Dear All,

I probably won't get replies to this post, but I'll go ahead anyway.

I've been maintaining 3 Ford trucks at work; '92 Aerostar, '92 F350 Custom and '94 F150 XL. Since no one else at work cares about company vehicles, I've been volunteering much of my free time, including many weekends trying to rejuvenate those trucks.

I got out of work at 6:30 pm today, and after that I tried to replace oil pan gasket on the F350. This was a nightmare, and I had to give it up after 3 hours of trial in single-digit weather. I bought the 4-piece type gasket (Right & Left cork gaskets, plus Fore & Aft crank seals), and I regretted that I should've bought the one-piece rubber gasket, which I used on F150 and the oil leak has stopped on F150.

On F350, there is exhaust pipe right under the oil pan, blocking much access to the engine block & oil pan mating surface. I used plenty of paste gasket on the half-moon seals to make them stick to the engine block. Well, they didn't and kept falling off. Also, if I try to put the seals on the oil pan, there is no canal and they keep slipping around and falling into the oil pan.

I wonder if there is someone out there who has experience replacing the oil pan gasket on '92 F350. I appreciate any suggestion.

Regards,


JPN

 

Try using a Rubber cement or weather stip adhesive to hold the pieces into place.

Silicon takes to long to dry. The Spray adhesive or the weather strip adhesive dries alot faster.

 

Hello Tech,

Thank you for your fast reply & suggestions. Since I have a tube of weather strip adhesive in my toolbox, I'll try it.

I seriously wish there were more of you!

Sincerely,


JPN

 

Let me know how you make out.

 

Hello Tech,

Today I attacked the oil pan again, only this time with weather strip adhesive. Even with the adhesive, the fore & aft seals still wanted to fall off, but not as easily as the paste gasket. Let me tell you, it was a genuine PITA. I put enough amount of the paste gasket on the R&L cork gaskets, trying to slip them into the gap between the oil pan and the engine block. There were two metal tubes (tranny cooler lines) that were getting in the way on the right-side gasket, but in the end I managed to put everything back together. Now, I am not sure if the fore & aft seals were perfectly fit. rather than being deformed but I did my best not to. Since the paste gasket takes 24 hours to cure, no one else is driving it until Monday. Also, the oil pan itself is leaking oil from rusty spots, so I used epoxy and aircraft tape (called speed tape, seems like made of aluminum but does not have much adhesion strength) to see if the leak could be stopped. Gaskets are horrible, they are cheap but in order to get to them...

After work, I spent about 2.5 hours outsideat night, again with the temp in the low 10's. I'm trying to replace the water pump, and let me tell you, it is a genuine PITA[8D] There weresome nuts, whichare actually attached to studs that go through the pump to the engine block. There were two that were stubborn, one of which is already stripped and I used spiral-type bolt remover socket, which went missing when it stripped and it fell off somewhere in the engine compartment. If you've seen the engine compartment of '92 F350, it's a MESS! So, tomorrow morning I'd have to either find the missing socket (I hope I can find it, as Craftsman doesn't seems tosell individual sockets for those spiral ones), or forget it and heat the SOB and persuade it with vise-grip.

All these trucks have been used by aircraft technicians. I don't feel like flying on the airplanes that they touched[8D] I'm the only one who checks fluid levels frequently, as well as repairing/cleaning/improving them.

I'll give you update when I'm done with everything. Thanks again.


JPN

 

Your welcome.

Yes I know those trucks are a real PITA!!! (Been there done that)

 

Hello Tech,

Here's an update on the PITA.

As almost all paste-type gasket material takes longer to dry in colder climate, I'm taking it easy and letting the PITA sit for another day.

Yesterday andthe DBYI worked outside again, with the temp in low 10's or single-digit. As to the water pump, one through-stud was absolutely frozen (reminds me of the ball-joint clamp bolt on my 850) and I had to cut it off with a saw. Since I did not have access to power tools, I did not drill it out. I tried everything I could think of to loosen the frozen through-stud; heated it with a propane torch, persuaded it, abused it, harassed it, and Vise-gripped it but to no avail. So, the through-stud with teeth mark from Vise-grip is still there and I used plenty of paste gasket around the stuck stud, and smeared the area with JB Weld kind of epoxy after installation (this would be the first & last water pump change, as the truck is nearly falling apart due to years of neglect). I'll see if it would leak or not. BTW, the truck has been driven with low on oil, coolant & transmission fluid for God knows how long.

As of 4:30 a.m today, it is snowing, so I'll wait adding engine oil and coolant until tomorrow, to make sure that the paste gasket and epoxy to fully cure. I'll give you an update again. This truck is undeniably a PITA, even to change spark plugs[8D].

Thanks,


JPN

 

Hello Tech,

Another update on the PITA[8D].

After waiting 2 days for the sealant/gasket to fully cure, I finally put everything back together and filled the engine with high-mileage oil (not sure what the benefits are) and coolant. So far, the leak seems to have stopped.

