1996 Ford F-150 XL 4x4

[nfldfordltd]

Dual tanks, both pumps are cutting in as they are supposed to be.
I was using the front tank as it's closer to the engine, theoretically easier to move fuel a shorter distance.
I need to warm it up somehow, just have to figure out how.

[sly]

Fuel pressure regulator? Fuel filter? Condensation in the fuel? Need to add some HEET to the gas? How's the fuel pressure?

[VicCrownVic]

I tried starting fluid, 3 bottles of gasline anti-freeze, and dumped a bucket of hot water over the engine lol.
Seems to be little to no fuel pressure. Spark is OK. Cranking speed is understandably slow due to the temperature.

Fuel pressure regulator? Fuel filter? Condensation in the fuel? Need to add some HEET to the gas? How's the fuel pressure?

I would guess condensation in the fuel also. I had to run a bottle of HEET with every fill up last winter otherwise my 91 MGM would crank all day until it would run the battery too low but never start.
The outside air temperature didn't have to be much below freezing to make it act up, but after running HEET all last winter it gradually got better. So far I haven't used any HEET this winter and only had problems with it starting on the coldest day when it was about 0F and windy.

The thing with HEET or any other gasoline anti-freeze is it needs to work it's way through the whole system, and my experience as noted above has been that it takes repeated use to see results but YMMV. If you put the gasoline anti-freeze in after the truck would not start it will not help to get the truck started.

The reason I say it will not help is since it started when the block heater was used I would think the frozen blockage is somewhere under the hood like at the injectors, FPR, fuel rails or something along those lines.

Since it sounds like the truck is in a somewhat remote location, if you have another vehicle that you can use an inverter capable of running a heat lamp for 15 minutes or so, you might be able to stick a heat lamp under the hood to warm it up. Bring blankets or something to block wind from getting in through the grill/open hood if that might be an issue while trying to heat it up.

[nfldfordltd]

So now it has decided to not start in cold weather. And by cold I mean -20 degrees F.
It has always been a princess in cold weather, liking to have the block heater plugged in. I had to have it not plugged in overnight last night, now it won't start. Cranked until the battery died, made offers with boosts but wouldn't start.
Any ideas about how I could make effective underhood heat to warm things up with a generator?
I was planning on plugging in the block heater and hooking up a battery charger to it tomorrow. Need to get it home off the road and back in service.

Turns out the plug wires are bad.
They appear to be original...time for a new set...
It was damn cold again today (about -15 F), thank God the wind was calm and it was sunny.
I had to get the generator running, I then plugged in the block heater. I connected the battery on the truck with a second one on the ground. I then hooked a 50 amp battery charger to the second battery.
After a long wait and trying 4 different coil wires that were baking on the heat register of my other truck, it finally started, but not without a lot of difficulty.
I have a new set of plug wires on the way, should be here within the next two days.
It will be plugged in at all times when it is not running until I get the wires changed.
P.S.: The hood latch is jammed or something. I had to pull extremely hard to get the hood open yesterday morning to try and get it running. Since then it was only caught on the secondary latch. I closed it again after I got home and it appears to be popped, but will not open or close all the way properly.
I'm hoping it's just frozen; any of ye ever have that happen with these 92-96 Fords before?

[nfldfordltd]

I would guess condensation in the fuel also. I had to run a bottle of HEET with every fill up last winter otherwise my 91 MGM would crank all day until it would run the battery too low but never start.
The outside air temperature didn't have to be much below freezing to make it act up, but after running HEET all last winter it gradually got better. So far I haven't used any HEET this winter and only had problems with it starting on the coldest day when it was about 0F and windy.

The thing with HEET or any other gasoline anti-freeze is it needs to work it's way through the whole system, and my experience as noted above has been that it takes repeated use to see results but YMMV. If you put the gasoline anti-freeze in after the truck would not start it will not help to get the truck started.

The reason I say it will not help is since it started when the block heater was used I would think the frozen blockage is somewhere under the hood like at the injectors, FPR, fuel rails or something along those lines.

Since it sounds like the truck is in a somewhat remote location, if you have another vehicle that you can use an inverter capable of running a heat lamp for 15 minutes or so, you might be able to stick a heat lamp under the hood to warm it up. Bring blankets or something to block wind from getting in through the grill/open hood if that might be an issue while trying to heat it up.

Oh yes, it was in a remote location...right across the Churchill River from this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lower_Churchill_Project

I doubt you can get HEET here. I had a half hard time getting gasline anti-freeze...bought the last bottle one gas station had. Piss poor management when a gas station in the sub-arctic runs out of that stuff.

I'll put the new wires on there and I'm thinking on hooking up dual batteries, using the battery from the Lincoln during the off-season on the truck.

