IDI vs powerstroke....need some ammo, please

[Mike]

IDI vs PSD? Silly argument but argue if you must. Yes there are mods that can be done to the IDI and you are at the correct place to learn about them, the IDI guys here are true pioneers in the early light duty truck diesel world. The IDI is nothing short of a work horse, it might not be the first truck to the top of the hill but it will make the hill.

Really though, its not worth arguing about. It takes a mildly modded first gen PSD to hang with a stock 6.0 or Duramax. No sense in arguing that point either. If the IDI is what you drive and like then be happy with it.

Just my two cents.

 

[Diesel_brad]

Way more common than You think . My local gm dealer keeps SIX IN STOCK so they have them. and GM will not authorize a trans to be rebuilt at the shop only trans in a box . My best friends brother has 04 dura max and and is on his fourth trans .

In a stock format the allison is very good. But once you start adding more power they dont like it. AT ALL.

But lets get back on topic

 

[Russ]

IDI vs PSD? Silly argument but argue if you must. Yes there are mods that can be done to the IDI and you are at the correct place to learn about them, the IDI guys here are true pioneers in the early light duty truck diesel world. The IDI is nothing short of a work horse, it might not be the first truck to the top of the hill but it will make the hill.

Really though, its not worth arguing about. It takes a mildly modded first gen PSD to hang with a stock 6.0 or Duramax. No sense in arguing that point either. If the IDI is what you drive and like then be happy with it.

Just my two cents.

Well said Boss, can't add anything more.

 

[GOOSE]

MY only ***** about an IDI.. is there is a guy I work with, laughs at em and my "old junk ****"..

Which is fine, but I would really like to just flat ass annihilate him with the IDI.. at least a close enough run, that he shuts up.. Gets tiring hearing "why you putting money in that old ****?" everyday...

He runs an 04 Maxipad, chip, KandN, exhaust, 450hp.. maybe?

And I know, my 6.9 or a 7.3 will never show that Maxipad who the daddy is...

Wouldn't trade longevity or reliability for his Maxi though...

And I own my truck, neeener neeener.

Hide a piece of 1" plate in the rear of your truck. Offer to hook up on asphalt and drag his sorry bottom backwards. Fords are not HP kings but can tow a house. He'll probably break a crappy IFS part. and be left drooling over your D60 front. Shoot, you"d probably pull him without the weight.

 

[david85]

The 6.9 was the first true hard working diesel of the diesel wars.........

27 years after they first were offered in the 1983 model year, they are still out there working as hard as ever when in the hands of those that are even half educated on how to maintain them. If powerstrokes, duramaxes and cummins trucks from today's computer indegrated generation last that long, they will have my respect. For now however, they have very little respect from me and I see little evidence that they can beat a hard worked IDI in terms of TBO or net cost of ownership especially after the warranty expires!

But if you want to lay rubber from 4 tires on the road, be my guest and get a computer injected diesel. Thats not what my truck is for and never will be. But mine will still be chugging around long after many computer diesels are shreaded down for scrap metal because they were to expensive to overhaul.

 

[Brutis]

The 6.9 was the first true hard working diesel of the diesel wars.........

27 years after they first were offered in the 1983 model year, they are still out there working as hard as ever when in the hands of those that are even half educated on how to maintain them. If powerstrokes, duramaxes and cummins trucks from today's computer indegrated generation last that long, they will have my respect. For now however, they have very little respect from me and I see little evidence that they can beat a hard worked IDI in terms of TBO or net cost of ownership especially after the warranty expires!

But if you want to lay rubber from 4 tires on the road, be my guest and get a computer injected diesel. Thats not what my truck is for and never will be. But mine will still be chugging around long after many computer diesels are shreaded down for scrap metal because they were to expensive to overhaul.

Well stated. Our IDIs do their jobs well and can be maintained cheaply and easily. I don't need more than that. To look under the hood on one of the new diesels makes me cringe at all the complicated gizmos a wires everywhere. They may be amazingly powerful, but the complications and expense to maintain makes me very pleased to keep running IDI power under my hood.

 

[david85]

I came pretty close to getting called out by a moderator on FTE on a similar topic once. He drives a nearly new truck and may have even bought it new, not postitive. Here is the exchange:

http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/690729-would-you-buy-a-new-truck-with-a-manual-transmission-8.html

The lack of options are one of a few reasons why I wouldn't buy a new truck. I'm at the point where I could probably buy one if I wanted, but it wouldn't pay off for me and nothing ford offers can do what mine does................

What exactly can your truck do that a new one can't?

No payments, lower insurance bills, 20-22 MPG @ 70 MPH (averaged 100 miles both ways for windage and averaged several consecutive fillups), cheap parts, completely servicable at home, no emission controls, all mechanical, will never throw a falt code, no aluminum heads or water pump....etc.
Some come close, but you can't get all of that in one vehicle.

