700 mile trip for me one way, so if I can get the old f150 to the point where I'd be confident to take it that far, I surely would;). Damn, I couldn't tell you for sure, it was Doughty motors then something else and now Kool Ford Showroom holds 2 vehicles and service dept. has only 4 bays. I will have to ask next time I am up there.

You could probably come up with something but because there is no provision for it you will have to fabricate a holder for it.

Looks good! Glad I could help you with it.

Ok, but I will let you set up the tabs, maybe for all the carburetors? I can even speak VV if needed.

If everything else is still the original, specifically timing, you would need to lean the main jet slightly. That being said, first I would look at the plugs and second if it needs "tweaking" there should be a small aluminum plug, like a miniature freeze plug in the top of the carb where the air filter sits (BTW, that air filter is cute, but even for a one barrel is too small), under that plug is a hole down to the small Philips head screw on the metering rod hanger, clockwise is richer, counterclockwise is leaner. Since the YF metering rod is similar to the older carburetors it has both a vacuum and mechanical control. At cruise the mechanical linkage limits the down travel so the mixture is partially dependent of throttle opening.

Don't go by the picture, it is a later model than 1981, probably a non-feedback 1985 or 1986.

Gee, talk about luck, he actually has the correct application carburetor for his truck.

You can read the review at that link, and you can see the pictures of your EVTM vs theirs. Gary, I suspect that when the printer took an original and copied it if they had (a) gotten all the pages and (b) bound it like the original it would be ok. The binding change is why the pages are flipped, if you were to make copies of the pages in mine, then stick them in a normal loose leaf binder every other page would be upside down. Now you know why I buy from my eBay source, that is where the 1996 EVTM came from along with a ton of other manuals including the full set for the 2011 Flex.

Great pictures! On the vacuum ports, the one on the side the number is on was probably for the EGR system, it was used to operate a vacuum amplifier as it probably goes into the venturii for a very low vacuum signal, the one on the throttle body should be for the distributor vacuum. Carburetor is probably from the mid 70s (sort of looks like the one my 1977 F150 300 had on it). 7388S is a Carter ID number, now if someone has a good carburetor PN listing for the YFs maybe you can pin it down.

I know Darth's engine was gray, as much of it as was reasonable accessible.

There used to be some out there, there is a forum on FTE devoted to it. Many of the companies that sell MAF conversions have some tutorials on it, but it is more geared to selling their products. Yahoo groups has one that Dan Lee and I are members of EECTuner. There is information there, but that is where I dead ended on mine till Adam Marrer contacted me.

Probably can, the spark table you will need to work with is pretty well defined, it is MAX spark something and has a relationship to engine load so you can dial it back as needed, you will also need to reduce the maximum advance under load for the higher compression as higher compression = faster burn rate. Trivia item, but germane to this area. In the mid - late 80s, Chrysler changed the head on the 4 cyl. engines from a swirl design to one they called a "fast burn". The spark tables for the 2 heads are quite different, the fast burn does just that, a quicker combustion so the under load advance needs to be reduced. Turbo chargers, blowers, also need less advance under load as forced induction = higher cylinder pressure = fast burn rate.

Gary, granted I am running a JUNKyard carburetor which may be defective, but I was not able to measure any vacuum on the carburetor ports at idle. Ok, first item, on the carburetor, look at the flange at the base of the float bowl section, there may be a Carter number stamped into the side just above the throttle body. This may help in identifying at least the year. One fast identification is the choke design, if it has only the internal piston it is definitely an older model. One other, the older carbs had a taller throttle body. The pictures I saw, look like it is probably mid 70s as it has the tab on the front of the throttle shaft to operated the EGR kill valve. On timing, distributors, etc. the 300 is known to "slip" the balancer and will result in a real problem setting the initial or static timing. The other issue which Pete referenced, almost every 300 built still has the old cast in timing scale on the timing cover. Now is where it gets interesting, some engines have a scale like the V8s do on the balancer, others have a single TDC mark and a bolted on metal scale. The thing to remember is the engine turns clockwise viewed from the front. On the balancer scale version, the advance side is clockwise from 0° TDC (Ford scales usually go from 10° ATDC to 30° BTDC), on the metal scale, advance is counterclockwise from 0° TDC. If you have access to a timing light that can be used to read spark advance, you can verify how much total mechanical advance you have by running the engine up till the advance stops, then use the light to get it back to TDC on the scale. Ford distributors have an advance cam with a notch that sets the total mechanical advance, example would be a stamp of 24L, this will give a total mechanical advance of 24° which is added to the initial of say 10° for a total of 34° timing. Unfortunately on a Dura Spark distributor, to get to the cam where you can see it, the reluctor and pickup plate have to come out. Gary is correct in his post on detonation or "pinging" it is caused by a second flame front starting on the side opposite the spark plug (one of the reasons many newer engines have the plug centered), pre-ignition and run-on or after-run are a separate cause, generally from carbon deposits getting red hot and igniting the mixture before the plug fires or continuing to ignite the mixture after the ignition is off. EGR, EGR was designed to reduce the combustion temperature be diluting the incoming fuel/air mixture with burned gases and as a result, can reduce light throttle pinging or spark knock since the mixture burns slower (it also killed gas mileage),

