hey im a new member. ive used the threads many times for help with my truck and I appreciate the help ive gotten. im currently have a 1990 f250 on its way to transitioning into a 1ton. but im doing an essay on people in my concourse group (people in my age group also driving/building IDI's).
Id like to know why an n/a over a power stroke if its pre turbo?
do you daily drive it?
do you do maintenance yourself and what was the most frustrating to deal with?
have you had a bad experience at a diesel shop or garage?
do you use your truck for work or recreation?
and anything else you think would go good in an essay of things that would put us in the same group
thank you
Just going in order:
1: Each of those engines has their own pro's and con's. My truck is NA and I like it because you can get to all 8 injectors and glowplugs with ease, but I wouldn't say no to a turbo IDI. The Powerstroke is an entirely different animal and I wouldn't say no to one of those either, but given the choice I'd pick an IDI over a PSD because the parts are cheaper and you can do most of the work yourself.
2: Yup, unless it's like 105* outside, my AC doesn't work so on those days I borrow a Chevy
3: Some jobs I do myself, like changing my water pump, alternator, radiator, easy stuff like that. Jobs that require special techniques and tools (like timing), or just raw muscle are the ones I let the shop or specialists deal with. I am very much an amateur when it comes to wrenching. Things like oil changes I CAN do myself, but I prefer to just pay the $20 for the local shop to do it because changing oil on my driveway in the wind sucks. These trucks are very easy to work on, so for me the only frustrating thing is just not having a work bench, garage, or space to work with, and working in the constant wind is aggravating, but that's not the truck's fault.
4: I've had bad experiences with garages over jobs that aren't diesel related, but when I've needed the engine itself worked on, I took the time to find shops / people that actually know what they're doing, so I've never had a bad experience with a diesel mechanic. I did call one shop (Left Coast Diesel, for anyone curious) to try and get the timing checked / adjusted, and the guy told me they'd have to pull the whole front cover to align the gears and etc etc etc, I tried to tell them that's not what my truck needs and they insisted that it did, and told me they had a '96 OBS in there for the same job I wanted. I tried explaining that the 7.3 IDI isn't related at all to the 7.3 PSD, but the guy had no clue what I was talking about so I took that as my clue to find another shop
5: Both. It's my daily driver and my road trip machine, but I also use it for jobs around the house or around the shop (dump runs, tree trimming, gravel hauling, etc). It's not a work truck, it just occasionally has to work.
As far as extra credit, one thing that might be worth mentioning is what condition was the truck in when it was bought. Over and over again here, you can see people buying trucks that have been sitting for 5-10 years or more, trucks that their owners thought were worn out and dead, which in reality only needed a new fuel pump or return kit to make it run brand new again. A lot of IDI's get retired because of very minor issues, so that can make them appealing and affordable to people who want to learn the basics of wrenching on a very simple engine.
edit: forgot to add, I bought my truck when I was 23, I'm 28 now. Forgot I'm not in my "early twenties" anymore