And here is the job, completed.


~~~

Let it crank three times. With rest, to let the starter cool.

4th time, tried to start it. Wouldn't quite start. So I gave it one quick squirt of ether, and boom, she started right up.

Let it run for about ten minutes. It was good and warmed up by then. As I said before, still has some noises I don't like, but I think it will smooth out, and will sound better, with time.


Decided to assume the worst about the transmission, and put at least 3 quarts of atf in there. Started with one quart of type f. Followed by two quarts of what Chains gave me the other day.

Dan said the trans has had a problem. Well, the overdrive has had a problem. As in, it doesn't like to shift into OD. But you can drive it just fine without OD. I decided to put in the one quart of type f in the hopes that maybe that might make a difference. We'll see.

Putting in the 3 quarts DID make it work. Not right away, but as I worked it into drive and reverse and drive and revers, it gradually worked and got stronger and stronger.

Put it in reverse, and it will really try to move the truck! But it won't actually budge. I believe one or both back brakes are rusted solid.

So tomorrow I will have to anchor the truck as solidly as I can, on that slope. Then remove the back wheels one at a time, and see what I can do about the brakes.

~~~

For today... It is starting reliably. It is running reliably. And it looks like the trans is not dead!

Took a pic of the belt, too. I have to replace that as well.



Getting close to getting this thing on the road!!!

This morning...

It was hard to start, but it started on it's own. No encouragement needed from anything sprayed in the intake.

It runs really rough until it gets good and warmed up. Then it only runs kinda rough. LOL Still lots and lots of smoke the entire time it runs. I am, at this point going to assume that is because of bad fuel mixed with the good fuel that I poured in there, plus all the fuel cleaner and conditioner I poured in. LOL I am not going to worry about it until about the third tank of fuel that I run through it. If it still smokes this bad then, and runs this rough, then something is wrong.

Trans seems really strong now. I believe the passenger rear brake assemblage is rusted solid er sumptin. That wheel simply will not let go, and spin. Driver's rear spins. Fronts spin when in 4wd.

Brake pedal is almost to the floor, but the brake does hold, when applied. Stays down most of the way, until pulled back up. Surprisingly, the brakes stay partially applied until it is pulled back up, too.

