My "new" old truck

[midlf]

For my '93 F-250 I play around on www.ford-trucks.com/forums/index.php

 

[Alan L.]

Inn '94 they built two different engines for these trucks.. The actual Power Stroke was a late build. If it truely has a Power Stroke, I'd have to think about it a bit, they useually dont have idle problems.. The earlier engine has an injector pump(as you mentioned).. If you can see an "octopus" of lines toward the front of the engine and leading to each injector, the pump timing could be off sinse they just replaced it.. Any diesel shop should be able to help.. I'm in a rush this morning, I'll check for your reply on the engine and add any other info I have later..Good luck..

I took a look. It says "Direct Injection Diesel" on a heavy plastic door on top of the engine. Behind that appears to be the turbo pump, and under the door appears to be a round thing. I don't see any spider like thing on the front of the engine.

 

[Jagmandave]

Looks to me like the kid's loss was your gain, that looks like a pretty decent truck from the pic. I'd run it by the dealer if there's one near, it could be a simple adjustment..........

 

[Alan L.]

The truck drives OK but the steering wheel is off center, so I took it to a specialty shop that does front ends on large vehicles. The verdict was not good. It needs a lot of parts, and would cost over $1000 to fix it. I told him to do the best he could centering the steering wheel, but I'm not paying $1000 to do front end work on a work truck I will use on occassion.

As along as it drives OK would there be any danger in leaving it as is? The purpose for the truck was never to drive it everyday or go on any trips in it.

The guy also noted that every u-joint has a nut missing. Thats seems very strange.

I drove it 55 miles to work this morning and it ran fine. I wonder however if the temp guage works as I yet to see it past the very lowest mark in the normal range, near the "C". It seems to come of the dead bottom, but thats as far as it gets.

I'm inclined to put the nuts on those u-joints and never visit a front end shop again, as there is bound to be wear on a 12-year old truck even with only 133K miles on it. But not worth fixing.

 

[Bird]

As along as it drives OK would there be any danger in leaving it as is?

That just depends on which parts and how badly worn they are. I don't think anyone can answer without more details. Of course I'd certainly put the nuts on the u-joints. I'd also be checking on that temperature gauge. As for the other, if it were mine, I'd have to have a look at it before I decided. If the truck's as nice as it looks in that picture, I might be willing to spend another thousand or so to get everything right up to snuff. If front end parts are worn, that may be something that will cause tires to wear fast, and those tires are not cheap.

 

[RobertN]

Does this truck have IFS? The IFS with leaf springs had a problem with sagging. My '89 F250 had a 351 in it, and still sagged. I rearched the springs once, then switched over to a solid front axle.

 

[QueBota]

See if you can verify the temp gauge by another method. If it is really running that cold could be as simple as tstat stuck open or perhaps the radiator cap isn't holding pressure like it should. Diesels tend to run cooler than most gassers. Sounds/looks like a real nice truck, good luck with it.

Dave

 

[HGM]

See if you can verify the temp gauge by another method. If it is really running that cold could be as simple as tstat stuck open or perhaps the radiator cap isn't holding pressure like it should. Diesels tend to run cooler than most gassers. Sounds/looks like a real nice truck, good luck with it.

Dave

Ok,sounds like you do have a Power Stroke.. It's more than likely got a post 4/94 birth date.. So, the thermostat(likely missing) is probably the cause of your cooling an idle concerns.. I would replace the t-stat and gasket, dont forget to add the additive.. Then I would replace the missing nuts on your u-joints.. From that point(still pretty cheap) I would jack up the front end and wiggle the tires(hands at 12 & 6 then at 3 & 9).. If you get excessisive play you will need to narrow it down to what is causing it.. Top/bottom is going to be wheel bearings or ball joints. Side to side will be steering (or bearrings too)..Once you know what's wrong you can determine its importance.. If the truck will never leave the feilds or travel more than 20mph, you may be fine just leaving it alone.. Be careful though.....

 

[billbill1]

You probably won't have any problems with the front end as long as nothing is about to break. Ball joints coming apart and tie rod ends coming apart mean a wreck is about to happen. It will wear the tires quickly most likely. You could change the stuff yourself and save big bucks-then have it aligned at any front end place.

 

[Alan L.]

The front end shop said it needed the steering box adjusted $25, upper ball joints $133 parts $162.50 labor, 2 I-beam bushings $55.50 parts, $195 labor, 2 alignment cams $50, 2 front hangers $104 parts, $97.50 labor, install cams and align $155. Grand total with tax $1041.

I was wearing my shirt and tie so I couldn't crawl around under the truck. I stopped at a nearby Ford dealer to have the u-joints looked at. It was 5:00 PM and the service rep got in the truck and directed me into a bay and onto a lift where he took a look himself. Turns out there was a nut missing off the u-joint that connects to the "pumpkin". I was obliged that they took a look and didn't charge me anything, but thought it odd that they didn't have the nut in stock. The rep said stop by NAPA and they would have it.

Seems every time I have taken a vehicle with any miles on it for alignment I find the ball joints need replacing. Not saying they don't, but it seems to be an often recommended repair.