Car pics too cool not to share

[Woodrow]

I never understood why anyone would want a stinky-ass, rattling, clattering old diesel truck...until I bought one. Now, a 460 in a half-ton short box 2wd "bumpside" Blue Oval...THAT I'd take!!!

Me too. But that’s more of a car without trunk lid, than a truck

 

[reddvltj]

IDK but I had an ‘85 f350 crew cab 8’ bed with a 460 and a 4-speed. I thought it was pretty cool when I bought it (and it was despite being a 20yo logging crummy). However, although it was peppy empty and sounded cool, it was nothing but drama when hauling. Like “is the engine gonna blow up or are we just going to run out of gas?” It got a solid 9 mpg empty, but that lofty number sank to 5 when hauling in the mountains. Long story, short. It threw a rod and I got the CTD powered truck I’m still driving almost 20 years later. And the moral I take from that story is gas is for cars, not trucks.

The folks had an '88 F350 2wd dually with a carbed 460 when I was a teen. Actually used it to do my final driver's license test.. WOOHOO.... that sucker would lay 4 strips of rubber with ease! We towed some pretty good weight with it but yeah if you laid into the 4 bbl you could watch the fuel gauge drop just as fast as the speedometer rose. It got like 13mpg empty and probably 8 or 9 towing an enclosed trailer with tools and a CJ5 in it.

 

[Woodrow]

The folks had an '88 F350 2wd dually with a carbed 460 when I was a teen. Actually used it to do my final driver's license test.. WOOHOO.... that sucker would lay 4 strips of rubber with ease! We towed some pretty good weight with it but yeah if you laid into the 4 bbl you could watch the fuel gauge drop just as fast as the speedometer rose. It got like 13mpg empty and probably 8 or 9 towing an enclosed trailer with tools and a CJ5 in it.

Wow. Those numbers are pretty good. Might be a me problem

 

[reddvltj]

Wow. Those numbers are pretty good. Might be a me problem

Yours was 4x4 though wasn't it?

Extra weight and extra drag (physical height and drivetrain) compared to the 2wd

 

[Woodrow]

Yours was 4x4 though wasn't it?

Extra weight and extra drag (physical height and drivetrain) compared to the 2wd

Yes. Solid front axle with those huge one ton hubs. On 35” MTs which completely cleared with stock suspension. Wish I had a pic. It also had an NP 205. I don’t know how well regarded that case is or is not but holy crap, both examples I’ve owned were amazing in that they shifted like you expect a manual in a high bred sports car to shift. Just a gentle pull resulted in solid, positive engagement EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

 

[Squatch]

So, @reddvltj and @ColoJeep, would you replace a quart of oil with a quart of ATF and then just let it idle for a bit, or would you drive it a while? If so, how many miles would you recommend?

 

[reddvltj]

So, @reddvltj and @ColoJeep, would you replace a quart of oil with a quart of ATF and then just let it idle for a bit, or would you drive it a while? If so, how many miles would you recommend?

I never drove around but I would gently raise and lower the RPMs to about 1500 and watch the oil pressure for about 5 to 10 minutes. I have heard of people driving around a little but I was always too skittish (aka chicken shit) to put a load on the engine.

 

[Squatch]

I never drove around but I would gently raise and lower the RPMs to about 1500 and watch the oil pressure for about 5 to 10 minutes. I have heard of people driving around a little but I was always too skittish (aka chicken shit) to put a load on the engine.

Sounds reasonable. However, this thing only has an idiot light, so ignorance is bliss, right?

 

[Zorba]

The folks had an '88 F350 2wd dually with a carbed 460 when I was a teen. Actually used it to do my final driver's license test.. WOOHOO.... that sucker would lay 4 strips of rubber with ease! We towed some pretty good weight with it but yeah if you laid into the 4 bbl you could watch the fuel gauge drop just as fast as the speedometer rose. It got like 13mpg empty and probably 8 or 9 towing an enclosed trailer with tools and a CJ5 in it.

