getting back from darkside

[mtnbiketahoe]

I am selling my 02 dodge cummins 4x4 6 speed,
and looking at a 92 ford cc 4x4,185k.
in the last 10k,new trans,fuel system,power steering pump.
will this be a decent truck to own?any problems for this year?
I got tired of my dodge,the kids grew and don't want to ride with dad
in his little extended cab anymore,my wife says the dodge is a girlie truck
with its rounded body style,and she misses our old 78 ford 4x4 sc 4 speed.

 

[SparkandFire]

Let me be the first to welcome you back!

In my opinion, any truck with the IDI engine is a good truck, just as long as the mechanical parts are still in good shape.

If it's an automatic, the E4OD is really the weak link, but if it's been rebuilt recently by a reputable shop, then you should be good to go.

Everyone on here will tell you to keep an eye on your coolant additives. The 7.3 has a history of having block cavitation problems, but as long as the additives have been maintined, you should be good there too!

I might get killed for saying this, but I agree... The dodge (besides the cummins parts) is indeed a girlie truck!

 

[gonecrazyi]

I like the the first gen cummins bodystyles but Ive always liked dodges of that style. The newer ones look alright but nowhere near as manly as the older ones.

 

[Agnem]

Welcome back! Read through the FAQ's and any relavant articles in our tech aricle collection.

 

[hesutton]

Again, Welcome back. The E4OD can be a problem area. If rebuilt well and you keep it cool with a cooler and clean ATF in it, it hopefully will be trouble free. Again, cavitation is a concern with the 7.3 IDI. Keep the coolant up to ***** with DCA/SCA.

Like Mel said, there is a ton of info in the FAQ's and Tech sections above.

Heath

 

[funnyman06]

Man i would love to have that dodge, lol. Sorry guys but those 4x4 6 speeds are pretty nice. I do love my IDI, don't get me wrong, but i would kill to get a 4x4 5.9 6 speed.

 

[crashnzuk]

If you can deal with LOTS less power, the trucks themselves are nice. You might not miss the Dodge, but you'll miss the Cummins.
Travis..

 

[mtnbiketahoe]

I will miss the power,but I won't miss hunting down electrical problems,
these trucks will leave you stranded on the side of the road(if your lucky)
there are two computers that control the engine,the TPS tells one computer
what to tell the main one,to tell the injection pump what to do.......
its hard to limp one of these home or to a shop,,How about the expensive injection pump
that fails completely at the drop of fuel pressure from the lame lift pumps.

I have and am fixing all of these problems so someone will get a good truck
looks like there are ways to make these engines run good,
guess theres always the 12v cummins swap if more power is needed,
and the engine wears out....looks like these idi's are preety tough.

Looking forward to the ford!!!

 

[argve]

The E4OD has a history of tanking but I didn't see that in my tenure as an IDI owner but the first thing I did was add a huge liquid to air cooler and kept the fluid changed. I did eventually add a spin on filter for the trans in the hot line before the coolers. I thought pattern as a clean, cool and changed often fluid is a happy fluid. This seemed to work for me and it seemed to work well for Old Mister Bill. OMB drove his truck for his business of hauling anything and everything over the road. Another thing I did was I adjusted the FIPL or TPS so that I would get harsher shifts and added a Banks Transcommand controller that up'ed the line pressure in the trans, I also would let off her a little when she shifted and let things get seated then would pour the coals to her and while I was toasting engines the trans was rock solid. Maybe it was dumb luck or maybe what I was doing was giving the trans good handling - don't know which but I do know that Old Mister Bill and I loved our E4OD's while other guys cussed them. OMB ran two big coolers like I did but ran them in parallel to get even more cooling. I had both the aux cooler and the stock liquid to liquid cooler in the bottom of the rad hooked up.

Now as for SCA's or DCA's (supplemental Coolant Additives or Diesel Coolant Additives) you need to have those in these IDI's because of the high compression ratio these engines have the cylinder walls actually flex during the power stroke and push the coolant out but then snap back in place so quickly that the coolant can't keep up so then when the coolant does finally move back it erodes the edge of the cast iron - yes coolant can do that - look at the Grand Canyon for proof... well by running the DCA's or SCA's (term is inter-changeable) they take the hit verses the cast iron so they are chipped away and not your metal.

I too missed my cab space going from a Crew Cab to an Ext Cab truck - I will miss the power when I move back but as said I'll just stuff a Cummapart in there and have the best of both worlds in my opinion. I'll stick with the 2nd gen motor though (12 valve p-pump = mechanical bliss just like the IDI). I can understand your frustration with the puter driven ones buddy has a 99 that we have fought and fought on TPS interference causing the trans to slip in out of OD killing the trans and causing a replacement, then the weak lift pump took out his injection pump - that wasn't cheap to replace either - but we got that squared (new high volume pump and replacement IP)....

The IDI era Fords are in my opinion hands down the best chassis to have - they are easy to work on and they put up with a ton of abuse - can't ask for anything more.

 

[Flashover]

I find it hard to imagine that I could be happier with my truck.

Did I miss the discussion about a TURBO CHARGER...??? Having had my truck NA and turbo, I say slap a turbo on, it makes all the difference in the world. I don't exceed 900 degrees EGT, and have not had any problems (nothing broke here).

Oh sure, they're expensive and a pain to install, but they run so good. I love the way I can putt or lug my engine, or crank it up and let her rip..very smoothe running..