So, yeah, next step is to anchor it somehow so it can't get away from me, and jack it up on that slope!!! To get that passenger rear wheel freed up.

~~~

Just going to concentrate on the brakes and that wheel, until I have that system working the way it should. Or at least enough to be safe. LOL

After that, I'll fix a few more things.

Windshield wiper motor is corroded solid. Probably needs replaced. It, of course, doesn't work. LOL

Going to take the dash completely apart and replace as many burnt out bulbs as I can determine are burnt out.

While all that is apart, I'll also take the steering column cover off, and see if I can fix the shifting stuff. Since I am not seeing anything at all through the little window where the indicator is supposed to be... And there is nothing connected to the place on the shifting lever itself, where the cable is supposed to be connected to... I am wondering if that entire thing was scavenged from this truck, for another truck. If so, it'll be a matter of me finding another one. No big deal. It does at least shift. You just have to pay a LOT of attention to where you have it shifted to. LOL

Going to rebuild the headlight system from scratch and add in relays so that the headlight switch is not taking all that current. Headlights are still not lighting up anyway. Even with a new switch. Since I am going to have to trace that entire circuit anyway, might as well go the extra step and make a reliable circuit myself.



But I have more pressing other things to get done today, so if I get back to this at all, it will be later today.

The more things you fix, the more problems you find. So it goes.

I knew about everything I have listed, since an hour after I got the truck into my driveway.

There's also a problem with either the front fuel tank, or the selector switch.

Lots of cleanup to be done.

Various bulbs all around the truck.

The tailgate replacement.

Leak in the windshield.

Cracked side mirror. (Results in a confusing image to these old eyes. LOL) And the rearview mirror needs glued back up.

Evicting the varmints that had moved in.

Fixes to the dash bezel and other parts.

Take off door panels and do R&R on the windows. (Driver's window goes all catterwhompus when rolled down. Including coming away from, and twisting the 'pillar' in between that window, and the 'wing window' which I don't think actually opens on this truck, but I don't want to go back out there now, to find out...)

Who knows what it will ultimately take to get the brakes in right working order. (Need to locate a replacement cap for the master cylinder, for one.)

The serpentine belt.

Maybe the vacuum pump.

Thermostatic switches on the motor.

Cold timing switch valve on the IP.

Because of where I live, and my driveway, I need really really good bright backup lights. I need something small. Maybe 3 inches square or less. Very low profile, or flush mount. And bright enough to light up the entire driveway almost as well as headlights!

Headlight housings.

And more.

Yeah there's a few things that still need worked on. LOL But most of the things are not going to keep me from driving it.

Right now, I am just going to concentrate on the brakes. If I can get them working to the point that I feel safe, then I can drive this, at least during daylight hours. Which, right now, if a pretty good long time.

I can't move it until I get that wheel broke loose. Then, I won't want to move it much at all, until I am sure the brakes are actually going to work, no matter what speed I am going. So, yeah. It starts with securing it tomorrow, then jacking it up and seeing if I can break that wheel loose.

Truck now starts right up. No problem. Almost the same as the other one in it's heyday.

Major lope until it warms up. I am going to disconnect that fast idle circuit on the injection pump and see if that makes any difference.

Took me ALL day to get the rear end safely jacked up on that slope, and get the rear wheels broken loose.

Once loose, I just spun them and spun them by hand, until they spun as freely as I thought they should.

Started it up. Put it in reverse.... still not going anywhere.

Locked in the front hubs, and put it in 4lo... Then reverse.

Yup. Broke the fronts loose. But those suckers are still so tight that the truck can barely move. Have to give it a bunch of go pedal, to get it to move either direction.

But the brakes actually do work to stop it anyway. Even as is.

So I am going to have to jack up the front, take the wheels off, and work on them directly. Probably going to have to pretty much take them completely apart and R&R all the parts and pieces.

Hope I don't have to buy parts. Glad I didn't have to do this to the rears. Might spend a day per side, just to be sure of it.

Time to start making sure I am armed every time I go out there again. When I was finished, I walked to the back of the truck to pick up the tools...

A bear growled at me from just the other side of the RV.

I bent down to where I could see it's legs under the RV, and growled right back at it. Then I banged the two jacks together. It backed off...

The trans will shift 1-2-3 with the OD off; the light on the end of the shifter will--or at least did at one time, who knows anymore--glow amber OFF. never had a problem that way.

if left to shift into OD, it will also lock the torque converter. The converter would almost immediately shudder, and put the transmission into limp mode, flashing the OD light, and shifting extremely firm. It's hard on the trans to drive it around in limp mode but with OD OFF, it was shifting fine.

I say "was" because it has sat for many years and my last firsthand recollection of it running perfect was 1999. I'd seen it around when the other guy had it, but when i got it back in 2012-2013 ish it had a lot of warts, and more have been added as it sat around my dad's place for the last few years and having him use it for various tasks when I was far, far away pretending to know what I was doing for my employer.

My original comments on replacing the pump and injectors were because all the fuel system parts, that I could tell, are original, and those pumps normally have a life span of about 150,000-200,000 miles before they start having rotor issues. the fuel delivery end of things. The injection nozzles, same issue. over time they go bad and rarely were balanced at the factory to begin with. Have personally pop tested 22 at once to come up with a matched set of 8 NEW nozzles from the dealer. wont even get into reman.

