85lebaront2

First thing I would do is put your hand around the harness on the right fender, both in front and behind where the alternator harness with the engine running, if it feels hot, then you have a high resistance connection and it needs to be found and repaired.

If it is leaking vacuum there, then plug it, if not, leave it alone. Ford went from a piston choke break, to an air horn diaphragm (the slot was it's vacuum passage) to an external diaphragm, which is what yours has. As I said, if there is no vacuum on it, don't worry. Ford like most makes a basic casting and some holes are never drilled through, just the pilot in the casting remains. If it goes to the outside air, bit it's mating portion is not there or not completed, ignore it. That gasket in the first picture is either (a) from a very cheap kit or (b) poorly made or © has been modified.

From what you seem to be describing, it appears that the bowl gasket is the wrong one, Ford made a number of running changes in these carburetors, from the original 2100 in 1957, into the 2150 around 1975 to improve emission characteristics without sacrificing driveability. Unfortunately the balancing act between the two, failed on the 351m and 400. they were so lean as to barely run and got poor fuel economy. If you bought the carburetor from a rebuilder, I would ask for a warranty replacement. If you just opened it up and found these issues, maybe a good (not Tomco) rebuild kit might solve any problems.

FWIW, that 12.5 was running 70 mph from near Annapolis MD to Hagerstown MD, then down across the Potomac to Falling Waters WV.

Not too bad, lighter truck, but 4WD, higher compression, 5 speed, headers, nice custom duals, only 4 tires vs 6. 13 mpg vs 12.5. I wonder what Darth will do with the new engine? My goal is to see if I can get what Matt gets in his traveling Pit Bull kennel, 14 mpg.

Where in VA? I had a king pin press, but I do not remember it getting found and packed when we were emptying the house and garage in Newport News. I do have what I believe is the proper bushing reamer for them.

Jim you are definitely correct on the king pin twin I beams. Darth's were fully aligned in 1995 and other than some toe-in adjustments nothing since then. If you can find a shop that can and will bend them, and knows how to set them up correctly, they will last forever, just replace the bushings periodically. The fellow who did my 1977 and Darth, was training an apprentice when I took Darth to him, he asked if I minded having the apprentice do Darth's alignment under his supervision. I told him if he had confidence in him, then let him do the work so he could learn. That was 27 years ago, still drives straight and amazes many people as to how even the tires wear. Shop I bought the tires from wanted to check things when they put the tires on, I told them ok, but other than toe-in not to change anything, he said they can't do anything on the king pin axles, he just wanted to see what it was set up at since the tires were so evenly worn. He came back to me and said it was the most perfectly set twin I-beam he had ever seen.

I set the crank at TDC 1-4 and then with the crank gear lined up with the crank key I used the arrow that the 2.4L has in line with one of the ribs on the gear to create a reference notch on the front cover. When the gear modifications are finished I will add a notch to the spacer behind the gear so it will be easy to line up.

On your wiring that went to your distributor module, there were/are two wires, one is white with a light blue hash or stripe this went through a connector, C321 and then to the distributor module, this wire has 12V on it in run. The other wire is red with light green and it went through a different connector C325 and became a brown with pink and joined the white with light blue and then fed the ignition module and and coil + terminal, this red with light green is powered with 12V in start and fed through a resistance wire in run. This was needed on the Duraspark system. They are connected together in the engine harness on feedback carburetor and EFI vehicles. If you use this wire to activate the relay (needed because the HEI coil is a current hog) it will keep the relay on when starting and running. Ford did this on the 1985/86 models to make the three different systems, DS-II, Feedback carburetor and EFI easier to build on the assembly line.

The arms are the same overall length though. it's the shoulder that moved and changed the available length of the stud. The only part of the bushing that changed is that the front half of the bushing got shorter. The plastic ring and rubber bushing on the back of the frame bracket are the same from 1980-1996. I remember finding that and since Darth is the last year for 2WD king pins with the nice forged steel axles, I am not sure if the 1987 up radius arms would fit.

The one thing I am real picky about is the sensors on the EFI systems. My son went damn near crazy on his 1986 F150, 5.0L EFI after installing a Standard products TPS. The idle throttle setting on these is a voltage value and has a tight tolerance, if the voltage at idle is too high, the EEC decides it is time to open the EGR valve. The result is the open EGR valve causes the idle rpm to drop so the EEC closes the EGR valve. Since these systems have a vacuum and a vent valve the solenoid valves chatter as the engine surges up and down. We replaced it with a Motorcraft TPS, problem solved.

Thanks!

Yes, the reference pointer is where it should be. The gears seem to be cast steel so I may be able to relieve the OD of the two pieces at their junction and mig them together using my stub shaft mandrel for alignment. Then I can remove a chunk of the hub inside that gear so the bolt won't be quite as long.

