93 F250 7.3 IDI non-turbo 4x4, 5speed / "131k" miles

[trucknorris]

I picked up an old city service truck that was taken care of by the city, but severely neglected by the owners and amateur "mechanics" afterwards.

The body is in good shape with no rust, with several dents, and scratched up and dented up bed -- but that gives it more characters.
The interior looks like they hacked up on the dash to fix the headlight switch, and etc.

Mechanically, it comes with several issues: clutch pedal, soft brakes, wobbly steering pump, non working a/c, and cold start plague.

Once started, it runs great, no unusual noises, strong motor. The previous owners used ether to get it "kick-started" -- i guess it was cheaper to use ether than fix the root cause.
I've read a bit about the 7.3 motor, the FP, IP, return line issues, and GP, and GP relays, and wiring.

Supposedly the motor has 130k miles, not sure how true this is. The valve covers have stickers for some company out of Nebraska.

I am not going to be restoring the truck to show-room new, but I do want to get the motor to highly available state, that will not leave me stranded, or desiring for it to start before the global warming finishes us off.

My priority is:
[] ALL FLUID FLUSH
[] Fix the soft brakes
[] Fix the clutch pedal
[] Fix the cold start (which may have to be prioritized because of approaching fall/winter)
[] Fix the power steering pump
[] New Tires

My first question is, what should be my priority when it comes to cold start issue. What is a must replace, what are the must mods, what's my first order of business (besides the obvious ohming the gp).

 

[DesertBen44]

You can check if there is any smoke coming out tailpipe while cranking, that can hint towards glow plug system or fuel system. Imo electric pump is a must have mod! Read my writeup in th tech forums for details if your intersted. Welcome to forum!

 

[trucknorris]

You can check if there is any smoke coming out tailpipe while cranking, that can hint towards glow plug system or fuel system. Imo electric pump is a must have mod! Read my writeup in th tech forums for details if your intersted. Welcome to forum!

Thank you! The electric pump is on my list of things to install!

 

[OLDBULL8]

Instead of Ohming out the GP's, just pull all of them out and see what brand they are, if anything but Motorcraft/Beru I would replace them, hopefully they do come out OK. Are you anywhere's near Conway AR? A member RLDSL lives there, very knowledgable about these IDI's. OK Robert, don't get teed off now that I recommended you. ;p

 

[trucknorris]

Perfect! I'm in Conway -- it's always nice to have local friends that know what they are talking about.

Here is the truck I rescued off craigslist:

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[RLDSL]

Howdy neighbor! I'm out on the edge of town toward Toadsuck. Always happy to help folks out Soon as this weather cools down, I'td be fine for ya to come on over an we can git that thing straightened out ( I'm flat worthless in this heat, still recovering from a few massive heat strokes). I have all the good toys for fixing things up.
Chances are those soft brakes are nothing more than just rear shoes that need adjusting. If your parking brake goes down more than halfway, that would be the case. We'll be able to get you all fixed up

 

[DesertBen44]

not a bad lookin rig! is that a lift gate?

 

[icanfixall]

Welcome to the best forum about these engines and trucks anywhere. Collectively there is more knowledge here than any dealership in any or all the states put together. We prove that all the time. Robert is a great guy and he has a really customized truck tow rig. He has 15 forward gears and three reverse gears... He can pull the paint off a wall with all those gears.... Soft brakes usually means the rears are out of adjustment.. Sure, they have self adjusters.. But they don't work at all. So we manually adjust them and it works fine. If left alone the front discs do all the stopping and that ruins the pads and the rotors fast... I cracked several rotors till I found out what was going on. The clutch peddle issue is something we know about here too. Actually we have a member that fabricates a bracket to inforce the firewall so there is no flex. It once was a ford option but they stopped selling it. Ether is not something we tell owners to use. Generally useing it and the glow plugs will damage the engine. But you probably have a mess of burned out glow plugs so pulling them and replaceing them with motorcraft beru plugs is the only thing to do. Look for them on ebay under ZD( Glow Plugs. About $9.00 or $10.00 is a fair price for them. Sometimes a sale comes up too. Autozone was selling out all of it inventory about two years ago. I bought over 50 of them but have sold off most of them... They were $2.99 each with free shipping.... That was a steal of a deal back then... The power steering pump requires a special puller installer to get the pully off. Beg, borrow or steal on. Don't try to remove it with a press and a hammer. You will ruin it for sure. The pulley has a small lip near the shaft. Thats where the puller clamps to. Then you just turn the screw in till its off. Then you can remove the pump from the brackets... Others wil chime in for other information to help you out...

 

[trucknorris]

RLDSL -- I really lucked out having you close by. I am just down the road from you, closer to I-40. Just name your favorite bevarage and a steak, and we have ourselves a deal.
The rig has a working tommy lift. I've had 3 people on it, and it lifted us. I'm really digging the rig so far, even with interior that has been beat to hell -- nothing a few visits to junk yard cant fix. I'll go ahead and start sourcing parts, and start changing fluids. There are some very good articles here.

Thanks guys!

 

[trucknorris]

advancedautoparts ise selling Motorcraft ZD9 glow plugs for $9.54 a pop. I am going to order them. Is there a kit I should order for injector rings, lines, return line, etc? Which member is selling the firewall plates?

Thanks guys!

 

[RLDSL]

advancedautoparts ise selling Motorcraft ZD9 glow plugs for $9.54 a pop. I am going to order them. Is there a kit I should order for injector rings, lines, return line, etc? Which member is selling the firewall plates?

Thanks guys!

call and see if they have those available through the store on the west end of town

( talk to Dennis or Joe )if so, wait and go with me and I should be able to save you a few bucks on my commercial account there.
I have one of those steering pump puller/installer sets so no worries . When you buy a rebuilt pump, you will need to go to Ford to get the teflon oring for the high pressure hose seal. Get a couple in case you mess one up trying to get it on, they are cheap. Its one of the very few things the local ford dealer actually keeps in stock and doesnt gouge on the price.

 

[DragRag]

He said toadsuck.......lol

 

[cpdenton]

This is my first post here, but I have been reading here for a while. Just had to post on this thread, seeing as how I live in Conway also. Just east on 286. Yup, just off skunk hollow road. It's not as good as saying I live near toad suck, but a good unique name too!

I picked up a 92 f-350 DRW crew cab a few months back. I have swapped in a 5 speed so far, and plan on more things. Tuck starts and runs good, but it is good to know that there are people close that know what to do when something goes wrong.

 

[trucknorris]

Small world. Looks like we are going to have to have ourselves a cook-off one of these days, before the winter.

 

[OLDBULL8]

Robert, looks like your gonna be busy. Ya know how to act as a Foreman don't ya?