Of all vehicles, the first to break down on me was a 4.9L I6, manual transmission, 1993 F-150 today.
Basically I was handed the keys and asked to see if I had any ideas about why it was "acting up." The first couple miles were fine. Then I gave it a good amount of gas while pulling out on to a four lane road, and it started to sputter and just didn't have power. It kept running though, and smoothed out as I pulled on to a residential street going into my neighborhood. It made it maybe a half mile, then sputtered again going up a hill, then stalled. I let it roll to a stop sign at the other side of the hill, then tried to start it. All it did was click.
I called the tow truck to come and get it, but did check under the hood to see if there was anything obvious. The solenoid on the fender was an old Napa Echlin. The battery was a 4/14 dated Autocraft, but tested at only around 100 CCA after the truck was towed back. The plug wires said "Ford" on the boots, so they may very well be original. The dist. cap was a Motorcraft and obviously old, not sure if OE would say "Motorcraft" on it or not. The plugs clearly hadn't been touched in a long time if ever. The radiator hoses were OE and stamped with 1992 dates! I think aside from oil changes, this truck only ever got maintenance or repairs when it broke.
It's getting a battery, terminals, and the solenoid on the fender tomorrow or Monday.
It apparently got a fuel pump installed about a year ago, but I'm sure it was whatever was cheapest, so at this point it's suspect for the sputtering.
Given the lack of ignition system maintenance though, I think it will need a full tune up just to baseline it.
CEL may not be working. It didn't light up, but the whole cluster was acting up. Codes have not been checked yet.
The truck only has around 115K showing on the odo, but I do wonder if maybe the fiber cam gear could be suspect for the sputtering? I'm not really familiar with that issue beyond hearing about it, but I doubt this thing had the oil changed on schedule. The truck has no timing chain or belt, just gears. I also wonder if the distributor gear needs to be checked.
The truck will be diagnosed further next week. Just thought I'd share the fun so far. I didn't think an EFI 4.9L manual F-150 would have me calling a tow truck.
It was crazy how untouched it was under the hood though. This truck really got the bare minimum to keep it going...nothing preventive. It has the tree sap/pollen/fungus coating on the paint to prove it.
Basically I was handed the keys and asked to see if I had any ideas about why it was "acting up." The first couple miles were fine. Then I gave it a good amount of gas while pulling out on to a four lane road, and it started to sputter and just didn't have power. It kept running though, and smoothed out as I pulled on to a residential street going into my neighborhood. It made it maybe a half mile, then sputtered again going up a hill, then stalled. I let it roll to a stop sign at the other side of the hill, then tried to start it. All it did was click.
I called the tow truck to come and get it, but did check under the hood to see if there was anything obvious. The solenoid on the fender was an old Napa Echlin. The battery was a 4/14 dated Autocraft, but tested at only around 100 CCA after the truck was towed back. The plug wires said "Ford" on the boots, so they may very well be original. The dist. cap was a Motorcraft and obviously old, not sure if OE would say "Motorcraft" on it or not. The plugs clearly hadn't been touched in a long time if ever. The radiator hoses were OE and stamped with 1992 dates! I think aside from oil changes, this truck only ever got maintenance or repairs when it broke.
It's getting a battery, terminals, and the solenoid on the fender tomorrow or Monday.
It apparently got a fuel pump installed about a year ago, but I'm sure it was whatever was cheapest, so at this point it's suspect for the sputtering.
Given the lack of ignition system maintenance though, I think it will need a full tune up just to baseline it.
CEL may not be working. It didn't light up, but the whole cluster was acting up. Codes have not been checked yet.
The truck only has around 115K showing on the odo, but I do wonder if maybe the fiber cam gear could be suspect for the sputtering? I'm not really familiar with that issue beyond hearing about it, but I doubt this thing had the oil changed on schedule. The truck has no timing chain or belt, just gears. I also wonder if the distributor gear needs to be checked.
The truck will be diagnosed further next week. Just thought I'd share the fun so far. I didn't think an EFI 4.9L manual F-150 would have me calling a tow truck.