Diesel engines anybody know anything?

[zap]

Are they any truck guys out there? I had one of the guys blow up a truck last week, the block is cracked, so I will be replacing the engine :banrasta :banrasta

Oh well it did have 360,000 miles on it, I hate to say how much a brand new one is from ford, anyone replaced any lately? Oh it is a ford f-250 powerstoke diesel 7.3

[Fortyone]

Are they any truck guys out there? I had one of the guys blow up a truck last week, the block is cracked, so I will be replacing the engine :banrasta :banrasta

Oh well it did have 360,000 miles on it, I hate to say how much a brand new one is from ford, anyone replaced any lately? Oh it is a ford f-250 powerstoke diesel 7.3


I know that is expensive and irreparable damage.it is a very labor intensive job, perhaps a used replacement is better?

[hoarder]

I know that is expensive and irreparable damage.it is a very labor intensive job, perhaps a used replacement is better?
Ditto. Call the junk yards. Some even do installation, which is good because it attaches them to the product. The 7.3 was the best diesel that Ford put in pickups.

[ximmy]

guys.. would it be better to buy a rebuilt engine rather than a junkyard motor.. As a kid I remember a neighbor who replaced his with a junkyard motor, he had problems ever since...

[General of Darkness]

Zap, what year is the powerstroke? And how much is your budget?

[zap]

Zap, what year is the powerstroke? And how much is your budget?



No budget its got to get back on the road , Its a 96, I already have it in the shop, I 'm not sure if I am getting screwed or not, I don't think so but wondered if anybody else has bought or replaced one lately...........

ok Brand new 3 year 100,000 warranty factory from ford, $ 8000.00 , I would say out the door, put one in take one out $ 10,000.00. Ouch

[zap]

guys.. would it be better to buy a rebuilt engine rather than a junkyard motor.. As a kid I remember a neighbor who replaced his with a junkyard motor, he had problems ever since...


Ximmy I checked on a rebuilt 6800.00 , I went ahead with the new one, I don't know seems pretty darn expensive.

[ximmy]

guys.. would it be better to buy a rebuilt engine rather than a junkyard motor.. As a kid I remember a neighbor who replaced his with a junkyard motor, he had problems ever since...


Ximmy I checked on a rebuilt 6800.00 , I went ahead with the new one, I don't know seems pretty darn expensive.


Yeesh!... i don't know either... :o

[General of Darkness]

Damn Zap why don't you ever ask these questions IMMEDIATELY. If you want I can verify tomorrow morning from my diesel mechanic if that's a good deal or the right direction for you to go, he's the best in California.

[zap]

Damn Zap why don't you ever ask these questions IMMEDIATELY. If you want I can verify tomorrow morning from my diesel mechanic if that's a good deal or the right direction for you to go, he's the best in California.


Thankyou General,

I will do that next time, this one was kinda a no brainer, we had talked about it years ago and He told me when Serg blows that truck up I am taking it to ______ and I am going put a new engine in it. So that's what I did.

I just second guess myself when it comes to that kind of money.

Thankyou Hugginator,

I did try to go looking round the web to find pricing I looked at 4 or 5 sites I even joined one by couldn't get the answers I needed.

[Ponce]

Zap? email Agnut..........hes an expert with that.

[skid]

For $10k you could buy a pretty good used truck in good shape.

If you repair the one you have, you have to ask whether it is worth it or not. Mid 90's ford diesels aren't really worth that much... and the rest of the truck is probably in similar shape to the engine that blew...

[zap]

For $10k you could buy a pretty good used truck in good shape.

If you repair the one you have, you have to ask whether it is worth it or not. Mid 90's ford diesels aren't really worth that much... and the rest of the truck is probably in similar shape to the engine that blew...


I don't know, I am vehicle heavy anyway, right now the guy is driving the 350 diesel, I want him out of that one, the one that's in the shop is kinda a special truck, he bought it brand new and had a bed built for it, replaced the trans. at 100,000 and had the whole frontend redone, I don't know, just doing what he said he would do :conf:

[skid]

If the rest of the truck is in good shape, it may be worthwhile, however, most diesel engines outlast the trucks they're installed in...

