87 F-150 2wd 5.8L Lariat- New to the Forum
04-16-2014, 11:10 AM
#1
87 F-150 2wd 5.8L Lariat- New to the Forum
Hello-
I recently purchased a 1987 Ford F-150 Lariat 2WD 5.8L from a guy two hours south of Atlanta. I live in Michigan where salt eats up trucks this old. I bought the truck for weekend DIY projects and in the summer of 2015 I'll be building a cottage in Northern Michigan- aprox a 600 mile round trip nearly every weekend next summer. I love the truck, but the engine seems to be on it's last leg... was hard to determine condition of engine when I bought the truck because the muffler was nearly non-existent. Now after a new muffler and catalytic converter I can hear a distinct ticking of the motor on the passenger side... I'm having a compression check on the motor today. Any advice on the best course of action if I need to replace the motor and I'd like to keep things relatively affordable- under $3k for motor and labor. is this possible? who is a reputable motor rebuilder? The engine is carbureted... would it be wise to convert to fuel injection? I'm new to the engine side of things, but I'm pretty capable DIY'er. any info is greatly appreciated.
I recently purchased a 1987 Ford F-150 Lariat 2WD 5.8L from a guy two hours south of Atlanta. I live in Michigan where salt eats up trucks this old. I bought the truck for weekend DIY projects and in the summer of 2015 I'll be building a cottage in Northern Michigan- aprox a 600 mile round trip nearly every weekend next summer. I love the truck, but the engine seems to be on it's last leg... was hard to determine condition of engine when I bought the truck because the muffler was nearly non-existent. Now after a new muffler and catalytic converter I can hear a distinct ticking of the motor on the passenger side... I'm having a compression check on the motor today. Any advice on the best course of action if I need to replace the motor and I'd like to keep things relatively affordable- under $3k for motor and labor. is this possible? who is a reputable motor rebuilder? The engine is carbureted... would it be wise to convert to fuel injection? I'm new to the engine side of things, but I'm pretty capable DIY'er. any info is greatly appreciated.
04-17-2014, 09:33 AM
#2
I received the compression test results on my Windsor 351. Cylinder #1: 105 #2: 110 #3 115 #4: 125 #5: 105 #6 109 #7 115 #8 125-130.
While it's not great, it's not ready for the scrap heap just yet, right?
Also, I have an edlebrock carburetor and it doesn't hold a great idle and if it goes too low the oil pressure dips into the red after the truck has warmed up... Should I switch from 10W30 to 15W40 to kind of take up some of the slop?
anyone know anything about Restore's Engine Restore? I've heard a couple of people swear by it.
While it's not great, it's not ready for the scrap heap just yet, right?
Also, I have an edlebrock carburetor and it doesn't hold a great idle and if it goes too low the oil pressure dips into the red after the truck has warmed up... Should I switch from 10W30 to 15W40 to kind of take up some of the slop?
anyone know anything about Restore's Engine Restore? I've heard a couple of people swear by it.
04-17-2014, 10:47 AM
#3
I wouldn't toss any additives at her, you may end up creating a bigger problem. I would pull the spark plugs 1-by-1 and inspect them to see if they all look like they're burning evenly, that might point you in a direction.
Also check the distributor cap and rotor to see if them need to be replaced. If you haven't you could try to change the spark plugs, wires, a rotor and cap if all of this stuff looks old to see if that fixes the issue. That 351s a good motor, they're hard to kill.
Tony
Also check the distributor cap and rotor to see if them need to be replaced. If you haven't you could try to change the spark plugs, wires, a rotor and cap if all of this stuff looks old to see if that fixes the issue. That 351s a good motor, they're hard to kill.
Tony
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sfbusch (04-17-2014)
04-17-2014, 02:43 PM
#4
Thanks Tony-
I did have the distributor and rotor, spark plugs and wires all replaced about 250 miles ago. The truck ran great and then suddenly started idling very low to the point of stalling... particularly when I'm pulling hard on the power steering in a parking lot while basically idling the truck will stall. I went back to my mechanic who is unable to dial-in the edlebrock carb back to how it was. He believes the carb has gummed up a little and it'd cost over $350 to rebuild it. I found an edlebrock that fits my engine on Amazon for $315.
Can I expect to simply bolt a new one in place and making any adjustments myself and see improvements? or is this something that a mechanic should do?
I did have the distributor and rotor, spark plugs and wires all replaced about 250 miles ago. The truck ran great and then suddenly started idling very low to the point of stalling... particularly when I'm pulling hard on the power steering in a parking lot while basically idling the truck will stall. I went back to my mechanic who is unable to dial-in the edlebrock carb back to how it was. He believes the carb has gummed up a little and it'd cost over $350 to rebuild it. I found an edlebrock that fits my engine on Amazon for $315.
Can I expect to simply bolt a new one in place and making any adjustments myself and see improvements? or is this something that a mechanic should do?