Back to our regularly scheduled program. I did some more work on the timing belt system for the hybrid 2.5L. First I found a belt the correct length and width, and surprisingly is actually for a 2.4L DOHC Chrysler engine, it is a Gates T246, 150 teeth and 29mm width. Here are the cams timed (no valve gear at present). Crank gear, not completely finished, bolts were for turning things through at least two crank revolutions. Automatic tensioner after turning through two crank revolutions. Here is one of the stumbling blocks, this is the intermediate shaft gear from the back. I either had to adapt an extra cam gear (if I wanted to maintain the correct ratio) or modify a 1989 gear to be in the correct plane as the others. Since I will be running an intake cam driven distributor, or possibly a DIS system, correct ratio wasn't needed, I used a 40 tooth 1989 gear rather than trying to make a 42 tooth cam gear fit. One of the concerns was the clearance between the belt where it leaves that gear and the front seal housing casting. I cut a square tooth (pre-1989) gear down to make a 10mm thick spacer so I didn't have to figure out a way to make keyway in it. This puts the intermediate shaft gear in plane with the cam gears and retains the key on the shaft so it can't slip (it drives the oil pump gear).

I think before I McGyvered something, I would see what the size on the tube on the banjo fitting is. If it is 5/16, then get a compression union, male to male in 5/16", cut the bubble off the end of the banjo fitting and make a nice solid joint. Brace the line from the pump so it won't vibrate.

There are resistance values for the sensors, ECT, ACT are resistance, the MAP is a strange one, it generates a variable frequency based on the manifold absolute pressure (amount below atmospheric). FWIW, the ACT and ECT values are the same for a given temperature. Here are the values, if you have a good multimeter you can check the values on the air and coolant sensors.

As the former owner of a Holley warehouse, there are two styles of fittings for those bowls, the banjo fitting in it and a small screw in style that takes a 5/16" inverted flare (like the old float bowl took). Look here, find the one you need and then look on Summit, Jegs or similar. https://www.holley.com/products/fuel_systems/carburetor_components/fittings_fuel_lines_and_gauges/fittings/

Jim, one of the big issues with these trucks with a 460, there are 3 radiators, 6 cyl. V8 and Diesel. All the v8s got the same radiator, whether a 302 or a 460. The only change is the mount revision in 1984. I have already decided the next time I have to put a radiator in Darth, I will bite the bullet and get a good heavy duty aftermarket one like Gary did.

No, that is the one from Darth, if you unroll it it's pretty long. I never had problem with it coming unplugged. between 1994 when I bought Darth and 2010 or so when I did the EFI conversion. I have some pictures I took of the Ford diagnostic manuals I have and will send you.

First, look at the connector for the 460 hot fuel handling package selector valve, that is a 6 port valve and I would not be completely surprised if Ford used the same valve for the 1985 EFI. 1986-1989 models used a reservoir/switching valve that worked automatically by which ever pump was running. I think I still have the rear chassis cable from Darth. If the plug is the same and in decent shape you can have it.

Those were gross and for comparison the 440 Chrysler engines gross ratings in 1970 were quite similar values, 375 hp @ 4600 rpm and 480 ft-lbs @ 3200 rpm. They were not light nor compact, bore spacing is the same as a 385 series, the block is a deep skirt design as were all early OHV Ford V8s (Y-block, FE, MEL). Crank is huge and early engines had forged steel ones. Fuel pump was up on the top of the timing cover and many Lincoln versions used a Vickers direct drive power steering pump (early 460s used the same one which is the reason for the spacer behind the balancer).

Now you know why I liked the 430, 1958 models were 375 hp @ 4800 rpm and 490 ft-lbs @ 3100 rpm. The one I had was a one time NASCAR engine, probably run in a Square Bird as the headers that came with it would only clear the T-bird all the way forward on the block location. Unknown compression .030 over, solid lifter cam and ports you could almost reach in and grab a valve stem through. Most of those engines idled around 450-500 rpm in gear, this one wouldn't idle much lower than around 650 or it would stumble coming off idle. I had one of the 1961-63 Lincoln AFBs on it and used a single coupling Hydra-matic with a Transdapt adapter.

Rather than stuff a Coyote in a 3/4 or 1 ton truck, I would opt for a Godzilla and associated 10 speed automatic. 430 HP at 5500 rpm. 475 ft-lbs torque at 4000 rpm. Part M-6007-73. It can also be bought with a 10R140 transmission.

Flex update, Preston called me yesterday to let me know that Ford is aware of the issue and working on correcting the problem. Until that is done they can't do the updates on either Flex. I was given two options, keep the loaner while we wait on a resolution, or come pick up the Flex and they will call me as soon as the problem is corrected and reschedule my update. I opted for the latter. I really can't complain, Preston Ford of Keller has been great. Once they can do mine I will definitely (a) let their owner know that I am quite happy with their service (b) Let Ford know the same and © put it on their FB page along with just flat posting it on mine.

If you are getting that kind of heat in the exhaust my guess would be extremely late timing. I would check two things, (a) mechanical advance in the distributor (b) vacuum advance. As for exhaust, Darth has the factory mid 1984-1987 system, dual 2.5" pipes to the muffler and then a 3" tail pipe over the rear axle and exiting through a 3.5 or 4" outlet that originally had a pair of spark arrestor screens in it. I did add some extra insulation when I redid his interior. A strip in addition to the factory one over the exhaust route. One item, the factory systems frequently used double wall pipe and at highway speeds the pipes will get quite hot near the front, to the point that hitting a puddle at speed can chill the outer layer enough to make it contract and squeeze the inner layer enough to collapse it and severely restrict the flow.