Free F250

[ohiofarmer 3,276]

     I talked about this before, but a new twist to the story.  I was helping a neighbor with a roof patch on a house he owned, and saw a solid looking F 250 sitting with a for sale sign hidden away behind a fence. The sign said 2000.00, but he offered it for half that. It has a buck fifty on the speedo and i believe it is a 7.3 IDI Diesel. Not being a Diesel wrench, but with some experience with farm tractors, i was able to get the fuel lines cracked and bled, and then discovered the start switch was split and the rod that activates it not connecting. The other problem is that he did not immediately title the truck from his dad and that requires an inspection.

  She's a nice straight truck that begs not to be put in the scrapper. parted out , it would yeild a very nice cab, tailgate , and a solid box needing only a repair at the fender arches. Anyway, he saw my neighbor and said he would give me the truck free if i could get it out of there. BTW, i did get it started, but one dead cylinder sounds like Satan's hammer. The line to that cylinder is not spitting fuel, so it's my guess either the injector is open and hydrolocking or a bent rod or somethng.

  You cannot lose on a deal like this , but you need the discipline not to fix it at all costs if the costs plus your time exceed the value of the truck.  The truck looks like new underneath for its age, and I have a tow bar to take it four miles for an OEM inspection. If anybody knows a line on a place to buy a good used or rebuilt engine, i am all ears. my buddy in crime knows a good Diesel Wrench from his Navy days, so that is a start

    TTIWWP so when i get some, i will share.

[Achto 27,591]

41 minutes ago, ohiofarmer said:

anybody knows a line on a place to buy a good used or rebuilt engine,

 

A quick search brought up a bunch of reman long blocks. Around the 5k mark.

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=ford+7.3+diesel+long+block+for+sale&rlz=1C1GCEU_enUS821US821&oq=ford+7.3+diesel+long+&aqs=chrome.2.0i512j69i57j0i457i512j0i512j0i390l4.17633j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

[ohiofarmer 3,276]

6 hours ago, Achto said:

 

A quick search brought up a bunch of reman long blocks. Around the 5k mark.

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=ford+7.3+diesel+long+block+for+sale&rlz=1C1GCEU_enUS821US821&oq=ford+7.3+diesel+long+&aqs=chrome.2.0i512j69i57j0i457i512j0i512j0i390l4.17633j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

 

I was before searching for crate engines, but maybe a long block would be better. It might be easier to take out  the old one and carefully bag and tag all the mounts and associated stuff. We could look at and maybe send the injectors away for service. I would expect to find a lot of details easy to overlook., but it looks feasible if i stay with the cheaper non-turbo engine so the original wiring harness works. Thanks, Achto.  I have talked with my buddy, and i think we may just pull the engine and look at whatever damage there is to the crank from the bottom.  I imagine that we will split the truck in use or profit, but he is a guy who hates debt like i do. i think that i would buy the parts and the truck would not weigh down his responsibility

Edited April 15, 2022 by ohiofarmer

[Pullstart 62,904]

Have you tried www.car-part.com?  It seems like many yards from South Bend to Mid-MI offer the same engines, mileage, etc.  I wonder if they are in a network together? I recently picked up two engines from a local place called Weller Auto Parts, in Grand Rapids, MI.  One was a reman out of Texas and one was a used 80something thousand mile and they both worked great.

[ohiofarmer 3,276]

3 minutes ago, Pullstart said:

Have you tried www.car-part.com?  It seems like many yards from South Bend to Mid-MI offer the same engines, mileage, etc.  I wonder if they are in a network together? I recently picked up two engines from a local place called Weller Auto Parts, in Grand Rapids, MI.  One was a reman out of Texas and one was a used 80something thousand mile and they both worked great.

   That sounds pretty good. I am about three hours from Ann Arbor. i also watch Watch Wes Work and he has a highly recommended vendor for Diesel pump service.

Edited April 15, 2022 by ohiofarmer

[Pullstart 62,904]

2 hours ago, ohiofarmer said:

   That sounds pretty good. I am about three hours from Ann Arbor. i also watch Watch Wes Work and he has a highly recommended vendor for Diesel pump service.

if you need injectors, I just got my Duramax injector kit from J&L Diesel / Dieselogic.com too.  A+ service!

[stevebo-(Moderator) 8,330]

24 minutes ago, Pullstart said:

if you need injectors, I just got my Duramax injector kit from J&L Diesel / Dieselogic.com too.  A+ service!

I had mine done about 20k ago. Set me back over 7k😳

[ohiofarmer 3,276]

3 hours ago, stevebo said:

I had mine done about 20k ago. Set me back over 7k😳

  Well, fortunately, these are mechanical injectors from a non turbo Diesel built in 1991.  i first thought that putting a gasser in it would make for a solid farm truck, but  I read horror stories of guys who tried that. I am thinking that the Professor's truck engine would fit in the old girl

[Pullstart 62,904]

14 hours ago, stevebo said:

I had mine done about 20k ago. Set me back over 7k😳

Wow!  Any other work, or just injectors?  I’m glad to have the space and ability to do this myself… fluids not included, I’m into this so far for $2395 including my $600 refundable core charge… and I’m pretty sure we have the same engine!

