Thanks for the replies. Unfortunately, all I have to report is that what I thought were allergy symptoms were infact the onset of the flu. I have been sicker this past week than in recent memory. Hopefully I will be able to attack this puppy soon. I will report my findings.

signmaster-
My reference to "attack this puppy" was just a play on words. Please don't sick the SPCA on me.

Must go puke. More later.

Take care,
-Chris

 

no wonder you weren't at Mustangworks...

I asked you some questions about an F150. I ended up buying it.

1992 Custom, 4.9 - 5 speed with 30,000 original miles!


Matt

 

Matt-
I replied to your PM at MW this evening. Sorry about taking so long! You will be very pleased with your truck! If you have any questions, let me know. BTW, if you don't mind me asking, how much was it? What options does it have? Tell me all about it! You can email me at

pkrwuds@pacbell.net

Take care,
-Chris

 

the guy had it listed for $6300

I checked KBB for private seller in both good and excellent condition - anywhere between $5,700 and $6,200.

options? I truly think the only two are auto hubs and sliding rear glass, other than that, its vinyl floor and vinyl bench seat. Oddly enough, that is what I wanted. Basically a farm truck that has been babied.

It was in great condition besides a slightly twisted rear bumper (he backed into a dumpster - bracket can be straightened)

I gave him $6,000 for it and am happy.

It has a bedliner/toolbox/leer cap/Aiwa removable faceplate tape deck.

The engine is clean, but you can tell that he did not clean it to sell it, you know what I mean.

It is a big improvement over my 89 Ranger 2.3-5speed with 180,000 miles on it...but I must say I will miss the ranger - it still has the original clutch, original water pump...I took good care of it.

I am giving it to my dad for an errand vehicle.

 

I basically paid for the mileage...

 

Sounds great, Matt!

Is it a regular cab or a supercab?

BTW, check your email.

Take care,
-Chris

 

reg cab,
thanks for the email...

it self destructed as soon as I printed it.

 

Chris,

You're really screwed now. First I'm going to call the K&N/MAF police. They now have a special operations unit that deals with oil on the MAF. In the case of S/D trucks, they still give you a good working over!

As for the SPCA, why would I do that? The PETA headquarters is only a few miles from where I live. Wait until they find out some guy that calls himself "Peckerwood" is attacking puppies, and bragging about it on the 'net!

 

This probably wouldn't be a good time to mention my distaste with NOW or the NAACP, would it? I didn't think so. Nevermind. Forget about those mink seat covers I ordered, too.

Take care,
-Chris

 

Well, I really hate to say this, but I figured it out. It was the chip. i've gotta tell you guys, trying to daignose a problem that only happens once or twice a day can be difficult. Oh sure, you can test every single sensor/valve/switch/gizmo/doohickey over and over again (I did), but even if they pass, there's no telling what they may do when "the problem" occurs. So, it became necessary to retest different items uder different situations. I'm ready for a vacation. I thought I knew that truck well before, I know her intimately now . To make what could be a novel, shorter, I pulled the chip, reset the ECM, and the problem hasn't reappeared in the slightest. But, now my truck is slow again ! It's still faster than it was stock, but there is a big drop in everything good without it. It simply drives different. it was so much more peppy, and the throttle felt very snappy. Now in feels like the throttle cable is made of strong taffy. I tried advancing the base timing to the point the chip had it at, which helped in a very small way, but also caused it to run alot hotter than is was with the chip. I'm going to have to retard it a couple degrees and see how it goes. One thing that is kinda strange, is just how smooth it idles. I guess I was just used to it being a little rougher. I'm not sure, really, but it is smoother now. It's funny how you don't realize something is going on until it stops! I'm happy about everything else, though. Doing this in the manner I did, I now know for a fact that every single other little thing is great. The O2 sensor tested like it was new, and every other sensor or valve was just perfect.

But it's slower

Is Superchip Mike still around? I need to have a talk with him.

Take care,
-Chris

 

Bummer..... I'm assuming as in depth as you went with everything that you have ruled out the possibility of simply a bad connection on the service port?

I have been leaning towards a tuner, but a chip is cheaper. Then I see these posts and have visions of being on the side of the road at night pulling a chip....

I wish we could just flash these things like some of the Chevys!