[cedarchopper]

Don't spend that kind of money on a 96 truck. I recently bought a 97 F250 7.3 with a 145,000 miles on it that runs and drives perfectly...and a straight body, for $3500.

If I were you, I would start looking for a used truck.

[Dogman]

How committed are you at this point? Several posters have a point about replacing the truck in these times
the market for used ones is a buyers market and also the custom bed on the broke one can be (or should be)
moved to a newer truck as long as it is the same type.
Unless you are committed for reasons of the heart to want to keep the old one and fix it.

With the kind of money you are talking about for the new engine , I am sure you can find a lower mileage
replacement and save some cash to boot.

JMHO

[zap]

How committed are you at this point? Several posters have a point about replacing the truck in these times
the market for used ones is a buyers market and also the custom bed on the broke one can be (or should be)
moved to a newer truck as long as it is the same type.
Unless you are committed for reasons of the heart to want to keep the old one and fix it.

With the kind of money you are talking about for the new engine , I am sure you can find a lower mileage
replacement and save some cash to boot.

JMHO


Good Morning

I think I am pretty committed, right or wrong, supposed to pick it up on friday, and Pay The Man, I don't think I can find a diesel f-250 with 10,000 , maybe I am wrong. It is a pretty truck. :D

[Dogman]

How committed are you at this point? Several posters have a point about replacing the truck in these times
the market for used ones is a buyers market and also the custom bed on the broke one can be (or should be)
moved to a newer truck as long as it is the same type.
Unless you are committed for reasons of the heart to want to keep the old one and fix it.

With the kind of money you are talking about for the new engine , I am sure you can find a lower mileage
replacement and save some cash to boot.

JMHO




Good Morning

I think I am pretty committed, right or wrong, supposed to pick it up on friday, and Pay The Man, I don't think I can find a diesel f-250 with 10,000 , maybe I am wrong. It is a pretty truck. :D




Well if they were made, find a anti-numskull , numnuts kick ass device and put it in that truck so dum sh*t will not happen again..

[cedarchopper]

How committed are you at this point? Several posters have a point about replacing the truck in these times
the market for used ones is a buyers market and also the custom bed on the broke one can be (or should be)
moved to a newer truck as long as it is the same type.
Unless you are committed for reasons of the heart to want to keep the old one and fix it.

With the kind of money you are talking about for the new engine , I am sure you can find a lower mileage
replacement and save some cash to boot.

JMHO


Good Morning

I think I am pretty committed, right or wrong, supposed to pick it up on friday, and Pay The Man, I don't think I can find a diesel f-250 with 10,000 , maybe I am wrong. It is a pretty truck. :D


"pretty committed, right or wrong"? You could even buy a later model F250 diesel for $10,000 with less than half the miles and in perfect condition. A 350,000 mile truck has lots of other wear besides the engine and tranny....metal fatigue on the frame, bushings, bearings, mounts, hinges, rear end, axles...you name it, it has major wear.

[agnut]

Hi Zap. I’m not really an expert on diesel cars and trucks but have been a mechanic for 40 years and have grown to love the diesels. And I do own a diesel VW pickup truck that I rebuilt the transmission and engine. I also have as my daily driver a 1990 Dodge 1 ton truck with the Cummins diesel engine and 5 speed manual transmission.

I really need it now since I have to pick up truckloads of fruit and veggies from the local supermarket. I picked up 40 boxes yesterday, each one weighing about 40 pounds. We have more than we can eat and give most of it to a church group and needy families. The rest goes to our two beefalo and chickens. Not to get sidetracked but you and anyone who happens to be reading might want to find out what happens to the unbought produce (bakery goods too) at your local markets. We figure we are saving over $2000 a year plus feeding for our animals. There have been some side benefits such as a thanks, one person gave us 3 free indoor gocart ride tickets ($22.50)and also bought the outdrive for $400 from a boat I am junking out. Another is buying the boat and trailer for $200 and will be hauling it away soon. I wouldn’t have made those deals unless I had been giving the fruits and veggies away.

