I just moved to Houston, Texas from Germany this spring and have never had a truck before. I bought an 1988 F-150 SuperCab 302 5.0l V8 EFI, stick-shift with 150K miles in April. One exhaust manifold was cracked, so I put two headers in there (got them cheap) and replaced the burned O2 sensor. Otherwise the engine seems ok: starts fine, good power, good mpg, low/no oil consumption.

1) After I installed the headers (I admit, they were really cheap), switching on the A/C while idling may cause the engine to stall (in about 1/3 of all cases). Any idea? A/C compressor is refurbished and bought in June.

2) I noticed that the rear tank leaks into the front tank. From this board I get that this is a recall? Sounds fine to me. Anyone done that?

3) I also noticed the gas gages are funky - I learned from this board that everyone has that?

4) What are the standard parts I should replace if I don't know how the previous owners treated the truck (besides oil, air filters etc.)?

5) Should I use gas additives (like injector cleaner etc.)? Do they really help?

6) What are the standard things I should keep an eye on a truck like that (besides fluid levels, brakes and filters)? What are the parts most likely to be/become broken?

Lots of questions, but those are only those I haven't figured out from this board. I've already learned a lot from you guys! Thank you!

Bjoern

 

For your stalling problem you should check that your air bypass valve on the side of the throttle body is clean and working properly.To fix the floating gas gauge, on several vehicles i've found the problem to be bad contact between the float and sending unit in the gas tank.The brass tab has to be bent to make better contact.

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97 F150 Flareside Ext Cab
XLT,4.6 Auto,DK Toreador Red,Ford Signature Atlas rims
275/60 17 Yokohama AVS ST
3:73 LS,K&N Fipk
Superchip,Flowmaster Force II,Ford 9mm wires
Bosch Platinium +4

 

Hey bjoern..In addition to what DG13 suggested, here are a few more. Try resetting your computer by disconnecting the battery, pulling your headlight switch out to on and letting your truck sit for awhile. Some guys say 10 minutes will do it, others say 24 hours. The longer the better. I always reset it, no matter how minor my tinkering is, like a new air filter, plugs or whatever. The computer has a factory set "memory" and especially with your header addition, needs to be reset. It won't recoginize the "new" and will still remember the old settings and with the cracked exhaust, it made changes for it, even though you've fixed it now. But DG13 is right about being sure the bypass valve is clean along with the throttle bores. The whole system needs attention to optimize your performance. From the plugs, wires, sensors, EGR valve, filters, both gas & oil, just all the tune up stuff and electrical monitors of the truck need to be working good as a whole. You'll get the most out of your truck. As far as gas additives go, most of todays fuel has the cleaners in them and unless you've got or previous owner used poor quality gas or "dirty" gas as Mike T. would say, your probably wasting money, but an occasional can won't hurt. If the gas abuse was severe enough, they do make an injector cleaner that you can hook directly into your fuel rail lines on the intake manifold that will flush out and clean the injectors themselves. They also make a de-carbonization cleaner which will flush and break up excessive carbon on the top of pistons, valves, etc. that I haven't personally tried, but if the truck shows excessive build up through compression checks and visual, that is an alternative. Standard things to check, and watch are all the ignition components, fluid levels, filters, gas mileage. Check your transmission fluid, rear end fluid and your wheel bearings and suspension pieces and go from there until you're comfortable with the trucks operation. Then it'll be Modification time!! :-) Hope this helps and check the archives here too for previous post....Les

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1993 F-150 4x4 5.0L EFI 5spd. Silver Shortbed..Kelly Safari AWR tires,K&N Air filter,Cat-Back Exhaust.

 

Bjoern. JohnnyMC provides a great check list of maintenance things to stay on top of. Follow the service schedules as recommended by Ford for fluids, lubricants, tune ups etc. (even if previous owners didn't) and your truck should last another 150K miles. When it comes to mechanical repairs my rule is "if it isn't broken don't fix it". Some garages just love replacing "old" perfectly good parts with "new" perfectly good parts. I find following this rule has saved me money. Trucks that are 12 years old won't work like they did when new, but they still have a lot of work in them.

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1992 F150 Supercab SB 4x4 Manual Hubs 302 AOD Ford 8.8 Dana 44 3.55 31x10.5 Ford 15x8 Steel 8 Slot Ralleys Custom Box Liner

 

Johnny MC wrote:
>If the gas abuse was severe enough, they do
>make an injector cleaner that you can hook
>directly into your fuel rail lines on the
>intake manifold that will flush out and
>clean the injectors themselves.

Ah, that sounds good. I'll probably try that - it's in pretty bad shape it seems.

>They also make a de-carbonization cleaner
>which will flush and break up excessive
>carbon on the top of pistons, valves, etc.
>that I haven't personally tried, but if the
>truck shows excessive build up through
>compression checks and visual, that is an
>alternative.

Could you tell me which one that is? I took the IAC valve apart and it seemed quite black in there :-) I also have to change both valve-cover gaskets (probably late this or early next year), so the intake manifold has to come off anyway - a good occasion to clean the intake manifold and the throttle body, I guess. What do you guys recommend?

I heard Ford put some coating on their TB's. When did they start doing that? Do I have to be careful with my 1988??

Thanks a lot! You guys are great!

Bjoern

 

Hey bjoern..Yeah, I've also heard they do have a sealant coating on them but don't know what year/years are involved. You don't want to take any kind of a wire brush to it, I used fresh gas and a rag to wipe out the black soot in mine. That would be a prime time to clean the throttle butterfly and bore if you're removing it all. I used a toothbrush to clean that area up. And that carbon build up internally is caused by several things, not just gas. Those rubber valve guide seals, for one, get hard with age and will eventually let oil seap down and collect on top of the pistons after shut off. But if you keep the "cobbs" blowed out and keep it tuned up, it shouldn't be bad. The compression check and visual, plus the motor will be running hotter, will be the things to look for in excessive build up. Hope this helps.............Les