Duraspark conversion.

[Uncle Gump]

If cranking with the starter it might not be cranking fast enough to make readable pressure.

 

[Bronco648]

If cranking with the starter it might not be cranking fast enough to make readable pressure.

That's what I was wondering. Thanks for confirming.

As a follow-up, will cranking with the starter circulate tranny fluid? I have a rebuilt tranny and empty lines. The rebuilder suggested using the starter to get at least six quarts in the system before trying to start the engine. On his advice, I added three quarts initially and the dipstick still reads full, even after spinning the engine over quite a bit.

 

[Uncle Gump]

It should... but it's tough to fill the convertor.

Put it on a battery charger... will crank a bit faster. Go in short spurts and give the starter time to cool off.

After it actually fires... let it run briefly then shut down... give it a couple more quarts of trans fluid... then run it

 

[AndyB.]

Did you prime the oil pump? I remember it taking quite a while after rebuild for oil to build up and flow through the rocker shafts.

 

[Bronco648]

Did you prime the oil pump? I remember it taking quite a while after rebuild for oil to build up and flow through the rocker shafts.

Hey Andy, no, I did not prime the pump. It was going to be quite a while between putting the engine back together and getting it running. I figured if I primed the oil pump, it would lose the prime because it was going to sit.

I can hear the engine slow down when I do use the starter to spin it. I'm pretty sure that's because of oil pressure and not because the battery is losing charge. I do have the battery on a charger and am not cranking for more than 15-20 seconds at a time.

 

[19Walt93]

Hey Andy, no, I did not prime the pump. It was going to be quite a while between putting the engine back together and getting it running. I figured if I primed the oil pump, it would lose the prime because it was going to sit.

I can hear the engine slow down when I do use the starter to spin it. I'm pretty sure that's because of oil pressure and not because the battery is losing charge. I do have the battery on a charger and am not cranking for more than 15-20 seconds at a time.

I would prime the oil pump before cranking it a lot with dry bearings. You can pull a valve cover and make sure oil is getting to the top. I dump a couple quarts of ATF into the torque convertor before installing it. Keep a close eye on the fluid once it starts, you absolutely do not want your transmission spinning dry.
That flat paddle on the throttle linkage would hit the kickdown lever if you had one, they use the same throttle shaft for everything and add kickdown on the automatic carbs. You don't need a kickdown lever on a C4 or C5, if it lugs down, pull the shifter into a lower gear.
I'd want a 1.08 carb on a 2.8, a 1.12 would make for a soggy bottom end. 79 fox body Mustangs, Capri's, Fairmont's, and Zephyrs with V8's used a 1.08 carb and I'm sure the 80 and 81 models with a 255 V8 used one as well. Check with fox body vendors. Gary Baum at Second Generation Mustang is apt to have a 1.08 carb as he specializes in Mustang II's.
With a cam or carb that's too big you get bragging rights at the cost of drivability.

 

[Bronco648]

I would prime the oil pump before cranking it a lot with dry bearings. You can pull a valve cover and make sure oil is getting to the top. I dump a couple quarts of ATF into the torque convertor before installing it. Keep a close eye on the fluid once it starts, you absolutely do not want your transmission spinning dry.
That flat paddle on the throttle linkage would hit the kickdown lever if you had one, they use the same throttle shaft for everything and add kickdown on the automatic carbs. You don't need a kickdown lever on a C4 or C5, if it lugs down, pull the shifter into a lower gear.
I'd want a 1.08 carb on a 2.8, a 1.12 would make for a soggy bottom end. 79 fox body Mustangs, Capri's, Fairmont's, and Zephyrs with V8's used a 1.08 carb and I'm sure the 80 and 81 models with a 255 V8 used one as well. Check with fox body vendors. Gary Baum at Second Generation Mustang is apt to have a 1.08 carb as he specializes in Mustang II's.
With a cam or carb that's too big you get bragging rights at the cost of drivability.

Can you prime the pump when the engine is in the truck? It might be a little late for that. I could pop a valve cover though.

The tranny is in too. Not quite sure you can get to the torque converter, to put ATF into it, at this point. The TC weighed a TON when I gave it to the shop that rebuilt the tranny. I assumed it was full of tranny fluid. The shop did not saying about putting ATF in the TC when getting the engine going. The shop is reputable and the shop owner had several Rangers, including an '85 with the A4LD. He said the A4LD gets a bad rap, it's a decent 'box.

I do have a kick down lever on the tranny and the linkage is installed to/from the carb.

