Good On Ya!

[KonBoy]

Greetings Folks,

I'm Kevin and I live in CA. I've had my 1985 F-150 LXT Lariat, 5,0L EFI for 15 years. It has automatic transmission, air conditioning and a tow package. I bought it from a neighbor who said that he beefed of the rear so he could move his RV around.

He gave me a deal considering that was one of the rare few that were running when I bought them. I popped the hood when I got home nd it was certainly a different beast from my last one, a '59 6 cyl. I'd only heard about EFI and I didn't like the idea of a computer dictating things I like to do by feel.
 
I handled it with hands off and figured I'd eventually figure it out. It has held up very well and the 2 places it died on me were within walking distance of home. The first happened about 3 years ago and it was sudden. I'm used to warning signs and this gave none. For that reason alone, I bought a control module while asking where I might find it.

I'm in the middle of my second failure now and I'm paying for my neglect. So I'm making it up by learning about it. The vacuum system is beginning to make some sense. I need to know more before I can even form a question and then understand answers. That process got me here but it was a zig-zag on the way.

I don't recall having so many promising search results turn into bogus come-ons. One theme in particular kept coming up different URLs so I didn't even try to block them. It's like a bunch of people got hold of the same instant-money-maker-website-package. They have the same diagrams and the same big button to obscure it unless you sign up for a trial. In the meantime they rotate 4 other unrealted drawings.

Si I landed here and looked around a little. I didn't find what I was looking for but I did find something I needed. No flash, no scam, no hands out and a lot of information. An old school hand off to the new school. It hard to find these days. That's all I have to say right now.....
....Thanks!

[85lebaront2]

Great! Welcome to the group. If you click on the "Gary's Garagemahal" at the top, it will take you to a list of resources, unfortunately the emission system vacuum is not included in the EVTM (Electrical Vacuum Troubleshooting Manual) 1986 is essentially the same as the 1985.5 EFI. I am fairly familiar with that system as my son had an 86 F150 with the same setup. I have all of the service information for 1986 as I have a 1986 F350.

My first truck was a 1958 F100 with the 6 cyl engine.

[Gary Lewis]

Welcome, Kevin!  And thanks for the compliments, both here and via email.

This site is not static and it isn't unusual for me to add two or three pages a week. So if you need something please ask and I'll see what I can do. I have a fair amount of documentation and Chris (and Bill/NumberDummy who isn't, yet, a member here) have shipped me quite a bit more. Plus, Bill/1985lebaront2 has already helped significantly with the 1986 Electrical & Vacuum Troubleshooting Manual and, as he said, may have what you need.

My intent with the site is to provide documentation to answer questions, but to do so once for all. It isn't quite two years old and is now up to 380 pages. However, as you found, some of those aren't fleshed out, so I need to do so.

Bill - If you have vacuum routing diagrams and could scan them, maybe while Irma's rains lash you in a few days, I'd appreciate it.  

[Gary Lewis]

And to prove that this site isn't static, go look at the 302/5.0L vacuum routing now.  

As it turns out, I have a copy of the 1985 Car & Truck Engine/Emission Facts Book Summary, and it has some info on the various calibration codes for 1984 and 1985.  I scanned the ones for the 302's into pdf's, and they came out crisp - with the exception of 4-54R-R12, which needs to be re-scanned.

Anyway, hope this helps.  

[KonBoy]

Thank you, 85lebaront2. And thanks to you, Gary, for the new additions.

As I write this I'm waiting on a tow from the boys around the block. They've been watching me for a few days and offered to pull it up the alley. I'm at a point now where I really need to have it on the property, preferably under the shade tree. That's where I keep the steps I use for just enough reach.

Yesterday, I was feeling around and checking for loose hoses between the firewall and engine. When I got to the check valve on the crossover tube, the metal crumbled easily and broke away with the hose. I didn't get a good look at the entire valve but my impression is that the top of the valve got pretty hot. The rest of it is firm.

