School me on an 89 F350

[tripped38]

Looking at picking up an 89 Crew cab long bed single rear wheel f350. Truck is a 460 with the 5 speed 4x4. Higher mileage and does not run. They think it was a module. He said it was a common issue with these trucks but I have never heard of it and I am not real familiar with these trucks. It was used as a spare truck for a small family construction company. The price is right as I am trading some wheels and tires off my jeep for it.


I guess what I am asking is what should I be looking at visually on this truck? Anything that is a serious red flag.

The trucks primary use is going ot be pulling my jeep on a trailer. Not a heavy load. Maybe 7k when loaded. The price is right and the truck does fit my needs. I will dig up some pictures shortly.

Thanks
Michael

 

[95F350XL]

Look for rust, umm the ignition module on the drivers fender. Other that that those trucks are solid if taken care of. I have a 91 F350 SCLB 460 with a 5 speed. Love that truck.

 

[tripped38]

Its really rust free. A few ding and dents. The seats are awful. I'll need to find new ones. Or replacements.

Ignition module sounds like the right thing.

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[flareside_thunder]

Yea, those trucks are pretty bulletproof and you've got a good trans behind that big block. Don't expect more than 10 mpg at best though. The TFI module is a pretty common issue, it was their initial placement more than anything, right on the side of the distributor.

 

[tripped38]

Well I got it. started cleaning it.


I need to put a battery in it and see what happens

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[fatherdoug]

This truck has three fuel pumps: one in each tank and one on the frame rail.

Will also want to make sure the fuel tank switching valve(which is mechanical) will switch between tanks.

I've had an '89 F250 w/460 for about five years which has been trouble free, other than the fuel switching valve, and a TPS.

 

[tripped38]

Well I finally pulled this in the shop last night. Checked the fluids and figured I would toss a battery in it and see what happens. Cranked over and fired up. Can't believe it. Dan decent given the old fuel and what not. No power steering at all. But brakes and clutch felt great. A little noise from the throw out baring. Just drove it through the field. Need to check the second tank but truck made good power.

Is it possible for this truck to have 4.10 gears? I haven't pulled the bom on the axles yet.

Truck is incredibly clean rust wise. The seats and door panels are wasted. So I need to source those. Other then that I'm going to keep going through it and make sure its ready for the street before I drive it there

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[fatherdoug]

Well I finally pulled this in the shop last night. Checked the fluids and figured I would toss a battery in it and see what happens. Cranked over and fired up. Can't believe it. Dan decent given the old fuel and what not. No power steering at all. But brakes and clutch felt great. A little noise from the throw out baring. Just drove it through the field. Need to check the second tank but truck made good power.

Is it possible for this truck to have 4.10 gears? I haven't pulled the bom on the axles yet.

Truck is incredibly clean rust wise. The seats and door panels are wasted. So I need to source those. Other then that I'm going to keep going through it and make sure its ready for the street before I drive it there

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Could very well have 4.10 axles. My '89 250 has 4.10 gears. I don't know what the other options would be. Should also be a tag on the pumpkin stating the axle ratio.

 

[Bruners4]

There is also a code on the sticker on the driver's door jam. This would be what it came with originally. It would also show it it was ordered with limited slip differentials.

 

[tripped38]

Good to know.

The door tag looks like this...

Can some one help me break it down. The truck has 16.5 wheels on it. I would rather have a 16 or a 17 inch wheel.

Another question: the springs on this truck seem pretty wasted. Can I swap in super duty springs? Would it be a bolt in job? Or am I going to be fabricating a ton of stuff. If they change the wheel base I am OK with that.

Also the intake that runs from behind the grill to the air cleaner box is junk and was taped together. Any suggestions?



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[fatherdoug]

If I am seeing the axle code correctly?, it is a 39, which indicates a 3.55 axle ratio, without limited slip.

 

[mrfixit]

Those TFI modules are one of those "Ghost Issues" that some motors have. they work fine until they warm up; then they fail, leaving you scratching your head. I found (by hard knocks) that it was more an issue of there being a proper layer of thermal grease between it and the distributor. When that grease breaks down, those modules overheat and shut down, much like a processor in a laptop does... it's a cheap thing to take care of, unless you're on the road, many miles from a parts store!

 

[tripped38]

All good info! Thanks guys for all the help. The more I have looked at this rge scarier it is. Lots of plugged vacuum lined and dead ended wires. This is going to be a slow process. I do like the project though. The plan is to turn it into a tow rig for my jeep rock crawler.

I will take some pics of the mess under the hood and under the dash.

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[Fellro]

Any aftermarket wheel for 8 bolt trucks in that year range will work. All Dodge wheels share the bolt pattern with that age truck, and unless it has chnged recently, all E Series vans with 8 bolt wheels also share it. Watch any GM wheels for negative offset, and all factory GM wheels are not going to work. The center of the wheels are too small. 16" wheels are very common.

 

[tripped38]

Yeah. Its a standard 8x6.5 wheel. These wheels I like and I would consider running the cheap military 37 but I would have to lift the truck way too much and if it is truly a 3.55 gear that would be awful.

My jeep is on 38s with a 4.88 ratio and I wish I would have done 5.13s in that

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[95F350XL]

I have the 37s on my 460 ZF with 4.10s, its good with them

 

[tripped38]

Can you post a pic of it. What type of lift are you running?

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[tripped38]

Today I started to gut the interior. Its nasty. I poured sea foam in the rear tank as that's the only one I've ran. Let it run idle and periodically revved and changed up the rpms. Drove it through the field. A couple of pulleys are making noise but I'm happy with it.







So I have some crazy stuff going on with the fuse block. Front door card are junk. Lubed the power windows and they work great now. Power door locks all work but the front PS. Need to look at it some more.

This week I'll pull the front seat and the rest of the nasty floor and sound deading.



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[tripped38]

I finished gutting the interior. The floor has some surface fust and a few pin holes. I'm going to take care of this and put down some sound deadener. Over the sound deadener I' ll spray rhino lining. The front doors are beat pretty bad. Dents and the window tracks are bent. The door cards are shot as well. Going to try to source some used doors to replace these. The window felt is goneon the back doors. Need to source that. Over all its a slow cosmetic fix.


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[tripped38]

Well I sourced out a front clip and front doors. I finished patching the floor. Going to start swapping things over this week.

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