WHYDTYTT: What Have You Done To Your Truck Today?

[Gary Lewis]

Been chasing a miss in my truck for a while, 302 EFI... replaced all the ignition components with good quality stuff, MSD street fighter coil, cap/rotor, good set of 8mm wires, AP 25 plugs, swapped MAP sensors with one I had laying around, did the 6litre tune up and bumped the gap on the plugs and set timing to 14* BTDC instead of 10. Throttle response is way better and its peppier, but still had a miss. Old plugs were nice and tan. Started to hesitate a bit the other day, but one prime and a flick of the key and it fires up. Great right?

Ha, ha.....Ha.

I figured what the heck lets throw a fuel pressure tester on the rail and see what we get. Brand new pressure tester.

Primed the key.

Needle barely moved.

I thought, hmm, that's funny. Its supposed to prime and have 30-45 psi. I fired it up. 10psi.

You read that right. This truck is running on 10psi. And it runs good except under WOT it will miss randomly. Unhooked manifold vacuum and the reading bumped to 22-25 and drops when you crack the throttle. I smelled the regulator vac hose and it reeks of fuel so I'm going to change that and the filter before I decide to drop the tank. The fact it runs pretty well everywhere else leads me to believe its the regulator leaking excess fuel to the return line and not a weak pump, but we shall see.

Which leads me to the next point of I'm pretty sure I'm pulling this 302 out and we are doing something a little different....Cleveland swap!

You are going to be so impressed with the 302 when you get enough fuel to it that you won't want to swap!

Wow, I didn't know an EFI'd engine would run on 10 psi. At WOT it had to have been way lean as the duty cycle for the injectors with 40 psi is something like 60-70%.

[BigBrother-84]

Changed the fuse panel. Big Brother's one was maintained with tie-wraps, since it has the small fuse box core beige plastic tabs broken, the black plastic brackets were useless.

This was the last electrical item I did not restored.

I did a nice wires cleanup behind the panel, re-did the trailer brake connection (why do these trailer garage guys do not pay attention for a clean connector job?).

Had to "unclip" and clip in the new panel one wire at a time, to be sure to put each one at its place. Tedious (and very uncomfortable) job.

Funny, I found that some fuses installed in Big Bro's panel were useless (the second side of the circuit wasn't there). Accessories, electrical windows, kind of. Maybe in some obscure past I filled up each fuse place with the good amp, regardless if there was or not a circuit behind.

After that last electrical cleanup, I can confirm that Big Brother is a hard work boy, absolutely no fancy option, the fuse panel is half empty!

Was interesting, made me learning how this thing is made.

[kramttocs]

Changed the fuse panel. Big Brother's one was maintained with tie-wraps, since it has the small fuse box core beige plastic tabs broken, the black plastic brackets were useless.

This was the last electrical item I did not restored.

I did a nice wires cleanup behind the panel, re-did the trailer brake connection (why do these trailer garage guys do not pay attention for a clean connector job?).

Had to "unclip" and clip in the new panel one wire at a time, to be sure to put each one at its place. Tedious (and very uncomfortable) job.

Funny, I found that some fuses installed in Big Bro's panel were useless (the second side of the circuit wasn't there). Accessories, electrical windows, kind of. Maybe in some obscure past I filled up each fuse place with the good amp, regardless if there was or not a circuit behind.

After that last electrical cleanup, I can confirm that Big Brother is a hard work boy, absolutely no fancy option, the fuse panel is half empty!

Was interesting, made me learning how this thing is made.

Nice!

Whatever Ford made those things out of wasn't the best choice. They get brittle and crack like they spend a lifetime in the sun instead of being in the shade.

What some of us have done is use those spare slots to power other accessories so that's always an option if you feel like cramming yourself in the floorboard again:nabble_smiley_beam:

[BigBrother-84]

Nice!

Whatever Ford made those things out of wasn't the best choice. They get brittle and crack like they spend a lifetime in the sun instead of being in the shade.

What some of us have done is use those spare slots to power other accessories so that's always an option if you feel like cramming yourself in the floorboard again:nabble_smiley_beam:

LOL! Not ready to install new electrical gadgets in Big Bro, have some other projects before going to fold myself again under the dash as an origami.

Have ahead to install the bed rails, paint and install the new dash cover, same for front doors armrests, and couple of little jobs like that.

Today, I flushed the coolant and installed new hoses and thermostat.

About the thermostat, I didn't know that I needed some sealant for the new one (the old one was stuck in a sealant bed).

Any suggestion about the good stuff to use? I'll go buy it and complete the job tomorrow.

 

[Gsmblue]

LOL! Not ready to install new electrical gadgets in Big Bro, have some other projects before going to fold myself again under the dash as an origami.

Have ahead to install the bed rails, paint and install the new dash cover, same for front doors armrests, and couple of little jobs like that.

Today, I flushed the coolant and installed new hoses and thermostat.

About the thermostat, I didn't know that I needed some sealant for the new one (the old one was stuck in a sealant bed).

Any suggestion about the good stuff to use? I'll go buy it and complete the job tomorrow.

Pulled the rear wheels to inspect breaks, decided to clean stuff up while there..

This is the single cab F350 that I probably will not keep.

[Gary Lewis]

Pulled the rear wheels to inspect breaks, decided to clean stuff up while there..

This is the single cab F350 that I probably will not keep.

Looks good! I wish Big Blue's hubs looked like that one.

[Gsmblue]

Looks good! I wish Big Blue's hubs looked like that one.

Took a lot of wire brush work. Let’s see how long they stay like that.. I have some 2k Clearcoat that I a, tempted to put on there too.

[BigBrother-84]

Changed all coolant hoses. Flushed the rad, rinsed thoroughly with fresh water.

Changed rad cap and thermostat 195° (curiously the old one was 180°). Did not drill the 1/8" hole, stainless steel is too hard.

Filled the system with new coolant.

Changed the headlight bowls with Ford OEM. LMC sells good stuff... and sometimes cheap one. Their bowl kit was VERY cheap

So I found OEM bowls and adjusting screws (all new!) and changed them. Solid now, will just have to adjust the beams.

 

[Gary Lewis]

Changed all coolant hoses. Flushed the rad, rinsed thoroughly with fresh water.

Changed rad cap and thermostat 195° (curiously the old one was 180°). Did not drill the 1/8" hole, stainless steel is too hard.

Filled the system with new coolant.

Changed the headlight bowls with Ford OEM. LMC sells good stuff... and sometimes cheap one. Their bowl kit was VERY cheap

So I found OEM bowls and adjusting screws (all new!) and changed them. Solid now, will just have to adjust the beams.

Sounds like a very productive day.

[mat in tn]

You are going to be so impressed with the 302 when you get enough fuel to it that you won't want to swap!

Wow, I didn't know an EFI'd engine would run on 10 psi. At WOT it had to have been way lean as the duty cycle for the injectors with 40 psi is something like 60-70%.

im thinking it was getting enough fuel through the vaccuum for the regulator along with the 10psi that it was being fed "enough". but that would be a very blown regulator.