TL's new winter DD

[P72Ford]

A 250 with a solid axle? I thought those were all that goofy independent front?

No twin I beam swaps!

[sly]

250s had the option for the solid axle... 350s came with the solid axle period.

[torquelover]

A 250 with a solid axle? I thought those were all that goofy independent front?

No twin I beam swaps!

250s had the option for the solid axle... 350s came with the solid axle period.

Yep, solid axle. No swaps needed here. If it had the Twin I Beam, it wouldn't have come home

Was able to see the truck in daylight today. The frame is solid, the body is terrible. I can replace the panels one at a time if needed, and can score a better bed in the spring if I really want to. Most of the rot in the wheel arches can be addressed and covered up with some rubber/plastic flares. The cap is in really bad shape, but can be saved and rebuilt/refinished for a later date. Waiting for a buddy to come by to get it off the truck without doing anymore damage. Spent a few hours vacuuming the engine compartment and the cab, discarded several decades of misc stuff from the PO. There looks to be several pairs of jumper cables, tow straps, jacks, funnels, etc behind the seat. Have to go through that later. Got a good look at things, looks like I might just need new injector o-rings. Most of the fuel is around the bosses for these on the intake. Also noticed the tires are a lot smaller that what is factory on the truck. They are all the same size at 235-70-16 (all different brands though) but are a lot shorter than the jamb sticker 235-85-16. Truck is still geared too short, but the correct diameter tires would help. These have good tread depth, but are dry rotted something fierce so they will need to go soon. I pulled off the lone hubcap and the assorted trim rings.

Next free time is tomorrow, I will get the blower motor set up, test the glow plugs, and clean the engine bay so I can see what is coming from where.

[packman]

Also noticed the tires are a lot smaller that what is factory on the truck. They are all the same size at 235-70-16 (all different brands though) but are a lot shorter than the jamb sticker 235-85-16. Truck is still geared too short, but the correct diameter tires would help. These have good tread depth, but are dry rotted something fierce so they will need to go soon. I pulled off the lone hubcap and the assorted trim rings.

Next free time is tomorrow, I will get the blower motor set up, test the glow plugs, and clean the engine bay so I can see what is coming from where.

Get some Interco 35" LTB's on there. Your gears won't be so short and would make for a nice winter truck.


Packman

[torquelover]

Get some Interco 35" LTB's on there. Your gears won't be so short and would make for a nice winter truck.


Packman

The LTB's look pretty aggressive. I doubt this truck will get too far off pavement for a while.

As an update, this truck has been parked since 1997 so almost everything rubber has to be replaced. Got a good look at the top end when running and most of the fuel leak is definitely the o-rings on the top of the injectors for fuel returns. Picked up a bunch of stuff the other day, just in time for it to get too cold to work on comfortably.

[nfldfordltd]

That truck is full of win. I just got a 91 F-150 4x4 with a 5.0 for my winter beater. Good running truck, only 106,000 km (about 60,000 miles). In good shape, everything works but I can't get it registered because it won't pass safety inspection. The tail end of the chassis was notched to fit a big heavy-duty trailer hitch and because the original chassis was modified without a professional engineer's approval, the inspection station mechanic won't pass the truck, therefore I can't get it transferred/registered. Mechanics agree it's stronger than original, well that makes me real happy! NOT! FML. I think I'd rather deal with smog testing....

[Lincolnmania]

i bought one too. a 89 f250 4x4 with a 302. 5 speed and 4.10's

[nfldfordltd]

Wanna trade with me, Scott? lol

[torquelover]

You guys got any pics?

[P72Ford]

i bought one too. a 89 f250 4x4 with a 302. 5 speed and 4.10's

Is yours a solid front axle, Scott?

[torquelover]

Okay so it looked to be the injector fuel return o-rings leaking, with the #1 cylinder being the worst. So I start getting into it and find one injector, the #1, with this extension thing on it:





What the hell is it, and do I need it? Looks to have the same threads on both ends. Now I am wondering if this thing was contributing to the leak. Anyone have any ideas? It's friggin cold outside.

[torquelover]

So, it's for timing I hear.

Put in new injector o-rings, no more fuel leak. Replaced headlight switch, flasher relay, and some bulbs/fuses. I have parking, turn, brake, and tail lights now. Headlights still wonky, but I have a new floor mount hi-beam switch to put in that will take care of it. Went for a drive, the water pump blew, soaking the belts and killing the power steering and brakes. Wouldn't have been so bad but the shift linkage came apart at the same time. Most exciting drive around the block I've had in a long time!

[gadget73]

Interesting. I know diesels have specific length fuel lines for timing, but I never knew they had little whatsits under the injectors too. I knew someone who was rebuilding a Perkins diesel in a boat, and decided he wanted to clean up the messy fuel lines. He made up all new ones from the injection pump to the injectors, just the length they needed to be to reach. It looked good, but it ran like absolute shit. He called us in to look at it, and explained all he'd done. Luckily he still had the original lines. Put them back on, and it ran just fine. I have to admit, it did look a little silly in stock form. The injection pump was up by #1, and the line to it ran halfway down the engine and back, while the #6 line was basically a straight shot.

[torquelover]

The pump on this is in the intake valley pretty much where we're all used to seeing a distributor on a SBF, but the lines do look pretty strange. I really wanted to delete this thing, but the effect on total length had me worried. I was really never into diesels much, so this has been a good learning thing for me so far.

Oh, and diesel fuel makes a good cleaner!

[sly]

diesel is great for removing tar. though it burns the preciousssss.