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I am rebuilding my 1985 6.9 IDI. I am looking for any tips, warnings, or suggestions for modifications. I am planning on a mostly stock rebuild. My priorities for this job in order of importance are:
1. Dependable and long lasting engine
2. Do it myself
3. Save some money
4. Improve gas mileage
5. Increase horsepower
About the truck:
1985 F250, 4 speed, probably about 250,000 miles. Rumor has it the original owner used it to haul trailer loads of hay all over the state. It has a turbo on it made by Turbo Engineering that makes about 8 pounds of boost when the truck is working hard. I've had it for four years and it has always started easily and ran good. It has been smoking more and more and the power seems to be dropping of a little. It also has lots of oil leaks. Oil consumption got up to about 2 quarts per 20 gallons of diesel. A leak-down test showed pretty wide variation in the cylinders. I have the engine out and taken apart now. Cylinders are in spec. Heads are straight and sound. Valve guides are very loose and the valve seals were in bad shape. I'm having a machine shop replace the guides. Almost no visible wear on the bearings. Overall everything looks really good.
About me:
I have rebuilt a couple of gas engines but this is is my first diesel. My mechanical knowledge comes from 4 years of high school shop class and a couple of decades of fixing things myself. I have a pretty good selection of tools including a lathe and mill, though I can't call myself a machinist.
Any tips, warnings, or suggestions for modifications will be appreciated.
Thanks
1. Dependable and long lasting engine
2. Do it myself
3. Save some money
4. Improve gas mileage
5. Increase horsepower
About the truck:
1985 F250, 4 speed, probably about 250,000 miles. Rumor has it the original owner used it to haul trailer loads of hay all over the state. It has a turbo on it made by Turbo Engineering that makes about 8 pounds of boost when the truck is working hard. I've had it for four years and it has always started easily and ran good. It has been smoking more and more and the power seems to be dropping of a little. It also has lots of oil leaks. Oil consumption got up to about 2 quarts per 20 gallons of diesel. A leak-down test showed pretty wide variation in the cylinders. I have the engine out and taken apart now. Cylinders are in spec. Heads are straight and sound. Valve guides are very loose and the valve seals were in bad shape. I'm having a machine shop replace the guides. Almost no visible wear on the bearings. Overall everything looks really good.
About me:
I have rebuilt a couple of gas engines but this is is my first diesel. My mechanical knowledge comes from 4 years of high school shop class and a couple of decades of fixing things myself. I have a pretty good selection of tools including a lathe and mill, though I can't call myself a machinist.
Any tips, warnings, or suggestions for modifications will be appreciated.
Thanks