1996 powerstroke

[Vegas-Misfit]

i currently have a 1986 f250 6.9 idi with about 105k on her... she runs awesome and she is my main vehicle... the wife has her car and loves it... i found a crew cab 1996 f250 with 250k on her... i was looking to trade my truck for that straight up because its a crew cab and the wife and myself are expecting our first child... anything i should look for on the 96? and what do you guys think about this deal? only reason he is considering it is because i have a zf5 to go with my truck. he says he has maintained sca but what makes me nervous is he recently put a chip in it for mpg... i know these trucks start to give you problems if you start adding chips and tunes and such... just trying to get the communitys opinion... thanks in advance guys

 

[icanfixall]

I'm no expert on the psd engines but I can tell you the glow plugs and injecters are under the valve covers. If you facter in the costs of doing an injecter replacement on a psd look to spend a lot. The dealer will charge about $4800.00 parts and labor last I checked. From what I know there are no new injecters for them either. The rebuild the all electronic injecters cheaper than a new one anyway. Just look at the costs of injecters and the brass sleeve on ebay. Sometimes those sleeves need replacing too. Of course there is a special tool setup for that too. Most of the top of the engine needs to come off if any injecter work has to be done compared to what we have. The psd has plenty of electronics controlling the engine.. Even the throttle peddle is all electronic. There are no cables connecting the foot to the injection system... Its a reostat kinda like a heater switch.. Its a drive by wire. If you carry spares of the switches and have the meters to tell you whats wrong you can fix them but never going to as easy as our engines are.. The usual problem is cam positioning switch failure. Carry one of those in the glove box and know its bad. Then its not too bad to replace it... I don't recall if that year had an intercooler or not... Easy to look and see... The 250,000 miles is not a bad thing but its got some miles on it... Might ask this question in the psd forum too.

 

[Vegas-Misfit]

i was thinking about posting over there too... and the guy says no injector work has been done... uh oh... and its still the stock E40D trans in it

 

[bike-maker]

I sold off a 97 CCSB PSD and got my current truck.
Got soured on it after I nuked the E40D out of it. And was tired of making payments on it on top of that.
Only issue I ever had was a bad CPS like Gary mentioned above; it never left me stranded, would just randomly die every now and then.
The OBS PSD's were not intercooled. They are just as reliable as the IDI's, just harder to work on. They both will run for a long time.
Bottom line is, the 96 is probably worth way more than your 86; I say go for it.

 

[bike-maker]

Guess we were posting at the same time.
If it has a E40D, either plan on rebuilding the trans or swapping to a ZF5.

 

[Vegas-Misfit]

the injector thing has me nervous because if they only last 200-250k and its a 5000 dollar job that hurts alot and that means down time and like i said this is going to be my primary vehicle

 

[oregon96psd]

the injector thing has me nervous because if they only last 200-250k and its a 5000 dollar job that hurts alot and that means down time and like i said this is going to be my primary vehicle

$5000?!?!?! Holy crap I'll work for you anytime!! The whole top end of the engine doesn't have to come off either, the air intake and valve covers come off. There are new injectors for them, don't know how that thought came up, but most people buy remans. As far as carrying all the sensors and meters for diagnosis, get real. Carry a belt and a cam sensor, that's like saying carry a spare ip, injectors, return line's and headgasket's for an idi. I own both, love my psd, like my idi and one has cost a whole lot of money to keep running, oddly enough it's not the one that's electronically controlled. I'd say look it over, start it cold check for excessive blowby see how it drives and if it seems well maintained and in good condition trade and never look back.

As far as the miles, I'd be way more worried about the e40d than the engine. You said they give problems when chipped....what exactly are those?

 

[fordf350man]

i think he is talking about a tuner chip for better performance, usually its not the chip that causes the damage its the punk kids running the crap out of them that cause that

 

[Vegas-Misfit]

Yes I was talking about tuners but that's just what I have "heard" I'm no expert by any means which is why I am here seeking advice... The psd looks very appealing because of the crew cab and it'll fit my growing family comfortably

 

[oregon96psd]

Is it a 4x4?

 

[fordf350man]

my buddy has a 1997 crew cab powerstoke and it is hitting almost 400,000 miles so far, they tow everything with that truck, even pulled a few semi trucks out of some bad situations, very strong and reliable, they have had some transmission rebuilds a few times but like i said they constantly tow anywere from 10,000 to 20,000 pounds with that thing, they work it like it should be worked

 

[79jasper]

I'd make that trade in a heartbeat.
The 7.3 psd's are actually very reliable.
Injectors last a long time, and are easy to change.

i think he is talking about a tuner chip for better performance, usually its not the chip that causes the damage its the punk kids running the crap out of them that cause that

Ding ding ding!! EXACTLY!!!
Though some cheap chips could maybe cause problems.
A 6 position would be great.

 

[Vegas-Misfit]

It is a 4x4... So from what I'm reading is it is a fair deal on both of our ends?

 

[oregon96psd]

That's what I was getting at on the chip question, they don't cause problems.
I'd say a great deal on your end, his well.....who really cares lol

 

[Vegas-Misfit]

Lol well we are going to meet up next week both of our schedules are pretty hectic... Ill be sure to keep you guys updated