new to fords need some help

[theBEAST]

Want to say hey to every one y'all seem like a great bunch of folks,
I bought my first Ford to day an '87 f150 4x4 with a 4 speed man. trans and 32" tires
from reading post I already answered some queastions, but here are some more
1st: the fuel gauge shows 1/2 tank untill its filled above that then it reads right(I think its right anyway) how do I fix this?
2nd with 32's will a reman steering gear box hold up?
3rd is changing the wiper motor really going to be a pita?
4th untill I get my fuel gauge fix what kind of milage should I get

THANKS James

 

[FordF-SuperDuty]

To answer the millage question we'll need to know what engine you have.

 

[theBEAST]

sorry I left that out it's th 5.0

 

[wizzard351]

i get around 14-15 around the backroads and up 18 hyway with my 302

 

[5.0Flareside]

i get around 14-15 around the backroads and up 18 hyway with my 302

wow lucky. my dad has a 302 with stock tires and 3.55 rear end just 2wd and he gets 13 city 16 highway. so you will probably get between 10 and 14 just a guess. depends on the gears you have.

 

[1985 Ford F-150]

Mine will get 18 or so with 31s and 3.50 gears.

 

[blackhat620]

Want to say hey to every one y'all seem like a great bunch of folks,
I bought my first Ford to day an '87 f150 4x4 with a 4 speed man. trans and 32" tires
from reading post I already answered some queastions, but here are some more
1st: the fuel gauge shows 1/2 tank untill its filled above that then it reads right(I think its right anyway) how do I fix this?
2nd with 32's will a reman steering gear box hold up?
3rd is changing the wiper motor really going to be a pita?
4th untill I get my fuel gauge fix what kind of milage should I get

THANKS James

Welcome James.

1) Fuel pump & sender are all one piece located in the top of the tank. You need to replace your pump/sender assembly, probably about $100 for the part.

2) Steering box should be fine, it is the same box used from 1980-1996. Yes there is a little more wear and tear on the box do to the larger tires, but unless you are doing serious rock crawling i doubt you will notice much premature wear. What is the tire size installed now?
OEM tires were 235/75-15 which is 28.9"x9.25", if you are running 32"x11.5 then your speedometer will read slow about 6 mph.

3) I have not changed a wiper motor on a 1987 F150, so i am not much help.

4) figure 10-12 mpg to be safe, walking to the gas station is no fun.

 

[conanski]

OEM tires were 235/75-15 which is 28.9"x9.25", if you are running 32"x11.5 then your speedometer will read slow about 6 mph.

The big issue here is not the difference the tires make to the speedo but what it does to the odometer.. since that is what is used to calculate fuel milage. With 32's the tires make 71 fewer revolutions for every mile traveled, and that means when the OD says you have gone 100 miles you have actually covered 112 miles. So the fuel milage will look worse than it really is, but that's pretty easy to fix, this truck should have a cable driven speedo and there are a variety of drive gears available to recalibrate the speedo.

 

[blackhat620]

The big issue here is not the difference the tires make to the speedo but what it does to the odometer.. since that is what is used to calculate fuel milage. With 32's the tires make 71 fewer revolutions for every mile traveled, and that means when the OD says you have gone 100 miles you have actually covered 112 miles. So the fuel milage will look worse than it really is, but that's pretty easy to fix, this truck should have a cable driven speedo and there are a variety of drive gears available to recalibrate the speedo.

Yep, Good catch Paul

How is your 351HO build coming?

 

[flareside_thunder]

Never considered that Paul nice.....Also, he's got the T-18 4 spd.......so it's gonna scream at ya in higher MPH's. Welcome to the site!

 

[Lost]

The wiper motor r OK just unbolt /plug motor pull out till get to bolt retainer on arm . I goto trouble to remove cowl panel but its not a need if whipper arm comes off ok .

With your trans motor gears should get 13 14 for sure . I got 15 MPG with 5 spd in a 89 F150 with 4:11 rears . Also its your area if flat or hilly . Lower gears can do just as well as high MPG wise if climbing hills .
Good luck

 

[theBEAST]

thanks for the help so far, I put the new wiper motor in today it's not that bad, I also put a new steering gear box in and had some questions about that. befor I changed it I checked the front end parts there all good, I helped replace all 4 ball joint on the truck less than 1000 miles ago, they still look great, but i still have slack in the steering wheel, kind of scary the gear box helped but not enough I think the rag joint might be the culpret bu tit look differant than the chey joins I'm used to can you buy them anywhere?
also, the trans started acting up, it's really hard to put it in any gear, like the clutch is not disengaging fully, any ideas on that,


THANKS james

 

[theBEAST]

replaced the rag joint (steering coupler) that fixed the rest of the slack in the front end, the trans problem was the clutch master and slave replaced them also running good

 

[Lost]

Gald ur getting this ironed out