I need to know what I have.

[8v-of-fury]

I have well.. my gf's mom has.. but will be mine when i buy it off her and i am doing the work on it anyway

WE have a 1987 Ford F-350 Dually, it has the 6.9 IDI N/a diesel engine. It has 700,000Kms on the clock, yet still runs (to my ear) like a champ. It starts hard because of faulty gp's but once it starts it never dies, sputters, smokes (unless under heavy load on a grade), or does anything erratic.

What my question is, Is that I would like to know everything you guys know about this particular year and model. What gears, what should i be looking at to break at around the 700,000k mark you know that type of stuff?

It could probably use new gp's and injectors but i am strapped for cash.. so right now.. Redneck fixes are all i can afford. I ran a very healthy amount of automatic trans fluid through it this weekend. It seemed to help a bit, but like i said, it already runs like a top.

It has been in their possession for 9 years and the engine has never been touched other than oil and coolant. I'd say its doing well

What can you guys tell me?

Thanks Jeremy

 

[punkmechanic]

I have an 87 6.9 that I added a hypermax turbo on. Thats roughly 460K miles. If they have never been done then you are LONG overdue for an injection pump and a set of injectors. that said if it aint broke then dont fix it. As long as its running decent then run it. If it starts acting up then that is gonna be your sign its time to change. I would get it and start saving your money for these items (500-700 should do the whole lot). As for easy fixes now check all your fuel lines for leaks, modify the aircleaner to flow better, get a better flowing ( and sounding) exhaust, REPLACE ALL YOUR RETURN LINES AND CAPS this will save you big time on headaches down the road (could be the cause of your hard start and not your gp's), make sure that your gp's are motorcraft or beru (if not then buy motorcraft or beru and swap them in). If you can, drop the tanks down and pull the sender so you can have a look inside the tank to be sure its clean and rust/algae free.

since its a dually it probably isnt 4x4. check your front end for work pivot bushings, tie rods, ball joints and all that.

These are some great trucks. not the fastest but they get the job done and come back for more over and over and over.

welcome to the fold!

get some pics and be sure to keep us posted. There isnt much we havent done/seen/tryed/broke/fixed on these rigs so dont be afraid to ask

PUNK

 

[Exekiel69]

Also it wouldn't hurt to use some fuel additive like Power service or Lucas if You don't do it already. It also don't hurt to use some coolant additive on the 6.9l. Read the tech articles, it helps a lot.

 

[CESMITH]

Change Fuel ,air and trans filters also rear end and trans oil. keep the shiney side up, you will learn alot here.

 

[redpowerd]

did those still have the plastic water seperator? if so take it off and throw it a loooooong ways.

 

[8v-of-fury]

Hey guys thanks for all the fast replies.

I've only been under the hood maybe a half dozen times and have never had the chance to get underneath it to check anything out.

I have Lucas Oil and Fuel additive I run in my Volkswagen. I will put some in when I am up there next. I was also going to get some auto trans additive, (did wonders in my brothers galaxie) and will definitely run some water pump lubricating coolant additive in it.

I do believe it's the gp's because the year at least 9 years old and one for sure isn't even hooked up. So I think its causing the controller to see to much resistance right away and not cycle them long enough you know?

All filters will def need to be changed, Will have to figure out a good way to get a good flowing intake, and also i was thinking of just lobbing off the exhaust Where I live because of its age and being diesel its not cared about. hehe

 

[david85]

Coolant. I just remembered SCAs....(supplementary coolant additive)

Diesels can develop cavitation which is an erosion of the cylinder walls on the water jacket side. The solution is to run diesel grade coolant that has additive in it to prevent this. 6.9s have a very thick cylinder wall and isn't as prone to cavitation (in canada they like to call it electrolysis some times) but all diesels still need to have their coolant SCA level monitored and maintained.

You can get testing strips and additive (litmus paper basically) at a HD diesel truck supplier, ford dealer, I got mine at napa.

 

[punkmechanic]

the best way to get around the whole coolant/additive headache is to get a coolant filter from napa with the dca4 already in it. That will help keep your cooling system ungunked and make sure you dont get the dreaded block worm. I flushed the daylights out of mine, then put a coolant filter on, and still feel like its hotter than I want. Im gonna swap radiators and see what happens.

 

[Diesel JD]

Another way around the SCA thing is to use the CAT or Rotella ELC, now I must warn you the organic acid technology "could" eat at your oil cooler orings and maybe water pump seals but it will rid you of any likelihood of dealing with the cavitation worm, its expensive but its the good stuff. There is a chance of needing head gaskets and such at that age, but the 87s were probably the least likely 6.9 to need that. I think your unhooked GP is your hard start problem. The controller reads that as a red hot glow plug. You'd be lucky to get a 5 second glow out of that situation. I think if you fix that you'll have 9-10 sec. cycle and you'll be in good shape. Its gotta be tight and clean as well, the connection that is.

 

[oldmisterbill]

Hey guys thanks for all the fast replies.

I've only been under the hood maybe a half dozen times and have never had the chance to get underneath it to check anything out.

I have Lucas Oil and Fuel additive I run in my Volkswagen. I will put some in when I am up there next. I was also going to get some auto trans additive, (did wonders in my brothers galaxie) and will definitely run some water pump lubricating coolant additive in it.
I do believe it's the gp's because the year at least 9 years old and one for sure isn't even hooked up. So I think its causing the controller to see to much resistance right away and not cycle them long enough you know?

All filters will def need to be changed, Will have to figure out a good way to get a good flowing intake, and also i was thinking of just lobbing off the exhaust Where I live because of its age and being diesel its not cared about. hehe

Water pump lubrication is not the main concern for your coolant-SCAs are the concern.Do a search on "Cavatation" it destroys the cylinder by making pin holes in the cylinder walls allowing coolant to enter the combustion chamber and the oil in the crankase oil. Being a 6.9 they are more resistant to this problem because the cylinder walls are thicker than the 7.3s-but still a concern.You are lucky as you know the previous owners and can track down the maintainence history of the truck and engine.

 

[Agnem]

the best way to get around the whole coolant/additive headache is to get a coolant filter from napa with the dca4 already in it. That will help keep your cooling system ungunked and make sure you dont get the dreaded block worm. I flushed the daylights out of mine, then put a coolant filter on, and still feel like its hotter than I want. Im gonna swap radiators and see what happens.

Just remember to use a coolant filter that contains the correct SCA for the formula your using. There are filters that are filled with DCA4, and there are filters that contain DCA-2. Best not to mix them.