I'll keep it plugged in at all times below 0 F even after the wires are changed and then it *should* be OK.

[VicCrownVic]

So it was plug wires? I guess when it gets that cold the wire insulation can crack if you even look at it, especially since they were old wires.

Looks like you had plenty of power across the river, no way to use it though.

[nfldfordltd]

So it was plug wires? I guess when it gets that cold the wire insulation can crack if you even look at it, especially since they were old wires.

Looks like you had plenty of power across the river, no way to use it though.

All true and correct.

I got the wires today and changed them out. The 1996 engine in this truck has the 5.0 HO/351W firing order I discovered today. Makes me want to tune it to make moar power. Because it wouldn't pull you off as it is now.

It runs a lot better now, though I was afraid I had it wired wrong at first. Turned out a couple of the wires were across one another and I was getting a bad cross-fire condition. I re-routed them and put the separators back in place and it's running decent now.

As for the hood latch, well, does anyone have a chrome 92-96 F-series grille for sale? :3

[nfldfordltd]

Water pump gasket blew out this morning. Limited resources to fix it temporarily for a couple days until I can get a new pump with gasket in.
Any ideas as to how I can stop up the leak long enough to get the parts in to fix it right?
I did resort to cleaning up the leaking area as much as possible, then smearing Seal-All reinforced with toilet paper. It did sort of work, but the Seal-All patch turned green from coolant and it still leaked a little squirt. I then (against my better judgement but for lack of better options I could think of at the time) I threw a couple spoonfuls of black pepper in the radiator. That seemed to stop the leak for the time being. Anything else I can do clear of changing the pump/gasket to get me through as the parts are still a few days away...beater gonna beat!

[nfldfordltd]

Put on a new IAC motor this weekend, now it won't idle when cold. Starts up fine, runs for 1-2 seconds, then shuts off again. I have to 'help' it along by pushing the gas pedal, and when this is done, it becomes harder to start, like it's flooding. Only does it first cold start in the morning, rest of the day it's good. All new wires, plugs, dist cap/rotor button, air filter, etc.
Any ideas? I was going to put the old IAC motor back on to see if it's any different.
The dual batteries are earning their keep while this is happening.

[DerekTheGreat]

A couple things to look into.. Swap the old one back in like you said. If it makes it run good again, swap the old one in and then disconnect the battery for a minute & reconnect to clear the ECM's memory out. Fire back up and see what happens. If no change, dead IAC. If it doesn't run good again perhaps the map sensor died or you created a vacuum leak somewhere??

[nfldfordltd]

A couple things to look into.. Swap the old one back in like you said. If it makes it run good again, swap the old one in and then disconnect the battery for a minute & reconnect to clear the ECM's memory out. Fire back up and see what happens. If no change, dead IAC. If it doesn't run good again perhaps the map sensor died or you created a vacuum leak somewhere??

Ah, yes, clearing the memory. I forgot to do that. I also eliminated the vacuum canister when I added the second battery, I'll try re-connecting that bastard and see how it works out, in addition to trying the old IAC as a last resort. I'll report the results later on when I try those things. Thanks for the tips.

[DerekTheGreat]

Cool, hopefully something works! Let us know what you find.

[nfldfordltd]

I disconnected the batteries first. Then I started scratching my head. I looked at the new IAC and discovered a screw in the end of it. Strange. Turned it in with the engine running, idle dropped. Backed it off again and the engine idle speed came up significantly. Got it warmed to normal operating temperature and set it so it idles at 900 RPM in park. Starts and runs excellent now. Even the CEL is gone out.
All's well that ends well.

[DerekTheGreat]

Hmm. That's odd. I think I finally fixed my weird fast idle let down problem. I thought the old IAC was bad so I bought a supposed motorcraft one and stuck it on. Same damn thing so I thought I had some other problem and would never find it. Found a clean one at a yard this past weekend, took off the motor end of it, cleaned out the body, sprayed Lucas mucus chain lube on it and the metal push rod doohickey of the motor, slapped it on and all has been normal. Only 2nd day of operation but I'm hopeful that it's gone.

900rpm seems a bit high to me though..

[nfldfordltd]

Hmm. That's odd. I think I finally fixed my weird fast idle let down problem. I thought the old IAC was bad so I bought a supposed motorcraft one and stuck it on. Same damn thing so I thought I had some other problem and would never find it. Found a clean one at a yard this past weekend, took off the motor end of it, cleaned out the body, sprayed Lucas mucus chain lube on it and the metal push rod doohickey of the motor, slapped it on and all has been normal. Only 2nd day of operation but I'm hopeful that it's gone.

900rpm seems a bit high to me though..

You might have it conquered now then.
900 RPM is in park, it drops to about 600 in gear. Rather have it a touch high when the temps are consistently sub-zero F so as to ensure it stays running on command.