anyone here with a HIGH mileage powerstroke???

[leeinmemphis]

ey everyone,

I am fixing to have to do some "re-organizing" of my equipment/trailers due to some storage issues. I am planning on getting rid of a few trailers that I have but I have one that is a 20' deck with a 5' dovetail gooseneck that I need a truck to pull it with. We have a couple of what I would call high mileage ford powerstrokes that have anywhere from 215k to 240k miles on them. They are a basic worktruck with a flatbed on the back. The all have new injector pumps and transmissions in them(installed in the last year or so). I am thinking about buying one of these trucks only for the purposes of pulling my larger trailers when I need to haul either materials out to the farm or the tractor. I was wondering how big of a headache am I looking at if I were to get one of these trucks and only use it for say 5-10k miles a year. I would like to having something heavy enough to haul a backhoe or whatever I should want but not have to drive it every day. I believe the trucks are mechanically sound but just kind of wonder how much life they could possibly have left in them????

 

[DieselPower]

Injection pump? International 444E (what Ford calls a Powerstroke) does not have a injection pump. It has a high preasure "oil" pump. These engines use electronic injectors.

As far as if they should last any longer. If they were well maintained I don't see why not. I have worked on many a 444E that had 300 to 450K miles on them. I have also seen ones with little over 100K on them that were shot due to excessively hard use and poor to no maintenance. All depends on how it was used and if maintenance was done to them. If you know who used them and serviced them and feel confident with them I don't think I would feel bad buying one.

 

[jcmseven]

My 7.3L has a whopping 63,000 miles on it. But, as I have mentioned in previous posts, my neighbor runs a fleet of PSD's with which he pulls enclosed utility trailers across the country. He has put 700,000 miles plus on some of these engines over the years and has had little trouble from them. He is picky maintaining them and when he is running them, he runs them. This to me enhances the life of the engine. If these trucks have had good service and have been used for longer trips, even if there is some stop and go involved, they should be fine, if they sit a lot or are run on shorter trips and/or not maintained regularly, I would not touch them.

John M

 

[markct]

since you say injection pump, i assume you mean early 90s or older powerstroke since i know at work our 93 F450s with the 7.3 have a injection pump then the 95 and later just have the high pressure fuel pump and electronic injectors, either way basicly the same motor. as for longevity all i can say is that we have had them up to as many as 200,000 miles with no real internal engine failures that i can think of, injectors and pumps yes, water pumps of course that sorta stuff but other than that they havent been opened up. only one that has been opened was a 95 F450 with 160,000 miles on it, only reason it had a problem was the radiator hose blew and the guy tried to make it back to the shop and severely overheated it and blew the head gasket. when the heads were off the cylinder bores looked like brand new, still had nearly all there crosshatching i couldnt believe it. now some of you are probably thinking that the milage i am talking about isnt much but you need to realize these are trucks used to pick up garbage and recycling in a few elderly housing places and large housing developments and condos, as well as in driveway stops for people who are willing to pay a premium to not take it to the curb. these trucks are loaded to almost full gvw every day and worst than that they do 100 to 400 stops a day generaly,5 days a week. thats alot of hard driving and acceleration, eats trannys at a rate of usualy once every year or two, but the engines have held up extremely well, always outlast the trucks, the bodys usualy rot out and thats when there replaced. thats the only input i can offer on those engines, little nusance stuff, sensors, hoses etc but nothing major realy has given us any trouble

 

[Buckeye_Jim]

I second the advice you have already received plus I can tell you I had a 92' F250 diesel that went close to 400K miles without any overhalls, other repairs had me pass it on. My employees tell me they see it out on the roads still.


Jim

 

[Bill_C]

If it's a Powerstroke it does NOT have an injector pump. The first Powerstrokes came out at the end of 1994--that's what mine is, some people call it a 94.5. (I even have the original brochure that describes the new motor.) So that year they had a 7.3l indirect injection (IDI), as well as the 7.3l Powerstroke (DI).

So if it's earlier than a 94 or it has an injector pump, it's not a Powerstroke, it's a 7.3 IDI. Another clue: if it's a 94 with auto transmisson, it's an IDI and not a Powerstroke. Powerstrokes were only offered with the 5 speed the first year.

 

[leeinmemphis]

well injector pump may not be the correct word but I know we paid around $1k around a month ago for some sort of a pump on the fueling system on the 1999 model f450 and the other one I believe is a 1997 superduty which from what I was told of that year model was equivalent to the f450 as well. Injector pump may not be the right word but regardless I guess what i am getting at is that they have had a smalll amount of work on the fueling system on both truck both other than that they have been just regular maintenance. I also found out yesterday that they both have right at 200k on each of them. I'm trying to negotiate for the f450 because I like the bed that is on it a little better.

 

[HGM]

Regardless of whether it has an injector pump(octopus looking thing in the vally of the engine with hard lines going to each cyl) or is a PowerStroke with a high pressure oil system to fire the injectors, its a reliable engine if maintained as described earlier.. My recomendation would be to look at the turbo inlet 1st. If the turbo impeller looks sand blasted or has jagged edges, leave it alone, the engine is on its way out and you dont want it.. If it looks good, smooth ad relatively clean, then while its running, take the oil fill cap off and see how much crankcase pressure is puffing out(worn rings cause large amounts of crankcase pressure)..

Those would be my main concerns, though for a PS I would also like to have a boost pressure test done by someone who has a scan tool capable of doing it. It will help in identifying if its running right, but those first two things will give you an idea if its going to be a money pit.. When you get it, change the oil(make sure its diesel oil/CJ-4 is the newest, but may not be available yet so CI-4 will work), change the fuel filter with a factory replacement and the air filter with the severe duty factory replacement. Remain regimented about the service and you will have lreliable, long service from it.. Good luck..

 

[bullridin_fool]

mine has 284,000 miles on it and is still going strong. this truck has been slightly modified for over 100k miles.(more power) i drive this thing everyday, tow trailers with it, enter it in truck pulls, and hit the local drag strip with it. i did replace the oil pan on it a couple of months ago so i checked the cylinders out while it was apart and the cylinder's are not worn at all, ya can see the hone marks still. i love it.

 

[whitetiger]

mine has 284,000 miles on it and is still going strong. this truck has been slightly modified for over 100k miles.(more power) i drive this thing everyday, tow trailers with it, enter it in truck pulls, and hit the local drag strip with it. i did replace the oil pan on it a couple of months ago so i checked the cylinders out while it was apart and the cylinder's are not worn at all, ya can see the hone marks still. i love it.

Even a worn out engine will almost always have crosshatch at the bottom part of the bore. Your piston skirts do not usually wear them out. At 284,000 miles it has wear in the top of the bore where your rings are running.