Due to the relatively long stroke (3.98") and low redline probably 32-34° max, listen for sounds of pinging under load and back off if needed.

Here is what I posted in another area on here a while back concerning spark advance: On distributor curves, the mechanical advance is based on the best power under load without detonation, this basic idea goes way back as far as the moveable advance system whether it was a level on the steering column or a centrifugal advance mechanism. The Windsor V8s can take 36-38° total mechanical advance at around 5000 rpm, mechanical advance is 2 stage, a quick initial, up to around 3000 rpm for a street engine advance of 28-32°, the remainder coming in slowly to max rpm. The vacuum advance came later as an economy measure and it makes up the difference between under load and light load conditions. There are two main styles, a vacuum brake system used by Ford on the flathead V8s and 6s with the front of the cam distributor and used by Mallory on their street distributors for years. The second is a vacuum can that has a diaphragm attached to a rod which moves the breaker plate (except on the old Chevy in-line 6, on those the whole distributor moves) this system has either an adjustment screw in side the can, or on older Fords a removable cap under which was a spring, shims and a hollow stop tube inside the spring. These are pretty straight forward, at X inches of vacuum you get Y degrees of advance. What happens with the EGR is not that you can get more advance, it dilutes the mixture enough that the vacuum advance does not cause detonation. A specific example, the mid 80s Oldsmobile built 307 ci V8, if the EGR wasn't opening, you would get a light throttle spark knock at roughly 35-40 mph in 4th gear lockup, a bit more throttle and it would vanish when the computer added fuel by decreasing the down time on the metering rods on the E4ME primaries. Now, to further confuse everyone, for a long time, Ford used Holley distributors, with no mechanical advance, only vacuum, called a Loadamatic distributor These had a 2 stage set of springs on the breaker plate, one very light one for the venturii signal, the other a heavier one for the throttle port signal. Depending on the year and application many had a spark control valve on the side of the distributor. This blocked the throttle port so that the very weak venturii signal didn't leak, when the throttle signal was there the valve moved in under the higher vacuum to allow it to the distributor diaphragm to receive the full vacuum. Some carburetors simply used a small check ball in the throttle passage. Because this system ran at maximum advance at cruise conditions, Ford found that it was necessary on some applications to use a second diaphragm on the back of the main one connected directly to manifold vacuum to quickly retard the main system under sudden WOT conditions. A quick way to recognize these systems, the diaphragm "can" is very flat on these as there are no springs inside it. The next piece came with the emission systems, 1966 in California, and 1968 nationwide. One of the problems with many engines was idle emissions, unburned hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide (CO) also oxides of nitrogen. It was found that if the carburetor idle circuits were at the transfer slot that the idle could be set lean enough in the jetting that the engine could run cleaner. In order to do this, the initial timing needed to be reduced. The other solution was air injection. Each of the big three used a different approach, Ford used two systems, IMCO for IMproved COmbustion and Thermactor or air injection. Both systems used a lazier distributor curve and in some applications a lower initial (static) timing. It also was the death knell for the Loadamatic distributor as it's advance would vary with altitude and to some degree barometric pressure differences. The leaner low speed mixtures also would cause the Loadamatic equipped engines to misfire at low speed cruise due to the advance being fully in. I hope this isn't too confusing, but hopefully it will help understand how the spark advance systems relate to other systems. All have to work together in harmony for best power and economy. As for a choice of manifold vs. ported vacuum, the port in most carburetors and non computer controlled fuel injection systems is very close to the bottom or back side of the throttle plate (only one is used on multiple barrels) most Ford and Chrysler engines and some GM used a ported spark. One of the problems with direct manifold vacuum is the timing can retard if the vacuum goes below a certain level. This causes the engine rpm to drop, further reducing the vacuum. The manufacturer can use a light spring in the vacuum can so it has to fall way off in order to be a problem. It is more of a problem with automatic transmissions due to the engine loading in gear. This can also be a problem if the centrifugal advance comes in at too low an rpm. I used to see the older small block Chevrolets with a Powerglide come into my shop and the complaint was "I just got a curve kit and installed it, now I can't keep it running in gear and it races in neutral." Stall speed on the old Powerglide was real low and even a mild engine would drop 3-400 rpm from neutral to drive. As far as total vacuum advance, I never saw any difference between manifold and ported vacuum, the difference was what it did at idle. Whatever system, you still need to disconnect the vacuum when setting the timing, just be glad you aren't trying to set timing on a pre computer Oldsmobile V8, it was set at 1100 rpm, no vacuum because they wanted to be sure the initial centrifugal advance was in. Royal PITA, move the distributor, reset the rpm, check the timing, it would take 10-15 mins to set one correctly, but boy did it make a difference!

