Anyone run an IDI 2500 miles/week, for months?

[DOE-SST]

I'm looking at taking a contract driving job.


Averages 500 miles/day, 2500/week.

My vehicle is a 1993 Ford E350 XLT van, 7.3L IDI & E4OD. No turbo. 200,000 miles and very well maintained by Uncle Sammy since new.

I once took a similar job in college, and it killed an almost new 1973 Buick.

I'd be driving in all kinds of temps, from Denver cold to Vegas heat, and into mountains high as 9000ft. Cargo could weigh up to 2000lbs.

Soooooo,

Has anyone ever pushed an IDI that hard, for weeks or months?

If so, what problems did you encounter?

Thanks for your response.

 

[towcat]

closest I come to that was 70k-90k/year in a '89 F450 carrier.
if you're doing those miles, you will be looking at weekly oil changes and trans fluid changes every five months. put in a coolant filter to save on coolant changes since you won't be thermal cycling the motor much, you will be running at temp almost all the time.
I did an avg of 250-350miles/day in my carrier that works out to roughly 31-44 mi/hr.
doesn't sound like much, but when you add in load/unload times and food breaks, you are going to feel like you went through a meat grinder at the end of a day if you are running 500mi/day.
word of advice.....do not skimp on comfortable seating for you. your body will thank you.
one more thing, I have a feeling you will have to keep a logbook, if so, the numbers you are throwing out are at the limits of acceptable hours of service. anything more and you will be in violation.

 

[itsacrazyasian]

while its not a current example... i have a transport company with a bunch of town cars and E350 vans. I have gasser motors that get 3000 miles in 2 weeks. I put them on a 15K OCI. They are 5.4 and 6.8L V10's and they hold up real well. I have one customer that uses a international box truck with the 7.3 non turbo courier work. Puts 7500 mi/month, no real issues.

I don't think thats pushing an IDI hard. Think about what they go though as UHAUL rental trucks. Its the biggest reason why i swapped one of these in my truck.

 

[Simp5782]

When I am doing scrap steel jobs. I am running 140-160miles round trip 3 - 4x a day between job sites with my 85 F250 towing a 25' gooseneck grossing between 28 to 40k each trip depending on what im hauling. Just did hauls like that from May 26th till June 22nd, everyday thru the week then hauled my 6x6 on the same trailer 340 miles non stop home from where I was working at. Never had any mechanical issues at all. Just went thru alot of fuel $180 a day.

I think you should be fine if your engine is well maintained. Just keep it around 60,65 and the spare things you may need handy. (return line kit, fuel filter, gallon of oil, antifreeze, extra belt) Never know when something might go wrong but its not worth being stranded if you can keep from it.

 

[Clayton]

I would have the E4od built, The last thing you would want would be the tranny taking a dump along side the road somewhere. And I would add a turbo too if I could.

 

[SparkandFire]

The trans. is really the one thing I would be most nervous about...

Keep a close eye on it, as others have pointed out. Change the fluid often. Get a temp gauge on it, temp is the number one killer of transmissions...

Maintenance is key on things like this, grease the wheel bearings, keep a close eye on the brakes and hoses and belts. All the usual stuff. Keep a milk crate with spares of the aforementioned parts in the van with you.

That's what I love about these old rigs, with a box of tools and a milk crate of cheap parts you can fix a good majority of the stuff that might fail on you down the road.

 

[OLDBULL8]

A spare IP and a set of BB injectors along with the other items mentioned above. A spare tach sensor and VSS might be useful also with an E4OD. If you do a lot of stop/starts a set of glow plugs may come in handy during the winter months.
For the mountain driving, before you take the job, make sure your brakes are in excellent shape, meaning pads, shoes, and replace any rusted tubing or deterorating hose to brake cylinders.


Never fuel up at a gas station unless you know it very well, always at truck stops where lots of fuel has been cycled thru there tanks.

 

[Darrin Tosh]

85 F250 towing a 25' gooseneck grossing between 28 to 40k

that's scary,...


Lots of good advice, I second on keeping the E4od cool. Put the biggest tranny cooler you can find. It is cheap insurance. And Aftermarket Gauges is a must, and should include a tranny cooler gauge as was stated above.

Wouldn't really worry about a turbo if you are only hauling 2K in the van. The NA should be just fine, although it would be nice!

Another thing is to run an Amsoil Bypass System and Synthetic Oil. You just change a filter or 2 every 10K miles, send in a sample and see how the oil is doing You can 50, 60K without changing the oil itself. It is expensive to buy, install but would save you time, money, wear, and tear in the long run.

 

[DOE-SST]

Thanks for the advice guys,

I'm pretty well set on spares and tools. I will add a trans cooler and gauges.


My real concern is blowing the engine or transmission.

With my Buick, that car went from driving 20 miles per week, to 800+ per week, and from 30-45mph, to almost constant 75-85mph.
It had 17K miles when I started, and after about 2 months, it had so many oil leaks, I had to stop and add oil every 100 miles.


I will take preventative action on the E4OD.


From your posts, I gather the 7.3 is pretty bulletproof and should handle the miles without problems?

 

[gatorman21218]

I would put some real gauges on that thing (see sig) and keep the oil monitored well and use some good fuel additive and she should have no problem. Keep tabs on your coolant/SCAs as well. thats the achellies heel of the 7.3 is cavitation. other than that shes a strong motor.

 

[IDIDieselJohn]

Pretty much has been covered.

I gotta question, what kind of work exactly will you be doing? Some kind of parts delivery or something? I'd be really interested to know. Sounds like a job I'd love.

 

[MIDNIGHT RIDER]

>>> PUT THE PENCIL TO IT <<<

Be wary if this is one of those expediter service hauling companies.

It all sounds good to the un-initiated, but the pay will soon put you in the poor-house.

Many in my area have tried it and none stayed more than a couple months; most of them are still deep in debt from this experience.

I recently put the pencil to the cost per loaded-mile for LONG-HAULING livestock in a goose-neck trailer and came up with $6.67 per loaded mile cost to the truck owner before a cent could be called profit.

My figure was for long distance trips of at least 300-mile one way; you can triple that figure for little short farm-to-the-stockyards trips.


Back in the 90s, I was salting money away while hauling for $1.75/mile and we thought things were tough back then.


With only the van and no heavy trailer to consider, your cost per mile will be somewhat less, but not drastically less, as the trailer and it's upkeep are the cheapest part of the equation.

 

[Blind Driver2]

Everyone is giving advice, but nobody knows what you'll be doing with the truck.

What kind of jwill you be doing?

I'm hauling fifthers soon if my plan comes together.