the top part of the pump isn't the magic voodoo end. the test stand/clean room part is deeper inside and although not rocket surgery does benefit from the special tools, calibration equipment, and a very clean static free environment.

everything on that engine that is International Gray is straight out of 1992. Most of the fuel system parts will probably benefit from a cleaining, adjustment, or repair/replacement. Especially anywhere exposed to the old sludge mix of radioactive horse piss that is probably in everything from sitting. IIRC the last time it was fired up before now was summer of 2015.

The fuel switching system on OBS Fords is best described as limp dick clear back into the 1970s. there are many, many better options on the aftermarket but usually the switching valves get gummed up, again, old diesel fuel ain't happy fuel.

judging by the oil slick left where it was parked i think i found your missing engine and bruce jenner oil.

the brakes are probably rusted up. loaded calipers with a lifetime warranty are reasonable at the chain stores. rear wheel cylinders and hardware kits aren't too bad either.

I didn't plan on it being an easy one to get back on the road which is why I wasn't able to find the time to get it running like we had previously talked about. Nor why I didn't have a lot of time to get it up to you, forcing you to come get it. I just got home today from 10 days in Spokane and am heading to Pasco on Tuesday for another 2 weeks, once I get done taking my mom to UW Medical Center on Monday for her scans.

Busy busy. slow n steady that truck will run but there are plenty reasons I called it a parts rig. My plan was to rebuild it but ran out of time, and desire.

One last thing, in my tool box, I'll take a picture later for proof, is my bottle of preferred O-ring lubricant. I've used all of the mechanic in a can/jug/tube/jar/bottle and it's the best found to date. Also known as Astroglide.

Thank you Dan! Always good to learn more of it's past.

I didn't think it was going to be easy, either. If anything, though, I think I expected more of a challenge. LOL I certainly haven't intended to complain. I hope it hasn't seemed that way.

Now that it is starting without assistance, and running reliably, it seems like mostly the tedious work, that is left. I'll try to keep the tedium out what I post, but no guarantee. LOL

Tomorrow, I'll use that button and pay attention to whether the light comes on or not. I'd hate to think I have been beating the heck out of it, with the TC locked up, while sitting there.



The injectors and pump may indeed need replacing eventually. For now, they are working well enough for me to tinker with it. If I need to, now that both trucks are 'running'... This means to me that I can take the known good parts off of my old one, and swap them with these. If they both run now, I will make them both run after the swap, and I'll have a halfway reliable backup truck.

I have learned in the 25 years I have lived out here alone, that it is a good thing to have two running vehicles. While I do have the camry now, if I really need to run for parts... I can't pull a truck home with it, if a truck breaks down between here and town. With two trucks,if one breaks down, I just get a ride home, and carry my towbar back to the broken down truck, with my second truck, and tow myself home.

This truck, if the brakes and everything else were working right, is one I would feel confident in. At least from the emergency tow... Therefore I could still be confident in the other one, if I swapped parts.


I have hopes that the tank swap switch will start working on it's own. If it doesn't I have a couple tricks to try.


Yep, the missing oils were totally to be expected.


I have a feeling that at the least I am going to be breaking out the sander, and some heavy grit paper for those rotors. If the ones in the bed of the truck fit, they may actually be in better shape. LOL We'll see... There will be no budget for even cheapo parts for a while now. So hopefully I'll get them worked out without replacing parts.


Dude! You gave me a truck! You certainly weren't obligated to deliver it. I was glad to be able to work out a way to come and get it.


No leaks that I can find, in the parts of the fuel system I have already replaced. I am wondering if there is an air leak in the filter housing somewhere. Or the rubber fuel line down at the lift pump. That would explain the lope. I'll suss it out eventually.

No "wait to start" light. I removed the dash again, and swapped that bulb with the "water in fuel" bulb, which was lighting up.... No change. Water in fuel still lights up, still no wait to start. So I am going to have to start looking at wiring diagrams pretty soon and tracing wires. Hoping that OD light still works...

Eventually I'll remove that wiper motor and see if I can just rebuild that. I have had luck with them before, just doing an R&R, with no new parts.

For now, yep. Slow and steady. It doesn't have to be done tomorrow...

Two parts brake Kleen one part kerosene will clean the fuel system out well.



The choppy smoky idle I guess was going on for about a year before the other guy decided to junk it on advice from his “mechanic” due to cost associated with a reman trans/converter and fuel system parts. All an E4OD is, for the most parts, is a C6 with an overdrive pack, electronic valve body, and a converter with a clutch in it. The only other part of a vehicle more magic voodoo to many “mechanics” besides diesel injection pumps is a slushbox but once you get past the spaghetti looking schematics for hydraulic power flow and wrap your head around the angry pixie pathways they are stupid simple.

If I can overhaul a 3612 CAT in the Nunavut wastelands out of a connex box I can rebuild a slushbox. So that was part of my original plan. Step 1 was pull code—never did—or worst case buying a TCC solenoid or reman converter off the interwebs, or finding a cheap used transmission locally.

On the bright side you have two tailgates

Pretty sure there is a job that guy is never going to volunteer for, or be talked into, ever again...

I rebuilt a turbo 350 trans once. Did a primo job. That Nova would do wheelies when I was done. Don't think I'll be rebuilding this one. But I can. If I have to.