That reminds me of a saying of my late father about his '78 C30 with 454: "When you tromp down on that eight, something's gonna happen!"

 

[speeding_infraction]

Yes. Solid front axle with those huge one ton hubs. On 35” MTs which completely cleared with stock suspension. Wish I had a pic. It also had an NP 205. I don’t know how well regarded that case is or is not but holy crap, both examples I’ve owned were amazing in that they shifted like you expect a manual in a high bred sports car to shift. Just a gentle pull resulted in solid, positive engagement EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

Those NP205s are fkn strong, and they're as heavy as they are strong. 140lb dry, and it was a divorced set up. Not surprised you were getting 9mpg lol

 

[Apparition]

Power service

That's the one I chose for mine.

 

[BlueC]

Okay gents, I am looking for some advice. Some of you may remember that I replaced the screen in a spool valve assembly of a Honda Element some time back. Well, two months later, it threw a code again, and went into limp mode. Figuring that it was likely a faulty spool valve, I obtained a new OEM replacement, and went out to install it today. When I pulled the old one, the new screen I had installed in mid-September was almost completely plugged again with sludge/grit. Wasn't expecting that! So, I just cleaned the screen and reinstalled the old spool valve. My thinking is that this 260K (if'n I recall correctly) needs an engine flush...or two. As I've never had the need to do one before, I have no experience with the process. My old school way of thinking is to drain a quart of oil out, add a quart of diesel, idle it for 15 minutes, and then do a full oil change. However, I see that there are all sorts of engine-flush products on the market, so I thought I'd seek some input from anyone who may have used them, or even the diesel flush, in the hopes of educating myself before attempting this on a "customer's" car. Eventually, the plan is to install the new spool valve, once I'm satisfied with the cleanliness of the engine. I may be pulling the old spool valve to clean the screen a few more times before that happens, however. What say you all? Any words of wisdom?

I don't know which specific engine you're working on, but if your having sludge issues like that, I think it's safe to assume this is a poorly maintained vehicle. Going with that assumption and the fact that you state you want to clean it out, here's my suggestions. Don't get too aggressive, too fast. Do this in stages so that you don't dislodge anything big and plug up some tiny passage. Do an oil change with each cleaning cycle. I recommend cutting the filter open to see what's happening inside. You can let it idle, or drive it very gently and slowly for a few miles (my preferred since the RPM go up and down), just let it get up to temp before draining. After you do a few of those, switch to Valvoline Restore and Protect oil in a 5-20 or 5-30, which has extra cleaning agents in it. I've been running it in all of my modern vehicles for a while now and it's been doing work in my truck (HEMI) and Jeep (4.0). IDK why, but the R&P seems to be dissolving some gunk inside of those two specifically, but my Hondas seem to just run clean. Very different engines/lives, but the truck and Jeep have been babied with short oil change intervals, so IDK why those two have so much crap to dissolve compared to my Hondas.

For the cleaning product, I say skip the diesel for the same reason the others have. I have used Seafoam before, but I don't recommend it since it has a very low boil-off temp of 150-160F, which means it won't be in the engine very long. I've personally never used ATF, but I know lots of guys who have, and some of those guys worked professionally as mechanics. I have used "flush" products, and they appeared to work. ATF or a "flush" product are my recommendations.

 

[BlueC]

The folks had an '88 F350 2wd dually with a carbed 460 when I was a teen. Actually used it to do my final driver's license test.. WOOHOO.... that sucker would lay 4 strips of rubber with ease! We towed some pretty good weight with it but yeah if you laid into the 4 bbl you could watch the fuel gauge drop just as fast as the speedometer rose. It got like 13mpg empty and probably 8 or 9 towing an enclosed trailer with tools and a CJ5 in it.

