As some of you know, my 94 has been down now for......almost a year. During this time, its been sitting, ran once to move from the front to the back of the house and thats it. I need to finish my top-end rebuild but the weather has been COLD and the lack of a garage or a knowledgable helping hand has dampered my excitment and hopes to get it going.

I went over to a buddy's house yesterday and drove his 87 he has for sale around, but realized that his truck is even smaller than mine, and I can't justify selling mine and buying a older vehicle, but I'm also not sure if it would be cheaper to buy his than put the money into fixing mine.

What am I looking at in terms of additional things to get my truck running since its been sitting for so long? So far, this is what I've came up with:

All fluids needing to be changed

Drop fuel tank and drain (didn't plan on taking this long so additives were never added)

Worried by tires will be flat spotted, but I'll deal with that.

I'm sure theres a long list, but I can't think of what all they could be.

I'm just trying to figure out if it's going to be worth fixing the engine and then everything else, or cut my losses and get something thats up to par on everything, just is going to be a bit older.

Opinions?

 

im in the same place lol. i just bought mine and wondering if its worth it. i know it has potential to be a great truck, but if i am up for the job

 

Beleive I read in another post you hydrolocked your motor? Was that you or am I mistaken?

In any case what exactly is wrong that you havent had it running? Are you just looking to get it back and running again? If so change your fluids, battery, spark plugs, filters, and possibly seafoam your engine if its running rough.

 

well if maintainence is all that you've gotta do then do it. but if there's a bunch of stuff broken or needs replacement then i'd just take into consideration how motivated you are to do them. I'd factor in how motivated you'll be when you start looking at the stuff that you don't know how to do or know they'll be a huge pain. learning can always be fun though...as long as it leads to success.

 

sounds like you forgot to do some long term storage procedures.

Well, if you think the other truck has been well cared for and is in good shape, you might ought to go with that option provided it's not too expensive.

I don't know what all is messed up on your truck now, but if you get in too deep working on it and spend alot of money, you'll have to sink even more if a mechanic has to do some of the harder stuff.

But you won't get much for your truck if it doesn't work.

I say do whichever is cheapest. If fixing yours is cheaper than buying the other, do that if it's the other way around, do that.

 

I ran into the same situation.... I am currently having my dad's 99 F 150 redone and so far I had a motor put in, front/rear brakes were hung up, rear axle seals were leaking, had the radiator replaced, holes, lines, and etc.... new carpet, 60/40 seat, new seat belts, windshield, all new paint, rear bumper, new mirrors, rear view auto dimming/temp/compass mirror from my 2005 Tacoma, power locks, keyless entry, remote start, line x on the rockers/wheel wells/8' bed, 1000 CCA battery and some other crap.

Basically, the truck was not driven too much and it ran crappy at times for sure because it was not conditioned properly. I am @ about $8,500 dollars right now... 1/2 of that was the engine installed.... I did not have the time to do it myself with school and work.

I would get a service manual, get the parts, wait till it warms up, and then go to town.

 

This is what happened with mine:

Timing cover was leaking. Simple fix. Call a buddy over, says he can do it without much problem. Ok......tear into it, get it apart, he gets pulled away on something else. Call another buddy over, says he knows what hes doing, putting it back together, pinch the HG. So my timing cover gasket just turned into a HG. Tear it down, put everything back together, notice some ticking and squeeling. Timing chain doesn't look right. Pull it apart again, scarring on the bottom of the valve cover. Order parts from Engnbldr. Get another buddy to help me out. 2 days before we were going to have it together, he has to leave.

So I have the top end of my engine sitting down stairs. Too cold outside to attempt to do anything. The whole "sounds like you forgot to do some long term storage procedures." is true, but it never was intended to have to take this long. By the time I knew it, it was already months down the road. Started a new job, had training out of town then thrown into work. Never thought about it.

I have a service manual, I just haven't had much luck with it. I know its a simple engine to work on, I just have trouble with the mechanical parts of how things work and I'll be the first to admit that.

My only reason for wanting to keep it is the engine was replaced a few years ago, and only has 15-20k on it. I just don't trust myself to get it done right, I know that the fee for a mechanic is going to high. I'm debating to check with the local JC to see if they're automotive class would be able to do it.

Just kinda wanted to see what you all thought. I've already dumped alot into this with no success. Basically enough to do 2 headgasket repairs, and both not working, and now I have all the parts for the 3rd attempt, plus new TC, WP, OP and 261 camshaft. I just don't want to throw it together again and be in the same position.

Then again, not sure how much I'd be able to sell this truck as is.