I have some studying to do tonight. I'm hopefully pessimistic and anxious to see if the valve was stuck in open position.

I should fill in a few blanks here:
The symptoms are a normal idle with a guaranteed stall when put in gear. The majority of passers-by are betting on a bad torque convertor. Coming in at a close second is a vacuum leak. It passed smog at the end of February and it had been parked for 5 months, nose up, at 20 degress. It's been down for several days and as of today I suspect a leak in the rear gas tank. I can't rule out thirsty opportunists, tho. It does have gas in the front one.

Thanks again!

[Gary Lewis]

From what I saw when looking at 1985 CA trucks with an auto tranny, it looks like they were all AOD's. Rick/Fonzie can tell us for sure, but I don't think they really had a lock-up torque converter. But, if the torque converter is not slipping that could certainly cause a stall.

[KonBoy]

UPDATE:

The truck was parked a block and a half away for 3 days before I was able to limp back within a half block of my alley gate. I had coasted to the side of the road in front of an empty rental house. It was great for the first 2 days. Two young ladies moved in on the 3rd and I told them what was going on. No problem!

After a few days I got the feeling that one of them was growing impatient. It may have had something to do with my 9:15PM brainstorm that couldn't wait. When I saw her on the following evening I promised to be gone within 24 hours, perhaps 24 minutes but 24 hours for sure.

When I saw her the next day I felt bad and said, "Your not gonna hold me to my promise, are ya?" Her look said yup. So I called for a tow that night. The minimum quote was over $100. That was not gonna happen. The lady & I didn't exactly spit-shake on the deal but I did make a promise. While she didn't refuse an extension her wish was clear. I put the truck in neutral and pushed it four feet. Now it straddled 2 property lines.

I called for a tow the next morning (& take your time). I poked at it all day and started it once. It ran 2 feet in the reverse direction of last night's push. It was 4:30 and still no tow so I capped every vacuum line I could find (except for the MAP). I had tasted gas in the pressure regulator and torched a curl on an Allen wrench in case I had to go that far. If I have to remove the upper manifold it would be a nice to have that out of the way when I replaced the regulator. I capped the manifold and the regulator and started it up.

While the truck was warming up I followed the gas line on the right side. I had done the left side the day before and noticed the reservoir and everything else I had been reading about. It seems to have every gas filter that Ford had on the shelf that year. The reservoir didn't budge and I wanted to prepare it before trying that again. Since the engine seemed to be getting enough gas for idle and rev I started to think about pressurizing the gas tank with some kind of rig to fill the reservoir. I don't have any science to back that idea up but I was running out of time.

So I was laying down on the curb and got to the point where 2 lines turn toward the left side. That's when the cop drove up. He asked if I had been parked on the property. I told him that for the entire time it was never off the the street. It may have moved a total of 15 feet but it was always back and forth on the street. He said I was legally parked and wondered why the lady called. I told him about my promise and I told him I didn't really blame her for calling. As he was walking to his car he turned and said, "A woman scorned ...." I said, well, a promise is a promise.

By this time, the truck was warmed up and I jumped in. I put it in reverse just as he was taking off in the same direction, nose first. By golly, as we waved adios to each other I was keeping right up with him. I backed into the alley and got about 10 feet before it stalled. A new record. I was encouraged, excited and noticed that the ignition switch was pretty sloppy. So I held it in position although that made it impossible to turn around and see where I was going. (I had tucked the mirrors in while it was parked.) I'd run into one bank, stall, start and then hit the other bank. I finally made it up the hill above my gate and was home free. I could coast in from there but I didn't have to. It did stall once more as I parked it under the tree next to my garage.

I've been taking it easy for the past two days and I'm enjoying a pressure relief. I began this thread as a show of my appreciation for the people who give life to this website. It was also intended to be my introduction. As soon as the real troubleshooting begins I'll start a new thread if that's how it's done..

[Gary Lewis]

A man of his word!  👍

Glad you got it running to some extent. When you are ready to start troubleshooting let us know. We will be here.