Are the idi's worth keeping?

[94250turbo]

I've got two idi's (in my sig below) I've just been kicking around the idea of getting rid of them. In the recent days I've had some troubles locating parts etc. Does anyone see these trucks gaining any popularity? I like the fact they are pretty cheap to work on but it bothers me to know I could be putting money into a truck and then one thing goes wrong and I cannot get the part. I can no longer get a glow plug harness for my '94, not that it needs it but I hear you cannot get the crank pulley for my '86, I also read something about piston cooling nozzles for the 6.9 which you can no longer get. What's your guys opinions on this? Im really curious how towcat feels about this because I think he has a fleet of these trucks which he works.

 

[IDIoit]

there junk, send everything to me!

on the serious side, i see te IDI's all over craigslist, and in the past year ive only seen one in a junkyard.
they are super easy to work on and super reliable.
plenty of parts on e-bay as well.

where theres a will, theres a way.
i only got rid of my 6.9 because it was a 6.9 and a oil burner member needed it, 7.3's are still out there to be had.

reguarding glow plug harnesses, when i swaped mine to a 7.3, i made my own, some connectors from the hardware store, and rubber hose to insulate them.
havnt had 1 problem with em'

 

[Rot Box]

Some brand new OEM parts no longer exist but good used and/or NOS and aftermarket stuff is still out there. I'm surprised nobody offers an aftermarket GP harness.. I'll bet if the demand was high enough someone would start making them. I hate to say it out loud but I've scrapped two mostly complete 85 IDI's because I couldn't give them away There's a bunch of them in the local classifieds for $1500 or less and some nicer ones for a bit more. On that note my friend was recently given a running/driving 94 IDI super cab 4x4 with a factory turbo/ZF5... So no I don't see them gaining value anytime soon.

I paid a bit for my 91 because a somewhat clean 4x4, crew cab, IDI with a five speed is tough to find, but all the hardware is common. It's valuable to me because I can't stomach the idea of a car payment on a personal vehicle and I don't like the idea of excessive electronics or horrible big block gasser fuel mileage. It's not perfect though I've realized every moving part on these trucks need to be replaced after 220k miles. I've been fighting those nickel and dime issues for quite awhile now and it's getting pretty dang annoying. With that in mind there's not one newer diesel truck out there that you can say is cheap to work on


I've owned exotic motorcycles over the years and while it's tough--really tough to find spare parts (good fuel tank for a 94-95 ATK? still looking..) it hasn't left me dead in the water for more than a few weeks. Somewhere someone has what you need sitting on a shelf in their garage it's just a matter of tracking it down.

 

[pickupman]

I think it's highly a matter of what you need your trucks for. I've found that these trucks are nowhere near perfect, however, they serve a purpose and serve it well. I don't use my truck as a daily driver, I simply use it when I need a truck, which I find is more often that I realize.

If my truck was a daily driver I might get frustrated with all the minor annoyances or waiting on parts that I have to order. That is a big drawback that you can't always get parts right away, but I have yet to not find a part I need. I have also learned to improvise or improve upon what is there.

Unless I was using my truck for work and was making money by putting my truck to work, I couldn't justify payments on a truck. So it works out perfectly. It's cheap and simple to maintain and reliable when I need it. It has never died on me except for when I ran it out of fuel once.

 

[icanfixall]

These are the most under rated truck out there. They are simple and VERY economical to keep running. The few parts that are no longer available really is no reason to get rid of these trucks. Reason towcat MUST rid himself of these rigs is the business he is in. He has a tow fleet of the super duty idi trucks with the roll off beds. Some fool in Cali government felt these engines were polluting the cali air so they are outlawed I think as off 2015 or 2016 but. We still can drive these same engines in out F series va and trucks. Figure that out... Now as for cooling jets no longer made well that appears to be the really press in jets and not the screw in jets. Very few engines are still around with the press in jets. Those were the early blocks that had cracking issues. That changed in 84 or 85. Most if not all internal engine parts are the same in every idi engine. About the only realy change is the turbo rods and pistons that had larger wrist pins. So any idi 6.9 or 7.3 engine can use the same rod crank cam oil pump and cooling jets along with many other parts. Are we running out of parts??/ I don't feel thats going to be a problem in my life time. If your 20 years old maybe in your life time but who knows whats ahead. Of course there are plenty of other engine possibilities for out trucks. Cummins comes to mind. Several well know members have done this conversion and we still allow them on this forum.. Some feel they want to give them this.. But I think they need this...

 

[pickupman]

Also, I do agree that the lack of aftermarket support can be a little frustrating. I mean people can go and find pretty much any part they need for a 351 or 460.

 

[Black dawg]

It has gotten to where it can be hard, if not impossible, to find new/reman parts for stuff 10 years and older. Certain parts just arent available.

most everything that is hard to get for these trucks can be built.

 

[C_Luft]

The local auto parts stores will eventually run out of parts for the idi, just like on the auto zone app the last time I looked they only had autolite glow plugs, but on ebay new motorcraft parts show up pretty frequently. There are still plenty of parts for the idi you just have to look on the Internet, and with R&D idi performance and Conestoga diesel injection adding more performance and replacement/custom parts and engines for the idi, I won't be getting rid of my idi until the EPA takes it from me.

 

[mblaney]

I see no reason to dump mine! Classic truck with the best engine ever made (citation needed ). I find parts relatively easy to get but maintenance and stocking essential parts is a good idea. Water pump, vacuum pump, belt tensioner come to mind. Glow plug harness is available after market, look for ones for International trucks, 1807648C94. This (apparently) has extra wires that you don't need but if you are not comfortable brewing your own this one should be easily adaptable. The biggest issue I think is finding someone who knows how to time them; that's why I bought my own timing meter.

I get so many compliments on my truck I think I will be buried in it. Anyone can buy a new truck; not everyone can keep an old truck new!

 

[FORDF250HDXLT]

i think if your asking,then it's probably time to move on.there will be someone willing to fill your place and keep running your trucks.they don't last forever and the power of the newer ones sure is nice.im content with mine and likely will be for many years to come still.

 

[jaluhn83]

Piston nozzles are only an issue for early 6.9s. I believe the change was around sn 225xxx, something like mid 85. I wouldn't rebuilt a press in block, but shouldn't have much trouble finding a bolt in 6.9 or 7.3 core.

I haven't really seen much issue with parts. The chassis parts are all pretty common, and most of the engine parts seem to still have good support. Ford/IH only parts are likely going to be more difficult, but there's few things you're likely to need that are dealer only.

 

[Agnem]

I will be offering new glow plug harnesses soon. It's on my to do list.

 

[GOOSE]

You're talking to someone who's planning on keeping theirs for another 25 years..........at least!

 

[direwulf23]

I'm with you GOOSE. I'm 36 and I don't plan on buying myself another truck.

1994 Ford F250, 2wd, 7.3L IDI, NA, E4OD

2006 Ford Expedition Eddie Bauer, 2wd, 5.4L, automatic

 

[GOOSE]

I never said I wouldn't buy/build another. I would like another 7.3 Excursion and I would like to build a monster DT360, for another truck, maybe a super cab 4x4 dually.