Here is my 1991 F150 xlt lariat "Mountain States Edition"

Here is what is Has:
goose-neck hitch
running boards
brake controller
tranny and oil cooler(not sure if those two are special)


We picked her up for 400 bucks. My Dad bought the truck for the tires that I am going to move over to the '94, and gave me the truck so I could fix it.

It was getting dark when we got home but I had a friend help me remove the dash. Boy was that a job... I forgot to take pics, but let me tell you... that was NASTY. There was blackend and burnt wires, melted plastic... the works.


here are some pics:












goosneck and light hookup















How She sits right Now...(no dashboard)






Note: The black marks on the left side of all the images are a defect inside of my camera lense, I've been too lazy to send my phone in for a replacement


As you can see it has some electrical damage, I think I will name it "Big Smokie" or something similar. I still need to clean the interior, and I am going to pick up a new dash on Tuesday...

 

Looks like a nice truck to start a project with. Have fun. You didnt say but it looks like it had a wiring fire in the dash. Just a word of advice get a good quality wire crimp tool and butt connectors and make good wire splices. Do not skimp there as that will lead to problems later. Again have some fun and bring her back life.

 

Thanks, I am happy with the truck otherwise. Other than some weird issues. when we were driving, the truck would start to die out under throttle. But would Idle fine. I went to start it when we got home and it wouldn't stay running. It would stay running when the Jeep was hooked up to it, but as soon as I unhooked the jumper cables, the truck would die. This leads me to believe the alternator isnt charging(it was replaced about 2 months ago) and we just drove it home under battery power. I looked for an alternator fuse under the dash but the fusebox looks like a 'smore, so no luck there. I found the fusible link under the hood but had no way to test it. I am hoping this all is a issue with the wiring and will get sorted with a new dash. It was dark out and I didn't feel like working any longer so I just came inside. I have no idea where my Hayne's is so this should be interesting.

But yea, The headlight switch shorted out and caused a fire. Luckily it was all contained in the dashboard. The carpet seems OK, other than a lot of ash and soot. I didn't get to clean the truck today since it is raining, but I will go out soon and clean it up. We are going to go look at a complete dash on tuesday.

 

I hope you go ahead and get a new dash wiring loom.

 

Looks like a nice truck.

I've heard about a lot of issues with the head light switches in that age truck. That damage on your truck sucks! I hope you are swapping out the whole dash harness too.

What's the deal? A goose-neck hitch in a F150????? I had a 91 F150 extended cab 4x4 and used it to pull my car trailer. There were a couple times my receiver was almost dragging on the ground when it was loaded.

 

the new dash I am getting includes EVERYTHING.

For the old dash, I unbolted both wire connectors on the firewall, unscrewed and unbolted everthing, dropped the steering column, and pulled the dash out. Everything that I removed is getting replaced. I'll be removing all the good stuff and selling them on here for other people.



thanks! and Yes... I don't know what is up with the goose-neck. I figure its part of that "Mountain States" package. Apparently there was a "Mountain States" Ford Dealership in Colorado that specialized in commercial vehicles. If I had to venture to guess, the package included the goose-neck, trailer controller, and that wire hookup in the bed. It looks professional to me. I figure once I get the truck fixed, ill beef up the rear suspension, and add an airbag. I can swap them out with f250 or f350 leaf springs right? ( it is a 4x4, so I assume is has 3 inchers)

 

Good choice picking up a complete dash assembly to replace yours.


You can always upgrade the suspension to handle the added weight of towing. But remember you still only have an F150 frame and F150 brakes!! You have to be able to stop that load once you get it moving! The brakes are one of the main reasons I went with a heavier vehicle for towing.

 

I see.... Thanks... A F150 can tow a car on a trailer safely provided the brakes are in good shape, right? The reason I ask is that my friend buys and sells cars, and I was going to consider transporting the cars in exchange for a percentage. I realize a heavier truck is better, but considering these are cars are less than 4,000 pounds, you think its ok?

 

I've hauled many vehicles with half ton trucks. It will do it, not always safely or legally. I don't recommend hauling a grain truck with a F150!!!

If you stick to smaller cars you should be fine. Just don't exceed the GVWR.