I would say when Hell freezes over, but I think that happened yesterday, someone posted a sign HELL with icicles hanging off.

Ray, the issues there are two fold, first, the area above the transmission tunnel is not flat, second it is occupied by the heater and defroster ducts on the inside. Here is a picture of a 1990 cab with just a 460 long block sitting in the frame. The angled section from just above the inside of the HVAC inlet hole to just beyond the wiper motor mount is the line of the cowl seam and the area below there is not really flat.

I started right before we ate dinner, so there have been some other posts, but here they are in order. EEC-IV and EEC-V cases are physically the same dimensions, it's the plug that is different externally. Ford had to make it to fit in the existing locations on many of the bodies. Over the HVAC inside case, not sure if that is even possible, I was just listing locations that I have seen, the EEC is inside, just like the 1987-96/7 trucks and only the plug is exposed. On the Taurus, Lincoln Continental, Ranger and 1992-96/7 trucks, there is a plastic cover with a molded on gasket that seals (in theory) the EEC area and retains it in the rack. Oval hole, again, if there is room for the later or other source EEC rack, then the hole could be enlarged so the EEC can be inserted from under the hood. Above the tranny is pretty damn close to the 1985-86 factory location, explain that gain? On running the wires through a penetration, you and Ray are both concerned about getting water into the EEC, if it is inside the cab and up above the bottom edge of the dash, you would drown the ignition most likely before it got wet and you would have a pretty wet ass. Connections to the chassis, from the engine, all your engine mounted sensors and solenoids are connected to the front harness (where the EEC is connected along with the ICM) by a 42 pin connector on the 1992-96/7 trucks, 1987-91 there were 4 round 8 pin connectors on the inner fender apron. Somewhere under the hood is where that interface needs to be so the engine can come out easily if needed. Unfortunately, though the 42 pin connector is weatherproof, I have not seen one that could be sealed into the firewall area like the round one on the 1990 or the rectangular one on the 1992-96/7 trucks. This would need to be a waterproof seal where it penetrates the firewall. The round connector from the 1990 would provide you with enough circuits if you wanted to use it and both the male and female connectors are available from Dorman. EECs, the one I sent you is either a GIN3 or TIN3, both are 351W and E4OD, I was thinking that for Dad's. As far as I know, the only real difference between one for and E4OD and 4R100 (I didn't know that the 4R100 came behind a 302) is the output shaft speed sensor that was added to the 4R100 when it was introduced in 1998.

Gary, the only reason I suggested the 85-86 location is the mounts for everything except the actual EEC bracket are already in the cab. The Taurii through 1995 (and maybe newer) have the EEC mounted above the inside HVAC case with a gasket and the connector is underhood, my 1995 Lincoln Continental is the same style and on that one the whole engine harness is a bear, but all but a ground are plug in. If you can go with that style, then you would only need the connections from the EFI system to the chassis harnesses. Question for you and Ray, is there enough room inside the oval hole to enlarge it to fit the EEC-V connector through? I have at least one extra EEC-V gasket plate or you may be able to use the Ranger one. No, a Ranger EEC-V will not necessarily be able to run a V8 even manual transmission. On the plugs, the cover over the wiring can be changed and even in some cases the direction swapped.

It doesn't have to be the ML1-441 hardware code, it can come from a 5.0L with MT or C6 or AODE, 4R70W or a 5.8L MT or C6. Look through the list I sent you for catch codes to ask for.