86 F150 XL need some advice
11-11-2014, 01:00 AM
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86 F150 XL need some advice
hey guys, as the title states I am in need of some advice.
Just bought a F150 XL inline 6 4spd manual trans
This is the first truck I have ever owned and I have been having pretty crappy luck lately...
I will start by saying I am a certified auto repair tech, and mechanically inclined so I am up for the challenges this truck will have for me, I am somewhat excited, mostly overwhelmed at this point though...
I have had a few other cars in the past between me and my girlfriend.
95 Honda Prelude, Engine currently being rebuilt by myself
99 ford taurus, junked crapped out on me before i bought this truck
94 oldsmobile cutlass cruiser with 62,000 original miles, great car but my girlfriends DD
NOW to the F150 i just bought.
I bought it for $630 last week
bought it for the intent of a DD for myself, not looking to be so reliable though.
I have never worked on trucks before, I am a certified mechanic but never worked in the field, I work in auto body shops, and took the class for a hobby. I am certified in both fields.... I am not to familiar with carburetor setups, they were not discussed as in depth in our class as fuel injection was. seeing that fuel injection is whats used today... I do have basic knowledge though.
Problem #1
biggest problem I am having, and hoping someone hear knows the answer to is this. I get this loud grinding/scraping noise when in gear and accelerating. To explain further, it only seems to happen in 2nd and 3rd, maybe 1st but very quietly. But then completely goes away in 4th gear. quiet as anything...
only happens like i said upon acceleration in 2nd and 3rd, and when i let off the gas, it goes in and out, kind of like something is bouncing against something, scrape... scrape... scrape... then gets quiet. then accelerate again and its back. every single time. it seems to get quieter under heavy acceleration.
Problem #2
I think this also might be related
But anyway, I notice that at a cold start, I warm up the engine for a good 15 min, have to because if I dont then my engine will die (another problem) but even after warm up the first time I go to drive from a stop it does not want to move very easily. kind of like accelerating with the ebrake on, but it is not on... then after a min or 2 of driving it gets easier.
then after a good 30 min of driving or so, then it starts bucking me when shifting, when I put it in gear, release clutch and give it throttle it begins to buck for the first couple seconds in gear. YES I do know how to drive a manual. I find this weird because why would it start wanting to buck back after driving so long, when it wasnt doing it earlier in the drive at all...
Problem #3
Cold starts
I am one for warming up an engine before I drive it, but do I really have to sit there and hold my foot on the pedal keeping the rpm between 1 and 2??? if I let go before a good 15 min engine wants to cut out, and I fear with winter coming its gonna be a good 30 min lol... PO mentioned it being the choke. Carb related?? not sure... Never dealt with a choke on a car before honestly, guess I might have to recrack open my school books, or search on this one, honestly didnt search this one yet...
Problem #4
smells in the Cab are terrible, usually caused by an exhaust leak in the engine bay, but I was just curious on this one, the floor is rotted out right in front of my ebrake, without an exhaust leak, you guys think I would be smelling it badly due to that?
Problem #5
this one is important
my fuel sending unit is no good in the front tank, rear tank does not work, honestly forgot what the guys reason was, think he removed it, have to check... but where do I go about getting a new sending unit? I could not find one... anyone have info on this? or possibly have one laying around? I have paypal.
Problem #6
not really a huge problem. but a request for help. how to increase fuel efficiency on these trucks. ive driven maybe 120 miles so far, and filled up the front tank 2 times... I keep a gallon of gas in the bed because I ran out of gas the other night leaving my neighborhood.
Parts:
anyone know any good parts sites to get for these trucks?
what would you guys recommend for first things to put into maintanancewise. I am all about function over form, and really need a mechanically sound DD until I get my prelude back on the road for gas mileage, then I can build up this truck how I would want to lol.
any tips would be great also, things to look for that may be bad, etc. like I said, I have never owned a truck. never had to do work on one, but looking foward to the experience as long as it doesnt kill my wallet.
anyway, I hope someone can help me out on some of these... I have done a lot of searching on the first and second ones, but not finding my exact issue... usually different sounds or intermittent issues... mine is ongoing, constant, same gears, everything... hopefully I am not looking at a transmission overhaul or replacement, I would be able to do it myself no problem, but $300-$400 for a used trans... cannot really afford it atm...
Just bought a F150 XL inline 6 4spd manual trans
This is the first truck I have ever owned and I have been having pretty crappy luck lately...
I will start by saying I am a certified auto repair tech, and mechanically inclined so I am up for the challenges this truck will have for me, I am somewhat excited, mostly overwhelmed at this point though...
I have had a few other cars in the past between me and my girlfriend.
95 Honda Prelude, Engine currently being rebuilt by myself
99 ford taurus, junked crapped out on me before i bought this truck
94 oldsmobile cutlass cruiser with 62,000 original miles, great car but my girlfriends DD
NOW to the F150 i just bought.
I bought it for $630 last week
bought it for the intent of a DD for myself, not looking to be so reliable though.
I have never worked on trucks before, I am a certified mechanic but never worked in the field, I work in auto body shops, and took the class for a hobby. I am certified in both fields.... I am not to familiar with carburetor setups, they were not discussed as in depth in our class as fuel injection was. seeing that fuel injection is whats used today... I do have basic knowledge though.
Problem #1
biggest problem I am having, and hoping someone hear knows the answer to is this. I get this loud grinding/scraping noise when in gear and accelerating. To explain further, it only seems to happen in 2nd and 3rd, maybe 1st but very quietly. But then completely goes away in 4th gear. quiet as anything...
only happens like i said upon acceleration in 2nd and 3rd, and when i let off the gas, it goes in and out, kind of like something is bouncing against something, scrape... scrape... scrape... then gets quiet. then accelerate again and its back. every single time. it seems to get quieter under heavy acceleration.