These are some of the things I am trying to teach others on the bartering and horse trading thread. It’s not the money you have but what you make with it, as Ponce says. Oh God, I hope I didn’t misquote him! We should know by now what a stickler he is for accurate details. Really glad he is back. Maybe we should nickname him the “chief curmudgeon” like someone on Timebomb2000.

Now before you consider getting a new engine for your truck, realize that my Dodge diesel gets 20 MPG in the city and 24-27 MPG on the freeway. I get higher MPG with the manual transmission. The Cummins engine is reputed to last about 500,000 miles before wearing out and then it can be rebuilt. About 7 years ago I had a 1992 Dodge ¾ ton diesel I bought for $3000 in California. I drove it up here to the Pacific Northwest when I escaped. I drove it a few more years before I sold it for $6000 and never did anything to it except change the oil and filter. Use only Delo 400 oil, by the way.

These early Dodge diesels with the Cummins engine are tried and true. I would recommend the years 1990-1993 with the early body style. Cheaper and built like a tank. The 1994-1997 have the later body style if you want to impress strangers but they cost more. I’m too old for that game myself; I really don’t give a shit what they think; in fact the older body style doesn’t attract attention. Nobody thinks I have any money with a 20 year old beast. This works to my advantage at garage and estate sales. And as I said, the 1994-1997 models may cost you twice as much to buy. The 1998 and new models have electronic injection which would leave you stranded in case of an EMP attack; the older mechanical injection is simpler and a lot cheaper to maintain. I wanted the manual transmission because I can repair it as well as the clutch. The automatic may cost you to rebuild as much as $3000, depending on how big a thief the mechanic is. Also the manual gets better MPG.

I bought my current 1990 Dodge diesel for $2600 and have only changed the oil and filter so far. Funny that everything still works after 20 years; the gauges and everything under the hood. I even got a Brahma canopy with the truck. Even the 4 speaker stereo cassette AMFM works like new. Unbelievable ! The ¾ ton model is fine but as I understand, the 1 ton has bigger brakes, bigger rear end and heavier suspension. Rides a little stiffer offroad but smooth on the street and freeway. Mine has a stock engine and has all the power I will ever need. At 70 miles per hour it wants to go faster so be aware of this.

I got this truck and have a couple of trailers for a possible future business; hauling goods from one area or town to another. Ponce advised this and as I wrote, turns out that needed it before I thought I ever would with 4 truckload pickups per week.

Hope this helps. PM me if I can help further. Where to look and what to look for and maybe some discussion of what to do with your blown Ford truck. Craigslist is a good first place to see what is out there. Don’t be in a hurry; it took me a while before I found the right deal. I’ll be happy to tell you how to beat up on the seller. HaHa

Best wishes, agnut

[Fortyone]

Wish I could find a deal like that, any truck in the midwest is big money right now.

[zap]

Yea ! got our truck back, hopefully it will run for a while, It is an old truck but I can't part with it, and I didn't get the bill yet. ::)

[Awoke]

Diesel engines anybody know anything?


Don't put gasoline in it?

;D

[woodman]

I bought a deisel GMC, a '99 and I can't even get a proper diagnosis on it. It cuts out while driving. It could easily cost me as much to fix it as I paid for it by the time any mechanic guesses right. They are great and have lots of power but very expensive.

[hoarder]

I bought a deisel GMC, a '99 and I can't even get a proper diagnosis on it. It cuts out while driving. It could easily cost me as much to fix it as I paid for it by the time any mechanic guesses right. They are great and have lots of power but very expensive.
Usually this is caused by fuel delivery problems; fuel filters, fuel pump, air getting into fuel etc.. You've probably already checked all that. A friend has a 90's Chevy diesel 3/4 ton and something in the computer makes it cut out intermittantly. He gave up on it. You can swap computers with another one to see if that's the problem.

[the riot act]

I bought a deisel GMC, a '99 and I can't even get a proper diagnosis on it. It cuts out while driving. It could easily cost me as much to fix it as I paid for it by the time any mechanic guesses right. They are great and have lots of power but very expensive.


