Trailered home a 1989 F350 dump truck that looks great on the outside, but the 7.3 IDI is something else

[crazydane]

Thanks the the suggestions! Once I get the remaining fluids drained, I'll for sure remove the glow plugs and injectors and squirt the GP holes. I did determine the engine turns over (only turned a few degrees for now), so that great news.

Drained the transmission and it had clean looking red ATF fluid in it.

I noticed both rear wheels turned in the same direction on the lift, so I was curious and popped the rear cover, but it looks like an open diff to me?

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The passenger side rear parking brake still sticks, but with a lot of force, I can still turn it by hand. Even if I turn the driver side wheel by hand, the passenger side still turns in the same direction. So is this a limited slip (I don't see where the clutch pack is hiding if so).

I did notice this chip in one of the teeth on the ring gear:

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So I'll for sure be using the rear axle already on the cab & chassis frame (unless the gear ratio doesn't match the Dana 60).

 

[ironworker40]

That rear axle doesn't bolt in to the chassis cab. The frame is narrower on a chassis cab so spring mounts and shock mount are the wrong location. I also believe the axle in the pickup is wider. Did either have a ratio tag on them? Measure backing plate to backing plate let us know.

 

[crazydane]

Yep, pickup is 54.25" between backing plates, where the cab & chassis is 52.25". I'm going to drop truck the ground and raise just one rear wheel and see how much torque is required to allow just one rear wheel to spin. I'm assuming everything is interchangeable between the 2 axles except for axle shafts? So I could move the LS guts (if that's what it has) from the pickup into the cab & chassis, swapping over the ring gear without a chipped tooth.

Unfortunately neither axle has a ratio tag on it.

Removed IP & IP housing and vacuumed the best I could in preparation for removing GPs and injectors:

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Once I remove the GP controller, I can remove the rest of the wiring harness. I'm thinking I'm going to attempt to drop the engine and transmission as a single unit from below this time around. Probably be easier to handle if I remove the transfer case first.

 

[Old Goat]

Wonder what kind of rodent c rap is under the intake manifold?

When i was replacing the IP last July, decided to dig deeper and replace the lifters, Push Rods and install 7.3 Rockers on the 6.9.
When I pulled the Manifold, couldn`t believe the mess of C rap.

There is a drain at the back with a square hole for a 3/8" extension to remove it. It was plugged tight with crud. Iam thinking this is what causes the rust of the VP, holding moisture.
If you go this deep, be sure to leave the CDR Hose in it`s hole to keep stuff from dropping into the valley.

You can save the VP and reuse it, be sure to use a thin Putty Knife to slice through the RTV at the ends, and gently lift it out.


Goat

 

[crazydane]

I'll probably hold off on removing the VP until after I drop the engine.

Pulled the GPs and injectors:

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Everything came out pretty easy with only one injector requiring a little extra effort to break free. I then did 4 squirts of 20W I had sitting around into each GP hole and then did a full revolution of the engine. Got a little liquid out some of the holes:

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There was no resistance felt anywhere in turning over the engine. I feel a little better about the condition of it now.

 

[crazydane]

Put a block under the rear wheel with the sticky parking brake and turned the other side with a torque wrench. About 150 lbs. ft to get that side turning. I'm guessing that's way too low for it to be a limited slip diff working within specs (worn out clutches)? Anyway, I plan to get the Ford e-locker still, so probably a moot point.

Squirted some more 20W into the GP holes and gave the engine a good couple of revolutions. Turns over real smooth, so I think I'm good for now as far as preservative measures on this engine.

 

[ironworker40]

If you're going to let it sit I would over fill it with used oil to get oil on the crank. If it had 5 gallons of water in it then the crank was submerged in water.
I think you would be better of pulling it out then remove pan so you can oil it down and store it.

 

[crazydane]

I hope to drop the engine/transmission over the next week or so. Currently working on pulling out the radiator and all remaining accessories. I'll drop the pan once I do and see what I got.

So many projects and so little time. Story of my life, lol. Used to be I could sneak out and turn wrenches during the weekdays for a few hours, but we're in the middle of this crazy Joint Venture at work with some very tight deadlines. I manage a team of data engineers and while I enjoy that work very much, it's stressful and I appreciate any time I can find away from that rat race where I can be by myself working on these old Ford IDI trucks. There's just something about stepping away from the computer and using your hands and in general being outdoors doing stuff. Many of my co-workers spent very little time in the sun, or being outdoorsy in general. I could never do that. You have to have balance.

When I picked up that 1989 dump truck a little over a year ago on a very cold morning, I didn't even know it was a diesel! I was just looking for a cheap dump truck. But once I got it and found this forum, I sort of went all in. I love the fact that it has a mechanical IP (and a manual transmission). I got an old Ford 1700 tractor (circa 1983) which is also all mechanical, and its been a solid workhorse for 20+ years. Dad also had a Ford tractor (1910) that never blinked.

I think once I get this 1989 cab & chassis back on the road, it will last me as long as I'm still able to drive it (currently 59 years old).

Anyway, that's probably the bourbon talking now, so I better quit while I'm ahead, lol.

 

[Nero]

Oh come on, going onto the internet after a glass or two of whiskey to shitpost is my favorite pass time.

 

[onetonjohn]

Something relaxing about getting away from the screen and getting your hands dirty. As long as I've got another car/truck I can drive while I'm fixing and am not in a hurry - super relaxing and rewarding.

 

[Nero]

Glad to see wrenching isnt just therapeutic for me too.

 

[Old Goat]

The average go with the flow crowd just doesn`t get it.
"You mean you drove that old truck all across the country? You shoulda rented a car."

"I have several times, that is why I drive an old truck on my trips."


Goat

 

[KansasIDI]

Glad to see wrenching isnt just therapeutic for me too.

Probably is for a large percentage of us on this forum.

 

[crazydane]

Oh come on, going onto the internet after a glass or two of whiskey to shitpost is my favorite pass time.

Haha I love it! I knew I joined the right forum!

And yeah, getting away from the computer is for sure a good thing if that's what you do for a living. I probably spend a good 50+ hours in front of one during the week for work related stuff.

Didn't get a chance to work on the truck this weekend as spring is here and I had to cut down some trees, bushes and wild roses (God I hate those things) in the area of my property down by a river. I wanted to get this knocked out before the leaves and what not started to come out as that would make it a real bear of a job.

Figured I'd share a few after shots: (apologies for going off topic)

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Yeah, I got an erosion problem. During heavy rain events, the river actually flow over the top edge and down the field. Maybe what I need is some riprap?

I know I don't have any before pics, but this is the pile I collected:

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Hard to tell from the pic, but its pretty sizeable. About 15' high.

 

[IDIBRONCO]

Hey, it's your thread. Take as many detours as you like.