This PITA still has other problems, one of which seems to be EEC related. If I connect the idle air bypass valve connector, the idle speed does not come down, it keeps idling at about 2,000 RPM. I am thinking that it is probablya faulty TPS or ECT sensor. I'd have to study the manual to get codes from EEC-IV (OBD-I) but CEL is not turned on.

And today the starter seems to have gone to heaven. Now, if I turn the key to "START", absolutely nothing happens, except the speedometer moves a hair when the key is turned to START.

Ah, the joy of working on a PITA[8D]


JPN

 

Hello Tech,

This may be the last report on the PITA-350[8D], unless something else happens to it.

Well, after several hours of effort in the single digit weather, the oil pan is still leaking so I lost the battle. This made me feel inferior, defeated, humiliated, derided... I am not sure where it is leaking from, but I patched up all rusty spots with aircraft speed tape and Permatex's "Most Oil Resistant" sealant, as well as putting some epoxy on the edges of the tape. Well, the other guys would have to keep adding oil, unless someone decides to take the pan out and put a new one in. I would love to do it myself, but I am leaving Chicago, as well as the U.S, as my work visa has expired. Not looking forward to going back to Japan at all, those people in Japan really scare thefxxx out of me, as I've spent much of my formative years in the good old U.S. Well, I'll do whatever I can to come back or divert to Canada.

Anyway, I rented out a radiator pressure tester at a local AutoZone, and tested all 3 company vehicles (Aerostar, F150 & PITA-350). All of them seemed to have minor leak, the pressure gauge was very slowly dropping. I located all the leak sources:

1. Aerostar: Lower radiator hose. I recycled the OEM clamps andthey have lost the original tension.
2. F150: Upper radiator hose, where it attaches to the T-stat housing. It's seeping and I tightened the clamp very tight but now it is cutting into the hose, so I may have to do something about it.
3. PITA-350: There's a hairline crack in the engine block, where the water pump through-stud is attached to. Someone else can put some JB Weld in the crack. I was relieved that it was not leaking from the water pump-to-engine mating surface.

Other than that, the PITA-350 needs new TPS. As to the no-start problem, it seems to have been the solenoid (relay) mounted on the fender. I bypassed it with a pair of pliers and the starter cranked. So I bought a new solenoid (made in Cxxxx) and will install it tomorrow. With the faulty TPS, the engine is running like a drunk horse[8D].

Thanks for your input, and I'd like to hear some of your stories on PITA F-Series trucks someday.

Sincerely,


JPN

 

I know the feeling about the water pump stud. The mustang the same way.
On one of mine I had to remove the timing cover to get the stud out.

Good luck on the TPS.

Hopefully you will make it back to the U.S. soon maybe even for good.

 

Thanks, Tech.

It is the people like you and others on this forum who make all the difference in the world. This type of forum could not have survived in Japan, where sarcastic axxhxles keep blaming each other, gaining nasty confidence by being anonymous.....

Anyway, Ford seems to use gigantic-size water pump and I wonder why. I noticed, though, that even though Ford is sometimes referred to as "Found On the Road Dead", with proper maintenance they go a long way and the trucks are really durable, they are just PITA to work on[8D].

Thanks again!


JPN

 

I agree. They usually go along time.

I got my Mustang with 50,000 miles it now has 150,000 on it. There was not much at all that happened to leave me stranded with the car.

 

Hello Tech,

>I got my Mustang with 50,000 miles it now has 150,000 on it. There was not much at all that happened >to leave me stranded with the car.

It'smostly because you're the owner. If it was owned by an average driver, it would have fallen apart at 80,000 milesor less.

HOT TOPIC! An update for the PITA-350!:
The oil is still leaking and the coolant is slowly seeping out from nowhere. But I noticed that the new radiator cap I bought felt unusually loose when I installed it onto the new radiator. So, a few minutes after start-up, the reservoir gets full and slight steam comes out around the cap.

The PITA-350 had problem sustaining idle, it would just die on its own. I replaced the TPS today, and the problem isgone. The CEL never came on except when I turned the key to "ON". Some self-diagnostic, rats[8D]. Also, replacing the TPS on this SOB was an undeniably extra super-sizedPITA. And inside the throttle body was full of gunky deposits But you don't know how silly this is, on the throttle body there is a label that says "DO NOT CLEAN THE THROTTLE BODY".....Heck, I DID clean it good!!!! They probably wanted to say something like "Cleaning the throttle body should be entrusted to a Ford dealer"[8D]

Anyway,the engine is back in service, but now there seems to be a problem with neutral safety switch, because turning theignition switch to "START" doesn't do a thing. So, I have to jump the starter solenoid that is mounted on the rightfender[8D]. Imagine, every time you need to start the truck, you have to open up the hood and jump the silly solenoid...

GO PITA-350!