Woodman I have a 88 diesel but I have seen your problem discussed here before.

Hope this link helps. If not join and ask they are a bunch of good guys.

http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=390611

tra

[Dogman]

I bought a deisel GMC, a '99 and I can't even get a proper diagnosis on it. It cuts out while driving. It could easily cost me as much to fix it as I paid for it by the time any mechanic guesses right. They are great and have lots of power but very expensive.


Zap and woodman!

I have one of these and they work great! They can not be tampered with , If unplugged it will report when it was
and it allows you to View/Reset engine diagnostic trouble codes (check-engine light).

Plus

# Up to 300 hours of trip details (newest data records over oldest)
# Complete trip details including time/date, distance traveled, speed (1- or 5-second intervals)
# Log up to 4 of 23 engine parameters
# Provides individual graphs and summary reports
# Records/shows extreme acceleration/braking
# Allows user-set thresholds for audible alarms, speed, acceleration, and braking (post-drive reports/graphs show when, for how long, and number of times thresholds were exceeded)
# Automatic accident log with last 20 seconds speed data before impact
# Assign trips as business/commute/personal
# Calculate gas mileage
# View/Reset engine diagnostic trouble codes (check-engine light)
# Test for preliminary emissions status
# Software (included) lets you review/clear diagnostic codes, view summaries/detail reports, and copy data to spreadsheets for further analysis

Zap

This toy will allow you to see how that truck or any other vehicle is being driven! And gives you hard evidence!

Woodman

This may help you find out what is wrong with your vehicle.


http://www.davisnet.com/drive/products/drive_product.asp?pnum=08226

[woodman]

Thanks Hoarder, RA and Dogman. Zap, not meaning to hijack your thread but this truck has got me really upset. I paid alot of money and I can't even use it. I've been thinking about buying a hand held diagnostic to have plugged in while driving it when it cuts out on me. For some reason the computer won't log any problems and the mechanics tell me its got to be doing it while plugged in to their diagnostics. Needless to say the truck won't cut out on the mechanics but always does on me and the guys.

[Dogman]

Thanks Hoarder, RA and Dogman. Zap, not meaning to hijack your thread but this truck has got me really upset. I paid alot of money and I can't even use it. I've been thinking about buying a hand held diagnostic to have plugged in while driving it when it cuts out on me. For some reason the computer won't log any problems and the mechanics tell me its got to be doing it while plugged in to their diagnostics. Needless to say the truck won't cut out on the mechanics but always does on me and the guys.


If you read my post, the car chip will do just that. As I said I have one and it works, friends borrow it all the time. The thing is tiny, unless you are looking for it , you will not see it.

All you do is plug it in and start driving , you can keep plugged in all the time, you unplug it to down load the info to computer , by the cable that comes with it.

and for less than $ 120.00 for all it does it is a bargain, They even have one that you can use to tweak the vehicles computer.



Edit: Have had friends to borrow this toy and used it to check on their teenage kids driving, If they hot rod the car , they are busted , it will show how fast, when , miles , starts and stops, etc.
And if unplugged then replugged in, it will show that also.

[mightymanx]

I bought a diesel GMC, a '99 and I can't even get a proper diagnosis on it. It cuts out while driving. It could easily cost me as much to fix it as I paid for it by the time any mechanic guesses right. They are great and have lots of power but very expensive.
Usually this is caused by fuel delivery problems; fuel filters, fuel pump, air getting into fuel etc.. You've probably already checked all that. A friend has a 90's Chevy diesel 3/4 ton and something in the computer makes it cut out intermittently. He gave up on it. You can swap computers with another one to see if that's the problem.


The first thing I would check is if it has a PPS/TPS (pedal position sensor/throttle position sensor) lots of vehicles have "fly by wire" throttles My 02 Dodge Cummings was doing exactly that. cost me about 300 for the part and 10 minutes to replace it.

a TPS/PPS is just basically a bib Rheostat that tells the computer how much fuel to put in electronically vice mechanical it is far More accurate for the computer to read than having a mechanical throttle and then sensors that read how much fuel is flowing.