Jolene - 1983 F-150 Rescue

[wasteland_jack]

Great project!

Where in OR are you? I am in Bend and I have an F350 I picked up recently. My friends what to help fix it up and do Gambler next year with me!!

Always Be Gambling, my friend. ABG. I'm surely doing the Gambler next year, and I'll definitely meet up with you. I hope we can meet sooner somewhere between you and Portland. I enjoy browsing through the White River Unit near Dufur; there are a lot of great roads over there. Contact me at jack@jebartlett.com and we'll set something up.

I live just off Rosa Parks and Interstate in Portland. Let me know if you're ever in town!

Jack

[wasteland_jack]

This is an awesome project!

You might consider getting one of tge clear plastic fuel filters (like the ones off a lawn mower) and installing it just before the fuel pump. That may help a good bit with your fuel problems. A new tank is the best long term solution though

Careful when using your "calibrated elbow", most things call for significantly less torque than people think. Spark plugs dont take a huge amount of torque. The side cover on the block next to the distributor basically needs the smallest amount of torque you can put on its six bolts without the cover leaking.

An autoparts store can probably put the right carb rebuild kit in your hands for less than $20, and they will probably know which one you need based on model info for the truck.

Cracked and old water lines are cheap, and a high risk for leaving you stranded. I might elect to put those near the top of the list.

Your timing is probably fine so I wouldnt worry too much, but the only right way to do it is with a timing light. Save up for the tool before attempting that job.

A compression check is an easy job that can tell you a lot about an engines condition. The tools run about $50. The compression check data would be good to have so you can compare results later to help diagnose a problem you may eventually have. For now, it cant tell you much other than how worn out (or like new!) Your engine is. I would consider it to be med-low priority.

The orange/copper stuff in the radiator may be evidence that a past owner tried to use some kind of stop leak product to fix a coolant leak. Its a good thing to keep in the back of your mind, but probably not something you have to do anything about now.

If you decide to replace the coolant, buy the concentrate instead of the pre mix stuff. Its much cheaper. Mix it with distilled water instead of tap/hose water. Two gallons of concentrate and two gallons of water will be plenty.

If your exhaust is not installed to the engine, Id want to address that pretty quick.

Hope all of that helps somehow!

Carburetor - I bought a rebuild kit,@straightsix. You were pretty close on price! Made in the USA, too. The directions seem like they were thrice scanned through a 90s-era fax machine and are barely legible, but I can still make them out. I'll try the rebuild this weekend.

Coolant - I bought the appropriate hoses and concentrated coolant, and I now must learn the proper procedure for replacing the hoses. They didn't have any heather hoses.

Tires - I'm chasing down a few CL leads. I saw some amazing 35s, but I do like knowing exactly what speed I'm going. If I buy them I'll have to do speed tests and mark my speedo with a white paint marker.

[Gsmblue]

Always Be Gambling, my friend. ABG. I'm surely doing the Gambler next year, and I'll definitely meet up with you. I hope we can meet sooner somewhere between you and Portland. I enjoy browsing through the White River Unit near Dufur; there are a lot of great roads over there. Contact me at jack@jebartlett.com and we'll set something up.

I live just off Rosa Parks and Interstate in Portland. Let me know if you're ever in town!

Jack

Well, Jack,

I lived on 12th and Ainsworth for 5 years (2011 - 2016). I was just at Breakside last Wednesday as I was passing through.

Will definitely ping you.

[Gary Lewis]

Carburetor - I bought a rebuild kit,@straightsix. You were pretty close on price! Made in the USA, too. The directions seem like they were thrice scanned through a 90s-era fax machine and are barely legible, but I can still make them out. I'll try the rebuild this weekend.

Coolant - I bought the appropriate hoses and concentrated coolant, and I now must learn the proper procedure for replacing the hoses. They didn't have any heather hoses.

Tires - I'm chasing down a few CL leads. I saw some amazing 35s, but I do like knowing exactly what speed I'm going. If I buy them I'll have to do speed tests and mark my speedo with a white paint marker.

Can you get a small wrench on the zerk and take it out? Probably not, in which case you need to pull straight back on the connector. For some reason they don't like to let go if there's any angle on them.

