1989 F-250 7.3 Project

hacked89

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I'm a diesel noob. I got this in a trade for a jeep I had. I also had 3 dodge trucks i off road before this, but it's my first ford.

I'm making this project thread to keep my stupid questions contained to one thread and track progress. I usually search and read the forum a bunch first though.

1989 F250 with 7.3 IDI

-300 on body

-100 some on motor

-4inch suspension lift

-37's

-1ton ball joint D60 swap

-4.10s

-Something going on with the front bumper. I have 0 design or art skills so I'm trying to envision the most straightforward way to finish it off.

-A bunch of basic mechanical crap replaced

I have new doors and fenders

Almost all the wiring needs to be cleaned up.

I'm partially worried the truck is going to catch on fire one day. It doesn't help that when i got it one of the relays was wired really wrong.

But it's how I got it. And the old owner was cool so oh well.

Saturday I worked on fixing a relay for the booster vacuum assist, and troubleshooting the leaking dipstick tube because when I bought the truck I didn't know this is an IDI problem and accidently pulled the whole tube out while checking the oil.

There's alot of issues and some of the bigger items may need to wait until I have a house with a big enough garage to fit this in next year. But for now, there is plenty to do.

It also randomly started to make a deep thumping noise heard through the air intake with smoke on startup which is never did before. Everything I read seems like valve train problem or worse, but I think it's just a stuck injector because it was sitting for months. Once I drove it down the block it went away.
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Thewespaul

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Good luck with that wiring that’s a mess. The thumping out the intake is classic stuck lifter signs. If you haven’t changed the oil go ahead and drain it then put 3 gallons of clean diesel in and let it set overnight. Drain it in the morning (you’ll be surprised how chunky it is with all the sludge it pulls out) and fill it with oil and 1 qt of marvel mystery oil. Make sure and use fl1995 oil filter, it is for the powerstroke but fits the idi well and has better filtration and an extra quart of oil capacity.
 

pafixitman

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I may be wrong but.... It appears your cowl seal was removed (after the rattle can paint job). Make sure you get one back on there. The intake falls right below that seal. If the air cleaner is missing or the bolt does not seal the cleaner lid well, water will find it's way into the motor. Ask me how I know...
 

riphip

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I may be wrong but.... It appears your cowl seal was removed (after the rattle can paint job). Make sure you get one back on there. The intake falls right below that seal. If the air cleaner is missing or the bolt does not seal the cleaner lid well, water will find it's way into the motor. Ask me how I know...

Agreed. Otherwise you will be introduced to the inner workings of the IDI workings.
 

Jason1377

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I may be wrong but.... It appears your cowl seal was removed (after the rattle can paint job). Make sure you get one back on there. The intake falls right below that seal. If the air cleaner is missing or the bolt does not seal the cleaner lid well, water will find it's way into the motor. Ask me how I know...

I'll take the bait howndo u know ^_^ n isn't here any real benefit to a hood.cowl unless ur turboed, I've see very few obs n/a's with a hood cowl
 

IDIBRONCO

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The cowl seal is the piece of weatherstripping that is mounted to the cowl with screws and seals to the bottom of the hood (when closed) to keep water off of the engine. The cowl cover is the part that's between the closed hood and windshield with the wipers sticking through it.
 

laserjock

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Black strip across the top of the cowl that seals the hood. If you like water in your intake. Leave that out and park in the rain.
 

hacked89

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Good luck with that wiring that’s a mess. The thumping out the intake is classic stuck lifter signs. If you haven’t changed the oil go ahead and drain it then put 3 gallons of clean diesel in and let it set overnight. Drain it in the morning (you’ll be surprised how chunky it is with all the sludge it pulls out) and fill it with oil and 1 qt of marvel mystery oil. Make sure and use fl1995 oil filter, it is for the powerstroke but fits the idi well and has better filtration and an extra quart of oil capacity.
Thanks, I'm going to do oil, fan clutch, and some brake work once I finish the fenders and doors

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hacked89

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Thanks all for the cowl stripping comments.

Started getting her ready for the fenders to come off tonight.
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hacked89

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After stuck pieces and PO's tack welding metal to the fender that needed to be cut off. Shes stripped.
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hacked89

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Got decent progress this weekend. Will do bits and pieces after work this week but have a wedding the upcoming weekend.
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