Dirtleg
Full Access Member
Hey guys/gals it's been a really long time since I've been on here but due to some really strange circumstances I now have my 93' F350 back.
Did a little looking around and see some familiar names in here. Good to see ya'll are still here.
The short long story is that in early 2012 my now ex and I split up. It was pretty ugly and I ended up leaving the 93' on the Farm during that time. 5 1/2 years later after finally getting a motion to compel approved in court to force a settlement (She wouldn't settle even after years of repeated attempts) we agreed a week ago to sell the farm and split the personal property between us.
A few weeks earlier I needed to move some things and having sold my 06' King Ranch back in 15' I decided to try and use the 93' rather than rent a uhaul. When I got there it was in terrible shape. No idea how long it had been since it was started. It was parked up along the wood line with no batteries, the bed full of trash piled high, windows held up by wooden stakes, drivers door panel missing with the window and lock control wiring just hanging loose. It broke my heart.
This was a turbo'd, custom exhaust, matched injectors and Moose pumped truck just sitting there rotting. Sad to say the least.
I made the decision that day I would be taking the truck back.
Having a course of action now in place I immediately went and bought 2 new batteries and installed them. I turned on the key, waited for the glow plug controller to cycle, and in what seemed like less than a full rotation of the motor it fired right up. This of course brought a smile to my face. It was a bit rough but running pretty well considering who knows how long it sat. And the whistle of the turbo through the straight pipe was nice too.
I let it idle a bit and the engine is smoothing out. Trans temp gauge still working, Pyrometer still working, Air conditioning not working. Window motors work but windows don't move. That's an easy fix. All the gauges in the dash are still working but the brake and ABS lights are on. Looks like the trailer brake controller and wiring will need to be fixed but again not a big deal.
Push the brakes and apparently the vacuum pump works. But man that pedal is soft. Not surprised since the brake light is on.
Put it in gear and it takes what seems like a little more throttle than normal to get it going but once it's moving no real issues there. Shifts seems a little rougher than I remember but who knows. It's not slipping in gear. But brakes again. Yeah not good. There's enough to drive it but certainly on the weak side.
So I head off to the dumps to get the trash out of the bed. Going down the road the steering is really quite loose. This will be one of the first things addressed, after the brakes. Most of the trash was metal and when I say piled high it was high enough that it was only after digging down through it while throwing it into the metal bin that I noticed one of what used to be my spare 6.9 IDI motors in the bed underneath everything else. (I have the other 6.9 as I was getting it ready to build up before the divorce.)
Well the motor in the bed had the passenger side head removed and had been left open to the elements. I hated to do it but I backed into the bin (it was open ended) hooked a strap to the motor and pulled out from under it leaving it in the bin as I just needed to get the truck empty so I could use it. Took it back to the farm and cleaned what must have been 2-3 years of composting junk out of the bed. Got it down to just the rust, metal and paint that was left. Beds in pretty rough shape. Rust pitting has started and there are some gashes through the bed floor that didn't used to be there. Oh well it's been a farm truck for the last 9 years. What did I expect.
So a couple weeks later, truck is getting used regularly and it runs really smooth. Checked all lights and turn signals today they all work and the brakes are coming along. Both the ABS light and brake light now stay off. I expect a thorough flush/bleeding will get the brakes back up to *****.
Next will be getting it tagged again for road use. ( In Virginia if you have a working farm you can put a Farm Use tag on your vehicle and not register it. You're not allowed to go further than 45 miles from the farm but I don't think anyone ever gets caught if they do)
So long read but I expect to be spending time here again and wanted to re-introduce myself.
Did a little looking around and see some familiar names in here. Good to see ya'll are still here.
The short long story is that in early 2012 my now ex and I split up. It was pretty ugly and I ended up leaving the 93' on the Farm during that time. 5 1/2 years later after finally getting a motion to compel approved in court to force a settlement (She wouldn't settle even after years of repeated attempts) we agreed a week ago to sell the farm and split the personal property between us.
A few weeks earlier I needed to move some things and having sold my 06' King Ranch back in 15' I decided to try and use the 93' rather than rent a uhaul. When I got there it was in terrible shape. No idea how long it had been since it was started. It was parked up along the wood line with no batteries, the bed full of trash piled high, windows held up by wooden stakes, drivers door panel missing with the window and lock control wiring just hanging loose. It broke my heart.
This was a turbo'd, custom exhaust, matched injectors and Moose pumped truck just sitting there rotting. Sad to say the least.
I made the decision that day I would be taking the truck back.
Having a course of action now in place I immediately went and bought 2 new batteries and installed them. I turned on the key, waited for the glow plug controller to cycle, and in what seemed like less than a full rotation of the motor it fired right up. This of course brought a smile to my face. It was a bit rough but running pretty well considering who knows how long it sat. And the whistle of the turbo through the straight pipe was nice too.
I let it idle a bit and the engine is smoothing out. Trans temp gauge still working, Pyrometer still working, Air conditioning not working. Window motors work but windows don't move. That's an easy fix. All the gauges in the dash are still working but the brake and ABS lights are on. Looks like the trailer brake controller and wiring will need to be fixed but again not a big deal.
Push the brakes and apparently the vacuum pump works. But man that pedal is soft. Not surprised since the brake light is on.
Put it in gear and it takes what seems like a little more throttle than normal to get it going but once it's moving no real issues there. Shifts seems a little rougher than I remember but who knows. It's not slipping in gear. But brakes again. Yeah not good. There's enough to drive it but certainly on the weak side.
So I head off to the dumps to get the trash out of the bed. Going down the road the steering is really quite loose. This will be one of the first things addressed, after the brakes. Most of the trash was metal and when I say piled high it was high enough that it was only after digging down through it while throwing it into the metal bin that I noticed one of what used to be my spare 6.9 IDI motors in the bed underneath everything else. (I have the other 6.9 as I was getting it ready to build up before the divorce.)
Well the motor in the bed had the passenger side head removed and had been left open to the elements. I hated to do it but I backed into the bin (it was open ended) hooked a strap to the motor and pulled out from under it leaving it in the bin as I just needed to get the truck empty so I could use it. Took it back to the farm and cleaned what must have been 2-3 years of composting junk out of the bed. Got it down to just the rust, metal and paint that was left. Beds in pretty rough shape. Rust pitting has started and there are some gashes through the bed floor that didn't used to be there. Oh well it's been a farm truck for the last 9 years. What did I expect.
So a couple weeks later, truck is getting used regularly and it runs really smooth. Checked all lights and turn signals today they all work and the brakes are coming along. Both the ABS light and brake light now stay off. I expect a thorough flush/bleeding will get the brakes back up to *****.
Next will be getting it tagged again for road use. ( In Virginia if you have a working farm you can put a Farm Use tag on your vehicle and not register it. You're not allowed to go further than 45 miles from the farm but I don't think anyone ever gets caught if they do)
So long read but I expect to be spending time here again and wanted to re-introduce myself.