Read a interesting thread on Diesel Stop, IDI 7.3 , 7.3 turbo rated best.

[Moretorque]

This thread went back about 7 years ago and a mechanic who claimed to work on 350 trucks in a fleet said the IDI was by far the cheapest to keep running and easiest to fix diesel motor in a mid size truck.

There were multiple reasons but in the end said if you can live with the HP limitations the motor cannot be beat and one of the major points he made was the newer trucks will leave you stranded on the road with no warning and just quit running because of the complex systems that operate them.

he said the newer designs even with a computer can be a bear to diagnose at times and claimed the IDI was always a easy fix and the motor gives warning signs that it needs attention somewhere and just does not quit running on the spot like the newer ones do and strand your a$$.

Thought it was interesting.

 

[freebird01]

my truck came from tjsea's dad who used it as a hot shot hauler...and was also a ford diesel tech when they were new and basically said the same thing...the idi NEVER left him stranded on the side of the road. he was always able to make on the fly quick repairs to get him home.

 

[Moretorque]

He claimed the old mechanical Cummins was a better motor but the price of parts and repairs made it a notch in price to operate behind the IDI Navistar.

He also said the PS was famous for the high pressure oil pump to start leaking and drain all the oil on a run and cook the engine to the ground.

 

[snicklas]

He also said the PS was famous for the high pressure oil pump to start leaking and drain all the oil on a run and cook the engine to the ground.

From what I have read, if you loose the oil in the engine, it will quit running because of lack oil to the HPOP before it gets to the point of being starved enough to lock it up.

 

[trackspeeder]

He claimed the old mechanical Cummins was a better motor but the price of parts and repairs made it a notch in price to operate behind the IDI Navistar.

He also said the PS was famous for the high pressure oil pump to start leaking and drain all the oil on a run and cook the engine to the ground.

PSD/T444E will shut down with less than 7 quarts of oil.

 

[Moretorque]

I may have miss read the lingo for the post, in any event he claimed he had to go do service repairs all the time on the PS for this reason. He claimed some kinda pump would start puking oil.

He said the electronics on the newer motors can give problems to trouble shoot and the diagnostics equipment can only do so much.

 

[trackspeeder]

I may have miss read the lingo for the post, in any event he claimed he had to go do service repairs all the time on the PS for this reason. He claimed some kinda pump would start puking oil.

He said the electronics on the newer motors can give problems to trouble shoot and the diagnostics equipment can only do so much.

HPOP O rings can go bad and spray oil everywhere. Easy but messy fix.

Trouble shooting an EFI engine really isn't that hard. You do need to think before you wrench. Then if all else fail, break out the software.

 

[Moretorque]

HPOP O rings can go bad and spray oil everywhere. Easy but messy fix.

Trouble shooting an EFI engine really isn't that hard. You do need to think before you wrench. Then if all else fail, break out the software.

He claimed there was problems on the newer trucks with the electrical wiring breaking down and shorting out.

 

[Ruger_556]

I may have miss read the lingo for the post, in any event he claimed he had to go do service repairs all the time on the PS for this reason. He claimed some kinda pump would start puking oil.

He said the electronics on the newer motors can give problems to trouble shoot and the diagnostics equipment can only do so much.

It depends on who is using the diagnostic equipment. The vast majority of journeyman diesel mechanics can't do simple electrical trouble shooting. There is a reason large companies do not run older equipment. The down time simply does not pencil out cost wise. It's better to purchase new equipment, run it until you reach whatever the optimum depreciation mileage is, and trade it in. New rigs will go far longer than they used to without requiring any major attention (Anyone remember when we rebuilt heavy truck engines every 400,000 miles and automotive was lucky to go 120,000 miles?). Yes there are some electrical problems but with the cost and downtime with older equipment it simply doesn't make sense. For a well trained mechanic electrical problems are nothing to be afraid of. Sounds to me like your friend is stuck in the past

 

[ifrythings]

Got a link to this? sounds like an interesting read non the less.

 

[Moretorque]

Got a link to this? sounds like an interesting read non the less.

Let me go back and try and find it, sorry I should have tagged it. He was saying $ for $ these trucks made them more money with less trouble.

He sounded like he new what he was doing and said the newer electrics could and do short out on the newer diesels over time and the equipment to test does not help in some situations.

 

[pickupman]

Got a link to this? sounds like an interesting read non the less.

X2

 

[kc0stp]

Let me go back and try and find it, sorry I should have tagged it. He was saying $ for $ these trucks made them more money with less trouble.

He sounded like he new what he was doing and said the newer electrics could and do short out on the newer diesels over time and the equipment to test does not help in some situations.

With the proper tools finding a short is easy could be time consuming due to large amount of wires but easy all the same.

 

[Ruger_556]

Diagnosing electrical problems is relatively easy... It can take a while and some research into the system but if you know how to read electrical schematics there's not much that can stop you. Back-probing connectors, following circuit's, is all doable because there are only 3 things that can happen to an electrical circuit: Open, High resistance voltage drop, and a short. All of which can be found with a multimeter if you know how the system works. Software glitches, Pulse width modulation, etc... are another discussion and usually require oem test tools to accurately check.

 

[FORDF250HDXLT]

to those who think it's easy.here's a good read you'll enjoy.
(very recent/current thread.guy's down while diesel techs trace 6.7l psd electrical problem for weeks!!)
http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1269499-at-the-dealership-for-35-days-now.html

it's real hard to beat the legendary 7.3l idi.for my neck of the woods,the speed limits hold the psd's to work right along with the idi's anyway.so in n/a form they may not haul the mail up the grades,but they'll always reach the top.