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Hi,
I stumbled upon this site while searching for various F-150 topics and technical subjects. I appreciate the detailed info provided as well as the standards expected of forum participants and the basic decorum of the site. It is refreshing.
I am a dyed-in-the-wool car nut, now at the advanced age of 72. I presently have way too many vehicles for one person but they all "Evoke Joy". For me anyway. For Susan, not so much.
I am a dedicated troubleshooter and have bought many vehicles over the simply for the challenge of getting them back on the road. I tend to modify everything I buy but these days for me it is less about drag racing, road racing and autocross racing than about retrofitting and reverse-engineering advanced technology to older vehicles, especially when it comes to efficiency and enhanced emission control methods. I have a bunch of European and Asian vehicles as well as a smattering of hotrod Dodge motorhomes, a '73 Maverick, a '53 Studebaker, an '85 Eagle wagon, and several F-150's.
I'll buy a non-running vehicle that appeals to me for who knows why, transfer title to me and then have AAA tow it to my home after the fact.
I live on a very steep (paved) approach that becomes impassible with the snowstorms we sometimes get, not to mention the treacherous black-ice storms. I have capable 4WD SUV's ('98 Mazda MPV, '08 Kia Sorento) but I also needed an actual pick up truck to haul things around.
I have no interest in mudding, mechanical abuse of things I then have to repair, etc. I've grown weary of that approach. I have cars dedicated to that, to Solo I and II and Historic racing, but I am most interested in performance efficiency and reliability in the older cars that I upgrade to more modern technology.
Re the F-150's I have a '94 rwd long bed 5spd, an '89 extra cab long bed AOD, and an '86 long bed 4x4 (which is presently the problem child and reason I joined Bullnose).
wordy? Tolstoy has nothin' on me.
The '86 5.0L 4x4 is in relatively nice condition in general but had turned into the previous owner's diagnostic nightmare. I bought it as-is, disabled, with wire harnesses and components hanging down from the dash and a slew of new and used electrical components (ECU's, relays, switches) on the seats and floor as well as old and new electric fuel pumps, filters, etc...you get the picture...
I had to delay even looking at it for two years due to a back injury and subsequent major surgery but now I'm fixed so I dove into it. No fuel supply working, dual tanks whose lines/reservoir/etc had been hacked into badly. I decided to plumb just the front tank, eliminated the in-tank primer pump and inline pump and converted to a Walbro in-tank pump with three puck pick-ups (since the tank was of pre-baffle design). That resolved the physical plumbing, now on to the electrical situation. Nothing at the fuel pump relay on its own with ign/start but I could bridge the relay and activate the retrofit in-tank high pressure pump. The relay worked okay but it wasn't getting activated. I was tracing wires and circuits using electrical schematics and component location diagrams and I saw that there was an unplugged relay up under the dash, barely visible. Then I realized that one of the things hanging from the wiring harness was a new relay, of a different colored finish but with the same three colors of wires that would have plugged into the orphaned relay affixed but without attached connector way up under the dash.
Yep, you guessed it. The new ECC activating relay was just hanging there rather than being attached to a ground. One sheet metal screw to affix it to the under-dash metal; now an active relay; now ECC activation, which the fuel pump relay needs for its activation, and bingo: fuel supply.
But that wasn't the troubling issue that I am now faced with. I bought this truck without really scrutinizing it in detail, assuming it was okay except for the no-start issue.
While under there pulling the front fuel tank to clean it and convert to in-tank high pressure pump I noticed that horrible and unmistakable smell of axle oil. And the drip from the pinion flange. OK, so I put replace pinion seal on the to-do list and returned my attention to the fuel supply situation which I was resolving.
Today after reinstalling the fuel tank I reached over toward the differential, twisted the driveshaft back and forth, and discovered a Huge amount of lash. Plus I could wiggle the pinion yoke up and down. Whether the seal went out first and the po drove it low on fluid, or the pinion bearing failed and then the seal leaked is a mute point. Now what? It is an 8.8 3.55 open. Do I tear it down/rebuild it if it's not too far gone to do so? Or do I swap in a replacement rear axle assy? LSD and disc brakes would be nice accoutrements but I don't want to mess around with having to widen an 8.8 Explorer rear axle to fit.
So I'm wondering about just replacing the entire rear axle assy with something of the same width as mine. I see that '73-'86 F150's, E-250's and '78-'86 Broncos came with 9" rear axle assys the same width as mine (65.25").
I have searched this topic which is how I found the details above but I have not seen addressed the issue of the disparity between the 9" available ratio of 3.50 vs my OEM 8.8 ratio of 3.55, other than 'just live with it and use 4x4 only on gravel, mud or snow'.
Four questions: 1) what if I replaced my transfer case with a viscous-coupled AWD? Would that attenuate the F to R ratio mismatch? 2) why not run slightly smaller diameter rear tires in the rear to effectively increase the now rear 3.50 to more closely match the OEM 3.55 front ratio? 3) is the '96-'02 Expedition 8.8 rear axle the same narrow width (59.50") as the '91-'01 Explorer? 4) Where do I find spring perch spacings of the donor vehicles which I listed?
This is not a race truck or off-road purposed vehicle, just a truck with good ground clearance to get around in and haul things in foul weather. Drum brakes are fine and I can live without a locking rear diff, although that would be nice to have.
My least concern is a disparity between 5x5.5" PCD and 5x135 PCD bolt circles or wheel offsets. Those are easy. Welding up modified length axle tubes and relocating spring perches is probably not cost effective for this vehicle. I'll search the local JY's for a good condition bolt-in 3.55 direct replacement but if they are scarce I'd like to know of other practical options in advance.
wordy? Homer has nothin' either.
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