87 ford f150 question

[Uwood52]

It does exactly what you described! Acts like battery is weak when I've been driving it.

But the guy I bought it from said he set timing a bit high bc he builds hotrods.

 

[Lobo1]

Yeah he wanted it to fire a little early. But that causes pre ignition. Can't guarantee it but more than likely if you throw a timing light on it, disconnect your automatic spark advance and plug the hose and set the timing right , your problem will go away.

 

[Lobo1]

Setting the timing high is a very debatable subject. It helps in some ways but it hurts in other ways.

One other possibility is that the starter is dragging. When this happens the starter will not have the torque to turn the engine over when it gets hot. Then when it cools it will spin the heck out of it,,,,,,, until it gets hot again. You can take the starter off and any advance or auto zone will test it under a load for free.

 

[Uwood52]

The only thing is, I had a mechanic test the starter and he said it was good. Not sure if he tested it hot though.

 

[Lobo1]

What Brad Sweet said can also be your problem too. These two possibilities I brought up are common and don't cost anything unless you end up buying a starter. I have put new brushes, bushings and bendix drives in many of the older starters. If the stator and rotor are good it makes them like new. Also the timing being high will eventually cause the starter to start dragging. That is one of the " hurts" I was referring too earlier.

 

[Lobo1]

Do you know if he tested it on a machine or did he ground it ant touch a connect a jumper cable from the battery to the starter? The machine will te you how many amps it is pulling under a load. Starter may very well be good. But if the timing is still set high I would definitely set it right.

 

[Uwood52]

When I get home, I will ask them to check all of that! Thanks for giving me some direction!

 

[Lobo1]

thanks! I'll check for that! My mechanic told me it was obvious he had changed it. I will ask him about the oil sending unit too though. I do know that the oil pressure gauge doesn't work right. It shows pressure when I accelerate but not when it idles.

Whoa I missed this comment earlier. I would have your mechanic check the oil pressure at idle, 2000 RPMs, and 3000 RPMs just to be on the safe side. Probable a bad oil sending unit like Brad said. Hopefully the guy you got it from installed the pump right. There is a gasket where the pump mates up with the block. If that gasket isn't there it will leak and cause low oil pressure especially at low RPMs.

Edited to add: when it idles, do you hear a ticking sound coming from the top of the engine ? If the rocket arms aren't oiling they will click or tick.

 

[Uwood52]

No ticks or clicks. There are no oil leaks either as far as I can tell. I've checked often.

 

[brad sweet]

Whoa I missed this comment earlier. I would have your mechanic check the oil pressure at idle, 2000 RPMs, and 3000 RPMs just to be on the safe side. Probable a bad oil sending unit like Brad said. Hopefully the guy you got it from installed the pump right. There is a gasket where the pump mates up with the block. If that gasket isn't there it will leak and cause low oil pressure especially at low RPMs.

yes exactly,but why did it have to have a pump in the first place..thats the question of the day..problem may still exist..or it was a precautionary repair..it posses alot of questions that may have expensive answers