Should I buy? 1994 F-350 IDI Turbo Reg Cab Manual (Hard Start)

Newbie, should I buy? 94 F-350 IDI Turbo Reg Cab Manual (Starts hard in warm weather)

Hello Everyone,

I am brand new to this forum! I have been looking at buying a plow truck and I have had my mind set on a 7.3 f-350. Up until about 3 weeks ago I thought all 7.3l where powerstrokes, I have now learned they are not, which brings me to oilburners. I do not have much experiance with ford's as I have been raised with chevys, however I am not new to diesels, (Grew up on a farm, Heavy equipment operator now, have a duramax, I am no diesel mechanic but like to thing I have an understanding of the motors) anyway...


There is a 1994 IDI Turbo Reg Cab Manual Tranny up for grabs with 150,000 Miles on it, he is asking $3000 Cash. The bad, the owner says it starts hard! seems to be a pretty common problem with the IDI's, but seems to be a problem with any old diesel too. My fear is that the motor could have a concaved cylinder wall, which I have read can be an issue with these 7.3's because IH just bored it up from the 6.9's, the owner also does not know what type of anti-freeze he puts in the truck, he tells me he purchased it from his father in law in 2000 and has been a farm truck ever sense.

This truck starts ******* a 70 degree day, he says when he gets it started however it runs fine and seems to start fine the rest of the day, but when he lets it sit over night it starts hard again in the morning. It has new return lines, some glow plugs and injectors, I noticed in the picture he sent me of the motor it only has 1 battery not 2. I cant think of anything else, what are your guys recommendations, should I buy it? Anything else I should ask or be looking for?

The Dilemma, This truck is about 4hrs away from my home, and I am currently deployed, So I have to rely on my brothers to drive all the way over and look over the truck. Which they said they would already do, I just want to make sure this truck is not a total lemon, I understand this truck will need an overhaul and some TLC, I just dont want any major issue's. These trucks seem pretty hard to find, and pretty tough, so I don't want to loose out on a good deal.

Anyway, I heard you guys where the pro's, so any comments will help in my decision making.

Here is a pic of the rig

When you wish to attach a photo to your post, push the "Go Advanced" button at the bottom and select your photo there, or it will not attach in a way that we can see it.

My bad! Brand new to the forum today, Thanks for the pointer!

Are you sure it's an IDI? It has powerstroke badges on the fender. The 7.3 powerstroke came out in 1994.5 so in 94 it could be either IDI or powerstroke. As an aside, I see a lot of cancer in that picture. If it's a powerstroke 3k might be an okay price. If it is actually an IDI, personally, I'd say keep looking. 3k is a lot of money for a regular cab truck that rough. Only having 1 battery may be a lot of the hard start problem if it's not rolling over fast enough regardless of which engine it is. I don't think they did any diesels with only 1 battery at the time.

laserjock,

Thanks for replying, The owner told me that it was an IDI, the picture of the motor he sent me looked like the IDI's also. As for the reg cab and manual tranny, that is what I am looking for, for a plow truck anyway, I don't want it to be to long!

Thanks

507Sledz said:

laserjock,

Thanks for replying, The owner told me that it was an IDI, the picture of the motor he sent me looked like the IDI's also. As for the reg cab and manual tranny, that is what I am looking for, for a plow truck anyway, I don't want it to be to long!

Thanks

Click to expand...

I agree, a reg cab is better for plowing. I plow with a manual trans, but; honestly I think an auto would be better. Plowing is ******* clutch components (and your left leg).

MTKirk,

I read somewhere that with the older trucks it is better to have the manual because of the reliablilty, I was told it was to ******* auto's with all switching from forward to reverse. " In the older trucks " if I was buying a newer truck yes I would def go with an auto. I also read that the these fords have the ZF-5 manual tranny which is supposed to be a pretty nice tranny. But like I said pretty new to fords in general!

Thanks

im not plow master, infact ive never plowed anything but dirt.
but I think id want a T19 if I was to go manual for this type of work.

IDIoit said:

im not plow master, infact ive never plowed anything but dirt.
but I think id want a T19 if I was to go manual for this type of work.

Click to expand...

What is a T19?

Thanks

The PO's hard starting is probably due to only one battery and that's probably in not to good of condition. I would bet with two batteries and good glow plug system, it would fire right off. When first starting, the GP system sucks a lot of power out of the batteries, then it takes 600 to 700 Amps to first get the engine to start to turn over. Damn cold up your way, so you'd need two good batteries to start, let alone what the plow is taking to operate. For that price, I would go for it. First thing would be to change the coolant to Fleet Gard, it has the SCA in it to protect from cavitation. Then use a Synthetic oil in the winter.

The T-19 is a four speed manual (it's what I have) It is a cast iron cased top loader that is virtually indestructible, unless you fill it with modern gear lube. They are also the easiest transmission (for our trucks) to rebuild, and you can find parts for them anywhere. Junkyards are full of them as they were one of the most common transmissions ever made. They are great for a lot of tough jobs, but they are not a modern smooth shifting trans.

hmm... with a zf-5 and a D-60 front end, I'd be tempted. Offer 2 thousand? Be prepared to rebuild EVERYTHING! Plow mounts are hard to find for these trucks due to the radiator, be prepared to weld up your own.

A T-19 is just another manual trans, 4 speed, ZF5 is 5 with 5th OD.

Should have mentioned to replace or check the glow plugs, if there anything but Motorcraft/Beru replace them.

Cancer don't look to bad, that's two common places on Fords.

Put that engine bay photo, and any others, up here for us to have a looky-loo