[stevebo-(Moderator) 8,330]

7 hours ago, Pullstart said:

Wow!  Any other work, or just injectors?  I’m glad to have the space and ability to do this myself… fluids not included, I’m into this so far for $2395 including my $600 refundable core charge… and I’m pretty sure we have the same engine!

I had the Down pipe and any other worn parts that were removed 

[ohiofarmer 3,276]

We just got it home. After a near disaster with a bumper pull attachment, we spent the money and had it towed to get it inspected for title   at a certified DOT facility. It had its first wash in ten years and the lichen came off the hood pretty well. we took the bed liner off , expecting rust, but the paint was fresh as a daisy.

  i got pictures from my cell phone, but they don't like my computer. Will get some with the sony camera..this truck is so solid, so nice, and i am gonna share repair costs and ownership with my young friend. he has had five tours from the abandoned country and deserves it.  My friend helped me pull a well pump and replace it and later i helped him blow his pump clean with compressed air. We work well together with our individual strengths ,so it should work out

  When we started cleaning it off and got underneath looking for rot, he told me that now he sees what i first saw in this truck. Its a 31 year old time capsule that led a pampered life and did not sit too long to be brought back. Hopefully this is the start of a resto thread, but it could be one on the pace of Colossus.

 

 

 

 

 Sorry, eric

[Achto 27,591]

1 hour ago, ohiofarmer said:

pictures from my cell phone, but they don't like my computer.

 

Try emailing the pictures from your phone to your computer. Save the pics on your computer, then you should be able to post them.

[ohiofarmer 3,276]

Update, with PICTURES.

  Well, it was long time coming,actually getting the truck to our barn. My partner in crime, Jay, is young enough to be my son, and we are both committed to the project.

  She's a dirty girl, but the potential is so there.

   It ran last fall, but now that the price is 'Free" it still runs. . The valve covers are off, and the design of the air cleaner let moisture get on the rockers. The oil on the dipstick is jet black, and when we drain a bit from the crankcase, we will know more. We want to look at those piston bores with a fiber optic camera, but not entirely sure if we can accomplish that..

   The cost of rebuilt heads is not prohibitive on this truck.The total for the whole project including the tow truck is about $200 in parts and we also gifted the nice couple another 200 for putting up with their inconvenience.

 

  i'm tellin ya ,guys, we never see such trucks in this shape in the salt capital of the midwest, so she will be a rare bird..

[ohiofarmer 3,276]

 Ok, so one more piccy. this paint on the sides of the truck is more shiny than this shows. It still has a bit of film from the pressure washer. The hood does have a bit of penetration from the moss, but overall still looks very good. The roof is a repaint

 The discipline says to just stabilize the paint and evaluate the mechanical stuff. i have gobs to do at home, and we need to set a schedule to do the rest of the work

Edited May 20, 2022 by ohiofarmer

[c-series don 8,708]

I see it’s an XLT Lariat! Nice 👍🏻 I had a black 1990 F-350 XLT Lariat 4X4 with a 460, it was beautiful. I bought it in 92 with 22,000 miles with an 8’ Fisher plow for $16,400 ! It finally succumbed to 13 years of plowing snow and spreading salt sand, and riding on the beach. I bought it to work with so the rust was no surprise. Unfortunately it didn’t even have 100,000 miles on it when I gave it to my friend who wanted the engine.l will try to find pictures. Can’t wait to see yours all cleaned up and running!

[ohiofarmer 3,276]

 It is looking like we will pull those heads and have them rebuilt.   A lot of stuff is optimistic on the interwebs.  I went through the same thing when the spring perches on the old bonneville got rotten. 20 gM dealerships listed them, but no one had them. It was too much trouble to unlist them from the parts websites from the dealer. a big engine rebuilder told me they would love to be able to have a few iDI heads on the shelf, but they all go out as long bloks

  This truck is not going anywhere. It has no payments due.

  The heads are decent shape and all, but a few pine needles bridged the rear hood seal and rainwater entered the underhood insulation . Then the water entered the air cleaner and some got into the heads. If we run the pushrods which have rust on them, its like running a file through the guides.

   So yeah, we could spiff it up and dump it on some poor slob, but that is not the guy either of us looks at in the mirror in the morning. 

   Jay did drain the oil. it had some contamination, but we will pull the oil pan and doubt that there is rust on the bottom end. We will see

[Handy Don 12,232]

2 minutes ago, ohiofarmer said:

a few pine needles bridged the rear hood seal and rainwater entered the underhood insulation

Water is just about the sneakiest and most persistent opponent of outdoor equipment. Curses!

Edited May 23, 2022 by Handy Don