Introduction/1994 Ford f-250 7.3 IDI turbo

KodiakGrizz

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Hello everyone, Kodiak here.

I recently purchased a 1994 Ford f-250 7.3 IDI turbo, and I would love to learn how to maintain and take care of the truck properly. I would greatly appreciate any knowledge you good folks are willing to share.

A little back story, I purchased this truck from the original owner, due to age and health reasons he can no longer drive this truck. It is a manual and has a little over 139,000 miles on it. The truck has slept in a garage for all but a few weeks of its life (hunting trips here and there). The truck was taken to a local diesel shop here in town about 2 years back, for issues that were fixed by a new fuel filter. The filter was replaced and it ran perfect. Since the truck has sat again for about 2 years. I replaced both batteries and removed a mouse nest from the turbo. The diesel was treated with stanadyne, it fired right up and sounds and drives great. I called the same mechanic and scheduled an oil change (even though it had only 400 miles on the change.) figured he could comb through it. He told me to drive most of the diesel out of the tanks and change the fuel filter. I have never really worked on vehicles besides the usual oil/filter changes and the basics. I was an aircraft electrician in the Air Force, but my automotive skills are lacking. I've been reading up a lot and look forward to any tips and experience you all are willing to teach. I'm currently in the process of cleaning the inside of the truck when I can sneak away from the family. Thanks again for your time, I'll post some pictures soon, she's dirty!
 

frankenwrench

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And the engine bay! Love these trucks, so simple and yet reliable. These guys and gals really know there stuff. From stock to upgraded, and mild to wild mods. Wonderful crew here and wonderful machines that we have.
 

icanfixall

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Welcome to the forum. No real need to change the fuel filter unless you see the dash light telling you it needs to be changed. Really not much to these engines or trucks either. Very simple to keep on the road. With 139,000 miles your engine is barely broken in too. I drive about 5000 miles a year so I can change oil once a year and not be harming anything. With lots of towing I suggest changing oil at 3000 miles. air filters need to be checked so you have enough air getting to the engine too. Fuel filters will tell you when they require changing. I think I have 4 years on my fuel filter and no issues. Remember the diesel you get from filling up is already filtered at the stations you use. Just look at the fill line from the station pump to your truck. Also please do not use any Fram filters. Most here will you the FL 1995 oil filter because it filters down to a finer oil. Same with the fuel filter. Ebay has many good prices on the fuel filters made for our engine by Motorcraft.Sounds like your truck is really nice and being a standard trans my bet is its a ZF 5 speed trans
 

KodiakGrizz

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Great! Thank you all for the welcome, I'm looking forward to learning as much as I can. I appreciate the responses. I'll def post some pics. It's a 5 speed yeah. But I usually start from 2nd if I'm not pulling. Is that alright or should i refrain from doing that?
 

nostrokes

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Welcome to the forum and thank you for your service.

I usually change my fuel filter once a year. Probably not needed but I do. Pretty simple machines to work on and last forever if you keep up on the maintenance. Almost anything and everything you want and need to know is here.

Starting off in second gear won't hurt anything, just make sure not to lug it too much and slip the clutch or your in for some fun putting in a new one.
 

79jasper

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Great! Thank you all for the welcome, I'm looking forward to learning as much as I can. I appreciate the responses. I'll def post some pics. It's a 5 speed yeah. But I usually start from 2nd if I'm not pulling. Is that alright or should i refrain from doing that?
My preference is it's there for a reason. Even with 4.10's, I always started in 1st, unless I was already rolling. It is not a granny low gear.
You will see a shorter clutch life, more flywheel wear (if dmf), and possibly wear on the trans. Sure, it won't be immediate.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk
 

IDIBRONCO

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My preference is it's there for a reason. Even with 4.10's, I always started in 1st, unless I was already rolling. It is not a granny low gear.
You will see a shorter clutch life, more flywheel wear (if dmf), and possibly wear on the trans. Sure, it won't be immediate.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk
I feel the same way. I may not get rolling very fast before shifting to second when unloaded, but I still start out in first. The guy who owned the shop that I used to work for had a 95 CC dually with a PSD and ZF5. At around 205,000 miles, I had to replace the DMF. The clutch looked like it still had half the life left in it, but a new one went in since I was in there already. He always started off in first and he towed heavy (probably 30,000 plus).
 
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