Ok list of improvements to an idi

[bigoilburner20]

thanks for all the info I sure would need it it is just sitting in the weeds and never being drivin and just sits broken hearted and starting to rust too.

 

[Kalashnikov]

IMO unless the radiator in the truck is damaged, I wouldn't go out and buy an alu radiator. Stock is plenty good.

3g alt is good because it's about doubled the output of older stock alts and eliminates the external voltage regulator and wiring which is a main cause of charing issues.

Most trucks KI have seen have burnt headlight switches/connectors. RJM technologies sells a nice harness.

The blinker switches in the steering column like to wear out and cause grief with brake, tail, parking, and headlight.

Headlight switches like to fail and light up onlt the parking/dash lights or headlights only. They also like to only have the dash lights on high or off.

The heater built into the fuel filter housing has an o ring (or 2 for some) that like to leak and is an odd size.

If you have a fuel filter with a bowl that uncrews you can get a 1 piece that still has a sensor port in the bottom.

Previous glow plug and return line issues. In addition, the lines at the tank selector valve like to leak. The hardlines to the injectors will leak if they get tweaked taking the off and no amount og tightening will stop it.

axle breather lines like to rot off so if you tow a boat your diff will fill with water when backing the boat in.

Electrical issues like to be caused by the large main harness connectors under hood having loose connections or corroded terminals.

IMO hydroboost is wayyyy over rated. My 89 has tons of braking power. Towed an 80s GM large bodies car on a trailer with no brakes highway and it hardly effected braking. 01 Dodge 3500 cummins with factory hydro has ****** brakes.

Oil, volt, and temp gauges are known to be inaccurate or non-functional s it is best to install aftermarket ones.

Door handles are known to break off, specifically the little tab the mounting bracket bolts to toward the rear of the door. (sorry, no pic)

Window motors and lock actuators like to die. The lock actuators sometime become finicky and will only either power lock or unlock.

F250s have a ****** Dana 50 IFS which is known to eat ball joints, TREs, and u joints. a Dana 60 (from F350) solid front axle bolts right up. You might need to add atrack bar and bracket.

I'm sure there are more as well.

 

[franklin2]

F250's with a regular cab have dana 44hd axles. The extended cab f250's had the dana 50. They are ok when new, but you are right they are tire eaters by now because everything is wore out. New spring and pivot bushings, balljoints, inner and outer tie rods and a good alignment will bring them back to life though.

 

[gdhillon]

Ok, you mentioned things that are junk and will give you trouble. That's a easier list, though not short.

1. Wiring to the headlights and other lighting is too small and will melt the wiring and the plug at the headlight switch. Someone mentioned the relay mod for the headlights, and you might need a relay for the running lights also if you pull the trailer or have a camper.

2. The fuel sending units in the fuel tanks are junk. The "shower head" pickup breaks off and you run out of fuel around 1/4 tank, and the resistance thing that works the gauge wears out. And new sending units are very expensive and hard to find.

3. The fuel switching valve that switches the tanks are getting old and will usually fail. The parts stores sell a generic one that needs some fabbing to hook up, or you can find a Ford one that is very expensive. Or people have their own methods to switch the tanks over, there are many ways to do it.

4. The fill system/necks for these trucks stink. The first time you go to the station to put fuel in, you will find this out. Do a search on tank venting, it's a common problem.

5. The instrument cluster lights on the 86-dwn trucks are very inadequate and dim. They have colored lenses in the cluster that cloud over when they get old, making the gauges very hard to see.

6. The fan clutches wear out. That's not a problem, they have had a long life, but the new replacement ones are junk. There are threads on here and there are several different ways to fix this.

7. The front brake calipers like to stick, and the slides that the calipers ride in like to rust and stick. You will probably be messing with this in the near future, just make sure you lube the caliper mounts and slides with never seize or something equivalent.

8. The rear parking brake cables rust and seize up. You will find they are very cheap at the auto parts stores, because they sell so many. They are a bit of a pain to replace, just cross your fingers and hope you have the rearend where your rear drum just slides off. If you have the Dana where the drum is behind the axle flange, then you have a job ahead of you.

9. The brake lines like to rust in two. Common places are about midway behind the side fuel tank, and right where they hook to the rubber lines up front. This happens at the worst time possible, so look at them and see if they look bad.

10. Look at the seam above the doors on the outside from the drip rail to the back upper corners of the cab. This seam likes to open up, and water leaks down the inside cab corners and rusts the cab corners out.

11. The glowplug controller likes to fail, and ruins your glowplugs. I like the manual switch conversion myself, but some people like the automatic system, and upgrade it to the later 7.3 system(if you call that a upgrade).

12. Return lines and o-rings on the injectors have been mentioned already. This is a good system, it's just getting old and time for replacement.

I am sure there are some trouble spots I have missed. Are you sure you still want to buy one of these things?

Any pictures of where these locations are?

 

[Kalashnikov]

F250's with a regular cab have dana 44hd axles. The extended cab f250's had the dana 50. They are ok when new, but you are right they are tire eaters by now because everything is wore out. New spring and pivot bushings, balljoints, inner and outer tie rods and a good alignment will bring them back to life though.

D50s (and D44HDs) are the worst IFS set-up ever designed, except for the fact they are durable. They ride like ass, handle like ass, damn they even look like ass! The fact they use negative arch leaf springs speaks for itself. Much better off investing in a Dana 60 than rebuilding such an atrocity. The 1/2 ton TTB IFS is better designed being that it uses coils but it still sucks as well.

 

[bigoilburner20]

holy crap that is a lot of info man I should just park the truck and fix all of the imperfections before i even drive it wow lol

 

[franklin2]

Any pictures of where these locations are?

The front ones are easy. Crawl under the truck behind the front tire, and look up at the bracket that holds the rubber brake line. Coming out of the top of the bracket you will see the hard line. All the road junk and salt splashes on it, and it rusts right there. It will do it on both front lines. Just take your hand and feel around the line. It can be brown with rust, but if it's pitted or has rough bumps on it, it's getting bad. It should be smooth on the outside.

The line going to the rear is harder to get to, but if you crawl under the truck, find the line as it drops down from the proportioning valve, it runs inside the "C" of the frame to the rear. Just run your hand over it again, and it's the same. If it feels rough, it's not good.

If your lines are good, and you drive in the salt, I would take some wheel bearing grease, and smear all over the lines as good as you can. Work it in, and then as you drive it, dirt will stick to it, and though it's not pretty, it protects the metal line surprisingly well.