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Seeking advice on tow rig situation

8_YOUR_H2

8_YOUR_H2

1/2 ton status
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Feb 20, 2000
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Location
Iowa
Right now I have a 1991 Ford F250 7.3 IDI non turbo diesel with 198k. I bought this in March and drove it one time before the front brakes went bad and it has been sitting in my driveway ever since due to me not having any cash to fix it. Got all the money and I am fixing it this week. I noticed it needs ball joints, steering pump, numerous oil leaks and one of the fuel tanks leak. So I am going to have more work ahead of me.

I have the opportunity to buy a 1977 Ford F250 with a 460 and C6 for $4k...whoa 4K for a truck that old? Well get this this, 2 owner truck with 50k original miles 2wd extended cab. Never driven in the winter always garage kept zero rust original steel. I know the owner and this truck is pristine and has always been taken care of. Everything works like it was new. He has put a performer intake on it and an edelbrock carb.

Would I be better off to dump the money into the diesel or buy the old truck? I just can't decide.
 
Gas is $3.50 a gallon. If you buy the big block truck it will sit in the driveway. Fix the diesel - brakes, ball joints and odd stuff ought to be less then $2k and the truck will get close to 20 empty.

Best advice would be STOP BUYING $&*) FERDS!
 
Put the money into getting the diesel looked at by a diesel mechanic.
I bought a 93 with 235,000 miles on it at an auction for 1000.00 at an equipment place.
I licked out, they had receipts for batteries, tires, starter, radiator, glow plugs, glow igniter, alternator, and it ran awesome.
Started in -10 degrees here in NY with only one cycle of the plugs and would tug a house off the foundation.
But they must have felt the motor was ok to put that money into it.

Get the truck looked at. The parts it needs, even if you replaced all the above also for reliability, would be cheaper than the old truck.
And diesel is going to be a good bit cheaper this summer than gas so it might make the difference between wheeling and watching.

And yup, I drive a furd.

DSC00002.JPG
 
I would really like to pressure wash the engine off, is there any special precautions a person needs to take when cleaning a diesel motor?
 
One nice thing about diesels is no ignition system to worry about getting wet. just pull off the air cleaner and clover the intake with foil and rubber band it down. Every time I pressure wash mine (About once a year) I do end up with the water in fuel light on do to water in the connector, but that just takes shaking out the plug.

Goop it up good with degreaser and let fly!
 
i have a 83 f350 with a 460 and a manual trans..thing will pull a house down...when its not sitting in the driveway cause there is no money in the pocket....either fix the diesel you have or take the 4 grand and buy a clean 90s model dodge with a cummins...that way you get 15 to 20 miles to the gallon and you still have plenty of power...just my .02
 
I have a 96 F-250 7.3di..... look at my sig..... This truck has a crap load of miles and still runs like new. I get about 10-13mpg towing if i keep my foot out of it. You can buy turbo kit for your truck that will help a lot. This is the best kit for the 7.3 idi.....

http://www.atsdiesel.com/ATSWebsite/ProductsFord/TurboSystems.asp

1983 to 1994.5 Ford 6.9 and 7.3L Diesel Turbo Kit
The ATS Aurora 2000 Wastegated Turbo System has been the premier turbo charger system chosen by the professionals for over 15 years now. Ford motor company chose ATS in 1994 for a reason, Ford wanted the best and that's what they got. In 1994 Ford installed the ATS turbo kit on every Powerstroke engine produced from the factory. The ATS turbo kit uses a large bypass valve that is engineered to accommodate the engines exhaust gas volume allowing for maximum turbo boost with out the concern of over boosting the high compression engine. By using a large bypass valve and a large final exhaust expansion chamber we maintain very low exhaust backpressure. This low backpressure results in increased combustion efficiency. Combined with recommended fuel settings a 50% increase in rear wheel horsepower can be achieved. Recently the ATS turbo system has been redesigned to utilize the Aurora 2000 turbo charger that has become so popular in the demanding turbo Diesel market. There is no other turbo kit that delivers the rapid response and power that the Aurora 2000 offers.
 
I have a 96 club cab with the 7.3 DI motor and it has 330K.I havent had a gooseneck behind it yet but it has pulled/hauled everything else with ease.I did have to buy a $500 clutch/flywheel since the dual mass fw came apart.Never been on any long trips with it but have put 2-300 miles a day on it with no problems.
 
Got the front brakes replaced and I love driving this thing. I still need to replace the rear brakes and do some front end work but I think I am going to keep this truck for a while.

No exhaust at all, 4" straight pipe all the way back and this thing sounds like a big rig at full throttle. Seems to run fine, shifts good.
 
Keep the diesel, get the thing running like a top, and turbo it when funds allow. Might even be able to do a powerstroke swap if you really wanted to for a reasonable price.
 
No turbo with 200k on it. Called the builder who did my SBC and he wants 3500 to rebuild the 7.3 idi.
 
My 7.3 has well over 200k and runs like a top... Starts every time, tows like crazy and is pretty dam fast.....
 
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