My grandpaw had a crewcab '94 350 2wd dually with a 460 and 3.7X gears. She never struggled towing, but those fuel pumps did some work. I remember it getting somewhere around what you said, but 13mpg was only with a tailwind going downhill. Towing it always got 8-9 no matter if we were in the mountains or in Florida. I'm sure my grandpaws heavy foot didn't help anything. He always ran 65-80 empty or towing, in the mountains or in Florida.

 

[ColoJeep]

So, @reddvltj and @ColoJeep, would you replace a quart of oil with a quart of ATF and then just let it idle for a bit, or would you drive it a while? If so, how many miles would you recommend?

On the FE's they were driven 20-25 miles then oil change . A note of caution would be , how much oil does the honda hold? , percentage wise 1 Qt. may be too much . Another thought in all this is the PCV system functional ? , If not this can lead to a ton of sludge.

 

[BlueC]

how much oil does the honda hold?

It should be 4.5 or 5 qt.

Another thought in all this is the PCV system functional ? , If not this can lead to a ton of sludge.

That is a good observation, and something that usually goes unchecked. I've had zero sludge issues with any of my Hondas, but I'm very strict with my maintenance routine and follow the factory schedule (7K oil changes with the Hondas)

On the FE's they were driven 20-25 miles then oil change

I don't disagree with driving like that, but if he's having enough sludge issues to plug up a screen, I think I'd keep the first 2-3 cleaning cycles to idle time for the first one, then short (a few miles) slow trips for #2 and #3. Just make sure the oil gets hot, and the cleaning time gets a little longer with each change. These modern engines have such tight tolerances and small passages, like the oil jets, it probably wouldn't take much to clog something up.

 

[Squatch]

I'm thinking that the periods between oil changes was somewhat vast. These guys are not the original owners, and they swear that they keep up with the oil changes, but I've seen enough "Just Rolled In" YouTube videos to know that statement often is the "go-to" defense of the guilty. As far as what to use, I'm sold on using ATF for the flushing of the system. I may go so far as to pop the valve cover and manually clean what I can get to. I'm also going to look into how difficult it would be to drop the oil pan on this thing. If it's a reasonable proposition to do so, I may very well do that, as well. The owners don't "need" this vehicle, as it's a third car for them, so I may be able to hold onto it for a while and get all this stuff done in short order. I need to talk with them about it first, however.

I do appreciate all the input, folks. So far what I've gotten out of all this is to do an ATF flush on a 460, and then drop it in the Honda Element.

No, wait...that's not it...

 

[BlueC]

I do appreciate all the input, folks. So far what I've gotten out of all this is to do an ATF flush on a 460, and then drop it in the Honda Element.

If you swap in a 460, that means the Honda engine will be out and easier to access for cleaning.

 

[ColoJeep]

I'm thinking that the periods between oil changes was somewhat vast. These guys are not the original owners, and they swear that they keep up with the oil changes, but I've seen enough "Just Rolled In" YouTube videos to know that statement often is the "go-to" defense of the guilty. As far as what to use, I'm sold on using ATF for the flushing of the system. I may go so far as to pop the valve cover and manually clean what I can get to. I'm also going to look into how difficult it would be to drop the oil pan on this thing. If it's a reasonable proposition to do so, I may very well do that, as well. The owners don't "need" this vehicle, as it's a third car for them, so I may be able to hold onto it for a while and get all this stuff done in short order. I need to talk with them about it first, however.

I do appreciate all the input, folks. So far what I've gotten out of all this is to do an ATF flush on a 460, and then drop it in the Honda Element.

No, wait...that's not it...

NO ..... you should start a little more conservative ... never go larger than a 429 in a sub compact , at least initially .

 

[BlueC]

NO ..... you should start a little more conservative ... never go larger than a 429 in a sub compact , at least initially .

For safety. What about those light-weight Coyotes?

 

[Squatch]

NO ..... you should start a little more conservative ... never go larger than a 429 in a sub compact , at least initially .

Obviously, you're correct. I mean, I definitely want to maintain some semblance of fuel economy...