7.3L IDI turbo diesel needs 4 quarts a day

[Bing]

Hey ya'll, I'm new to the forum, recently traded my way into a 1984 F250 4x4 with a 1994 7.3L turbo diesel motor.

Problems are as follows:

-not sure how to wire for towing my 17cargo trailer with electric brakes

-leaks or burns 4quarts a day of oil(mostly leaking, I think)

-brakes (discs in front/drums rear) don't really stop her.

-turning radius is about 1 city block

Any help y'all can offer Is greatly appreciated. Having trouble locating a diesel mechanic near me, And I prefer to do my own work as much as possible.
Thanks in advance.

 

[Thatoneguy]

Gonna need a little more info. Wiring for trailer brakes is easy. YouTube is your best friend for that. Do you know where it's leaking from? How do the brake pads look and rotors? Do they have adequate pressure? What kind of front suspension do you have? These trucks naturally have bad turning.

Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk

 

[Hydro-idi]

4 quarts a day? Wow that's a lot. Sounds like that engine needs to get pulled & rebuilt.

 

[OLDBULL8]

You don't need a Diesel Mechanic yet. Brakes and trailer is the same a s Car.

For the trailer brakes, look into the harness at the rear drivers side, there could be three wires wrapped up in there, Blue, Red/Orange and Black, the other end is by the drivers side firewall wrapped up in harness. Get a Tee connector for the brake lights, running lights and turn signals. You also need a in Cab brake controller. A seven way receptacle for the rear. Two 25 Amp auto reset 12 Volt circuit breakers, for trailer battery charge and trailer Brakes.

Get a gallon of Dot 3 or 4 brake fluid and flush the brake system.

Make sure you have at least 20 inches of vacuum off the Vac pump.

Get some Simple Green or Purple Power, soak the engine down with it, let tand a couple of hours, then hose it down, KEEP INTAKE COVERED so NO water gets in it, run engine to look for oil leaks.

https://www.etrailer.com/faq-wiring.aspx

 

[icanfixall]

Welcome to the forum. The brakes will never work like they should. Sadly the automatic adjusters in back don't work like designed. so get a brake spoon and adjust them. Best way to determine how far out of adjustments the rears are is apply the parking brake. If it wont set of sets near the floor your rear drums are way out of adjustment. I bet when you come to a stop light completely you find the truck starts creeping forwards and the brake pedal sinks close to the floor. This is the master cylinder trying to fill the rear brake cylinders so the pedal sinks.

 

[Thatoneguy]

Welcome to the forum. The brakes will never work like they should. Sadly the automatic adjusters in back don't work like designed. so get a brake spoon and adjust them. Best way to determine how far out of adjustments the rears are is apply the parking brake. If it wont set of sets near the floor your rear drums are way out of adjustment. I bet when you come to a stop light completely you find the truck starts creeping forwards and the brake pedal sinks close to the floor. This is the master cylinder trying to fill the rear brake cylinders so the pedal sinks.

My parking brake pedal only goes about half way... But when it's on, that big ol truck ain't Rollin nowhere lol

Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk

 

[Macrobb]

My parking brake pedal only goes about half way... But when it's on, that big ol truck ain't Rollin nowhere lol

Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk

And that's about where you want it, more or less. As long as the brakes aren't dragging with the pedal /up/, and you can't push it all the way to the floor, you've got it where you want it.

 

[Thatoneguy]

And that's about where you want it, more or less. As long as the brakes aren't dragging with the pedal /up/, and you can't push it all the way to the floor, you've got it where you want it.

Sweeeeeeeet. I definitely could use some new pads and rotors though.

Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk

 

[madpogue]

"Day" means nothing wrt. oil consumption. Do you drive 8 miles a day or 800? Or somewhere in between?

For that matter, does the rate of loss change based on how much you drive per day?

 

[u2slow]

Are you smoking pretty bad? Worn turbo seals have the potential to pass a lot of oil.

Check your vacuum pump and booster. A problem with either results in pathetic brakes. Hydroboost made a huge difference on my '95 F350 on 35's.

 

[Bing]

Man, Thats a lot of good info, fellas. I'll try to answer the questions posed.

I'll use the instructions y'all provided, plus YouTube, to take care of that.

It appears to be leaking from the top of the engine and traveling down the front of the engine and down the back, down the transmission. Rear main seal at transmission was recently replaced, when I had the bellhousing replaced.

As an update, I had to replace the alternator, which died suddenly. I went ahead and replaced the thermostat and the glow plugs. I ended up tightening all the bolts that hold the valve covers in place and the bolts along the front of the valley pan.
I get the impression that this engine had a lot of work done on it, but not all done correctly.
As the auto parts store didn't have the right alternator for my 84/94 truck, I've got to go back tomorrow. When I get it reassembled, I'll let y'all know what I find.

Thanks again, the response has been great

 

[IDIBRONCO]

Unless you used a Motorcraft thermostat, it won't work correctly. It may for a time, but the aftermarket ones just don't seem to last.

 

[saburai]

You might as well do a 3G alternator swap while you're doing it. Definitely worth the time, effort and money.

 

[Thatoneguy]

You might as well do a 3G alternator swap while you're doing it. Definitely worth the time, effort and money.

Very, very true.

Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk

 

[Thewespaul]

What brand glowplug s did you use?
Sounds like your valve cover gaskets need to be changed