BUYING A 7.3 IDI

towcat said:

correct me if I'm wrong. This truck is currently owned by a teenager.
I was a teenager once. I knew what I did to motors with my throttle foot and it wasn't nice. These motors are not "REV" motors. they are built for low to mid rpm work. There is a huge difference when you are revving a motor with no load against it versus revving a motor with a load thrown against it. The poor choice of mods done to the truck tells me a kid armed with his dad's credit card was the builder.
To date, there is no lift made for Ford IFS 2wd. Why? it's an accident waiting to happen. The suspension geometry is all off when pushed to the extremes to get the lift done. Ask yourself, why something as critical as a shock asorber has been deleted? What happens the wheel tire combo starts to gyrate uncontrollably?

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Hes not a teen, but yea i understand. I found some rancho shocks for 61$ each

That truck is not the one you want, everybody's post so far was spot on. Keep on searching and do as much research as you can from this site as it's a goldmine of information all in one place. Good luck, and as stated there will be a good unmolested truck out there for you to purchase.

CheckYourBuffer said:

Hes not a teen, but yea i understand. I found some rancho shocks for 61$ each

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there is no actual "part catalog number" for this suspsension. you need to know four things.
one. mounting method on both ends of the shock.
two. resting height. ideally the midpoint of the shock.
three. compressed height. the length of the shock when the suspension is fully compressed.
four. extended height. the length of the shock when the suspension is at max droop. and since the suspension is highly modified you really want to also put in limiting straps so the shock isn't taking on the full abuse.
good luck.

towcat said:

there is no actual "part catalog number" for this suspsension. you need to know four things.
one. mounting method on both ends of the shock.
two. resting height. ideally the midpoint of the shock.
three. compressed height. the length of the shock when the suspension is fully compressed.
four. extended height. the length of the shock when the suspension is at max droop. and since the suspension is highly modified you really want to also put in limiting straps so the shock isn't taking on the full abuse.
good luck.

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Hmm, i understand what your saying.

i was thinking of offering him something lower than 1500

towcat said:

I was a teenager once. I knew what I did to motors with my throttle foot and it wasn't nice. These motors are not "REV" motors. they are built for low to mid rpm work. There is a huge difference when you are revving a motor with no load against it versus revving a motor with a load thrown against it.

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To be fair, this would probably be the best "previously owned by a teen" motor you could get. Mainly because it's governed.
And, I certainly recall any number of people having run these things right against the governor going 85 for hour after hour after hour.
Whether someone revved it a bunch isn't something I'd be concerned about. If it's startable easily, doesn't leak oil too badly, and doesn't have a head gasket leak, it's probably going to be fine, motor wise.

Considering the $$$ you're likely to have to put into it over the next year or so (probably 3k-5k)...maybe; tires, injectors, IP and that front likely needs some attention...it will take money, skill and time that would be better invested in a different truck.


There are decent ones out there that haven't been butchered and beat for $2,000-4,000 range and with 4x4.

But if your dead set on that rig, at least get it to a reputable diesel shop for a thorough inspection (has to be a shop that knows the IDI diesels)

Just my opinion,

Good luck

Macrobb said:

To be fair, this would probably be the best "previously owned by a teen" motor you could get. Mainly because it's governed.
And, I certainly recall any number of people having run these things right against the governor going 85 for hour after hour after hour.
Whether someone revved it a bunch isn't something I'd be concerned about. If it's startable easily, doesn't leak oil too badly, and doesn't have a head gasket leak, it's probably going to be fine, motor wise.

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there's a huge difference free-revving a motor vs. throwing a load on the motor and running it to the governor. often, the governor cannot catch a free-revving motor.

CheckYourBuffer said:

i was thinking of offering him something lower than 1500

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Whatever you decide to do, we'll be here to help.

Don't be scared! Make your own decision. I am sure you have a "feeling" one way or the other.
Did it start right off?
Did it sound right when it idled, when you drove it?

I see some people saying what you may spend in the next year, well maybe. But you might not. I have had a 90 f250 for 20 years and haven't put 3000 in it yet.
They are tough trucks.
You can always undo some of the things the previous owner has done.
Maybe take someone with you to get a second opinion.

towcat said:

there's a huge difference free-revving a motor vs. throwing a load on the motor and running it to the governor. often, the governor cannot catch a free-revving motor.

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I've never seen it. Sure, it'll go higher than it will loaded, but my Ford manual talks about a max unloaded RPM of 3800, for downshifting and such.
I... don't see that as hurting anything.
Also, remember, this isn't a gas motor or computer controlled motor. It's not going to 'free rev' very high beyond what the IP gives it, simply because it's fully mechanically driven - the flyweights are physically going to stop it within a short fraction of a second.
I've snap-revved multiple IDIs and they just rev right up and "hit a wall". I haven't ever had it rev higher, then drop down.

Also, pretty sure the motor can handle it. I only had problems with free-reving when I first got my RD2-110 pump which had the governor basically disabled; at 4500RPM I had a rocker stud wiggle loose. (Note: after that, I modified the pump with a proper governor again)
But that's a darned sight higher than the 3500-ish you'll get from a stock pump unloaded.

so back on topic^ hahaha its a truck just to get me through the next 2 years of hs, and to work when im not in school. I have a pair of tires so that will be okay if it needs new ones.

CheckYourBuffer said:

so back on topic^ hahaha its a truck just to get me through the next 2 years of hs, and to work when im not in school. I have a pair of tires so that will be okay if it needs new ones.

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you sound like a pretty well-grounded teen. don't see that too often around here. too often than not, most HS kids are looking for the "secret recipe" for power and don't want to pay **** for it either. my daughter wanted this one in my inventory if she made it into Cal poly SLO, but she didn't. She got into a very truck parking unfriendly school instead. As a result, it's up for sale. I'll build her another if she truly wants one when she finishes college in a few years.

towcat said:

you sound like a pretty well-grounded teen. don't see that too often around here. too often than not, most HS kids are looking for the "secret recipe" for power and don't want to pay **** for it either. my daughter wanted this one in my inventory if she made it into Cal poly SLO, but she didn't. She got into a very truck parking unfriendly school instead. As a result, it's up for sale. I'll build her another if she truly wants one when she finishes college in a few years.

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Thats a sweet truck! and yea ive been studying trucks for a while getting to know them before i buy my first one!

CheckYourBuffer said:

Thats a sweet truck! and yea ive been studying trucks for a while getting to know them before i buy my first one!

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i have a couple of them for sale right now. that's one of them. but if you're serious, a drive is involved to the SFBA.