However I will never win a drag race or show & shine prize compared to the latest ones. I will admit the newer trucks look and drive very nice, but they don't have what I am after so for now ford won't get my money.

I'm the last to say that my truck will out pull a new one, but there is more to owning one than how much it will move and how fast it will move it. At least thats my take on it.

For a moment there I thought I was really going to get it but in the end no one really made a big deal out of it and the thread died a few posts later. I don't bother with the new truck section of FTE anymore though.

 

[fx4wannabe]

I had a 05 common rail Cummins and had it programmed pretty high. Put 386hp down on the dyno and ran like a ***** ape. It how ever wasn't paid for and with 160,000 on the clock I had an injector starting to leak and I took that as a sign that I should sell it get out of the payment and get the IDI back on the road. So thats what I did. I liked my cummins a lot but when I put it on paper I couldn't justify keeping it.

 

[Optikalillushun]

no matter what u drive there will always be someone who is faster, stronger, pulls better, etc. Remember that. Also within the past 10 years the diesel scene has changed so much who knows what the next 10 years will bring. Each engine brought out will spank its predasessor and its even coming down to each model year. U have to take what u have, enjoy it and remember it is what it is. sure u can play catch up, but as said earlier even the new 6.7 will seem like a dinosour in 15 years.

playing the mine is better than urs game is grade school stuff. when someone snickers about my truck i just smile, chuckle and think to myself...mines paid for at 1/12 the cost of urs, parts are cheap, i can go to a junkyard and rebuild the whole thing and if i cant there i can open an LMC book and get i need, i can work on it with a basic tool set, it sounds awsome and im keeping a piece of ford truck history alive while ur trading urs in for the newest, latest and greastest.

i dont own anything new, my newest vehicle is my 93 F-150. would i buy a new truck if i could? ya but for the sole purpose of having something nice and pretty. if i had the chance to buy 10 IDIs i would do so just because i like them so much.

and props to Deeproots, i love ur mentality...427 in a Fairlane or in my case a Comet...mMm...

 

[magusjinx]

As the proud owner of an '85 F250 4x4 with C6 and 6.9 (and it is my first Ford and diesel truck) I figure I can say a bit ... I agree with y'all about the attributes of the old mechanicals .... No electronics to fry at a most inopportune moment (first day of vacation 100 yards short of the top of Grapevine in Cali or by the burros in Oatman Az), easy and low cost of repairs ... And of the newer models ... Tons of after market mods to make screamers out of them ... Each has its place ... And its backers ... We all are different in our tastes and requirements ... Kinda like 10 people seeing an accident and they get 11 different versions of it ...

But like everything each has its own things to watch out for ... The early 6.9s had a thin spot in the water jacket by the block heater ... Or at least that is what I have been told ... They developed cracks around them ... Not all but a fair number ... Not a good thing ... Ya know ... Now that I think about it, that is the only thing bad I know about the old 6.9s ...

 

[Brianedwardss]

To each his own. The PSD is a good engine, but the cost of repairs is through the roof. That wins the argument for me. I could get an entirely rebuilt engine on how much he'll spend on just injectors and a HPOP.

 

[JesterPgh]

I came pretty close to getting called out by a moderator on FTE on a similar topic once.

I thought I recognized you from somewhere, couldn't place it though (I quit FTE).

 

[Sycostang67]

My friend's dad just spent $1000 for a little silver box to get his OBS PSD running again. I dont think there is anything on an IDI that costs $1000 to replace...unless I went for moose misters or a moose pump. Those aren't neccessary to getting the truck running though, just better options than stock.

 

[Rot Box]

Both are great engines! Its hard to argue which one is better

I went with the IDI because my truck spends a lot of its time in the back country exploring Utah, Wyoming, Montana etc. For me it is much easier to trouble shoot and repair an IDI in the event of a breakdown than a PSD. Also it is so much easier to find IDI parts in the sticks or small junk yards than it is to find PSD parts or even Cummins parts. There were a LOT of IDI's made between 83 and 94 Overall cost of repairs is cheaper for the most part.

 

[david85]

I thought I recognized you from somewhere, couldn't place it though (I quit FTE).

The only thing that keeps me going back there are the members/moderators on the "pre-powerstroke diesel" section. In the higher up forums, like the newer F150s or powerstrokes I really don't fit in because I seem to just be out to offend them on how much money they blew on new trucks that will devalue faster than they can pay them off.......assuming they even do pay them off in this economy.

FTE ken has been known to say things like "if new technology is so bad, get off the internet". I can and have in the past argued back to statements like that (modern auto safety was one thing I actually squared off with him abd a few others on) but in the end its really not worth my while anymore. Still was funny to see them defend the 2001 F150 in a crash test where the cabin completely collapsed.

I have my hands full with other online arguments as it is