[Dumpster]

Title says it all. My 1988 Super Duty has a low mileage wrecking yard engine in it with 40k miles. It starts and revs up just fine. Problem is that I am getting closer to 5 MPG and nowhere close to 10 MPG. It also is doggy without much spunk and the exhaust smells really rich. It stinks bad and the fumes will burn your eyes. The only mods I have made are to ditch the Cad converter, replace the single muffler with a huge free flowing one designed for a motorhome, advance the spark 2 degrees, and remove the venturi thingy in the plastic air intake that is right before the injector body. The truck has a manual 5 spd trans. What is wrong with this thing?

Dumpster

 

[Dumpster]

No vitals but it looked factory new when I bought it a number of years ago. I can check but I have no reason to suspect it is mechanically unsound. I will pull a couple of plugs and snoop around a little. It always starts right up and then idles down after going rupp rupp rupp a couple of times when cold and running rich.

 

[Dumpster]

What would be a good replacement cam for this application? Once again it is a 1988 F450 Super Duty with factory port injection. It has a 12' hydraulic dump bed and I use it to haul dirt and gravel mostly. So, at times the load will be up to 2 ton maybe more. When up to speed it hums along nicely but bottom end seems to be a bit lacking. I have found that revving it up before shifting helps as otherwise gear changes are doggy. And the gas mileage is very poor.

What specs would be good for a new cam and chain set? Something that has some low-down grunt but still allows higher speed performance.

 

[Dumpster]

As a side note to the cam thread. I have a "new" reground Delta cam to fit a 460 but no specs on the cam. Is it a simple thing to have a cam shop spec the cam for me?

 

[Dumpster]

Stock factory cam is in motor now. Not sure what "cam timing short" or "straight up" means. Was it still common after 1988 to have a retarded cam in a factory motor? I don't remember the year of the motor in the truck now, but it was from a much newer truck. Thanks for the info on the cam number and Delta.