I'm driving an '89 F-150 that my aunt just bought up to her house this weekend. I'm also driving it around town until then. She doesn't know much about it, so I'd like to check it out a bit before I take it up there (roughly 150 miles).

Here's what I know-
302, automatic (PRNDD1 shifter- AOD?) 2wd
odo reads 81k, guessing it's probably 181k
steers a little shaky, but goes down the road OK, and brakes are great

Based on my aunt's needs and wants from this truck, and the condition it's in, I'd say that this is quite possibly the last time that truck goes more than 25 miles from home, so I don't really want to invest much time in fixing stuff, but I don't want to break down halfway there, either.

Any things I ought to look at closely before I take off? I know to check fluid levels, tires, and all the other stuff like that, but I don't know what, if any, weak spots there are on trucks like this.

Thanks!
Ian

If you can, you might want to grease it for your aunt. It might drive (steer) a little better after that.

Wiggle the U-joints to see if they are shot.

My boss' old 89 (same drive train) drove out well, but had a lot of blow-by. I pulled the vent hose that went from the valve cover to the breather box and stuck it into a coffee can. On long trips, he had to stop and dump the can and add oil to the engine.

Oh...his radiator had coffee (not really) in it when he got it. It was brown sludge. It took me hours of filling with water, running, draining, repeat, repeat, repeat, to get it cleaned out.

Funny you mention blowby and cooling...

My uncle used the truck a couple times locally and the only two things he noticed on it were than the thermostat sticks slightly, and there's a burning oil smell under hard acceleration.

The t-stat doesn't seem to cause problems after the first time it opens, so I'm going to cross my fingers and hope it gets there, and let her deal with it. The oil smell isn't strong enough to worry me, I'll just keep an eye on the level.

Good thought on greasing the front end, too. That shouldn't be too much trouble, and might make it drive a little nicer.

Thanks!

Pull the hose going from the valve cover to the breather and see if it is full of oil. My boss' breather box would get enough oil in it after a decent drive to soak the breather element. It ran horrible when it did that. Worth a few seconds to look at it.

If the front wants to wander, give the tie rods a wiggle. I have actually seen a few let go so long that they broke... Give a look at the belts, make sure they aren't cracked to the point of disintegration. The serpentine belts are pretty tough, but will leave you walking when they let go. Lights are another thing, as well as wipers, check them to be sure they work.
It is possible the oil smell is the oil that has leaked out of the valve covers on to the exhaust manifold burning off from the additional heat. Usually, if it is exhaust, you don't smell it when you drive it, only following. Oil leaks onto exhaust manifold, you will.

Put another 30 miles on it today- couple minor nuisances, but it basically feels OK. I'll crawl under tomorrow and look over the tie rods and grease it up, but it really doesn't feel like it's worn to the point of being dangerous.

Lights all work (though the right blinker won't stay on unless you hold it), and the wipers function, though the blades are in rough shape.

Double dittos on the Tie Rods. Ive seen two of em go on my BIL's trucks.
Check the brake calipers on the front; they've been known to bind, overheating the rotors and causing "road wobble", lol... Not to mention eat up the pads
How are the tires wearing? I've had to have the I-beams re-bent to true out the ride as well.
EGR valve TUBE... Worst POS, hand down. if you hear what sounds like what might be a "TINY" exhaust leak, odds are it's the tube that goes from the manifold to the EGR. could also be that burned smell, as when they start to leak, they burn the insulated wrapper.
The Tranny is most likely a C6.
RADIATOR; the Originals had a tendency to split and leak at the top tank seam, engine side, center just below the filler cap.
MAP sensor vac supply tube tends to slip or just jump off the manifold all on its own. keep an eye on it.
Coil. the connectors have had weak solder joints.
AIR valve burns out routinely
Fuel pump should run only a VERY short time key on. If it takes more than a few seconds to wind down, it's weak and needs replacing.

one other idea if tie rods are ok, steering box slop. i had the same issue a couple yrs ago, did new TR's(and alignment) and still wondered. adjusted the Box was great for a few months then stated again. replaced it. good to go

The tie rods and everything in the front end seem OK; I can feel a little play when I drive it but not to where I think it's dangerous and nothing under there looks dangerously worn. If it was going to see regular highway use, I'd want to do something, but it's really just going to be a yard/dump run vehicle.