As a last resort you can probably break the zerk off by hitting the connector with a hammer and then replace both the zerk and the connector.

On the tire/speedo thing, you can replace the speedometer's driven gear to dial the speedo in. You can read up on that on the page at Documentation/Driveline/SPEEDOMETER GEARS, CABLES, & SENSORS.

And on replacing hoses and coolant, the first step is to drain the coolant. That is typically done via a petcock on the radiator. But that won't get all of it, so when you pull the lower radiator hose be prepared to have more coolant come out.

When replacing the hoses I like to put the clamp where it is just forward of the bulge/ring on the radiator's fitting. That is so the hose is pressed into the bulge/ring and a good seal is created. I'm not saying put the clamp on/over the bulge/ring, but just forward of it.

Then as you refill you'll think you have it full, only to find that minutes later it isn't. The best way to ensure it is as full as you can get it is to pull a heater hose off the heater's fitting as that is the highest point in the system and you just fill it until some comes out there. However if you aren't replacing the heater hoses, and I think you should if you don't know how old they are, then I wouldn't pull the hose off as you are surely going to have a hard time getting it off and may ruin the existing hose.

So if you aren't taking the highest connection loose you'll have some air in the system. After you start the engine the level in the radiator will go down, so you can fill it up as much as you can there. But in a bit things start expanding as they heat and you'll have coolant coming out of the radiator if you don't put the cap on. Do so and warm the engine up and then let it cool down completely, like over night. Then check again and add until it is full. Top up the coolant recovery reservoir to about 1/4 full and then drive the truck. Over the next few days you may find it a bit low as you are getting rid of the last of the air, but keep bringing the reservoir up to a certain point and soon it'll be full.

[wasteland_jack]

Can you get a small wrench on the zerk and take it out? Probably not, in which case you need to pull straight back on the connector. For some reason they don't like to let go if there's any angle on them.

As a last resort you can probably break the zerk off by hitting the connector with a hammer and then replace both the zerk and the connector.

On the tire/speedo thing, you can replace the speedometer's driven gear to dial the speedo in. You can read up on that on the page at Documentation/Driveline/SPEEDOMETER GEARS, CABLES, & SENSORS.

And on replacing hoses and coolant, the first step is to drain the coolant. That is typically done via a petcock on the radiator. But that won't get all of it, so when you pull the lower radiator hose be prepared to have more coolant come out.

When replacing the hoses I like to put the clamp where it is just forward of the bulge/ring on the radiator's fitting. That is so the hose is pressed into the bulge/ring and a good seal is created. I'm not saying put the clamp on/over the bulge/ring, but just forward of it.

Then as you refill you'll think you have it full, only to find that minutes later it isn't. The best way to ensure it is as full as you can get it is to pull a heater hose off the heater's fitting as that is the highest point in the system and you just fill it until some comes out there. However if you aren't replacing the heater hoses, and I think you should if you don't know how old they are, then I wouldn't pull the hose off as you are surely going to have a hard time getting it off and may ruin the existing hose.

So if you aren't taking the highest connection loose you'll have some air in the system. After you start the engine the level in the radiator will go down, so you can fill it up as much as you can there. But in a bit things start expanding as they heat and you'll have coolant coming out of the radiator if you don't put the cap on. Do so and warm the engine up and then let it cool down completely, like over night. Then check again and add until it is full. Top up the coolant recovery reservoir to about 1/4 full and then drive the truck. Over the next few days you may find it a bit low as you are getting rid of the last of the air, but keep bringing the reservoir up to a certain point and soon it'll be full.

Hey, Gary.

I have seen a number of people flush their coolant systems with a hose. Do I need to do this in your opinion?

Jack

[Gary Lewis]

Hey, Gary.

I have seen a number of people flush their coolant systems with a hose. Do I need to do this in your opinion?

Jack

It depends on how dirty the coolant looks. If it isn't bad I wouldn't flush it. But if it is really dirty I would.

Now the reason for not flushing is that sometimes there is some core sand in the block from the casting, and if you knock it loose it can damage the water pump. I've not had it happen, and I used to flush the system religiously, but I've heard of it happening. And now that the coolants are better and everyone is supposed to run coolant the systems don't normally get too dirty. But back in my day we just ran water and they really got grungy.