 

cool, thanks... So tomorrow, I am picking up a new dash... It includes the dashboard, gauges, panels, and wiring. It is out of a Bronco XLT. It set me back $150. It is a hell of a deal, considering they are removing it for me... One thing, the bronco is a 5.0... Does the 5.0 dashboard have the same design and wiring as the 5.8 trucks?

 

I like your project, Keep it up!
My 1987 F-150 had a goose-neck too and it also had the 5.0 moter. And it was bought new in Louisiana. I don't know what was up with that.

Good Luck with it!

 

Thanks!...

I got the new dash installed... It didn't catch on fire, which is a good sign; but the donor was a bronco and I didn't take into account the rear window and defroster, so now I have to find a tank selector switch and splice those parts of the old harness into the new one... Hopefully the pinout is the same on the firewall and I can just swap over the pins inside the connector on the switches to legit F150 connectors(or cut the connectors and splice them in if I have to).

I do have a couple other odd ball issues, like the light on the outside of the cab staying on... I hope it is just a door jamb switch that I haven't connected yet. Either way, it is now dark (and raining)and I've been at it since 2pm. Pics will come in a few minutes when I go back outside to get a few thing out of the truck.


PT. 2

I go to start the truck up and it does the same crap it did with the old harness in... It doesn't start... then it barely starts... then it doesn't start... I pull the alternator off to take it to the neighborhood auto parts store and notice the casing for the voltage regulator is broken around the connector but I don't think anything of it. They start the test and it passes the first stage, but fails on the second one, the "light" stage... I got home and pulled the cover off and I see two contacts that belong to the connectors are broken off the solder pad. So tomorrow I am picking up a new voltage regulator and hopefully that solves my running problem.

 

So I got the truck running, the problem keeping the truck from running was the Emergency Fuel Cut-Off Switch that somehow got tripped...

I replaced the voltage regulator and I've been driving around for a day or two. It had an issue while driving in automatic mode and was throwing codes 33 and 34. I went to look in the engine compartment expecting to find a vac leak, but it turns out the previous owner had the line off the EGR and tapped with a small bolt and electrical taped to the nearest wire loom . Anyway, I hooked it back up and the CEL went away. An interesting thing to note... There was a spare EVR sitting in my center console Maybe the owner before him taped it off and my Dads co-worker (previous owner) was either trying to fix it or didn't notice before the truck caught on fire.

All in All, I am VERY happy with this truck. The way I see it, I couldn't have gotten much better of a deal. For 400 dollars you can usually get either a really great truck with a semi-serious issue, or a beater. Atleast that's the way I see it.


Jason Pack's Photos | Facebook


Jason Pack's Photos | Facebook

I havent got the Fuel Tank Switch or OD Switch Fixed yet, But I harvested the wires from the old harness and if I use a DPST switch for the Fuel tanks then I shouldn't have to go out and get a pigtail from the local pick-n-pull.


EXTRA: (This is me rambling on, so be warned if you decide to read)
Ive got the tank figured out, but I am still a little lost on the OD switch... The plug has these colors:

Purple/Orange
White/Green
Tan/White
Light Blue/Red
Black

From what I can tell, its a momentary switch... The Black is ground and the Blue/Red is the Illumination Feed. Can anyone tell me what the other wires do? I did a continuity test and when the switch is closed the Tan/White and Purple/Orange have continuity.

While I was doing the autopsy of my original dashboard, I noticed the purple wire going from the switch, up into the fuse panel, looked like it jumped from one fuse to another, then came back down and when into the firewall connector. So I assume this is the "reference" wire(the wired used to send power to the switch and then down to where-ever it tells the truck to switch off OD), and if I had to guess, the tan wire goes to where-ever and tells the truck to turn off overdrive. So If my theory holds true then I still need to figure out what the white wire is for. Could this extra wire tell one of the LEDS inside the switch to light up? Please help me figure this out. I am going to try to use the bronco panel on the right half of my lower dash since it has that little cubby hole. This means either hacking up the original F150 OD switch and dash panel(s) by taking a dremel to my left side dash panel to move my existing switch over; or buying a dozen wedge connectors off RJM and making a new harness out of wire and switches I can buy from Home Depot and the 'Shack

And Here's a reward for reading to this point
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfSgPee5Ea0

 

I know this thread is alittle old but how hard was the dashboard swap?