Bought my son a 1990 V8 5.0 F150 about 2 months ago. Since then, we've replaced the starter (went out), plugs, wires, cap, and rotor, changed oil & filter, fuel filter, & air filter, tank switch (inside cab) went out, so replaced that, cleaned TB/IAC, replaced TPS (practically crumbled apart when removing).

Valve cover gaskets need to be replaced soon, so that is on the to-do list. Also plan on doing the Seafoam treatment this weekend.

Considering that the previous owner(s) did very little maintenance to this truck, I want to get some advice on other items that could/should be replaced (or cleaned) to get it running as well as possible. Especially the less expensive valves/sensors, etc.

Recently had some great advice on a fuel delivery issue on the forum, I would appreciate any advice for keeping my son's truck running as well as possible! Thanks!

 

I have the same year model truck, and I pretty much made it a point to replace pretty much everything electronic related, vacuum related or gasket related over the span of a year. Here's my thoughts on it:

ECT Sensor - Roughly $15

ACT Sensor - Roughly $15

EGR Position Sensor - Roughly $30 - Use Wells/Duralast (Autozone) or Motorcraft. The BWD/Standard version is junk.

EGR Control Solenoid/DPFE - Roughly $30 - The Advance Auto/BWD version worked for me on this, however Autozone has it cheaper, but would have to special order it for you.

MAP Sensor - Roughly $30

Vacuum Elbow to MAP Sensor - Roughly $5 (Made by Dorman)

Replaced all brittle vacuum hoses with rubber vacuum hoses. I also needed a few vacuum T's because some hoses were 2 into 1 - Roughly $20 to $30
Also, what I did on some of the vacuum hoses was clip them and push the rubber vacuum hose on them, so some are 100% rubber vacuum hose and some are 50% non brittle hose and 50% new rubber vacuum hose.

Oil Pressure Switch - Roughly $8

Coolant Temperature Sensor (For interior coolant gauge) - Roughly $8

EGR Valve - I believe $40? I bought a brand new one off eBay for about $40. It's probably $100 elsewhere.

Richporter Distributor - Roughly $68 from Amazon. It is New, not remanufactured and also comes with a new TFI/Ignition Module.

TPS - Roughly $30 - You've already done that.

IAC Valve - If yours works and holds a consistent idle, great! I replaced mine with the Wells/Duralast (Autozone) version for about $70 I think. I tried the BWD/Standard version and had nothing but problems out of that. Also, Motorcraft should obviously work.

Positive Battery Cable - I "tripled" mine up, but a 2 gauge battery cable is a great upgrade for about $6. This is available at advance auto (the 15 inch one) if you have one around. It is not required, but a great cheap upgrade.

Starter Solenoid - $20 or less

3G Alternator Upgrade - Not required by any means, but I could not sleep at night with the underpowered factory alternator.

Upgraded battery ground wires - Once again, not required, but I sleep better with it.

Regarding the valve cover gaskets, get the ones with the steel frame. You'll never worry about a leak ever again.

I also swapped out the upper/lower intake gasket and the timing cover gasket. If you do the timing cover gasket, at the bare minimum, replace at least the chain even if you don't replace the gears. The chain is about $12.

Most people don't replace parts until they go bad, but I don't like sitting on the side of the road or driving with uncertainty and besides, parts for these trucks are CHEAP!!!

Also, if you have an Advance Auto parts nearby, PLEASE utilize the discount codes to save money! However, they sell BWD electrical parts and the IAC Valve and EGR Position sensor made by BWD is junk! The other parts worked well, I just had to go with another brand as indicated above for those two parts.

I did other stuff for maintenance purposes as well, but this should be a starting point for you.

Also, what kind of trans do you have? Auto or Manual?

Hope this helps and feel free to PM me if you have questions.

 

Since I have some free time, I figured I'd visit the other stuff I have in mind.

Transmission: Assuming it's an Auto/E4OD:

Order a pan for the 4R100 transmission (same bolt pattern/dimensions as E4OD pan) from summit (Dorman Part Number: 265-805) because it has a built in drain plug along with a reusable transmission pan gasket (Part Number: ATP 11482) from NAPA. This way, it makes it a very clean, neat and easy process to do yourself whenever you need to service your transmission. That's an option (around $50 total) if you want to have quick and easy transmission fluid changes in the future.

As far as what fluid type? Just say no to generic fluids unless you know of one that's just that great. My luck isn't as good. I tried supertech and accel and got about 3,000 miles of service before my trans got the hiccups. I changed to Maxlife and it shifted like an entirely different truck (in a good way). Go with a quality, name brand fluid.

Differential - Go with a synthetic gear oil and pretty much forget about it. I use Amsoil 75w-90, but there are other fluids that are good. Once again, just say no to generic gear oil. I knew I was going with synthetic on this from Day 1, but I used a supertech syn blend 75w-90 for about 8K miles to clean it out and it looked horrible when I drained it out. It looked worse than the stuff with an unknown history that I originally drained out.

PS Fluid - Cheap Type F makes it whine loudly. Either a name brand Type F and I've heard of some having success with Synthetic Multipurpose ATF in their PS system. I haven't upgraded to synthetic PS fluid because Valvoline Type F works well. I'm thinking about trying Pennzoil Type F next. At any rate, a good quality fluid because in my experience, the cheap stuff whined.

Brake Fluid - Bleed your brakes all the way around with fresh fluid to eliminate parts getting stuck or going bad due to the moisture that accumulates over the years. When I got my truck, the rear wheel cylinders were stuck and didn't even work!!! When I went to bleed the rear cylinders, brake fluid didn't even come out of the bleeder valve it was so messed up! I drove it for nearly 6 months before my brake light popped on because my brakes seemed somewhat fine, so I didn't rush to get to it.

Also, when my brake light popped on, my RABS valve had gone bad and I truly believe had I bled it on Day 1, I wouldn't have had that problem and had to replace the $100 RABS valve.

If I had to do it over again, I would have bled the brakes as soon as I pulled it in the yard! Go ahead and bleed them all the way around as soon as possible to get the old fluid out.

Once again, hope this helps.

 

Oh, one last thing!

I replaced the ignition switch as well. Whenever I'd start the truck, the ignition never clicked, it felt mushy when I bought the truck and it eventually went bad. It crumbled like breadcrumbs when I reached under the steering column to feel it. After replacing the switch, it clicks like any normal ignition when you turn it.

That's about a $10 to $15 part.

 

Thanks so much, guys. This is exactly what I was looking for. The engine seems strong in this truck, so I think we can get several years out of it if we take care of some of those worn out parts. I appreciate the info on the fluids, too.

It is an automatic transmission, extended cab, long bed, with dual gas tanks. Not sure about the exact mileage since the odometer only reads tens of thousands. I guess it either has about 165,000 or 265,000. It's definitely seen a lot of days on the road.

Everything we've done to it so far seems to improve its performance little by little. I agree with you, qdeezie, I don't want to have my son sitting on the side of the road because a $15, 21-year-old sensor or rubber hose crapped out.

Thanks, again. We've got some work ahead of us!