Transmission is an AOD (according to the owners manual). I'm not crazy about the way it shifts, and it's a little cold-blooded, but I think it's OK (I'm a die-hard stick-shifter, so I'm rarely satisfied by automatics). Fluid level is good, smells OK but a little brownish in color.

The front main seal is leaking a bit, which I'm guessing is the root cause of the oil smell- I didn't notice any oil on the exhaust, but I'm sure it's getting on there somehow and burning off.

Tires are all good, though I'll add a few PSI to the fronts before I leave.

Coolant burp tank is dry; didn't dare open the rad as the truck was warm. I'll top that up before I go.

The serpentine belt squeals a little, but it doesn't look or feel dry-rotted.

As I was going over the truck, it seemed to me that the vehicle was very well maintained, and the PO just decided to get out of it before the rust really became a problem. This thing is pretty rotten but still safe, IMO.

It seems to be common for the steering boxes to be a bit on the loose side as far as steering goes, most I have been around want to wander just a little.

Made it fine.

Ended up being WAY low on coolant; took about two quarts to fill it up (the stuff I drained from my Ranger, as I didn't have any good stuff. That cleared up the temp gauge acting weird; I hope my uncle and I didn't do any damage driving it around before I caught that. I don't think we did, though.

Once I got used to it, I think it actually goes down the highway even better than my Ranger...if it didn't burn twice as much gas, I'd be tempted to commandeer the thing for my DD.

Thanks for all the advice!

This truck just keeps coming back to haunt me...

She just failed inspection for: rear brakes, right ball joints (upper and lower), and front shocks.

Front shocks I agree with, rear brakes I don't- they work just like they're supposed to. Ball joints, I'm not sure... it's a little wobbly, but not very much, and it pulls to the right. But I can drive rest my hand that's holding the wheel on my knee and drive it straight down the highway without moving my hand off my knee.

He had it up on a lift, but I wasn't there to see.

I don't know much about suspension, though... Do bad ball joints feel like a bad alignment, or would they make the truck wobble more?

if there is play in the ball joints then it can cause a wobble. the rear brakes are done by a certain measurement. in NH its 1/32" of brake material. the shocks, you have to pass a bounce test (anything over 2 1/2 bounces fails). the ball joints or any other front end part has to have no play in the joints. although there are some ball joints that have play when new and have to be within spec.(i.e. the newer dodges and fords have play in the ball joints from the factory but have a spec they have to be within) im a licensed inspector in NH thats how i know. im not quite sure about maine though. i think they are somewhat similar to NH.

Yeah, ME and NH are pretty similar...

Lemme see if I can find the pic I took of the front shocks; it's pretty clear why they need to be replaced. I've NEVER seen anyone take the drums off the rear brakes for an inspection, if the parking brake works they figure it's all set. I haven't tried it in this truck, but the rear brakes will lock in the snow, for sure...

My issue with the ball-joint thing is that it really doesn't wobble hardly at all. It's got 181k miles on it, and you can tell when you drive it, but it really feels pretty stable. It just pulls to the right and the wheel isn't centered. But if you hold it steady, it pretty much goes straight.

EDIT: Here's one front corner...that shock sure looks original to me.

EDIT 2: Just for kicks, here's the truck

Geeze...I am not used to seeing rust like that. WOW!

I would say that shock is completely shot. If its a gas shock...I bet there is none left in it.

It drives a lot better than my Ranger did just before I replaced the factory shocks at 220k or so... And they looked fine, they were just completely worn out.

Shocks worn out at 220k? Sat it ain't so... Nobody can accuse you of not getting the goody outta parts, Ian...

Geeze, these shocks look like they went down with the Titanic...