My carb is a 1.08 and has been run on an engine dyno at the place in Texas that rebuilt it. It's set up for a 2.8 and I shouldn't have to adjust it much, if any.

 

[franklin2]

Don't rely on the junky Ford gauges. Get a real mechanical gauge if you are worried about what your engine is doing. Get a mechanical temp gauge also.

When I explain how the earlier gauges worked, you will realize why you are not getting a reading. They work on heat. They have a bi-metal arm that the gauge needle is fastened to. They are fed voltage from what Ford called a IVR or Instrument Voltage Regulator. This is nothing more than a turnsignal blinker mounted to the cluster. It works on the bi-metal principle also. It chops the 12v coming in to the instrument cluster, and the bi-metal naturally varies the duty cycle if the 12v goes higher or lower. This keeps the gauges somewhat steady when the voltage is not consistent.

Do you see all your gauges hopping up and down all the time from this blinking voltage that they are supplied with? No. Because they are so slow. Their bi-metal function makes them very slow to react to things happening at the engine, and the fuel tank. Your fuel gauge would be bobbing up and down continuously if it read the actual tank level. But the slowness of the design smooths it out. This design is what a big part of your problem is reading the oil pressure.

 

[Bronco648]

Get a real mechanical gauge if you are worried about what your engine is doing. Get a mechanical temp gauge also.

As a former racer, I am seriously considering this (although the re-assembly of this truck has gone far beyond the date I mentally set - I need it to drive to work as of last week). Your explanation of how the gauges work, electrically, makes so much sense (now). Maybe once I get the thing back on the road, I can start to think about stuff like that.

 

[19Walt93]

I'd pull a valve cover and check for oil flow rather than worry about gauge readings when cranking. You can prime the pump in the vehicle if you can get access to the distributor hole. If the torque convertor wasn't new, it will have fluid in it, old Ford convertors had drain plugs but I think they disappeared before 1985.
A4LD's died early and often in Aerostars because the shifters were bolted to the floor and engine movement caused them to pull the transmission part way out of drive. The A4LD, 4R44,5R55, etc, all descended form the Pinto C3 and are good transmissions, just like the C3. Like most anything on a vehicle, maintenance is key.

 

[Bronco648]

I'd pull a valve cover and check for oil flow rather than worry about gauge readings when cranking.

Yeah, I'm thinking this is going to be the one way I'll be able to determine if oil is circulating.

You can prime the pump in the vehicle if you can get access to the distributor hole.

I've never heard that before. Just yank the distributor and dump oil in the hole?

If the torque convertor wasn't new, it will have fluid in it, old Ford convertors had drain plugs but I think they disappeared before 1985.

The TC is new. If it's empty of ATF, why does it weigh so much?

A4LD's died early and often in Aerostars because the shifters were bolted to the floor and engine movement caused them to pull the transmission part way out of drive. The A4LD, 4R44,5R55, etc., all descended form the Pinto C3 and are good transmissions, just like the C3. Like most anything on a vehicle, maintenance is key.

How is the Ranger set-up different? Both vehicles were RWD, right?

 

[AndyB.]

You pull the distributor, then use a drill with a socket to spin the oil pump drive shaft to drive oil through the system.

 

[Shran]

I have primed new engines through the distributor hole using a really long 1/4" hex bit extension. Works great and no chance of dropping any of it down into the engine. You can watch your gauge as you spin the drill.... should build up pressure after a while.

The machine shop I used for my last rebuild loaned me a pressure primer thing, basically it's a pressurized cylinder with oil in it that you screw into the oil pressure switch port on the block. It allows you to blast a bunch of oil in and in theory should kind of pre-lube the engine. Not sure if it worked, I did something wrong the first try and made a hell of a mess.

 

[Bronco648]

You pull the distributor, then use a drill with a socket to spin the oil pump drive shaft to drive oil through the system.

I have primed new engines through the distributor hole using a really long 1/4" hex bit extension. Works great and no chance of dropping any of it down into the engine. You can watch your gauge as you spin the drill.... should build up pressure after a while.

OK, that would make sense. Man, it's been way too long since I've done stuff like this. I forgotten most of what I knew.

The machine shop I used for my last rebuild loaned me a pressure primer thing, basically it's a pressurized cylinder with oil in it that you screw into the oil pressure switch port on the block. It allows you to blast a bunch of oil in and in theory should kind of pre-lube the engine. Not sure if it worked, I did something wrong the first try and made a hell of a mess.

 

[AndyB.]

I think I used a 1/4 driver flex shaft and a drill, set up something like this.