JPN

 

The solenoid might be bad. Does the small wire at the solenoid have power in the start position?

If so then the solenoid is bad.
If not then it is in the switch.
Is it a manual trans or auto?

 

HOT TOPIC! SUPER STAR PITA-350!!

Hi Tech,

At this point, I am about to say "F" it (but it is an "F"-Series, isn't it?), as I am leaving Chicago DAT. However, I still have a day & a half to fiddle with it.

I tried a new solenoid and the problem persisted. So, I cleaned the new unit and politely returned it to a local AutoZone (they are extremely generous when it comes to returns & refunds, the main reason I kept shopping there for company trucks). When it comes to returns & refunds, Japan is undoubtedly the world's champion for being axxhxlxs. In general, once you buy something, that's it.

So, the solenoid is eliminated from the picture, but I really wonder where the problem could be. I did the following work to the PITA:

1. Applied plenty of liquid graphite lubricant into the ignition switch, as it was extremely sticky (has it created a short circuit?).
2. Changed the shifter rod with another unit I got from the local yard, off of Ford minivan. Except for the differentlycurved handle, it matched the PITA and no difficulty in shifting has been observed.

I didn't do anything with the neutral switch, but as I turn the key to START, the speedo fluctuates a hair and nothing else happens. I'm wondering if the neutral switch on the tranny is shot. BTW, it is automatic and there is no OD switch, so it's probably a 3-speed unit.

If someone with cleanliness-phobia saw this on the road, he/she will certainly throw a hand-grenade at it. The paint is flaking off all over the body, both front & rear bumpers are sagging, front-end trim pieces are, well, in pieces, the entire body covered in Mobil Jet Oil-II, and the list goes on and on until you reach the outer galaxy[8D]. But you know Tech, it's still running and I hate to see people abusing it to their pleasure, because with proper maintenance it can still serve the company (though I kind of think they ought to get rid of it soon).

I really thank you for replying to this. I also wonder why others wouldn't jump in, this is such an educational, enlighteningtopic andis certain to help in a person's self-growth, as well as for the brighter tomorrow for mankind's[8D].

I'll go over the Chilton's to see if there is any info regarding the neutral switch.

Thanks,


JPN

 

Your welcome.

But do you have any power to the small wire?
The systems are very funny.

I have a reduced gear starter in the Mustang. Which has a solenoid on the starter and I had to keep the factory one as well or it wouldn't work.

So make sure all connections and very clean and tight.

Can you match color wires from the solemoid to the electrical part of the ignition switch?

If so then check for power off the switch.

 

Hi Tech,

Thanks again.

You know, another funny thing is that there is a 3-pin connector, coming out of the same bundle as the one for blinker/wiper switches, and it is not connected to anything. I am wondering if I somehow disconnected it and forgot where it came from, or if it's there for optional equipment. I looked everywhere, but did not find the female connector for it. So, right now I do not see any wiring attached to the ignition switch, so I'll check for power at the connections. But since the '94 F150 seems to be identical around the steering area, I might dig into the F150 to see if it has that 3-pin connector. Otherwise, thePITA-350 now seems to run fine, after replacing the TPS, as well as giving it a good tune up (the fuel filter was of original until I replaced it, no one replaced it for 15 years). I topped-up all fluids, but the oil pan definitely needs to be replaced, as well as the gasket for it (the 4-piece gasket was a mistake[:@]).

I'll update you after digging into it again.

Sincerely,


JPN

 

SIZZLING HOT TOPIC! PITA-350 NOW STARTS & RUNS!

Hi Tech,

You won't believe this. I fixed the no-start problem this evening, one day before leaving Chicago. It was not the solenoid, not even the neutral switch, it was...

...the liquid graphite lubricant I used into the ignition switch generously[8D]

I never thought it would solve the problem, but I used a can of spray duster, Office-Max brand, right into the ignition switch and the PITA now starts fine. So, this 15-year old PITA-350, being abused by God knows now many drivers, is back in service. Other than the oil leak from the pan, coolant seepage from the hairline crack + loose radiator cap (though the cap is new) and the need for brake jobs, the PITA runs good. I did dist cap + rotor, ignition wires, platinum plugs, fuel filter (after 15 years of neglect)
, oil, oil filter, air filter & breather filter and new coolant, the engine is back in service for another few years to come (unless people abuse it again).

I wanted to do the brakes and the rest of the minor problems too, but I ran out of time and leaving for Vermont. So, "Greetings from Chicagoland" will soon be replaced by "Greetings from Vermont". Then after March 9th, it will be replaced by "Greetings from Yokohama, Japan".But hopefully within this year it'll get replaced by "Greetings from Canada", etc...

Thank you once again for your help, and please share this info with your fellow technicians, this will benefit them as well.

Sincerely,


JPN

 

Glad you got it!!!
I will hope to keep hearing from you no matter where you go!!

 

Thanks Tech, you're the man!!!!

Sincerely,


JPN