Problem #2
I think this also might be related
But anyway, I notice that at a cold start, I warm up the engine for a good 15 min, have to because if I dont then my engine will die (another problem) but even after warm up the first time I go to drive from a stop it does not want to move very easily. kind of like accelerating with the ebrake on, but it is not on... then after a min or 2 of driving it gets easier.
then after a good 30 min of driving or so, then it starts bucking me when shifting, when I put it in gear, release clutch and give it throttle it begins to buck for the first couple seconds in gear. YES I do know how to drive a manual. I find this weird because why would it start wanting to buck back after driving so long, when it wasnt doing it earlier in the drive at all...
Problem #3
Cold starts
I am one for warming up an engine before I drive it, but do I really have to sit there and hold my foot on the pedal keeping the rpm between 1 and 2??? if I let go before a good 15 min engine wants to cut out, and I fear with winter coming its gonna be a good 30 min lol... PO mentioned it being the choke. Carb related?? not sure... Never dealt with a choke on a car before honestly, guess I might have to recrack open my school books, or search on this one, honestly didnt search this one yet...
Problem #4
smells in the Cab are terrible, usually caused by an exhaust leak in the engine bay, but I was just curious on this one, the floor is rotted out right in front of my ebrake, without an exhaust leak, you guys think I would be smelling it badly due to that?
Problem #5
this one is important
my fuel sending unit is no good in the front tank, rear tank does not work, honestly forgot what the guys reason was, think he removed it, have to check... but where do I go about getting a new sending unit? I could not find one... anyone have info on this? or possibly have one laying around? I have paypal.
Problem #6
not really a huge problem. but a request for help. how to increase fuel efficiency on these trucks. ive driven maybe 120 miles so far, and filled up the front tank 2 times... I keep a gallon of gas in the bed because I ran out of gas the other night leaving my neighborhood.
Parts:
anyone know any good parts sites to get for these trucks?
what would you guys recommend for first things to put into maintanancewise. I am all about function over form, and really need a mechanically sound DD until I get my prelude back on the road for gas mileage, then I can build up this truck how I would want to lol.
any tips would be great also, things to look for that may be bad, etc. like I said, I have never owned a truck. never had to do work on one, but looking foward to the experience as long as it doesnt kill my wallet.
anyway, I hope someone can help me out on some of these... I have done a lot of searching on the first and second ones, but not finding my exact issue... usually different sounds or intermittent issues... mine is ongoing, constant, same gears, everything... hopefully I am not looking at a transmission overhaul or replacement, I would be able to do it myself no problem, but $300-$400 for a used trans... cannot really afford it atm...
11-11-2014, 01:11 PM
#3
vertical pin buster
Id say the squealing noise under acceleration is one of a few different thing. 1. If your lucky. Its the flex plate rubbing the flywheel pretty easy te get a long screw driver and pry it away. 2 the fly wheel was turned down and reused and was not shimed correctly or at all.. or 3. Bad throw out bearing. Or pilot bearing. . But just to be safe make sure your starter is still kicking out and not touching the fly wheel after the truck is running
11-11-2014, 01:23 PM
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Id say the squealing noise under acceleration is one of a few different thing. 1. If your lucky. Its the flex plate rubbing the flywheel pretty easy te get a long screw driver and pry it away. 2 the fly wheel was turned down and reused and was not shimed correctly or at all.. or 3. Bad throw out bearing. Or pilot bearing. . But just to be safe make sure your starter is still kicking out and not touching the fly wheel after the truck is running
i guess I will try prying the flex plate away from the flywheel, access port under the trans? but if that was the issue, or even the starter then you would think it would happen in 4th too... chances are I am looking at the following
trans overhaul
trans replacement
clutch job....
hope thats not the case but thats what its looking to be. Ill look into your suggestions when I have the time today or tomm, and Ill let you know. thanks for the response
11-11-2014, 05:04 PM
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hydraulic i believe, havent checked... i guess ill check on that and let you know. Hopefully its just as simple as moving the flex plate out of the way...
question though, would a bad u joint cause the trans to feel like it slips, and then jerks back and forth, because I think my u joint closest to the trans has quite a bit of play in it. I have been searching, havent found a definite answer yet, Im gonna check the helms again, and continue searching. ill try the flex plate tomm and let you guys know.
it feels like its in gear, but not transfering power, sometimes feels like a slip, but its gradually getting worse the more I drive. im gonna take a look at it tomm before I drive it anymore. i have some yardwork tomm and sell parts for a living so i dont need to go anywhere right away.
question though, would a bad u joint cause the trans to feel like it slips, and then jerks back and forth, because I think my u joint closest to the trans has quite a bit of play in it. I have been searching, havent found a definite answer yet, Im gonna check the helms again, and continue searching. ill try the flex plate tomm and let you guys know.
it feels like its in gear, but not transfering power, sometimes feels like a slip, but its gradually getting worse the more I drive. im gonna take a look at it tomm before I drive it anymore. i have some yardwork tomm and sell parts for a living so i dont need to go anywhere right away.
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11-12-2014, 02:49 AM
#8
vertical pin buster
That jerking and slipping feeling sounds like the rear pinion is comming out.. grab it at the rear u-joint and try to move it up and down left right. See of the pinion noise moves in the rear end housing. Or it maybe just a u-joint