I think the fuel system is getting pretty well cleaned out right now. I think there is about 100 gallons worth of cleaning fluid in that rear tank, with maybe ten gallons of fuel. LOL I think this may be a good part of the reason it smokes so much now. I'm hoping that once I have run a couple tanks of fuel through there, the smoke will go away, or at least diminish a lot.

It smokes like a banshee when started up. Huge cloud of smoke. Some dark, mostly white. Even after the smoke dies down, it continues to smoke forever. White smoke.

Also it lopes like a bucking bronco until it gets good and warmed up. The whole truck jumps. By warm, I mean more than just enough to turn off the startup high idle stuff. Has to be pretty warm. Then the idle kind of smooths out. Not completely. And the smoke dies down a lot. But it still smokes.

Wish I had a way to test a set of injectors that Scott gave me. Comes right down to it, if I test and fix everything else, and still have the same troubles, I am going to be tempted to just swap in those other injectors even without testing them.



Tested the FIPL. (This truck's version of a TPS.) It's close enough. Looks like the old, unreliable black one has already been replaced with the new better grey one.



Did the front brakes. Removed the calipers. Cleaned everything up. Used files to clean up the slide grooves, and sandpaper to clean up the pins. Put them back together with some synthetic grease on those pins.

Probably need new pads. Passenger side is at about 75%. But driver's side is maybe 40%. There is a set of rotors in the bed of the truck. Look like they would fit. And they look almost new. (Except for years of rust. LOL) But they are actually thinner than what is on there. So I won't be swapping those on.

They still stuck. Frustrated, I just ran the truck back and forth, forth and back, back and forth and back, and after a while things started to act like normal. Well, normal as in, this is what the brakes act like on the other truck, and even on the camry, if they have been left sitting in my driveway without being moved for a while.



On the bright side, it started up on the first try, this morning. Cranked over maybe twice, and boom, started! The glow plugs had been cycled about 3 times. Because I was testing other stuff, not because I intentionally cycled them that many times. I have no idea if that is why it started so easily. It still loped like a bucking horse until it was good and warm.



Next thing I need to do is to get the other truck started again and get it out of the way.

Then I think I am ready for a test drive. At least down to the main road and back.


Shifter indicator: (Know how I know millenials put together the spelling dictionary for firefox? "Shifter" wasn't even in the dictionary. Snifter, swifter and a few other ifters were. But they have never heard of a shifter before, so, yeah, not in there.)

This entire assembly has to be replaced.
The cable has been broken out of it, and it's missing the little adjuster wheel.

Might not put the dash and column covers back together until I replace that. I put it on my amazon wish list. I'll get it before a few other things, so I can put everything back together.


Going to get some clear tubing, and replace fuel lines in two places on top of the engine. Point is to try to find out whether air is getting into the fuel system or not. I'll put the black rubber lines back on, after I have done my 'testing'.


Next job might possibly be taking the windshield wiper motor off and seeing if I can rebuild it. I bought the cheapest wiper blades I could find. Reason, I'll replace them again anyway. But the guides call for 18" blades. I think they look small. (What's on the truck. Those are also toast. Ripped to shreds. LOL) I bought one 18 and one 19, to see if I can use the larger size.


Also going to have to trace and figure out why the wait to start light is not coming on.


Also need to remove the CPR valve and check it out. (This truck's version of a PCV Valve.)

Does anyone here have the means to test diesel fuel injectors?

Or maybe instructions on a cheap way to build a tester, myself?

Crack the line one at a time while running and see if you hear a change on any one hole. Hobo test.

Thank you. I know that test. But I have a pile of injectors sitting on my desk that I want to test, and possibly adjust/balance to each other, myself.

Don't take this the wrong way, but if you did this amount of work on someone else's truck for cash, you could probably have enough for a pretty good truck!

This thing sounds like it needs a LOT of love. Lol!

I've seen a few DIY pop testers made with pumps from Harbor Freight

Good solid advice.

I made a living for a while in my 40's, buying people's piece of crap vehicles headed for the junkyard, fixing them, then reselling them.

Didn't make a whole lot of money because I have a conscience. Discovered early on, I could do the absolute minimum to get a rig running, then do some foo-foo work, and sell the vehicle for a lot of money. Or I could put into it what it took, to make it actually mechanically sound, (My conscience), have little or nothing left for foofoo work.. And no one wanted it. (A MUCH better vehicle than the other one, but people would pay for foofoo, and only gave lip service to mechanical reliability.)

Most flippers just buy something cheap that barely runs. Disguise the mechanical problems. Do the foofoo work, and sell it for a mint. I couldn't do that. But I did learn fairly quickly how to recognize the ones that wouldn't take a whole lot of work to make them mechanically sound.

Been thinking about starting to do that stuff again. But if I do that, there are some pretty big things that are going to have to happen here at home first. Not getting into any of that. No one's business. Just going to be a while before some things can get done.

Never did like working on someone else's rig for them, for money. Too many unrealistic expectations. Too many assumptions. Too much blame for things I had nothing to do with. Naw, just sell me the piece of junk, or give it to me, and I'll fix it. If you want it back, pay my price. We'll both be happier.


Yup. And thank you.

Dan has also shown me a few others. Some with parts lists, etc.

Looks like a DIY tester is in my future. Already have the pump and some of the fittings. Looks like the most expensive part is going to be the right gauge.