 

Uhm, no, I didn't try that. Someone must have poured stupid juice in my coffee. Damn them! I will have to give that a shot. Either way, know this: I have no regrets at all for having spent the time and money on that chip. The results, even if I only enjoyed them for 3 years, were well worth it. As far as reliability, it never left me stranded. Not even close. I suppose it could have, but with that thinking, anything could fail and leave me stranded. I might as well just stay home. I know neither one of us thinks that way, and the point I'm really trying to make is that this shouldn't be viewed as "another ECM chip failure story". Important facts to consider before coming to that conclusion include my use of the truck as a work truck, and how I drove it like it had a big block in it, not to mention all of the various modifications I have tried. My sig needs to be updated, but it still only lists the mods I had when I wrote it. It doesn't list all of the other things I tried! At one point, I even installed a Crane HI-6 ignition box that I had left over from my race Buick, but I discovered that the factory ignition was better. Any of the changes I made could have affected the chip, I suppose. The other thing to think about is the chip manufacturers reputation. In my world, JET was always looked upon with the same reverence as a Yugo. I only bought their chip as a last resort. I was told, by JET's accompanying literature, that the chip I bought was the first in a new, higher quality line of products, but that could have just been hype. Still, I got 2 flawless years, and 1 semi-flawless year, of performance out of it. Driving now, with it uninstalled, really has me appreciating exactly what it did. I used to hear people badmouth chips all the time, claiming they did nothing more than advance the base timing, which anyone could do without a $200 chip. I now know they were wrong. I have tried that, and have set the base timing exactly where the chip did, and my performance is still not what it was with the chip. Plus, now my truck runs hotter!

If I were to do it again, and I may, I would still buy a chip versus a tuner, because there is only so much you can truly do with speed density. But, if I had a MAF, I think I would opt for a tuner. I have heard some really incredible stories from people who have bought and used the EEC Tuner. Something like that would better serve somebody with alot of spare time, or a Masters in Physics, because there is alot to understand before making changes. I love tinkering with my truck, but my time is limited. Especially with racing season starting. Our first race is in 3 weeks, and we don't even have the engine finished yet. The next 8 months will fly by like an SST, but maybe next November, when I'm looking at my 4 month "vacation", I will look into the whole EEC Tuner thing. With any luck, you'll be able to help me by then.

Take care,
-Chris

 

Chris,

I have to agree. I still have concerns that using the service port is a trouble area at times. Of course this exists with either a tuner or a chip. As for improvements I don't doubt it at all.

Like yourself, my conern at this point is lack of time to deal with either the tuner "tuning" or any problems a chip might create. My truck is also used for work, and I don't want to have a starting or other problem. Worse yet, I've seen posts about trucks going dead on the road. It seems that no chip (or tuner) is always as reliable as leaving it alone.

As for the tuner comments on requiring a lot of time and understanding, I also agree with you on this one. I have a friend who has one and sometimes the proper combo to fine tune a vehicle just seems to defy logic. In his case, he has one of the more common Mustang codes and support from other users is easier to come by. Us truck guys would have a lot more work to do.

As for the speed density comments, I used to have the same thoughts. I was convinced that mass air was the way to go. The more I dug into the tuner forums and other sites, the more my opinion changes. There are guys over at NLOC running blowers, big cams, and just about anything else you could imagine using SD setups. I'm sure it wasn't easy to tune, but the cost of switching to mass air seems to drive them to do it.

 

Don't get me wrong, I love SD! There is great potential, but as far as use with an EEC tuner, the same basic problem arises in that with a MAF, you already have half of the tuning battle won: an item that measures air flow. With a SD system, you are basically trying to refigure curves to apply to the mods you have. It's all doable, but unless I win the lottery, I just don't see having the time required until I'm at least 60.

Your concerns about having a faulty chip take out your work truck is very valid. I didn't have that kind of foresight when I installed mine, but never ended up being stuck because of it. I did spend an enormous amount of time diagosing it when the chip faltered, but in truth, my gut instinct told me to pull the chip to see if it was the problem the very first day. I just didn't want to. I guess in part I used it as an excuse to do a really thorough inspection of my vehicle and it's sensors, which has left me feeling very secure, mechanically speaking. What I'm thinking now, though, is at the rate with which technology advances, so should reliability. That being said, I would suspect that the chips being developed and sold today are better quality than they were when I bought mine. Never know, though. If you are content with your power output now, I'd just leave well enough alone. The advertised hp gain for my chip, and their version for your truck, were both 14-18. While I feel I got at least an 18 horsepower improvement, you might not. The math tells me that any improvement of equal strength will be more noticeable on engines with fewer cylinders. In otherwords, what was earthshattering to me might not be much more than a tremor to you.

Take care,
-Chris

 

BTW, am I the only one to consider this?

WTF was Ford thinking when they put a "Service Port" behind a parking brake bracket? If they had just put the ECU where you could get to the service port, the whole problem would be minimized!

Maybe that's the ticket.... I'll just remove my parking brake!

As for the "foresight" on the reliability concerns, it would have never bothered me nearly as much before, but my soon to be three year old relies on the truck as well. Maybe I don't need more mods, today she told me we went "superfast"!!!!