[wasteland_jack]

It depends on how dirty the coolant looks. If it isn't bad I wouldn't flush it. But if it is really dirty I would.

Now the reason for not flushing is that sometimes there is some core sand in the block from the casting, and if you knock it loose it can damage the water pump. I've not had it happen, and I used to flush the system religiously, but I've heard of it happening. And now that the coolants are better and everyone is supposed to run coolant the systems don't normally get too dirty. But back in my day we just ran water and they really got grungy.

I worked on the coolant tonight. I noticed there is a little reverse-threaded wingnut on the lower driver's side of the radiator. I assume this is a drain plug. Mine was clogged, so I got a crescent wrench and removed the whole valve assembly. The fluid was nasty, but I could tell that it once was green, so I didn't flush the radiator or motor.

You were right, by the way. I got the heater hose off and it was like uncorking a bottle. Tons more fluid came out of the drain plug after I opened the top of the system. You were also correct about the lower hose containing more fluid. It was a challenge to stay clean while removing it!

I do have two questions:

1. I removed both heater hoses at once, and then I realized that I don't know which direction the flow is supposed to go into the heater. They're not labeled. I know which is output and input on the motor side; does it matter which is which on the heater side? I can't find any diagrams of this.

2. Upon refill, the radiator only took two gallons of fluid. I did one of water and one of concentrated antifreeze. One commenter above suggested four gallons. I see varying total coolant capacities on the web, but I haven't found anything from Ford on the subject.

I did not remove any antifreeze from the motor. Is this possible? It seems like there would be quite a bit in there.

[ArdWrknTrk]

I worked on the coolant tonight. I noticed there is a little reverse-threaded wingnut on the lower driver's side of the radiator. I assume this is a drain plug. Mine was clogged, so I got a crescent wrench and removed the whole valve assembly. The fluid was nasty, but I could tell that it once was green, so I didn't flush the radiator or motor.

You were right, by the way. I got the heater hose off and it was like uncorking a bottle. Tons more fluid came out of the drain plug after I opened the top of the system. You were also correct about the lower hose containing more fluid. It was a challenge to stay clean while removing it!

I do have two questions:

1. I removed both heater hoses at once, and then I realized that I don't know which direction the flow is supposed to go into the heater. They're not labeled. I know which is output and input on the motor side; does it matter which is which on the heater side? I can't find any diagrams of this.

2. Upon refill, the radiator only took two gallons of fluid. I did one of water and one of concentrated antifreeze. One commenter above suggested four gallons. I see varying total coolant capacities on the web, but I haven't found anything from Ford on the subject.

I did not remove any antifreeze from the motor. Is this possible? It seems like there would be quite a bit in there.

Unlike a radiator there is no 'flow direction' to the heater core. A decade ago I cut one clean in half to prove this on FTE. (no dip tube, both necks in the upper header tank)

System capacity depends on the block and radiator. Trucks with factory AC generally came with bigger radiators.

I don't think any of the gas engines had block drains.

[Gary Lewis]

Unlike a radiator there is no 'flow direction' to the heater core. A decade ago I cut one clean in half to prove this on FTE. (no dip tube, both necks in the upper header tank)

System capacity depends on the block and radiator. Trucks with factory AC generally came with bigger radiators.

I don't think any of the gas engines had block drains.

Jim is right. In fact, Ford even says in some of the documentation that it doesn't matter the direction of flow on the heater hoses.

The owner's manual says your whole system holds 14 quarts, which is 3 1/2 gallons. But the engine holds a lot, so it is reasonable to think the radiator and heater core only hold 2 gallons together. And if you finished the fill through one of the heater hoses with the other connected you had to have gotten the system full.

[wasteland_jack]

Unlike a radiator there is no 'flow direction' to the heater core. A decade ago I cut one clean in half to prove this on FTE. (no dip tube, both necks in the upper header tank)

System capacity depends on the block and radiator. Trucks with factory AC generally came with bigger radiators.

I don't think any of the gas engines had block drains.

Thanks, Jim and Gary.