The saga continues....
IDI and 7.3 PSD trucks are old friends to me. I've had IDI's since 1988 and drove the 86 is my sig over 300,000 miles myself. My wife has put about 350,000 on the various IDI trucks we have had as her car since 1990. I had work trucks with over 30,000 hours on the 7.3 IDI. Not bragging just saying I'm used to these trucks in my life. It is also funny how us mechanical types have known vehicle issues we don't let bother us because we know what they are and how to fix em.
So let me share the list of repairs om my little fleet, each on a trip home with an airplane waiting for me at the end.
96 PSD: Replace clutch and flywheel due to clutch hub center springs coming apart and causing a no release situation. Remove rear block plate and re seal, replace rear main seal. Only got 100,000 miles out of that clutch, but found out the flywheel was poorly machined causing run out and vibration.
Next trip:
96 PSD: Install water pump I've had for 2-3 years, didn't worry me much when I was there to check on it every weekend.... Also installed new low pressure oil pump, fluidamper, and improved fan. Water pump is from a truck so it has a coolant filter, but requires custom radiator hoses. Cleaned and flushed radiator and block too.
Next trip:
96 PSD: Has been suffering from high EGT and boost leaks. R&R turbo and intake manifolds and reseal manifolds. While I'm there.....install high perf compressor wheel in turbo, and change exhaust housing from 1.15 to 1.0. Planning to tow to MT this summer so EGT issue had to be fixed.
Between trips:
The 91 IDI truck has been having steering glitches for a while. My wife uses this truck every other day some parts of the year to go on a 30 mile round trip to our other ranch and feed / check on the cattle there, plus going to town for feed or hauling gooseneck loads to the sale at market time. So the problem suddenly becomes no power steering to one direction. I have only seen this one other time in all these years. So a close friend, another lifetime mechanic supervised my son in installing a rebuilt PS box, flushing the system etc.
Next trip:
The 91 IDI truck has been loosing power and mileage for a while. Since we drive it on the exact same loop all the time it is easy to monitor. It is in great shape mechanically, I have kept it up 100%. It barely had 100,000 miles when we got it in 2002, it has 150,000 now. The pump and injectors were 10 years old but only about 50,000 miles on them, but with the delivery valve sticking and stalling at stop signs coupled with the loss in performance it was time. So I ordered a Baby Moose and a set of BB's from Mel. This was going to be an easy trip, just the pump and injector job this trip. Thought I might have time to put the electric fuel lift pump I've had for some time on while I was at it. NOT SO! Climbing the usual long grade out of the the river bottom, you could now slip the clutch in 5th gear at will! NOT GOOD. I have to leave in 3 days, and she has calves to go to market in 2 weeks! So I scramble up a new SMF kit without my usual meticulous research and throw it and a rear main seal in with just a half day left to spare. I guess I should have been happy to get 150,000 miles out of the original DMF and clutch! But not so fast......I HAVE NEVER heard a SMF this noisy....oh well, back on the plane, guess we'll see what happens, if she has to she can haul calves with her "pretty" daily driver.
Now we are up to the upcoming trip:
Figure out why A, The SMF is incredibly noisy (remember not my first one)
And B, why the mileage and performance has dropped back to 2 gears less on the "test" grade (would pull it empty in 5th and gain speed, now holding it's own in 3rd) and down about 3 mpg to as low as 10 empty trying to save fuel.
No wonder I've been tired lately, I got tired just typing all that.
I have couple more zingers, I'll make new threads out of them.......
