Need help with 1990 Ford Diesel!!!!! UPDATED WITH PICS - 28 APR 07

[red]

if you want to help out on power/fuel economy put true dual 3" exhaust on it. i had a 1989 (7.3 non turbo as well), bumped up my in town fuel economy to 17-19mpg, instead of the measly 13 i was getting. i had an f250 with 4.11 gears 2wd extended cab long bed. also open up your air intake. a quick (and free) mod is to remove the snorkel of course (it sucks air from a 1" gap right behind the hood, pitiful expecially for a diesel). and when you open up the round air cleaner housing there is a thin metal plate that sits right at the opening to deflect the incoming air to make sure that it goes to all parts of the air filter. break that thin plate out. or, if you have some money, make your own air intake system (preferably 4" single or dual intake, more air the better for a diesel). downside to the free intake mods, you can easily hear your engine inhaling the air and it seems like your going to pull the pedestrians in as well haha. with the tranny being low, i would be utterly amazed if your tranny didnt have a leak at either the cooler lines or the pan. this era was NOTORIOUS for leaking at those places. as far as acceleration goes, mine was a dog until i did the intake/exhaust mods. once i did those, the truck was ALOT quicker. with top speed, your tranny is most likely a 3 speed with no overdrive and diesels drink fuel above 2400rpms. best fuel economy at 16-2200 rpms (depending on the motor). this is also the rpm range where you have your most torque, which is what matters to a diesel.

if you decide to put a turbo on, 8psi is about the safe max without having to worry about the motor. your weakest links with the truck are the glow plug system, and the tranny if you tow alot.

[weirdtimes_7]

So here it is, i took the truck out to empty the bed of all the crap that collected back there when we first hauled it home. I am pretty sure that the tranny is gone, it slips hard back from 3rd to second, has a hard time engaging 1st, and when i get pas about 30 miles an hour it has a nasty vibration.... kind of like the tranny is loose or something....

I wanna rebuild the tranny myself, but i have never rebuilt a tranny before. I want to experience, and i wanna save money.

Anywho, here are the pics i told Fearofrunner i would post... here's the new diesel... well, new to me,

















Thats all for now, i'll be checkin back today...

military_stang

[weirdtimes_7]

Got a couple of more questions...

1) Can i use seafoam in a diesel???
2) What kinda oil do i use on a diesel??? I need to do an oil change..

military_stang

[red]

i've never used seafoam in a diesel so unsure of that.
use rotella 15w40, good quality oil to use (you will need about 3 gallons, might be more). make sure to fill your new oil filter before you install it, ford diesels are exceptionally picky about this.

[weirdtimes_7]

Sweet.. thank's Red... i know when i pulled the oil dip stick yesterday, the oil looked like it hadn't been changed in years.. it's the blackest i have ever seen oil....

military_stang

[red]

diesel oil goes very black within just a few minutes after an oil change.

[weirdtimes_7]

Why is that though?

military_stang

[Duffil]

burning a very dirty fuel is part of it.

[krawlr]

I'm going to mention Oilburners again. They have lots of old timers that are very familiar with this particular model engine.(the IDI) This article has answers to a lot of your questions and things to look for being new to that engine/truck: http://www.oilburners.net/forums/showthread.php?t=7597

Looks like you have the E4OD trans, it should have the "D" for drive on the shift selector inside an "O" for overdrive to help vereify. It's possible you might just have a sensor issue. I think I've even read somewhere that a sensor failure could eventually damage the auto. It might be worth taking it to a trans shop to have them scan it for sensor issues.

I have an '89 with the 5spd, ATS turbo system, home made meth injection, and 3" straight stack to haul my Toyota. Gets the job done pretty well. Oilburners has helped me avert many disasters.

[weirdtimes_7]

ok ok.. thanks and i will be asking oil burners this time... Thank you again

military_stang

[weirdtimes_7]

Just found this on JCWhitney.... it's a custom spec to my truck...




Kit includes all friction plates, steel plates, all rings, front and rear seals and complete gasket and rubber kit... plus it's only 140 bucks.. whata you think?? Is this all i need to get to rebbuild the transmition myself, cause thats what i wanna do... Is there anything else the kit doesn't have that i need?? Please help

military_stang

[Duffil]

make sure you have PLENTY of rags around, and the cleanest work area you've ever seen.  90% of an auto rebuild is making sure everything is clean.  also, if you use the rags to wipe everything off, make sure you blow them with air or dip em in brakleen or something before installation.  Gotta get all the lint off.

[weirdtimes_7]

make sure you have PLENTY of rags around, and the cleanest work area you've ever seen.  90% of an auto rebuild is making sure everything is clean.  also, if you use the rags to wipe everything off, make sure you blow them with air or dip em in brakleen or something before installation.  Gotta get all the lint off.

Is that kit going to be all i need to rebuild it??? To tell you the truth i have never done rebuilt a tranny before... i know i am going to need my haynes to do it, but is it really that hard to rebuild it??? Time is no problem, as long as i can get it done by MRC6, thats al i can about.

But the question still stands, is that a complete kit, or is there anything else i need?

military_stang

[Duffil]

it'd be a good idea to have someone around whos done one or two before.

[jimbo74]

skip the haynes manual, its crap.... get the factory fsm for your truck....

i know we are talking about your ford here, but i know for a fact that i nthe yota fsm, there are actuall pictures of what each step is in rebuilding hte tranny, i know this is something you will not see in a haynes or chiltons

[weirdtimes_7]

Where do i get a FSM... and what the hell is a FSM.... Factory Stock Manual???

military_stang

[DTB]

Where do i get a FSM... and what the hell is a FSM.... Factory Stock Manual???

military_stang

factory service manual...they are expensive but worth it if you plan on keeping the thing around for any extended period of time

[weirdtimes_7]

factory service manual...they are expensive but worth it if you plan on keeping the thing around for any extended period of time

And where do i get the Manual??? Ford Dealership

military_stang

[DTB]

And where do i get the Manual??? Ford Dealership

military_stang

i would search hard on the web......i found a toyota FSM and printed it out at work here   you might be able to download it or burn onto a cd if you are lucky

[*FFC*]

Check this out  

[alwayzbroken]

I do 80+ in my Ford no problem on 35" boggers  

Your truck doesn't redline at 3000 RPM though

[*FFC*]

Your truck doesn't redline at 3000 RPM though

I don't have an RPM gauge

[weirdtimes_7]

Check this out  

Are you trying to sell me something FFC?    j/k, thanks anyway though, hehe

military_stang

[*FFC*]

Are you trying to sell me something FFC?    j/k, thanks anyway though, hehe

military_stang

Heck no Just tryin to help that's all

[weirdtimes_7]

Heck no Just tryin to help that's all

HAHA, i know, i'm just messin 

military_stang

[79coyotefrg]

um  this really should be moved  to the tow rig section

[BLACKDOG]

um  this really should be moved  to the tow rig section

  why don't you move it then? 

[8D3TOY]

If you have never done an auto trans rebuild then I would leave it to a pro.  You can save a chunk of $ by pulling/installing it yourself.  I am not sure it would be an E4OD though in 1990 they didn't appear in the diesels until 94 I think.  If it is a C6 invest in some quality parts and it will be bomb proof and look into a bolt on overdrive unit/gear vendors unit you will pick up alot of MPG.  We had better luck with ATS turbo kits on our older diesels, infact our 88 service truck is approaching 500k hard working miles with 200k on the ATS turbo system.  Good luck.