BLDTruth

1994 F150 XLT 5.0L M5OD Standard Cab Long Bed 193K miles

I inherited this truck from my stepfather when he passed 6 years ago and neglected it for the first 5. It has now become my main project. In the past few months I have replaced the rear driveshaft u-joints, all of the ball joints, radius arm brackets and bushings, all sway bar bracket/end link bushings, distributor and tfi module, spark plugs and wires, air filter and fuel filter, and airbag clockspring assembly. I have changed all of the major fluids (transmission, transfer case, power steering, antifreeze, brake). I have visually inspected both the front discs and bads and rear drums and shoes and determined that nothing needed to be replaced, though the rear drums have a bit of a lip on them. I have been thru the front hubs and re-packed the outer wheel bearings (done when I did the ball joints). I have done the "bounce test" and determined that the shocks are pretty much ok. Last weekend I spent 16 hours detailing her inside and out. She runs great on a daily basis. No random shut downs or weird vibrations at highway speeds any more. But there are still a few lingering problems I would like to try and solve.

1) Power steering loss - This only happens when I am trying to crank it hard in either direction with the transmission in neutral...like trying to turn hard into a parking space with my foot down on the clutch. If I give it some gas to rev up the rpms the power steering comes back. Bad pump? Bad steering box? Power steering fluid is fresh.

2) ABS light comes on - An intermittent problem that only happens maybe 1 out of every 20 times I start the truck. It goes away if I shut it down and restart. Occasionally when the ABS light comes on the emergency brake light will stay on too. Again problem goes away if I shut down and restart. Bad RABS sensor? Air in the system?

3) Check Engine Light - only comes on after the car has warmed up and usually only after I have reached highway speeds or gone into overdrive. I have an Innova 3145 code reader. When I run the KOEO test it comes back as 111 with system passes, but then the memory code always pulls up 172. 172 is an "O2 sensor lean" code. Googling this code leads to lots of people with lots of different solutions, from replacing vacuum lines to EGR replacement, to O2 sensor replacement. Any and all help welcomed.

4) Brakes - When I am braking, I feel the sensation that one would normally feel when you have warped rotors but without the shaking of the steering wheel that normally accompanies it. I usually don't feel it at higher speeds....it is most prominent from 35mph down to about 10mph. It actually feels more like the truck is hopping. It is very minor, and most people would probably just ignore it and chalk it up to it being a 21 year old truck. I am wondering if this is related to my occasional ABS light problem.

Here she is....posted it in the " what did you do to your truck" thread earlier.


Thank you for reading my stream of consciousness and for whatever help you may offer. Please help me make her perfect!!!

Chris_1

iTrader: (1)

Check your brake fluid level for the light, throw a set of rear brake drums at her for the bump bump, test your TPS and clean or replace your IAC for the stalling.
Might get at least one or two of the glitches.

bivwac

I feel like a dumb@#$, but was is TPS and IAC?

Chris_1

iTrader: (1)

Throttle Position Sensor and Idle Air Control. Both on the throttle body.

BLDTruth

Brake fluid level is solid....right at the max line. Made sure the float was working ok and it is. I'm going to take the drums off and get them turned at my local shop for $12 apiece. Hopefully that will fix the "bump bump."

She doesn't stall any more after I replaced the distributor....had a bad pickup coil.

I've been reading a few posts on here about replacing all of the plastic vacuum lines with silicone thick-walled hose. Might be the next thing to do before I start replacing more expensive parts to get this CEL resolved.

Leolo007

Keep us posted!

Truck looks good. I just bought (last year) a 95 XL 5.0L standard cab long bed too. I wanted short bed but this one was in too good of a condition in too good of a price to let go. Trying to get used to the long bed look.

Is your truck leveled in any way? Mine seems to have a bigger rake. I bought new springs for the front, I've heard they start sagging when their old, and new shocks for all corners., current ones are completely shot. Maybe that will straighten it a little.

I guess your getting your drums turned, if that doesn't fix the problem try frequent hard braking, warm those rotors and drums up real good and keep doing it until you feel the vibration has gone away. ALWAYS, even during normal driving, avoid hard braking to a complete stop. If you read about brake vibration "warped" rotors are a myth, what's happening is when you brake hard and the rotors and pads heat up, their is some kind of material transfer from pads to rotor, so the surface of the rotor where the pad made static contact after the hard brake will be different than the rest of the rotor so every time you brake, when the rotor passes over that area, the friction is different and the vibration starts. The hard braking process I explained above can help fix it. The sure way is turning the rotor (or drums) or getting new ones.

For the check engine light, here in PA OBD1 vehicles will pass inspection with light on. Mine just did... but the light is a nuisance and I too want to fix it...

Don't know about the other stuff.

Btw, did you do all that work by yourself? I've been wanting to do a bunch of that but afraid I may not have the mechanical ability to do them. Stuff such as ball joints and radius arm bushings.

Good luck!

BLDTruth

I am not sure if my truck has been leveled in any way. I doubt it. It has the factory blocks in the rear and what look to be the stock springs in the front. I like the way it sits though and have no interest in doing anything to it lift wise. I might replace the shocks at some point but right now they seem pretty responsive.

The CEL doesn't really affect performance in any way but it is a nuisance. I'm leaning toward a vacuum leak at this point before I start replacing sensors.

I did all of the work myself. The distributor was replaced with a junkyard part. Everything else was new. Toughest job by far was the ball joints. Had to rent a press with a 4WD adapter kit and a ball joint separator to do the job, but I accomplished it with a buddy and lots of swearing. Saved me $500. The radius arm brackets were tough on my truck because they were riveted in from the factory, so I had to drill out the rivets and replace the new ones with bolts when I replaced brackets and the bushings.

One job I have not done yet and will be looking at soon - rear gear oil change. I have read various things about what oil I should be using. Manual calls for 80w90. I don't have a limited slip. And I can pick up a gasket for $7 at the zone. Maybe that will be this weekend's project while the drums get turned.

Leolo007

Ah! Well if you have a 4WD that explains why it looks more level than mine, I have a 2WD...

doctoraustin

Great truck man. Im currently restoring my truck to "off the lot" condition. Want to get the entire front end redone. Very spongy and makes a few different kind of squeaks. Drives me nuts. haha. Ill be following your thread!

bivwac

Nice looking truck, are those after market headlights?