Where in CT are ya? I'm about 30 minutes west of Springfield, MA. Granby, CT is 3 miles down the road I love on. Without saying a town, that ought to give you an idea of where in MA I am.
You want a long post as to why you should buy an IDI? Well, I guess you're prepared since you posted this in the IDI forum. Go grab a coffee...I LOVE my IDI...and I'm gonna IDI 'till I die!
The IDI engine is stupid simple and will perform any duty you ask it to do. It may not make as much power as a Stroke, but it will definetly get the job done.
With a better flowing intake setup and a nice dual exhaust setup, you can keep up with a first generation Stroke if you're after performance. Want some proof? Here's an N/A IDI versus a turbo IDI:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QThR3q53SKM&NR=1 Yes that video is in my favorites and yes I watch it often.
Towcat can tell ya all about how tough an IDI is. Here's a quote I have read so many times that I saved it and read it every so often when I'm upset that my bone stock 6.9 is feeling slow. I read it to remember that my truck is a true POWERHOUSE, not a SPEED demon.
Towcat: "I went though 3 ZF5's in my F450 carrier from 1993 to 2003. put 980k logbook miles on the chassis. If I didn't put the truck into 5th gear on the freeway, I'd get run off the road. running an average gross of 15-17k lbs, the 5th gear did fine. if you ever owned a F450, you will testify the powertrain is extremely underrated by the factory.. I hydrolocked my first motor at 650k. I stopped giving it any love at 475k.it had low oil pressure, so I stopped changing the oil and stopped adding SCA's. it made it that far with pure neglect. the second motor is ready to be changed out, it's got a fair amount of blow-by now and the draconian smog laws got set back two years. therefore the truck is getting re-powered this spring..
anyone who tells you these motors need to be babied is F.O.S. I have a shop stocked with used motors. the truck will get yet another used motor.
I used to drive the carrier exclusively, but now I have drivers and I'll be damned if I am going to turbo the truck for a driver. He will get to suffer with flat footing the throttle and dropping a few gears in the hills. In my '92 CC dually, I might drop into 4th going up the grapevine pulling 14k GCVW but the truck is doing the speed limit with some throttle left before hitting the floor. thanks to the IC, the EGT's are a non-issue. I'm pushing 900 deg at the end of the exh manifold on the driver's side. Even unloaded, the F450 is down into 3rd pulling the grapevine and it tares at 9500lbs. turbo and IC makes a big difference with these trucks. If I was the only driver in my F450, it would get a turbo and a IC in a hot second. "
That's a compilation of a few posts from one thread. The IDI may not win a race, but it WILL finish the race.
On the IDI engine, all services can be done with common hand tools. A buddy of mine did an engine swap and doesn't even have a complete socket set.
Stock replacement injectors for an IDI...$25 each brand new.
Stock replacement injection pump for an IDI...$450 rebuilt.
Injector install kit...$39 at my local fuel shop and the kit has Viton O-rings.
7.3 Stroke parts:
Replacement HPOP...$400
Replacement injectors...$240 each x 8 = $1920
$2,400 for a STOCK REPLACEMENT fuel system.
Want a kickin' IDI? Here's what I'm thinkin' when I build my IDI...
6.9 block and heads (the 7.3 is a bored 6.9, so the 6.9 has thicker cylinder walls), minimum overbore for fresh cyinder walls, milled down pistons to lower compression for higher boost, brand new bottom end, balanced rotating assembly, ARP head studs, 7.3 rockers in the 6.9 heads, Intake and exhaust manifold Grade 8 studs, Turbo off a 99.5-03 7.3 Stroke with the up-pipes routed like a Stroke, 3" downpipe, 4" exhaust, Moose pump, Moose injectors (Moose Misters is the name if I remember correctly...), Intercooler.
An engine with this much power will turn driveshafts into candy canes pushing snow. So I never understand why people want so much power if the rest of the truck can't handle it. Even running N/A, you can pop the shaft yokes on the TTB front end. Dana 60 will handle it no problem, but the TTB runs smaller shafts.
Want reliability? If you've got a standard transmission behind an IDI...you're friggin golden! As stated earlier, supply 12v or as little as 9v to the FSS (Fuel Shutoff Solenoid) to get it to open, pop start it, and you can run on dead batteries...or no batteries at all. To shut it off, kill the power source to the FSS or just let the clutch out in high gear and stall the engine.
I'd jump on that 94 IDI with a 60 up front for plowing. An IDI will push banks like you can't believe. I swear, my engine runs better when I beat the crap out of it. I glue the go-pedal to the floor thru each gear every day. It's bone stock and doesn't even smoke. Yes, the IDI may feel like a snail compared to your Cummins, but it's cheap and powerful!
If it has the factory turbo, the downpipe is very restrictive. You'll notice it is squashed so that it will fit down in between the engine and firewall. The best upgrade is to find the upgraded ATS downpipe flange with a 3" downpipe, use a sawzall and pipe to bend the lip of the firewall back and stuff that 3" pipe in there. A 2" body lift would certainly help! There are some guys who have modified the factory turbo with different compressor wheels too.
Towing 12k pounds? The IDI will handle the task! Slower than any other newer diesel truck, but it WILL do it! Stopping is more important than getting going. Consider a hydroboost swap off an F-Superduty from 87-97. If it's an automatic, get a larger transmission cooler for that E4OD. If it's manual, RUN IT HARD! But of course, I'm biased and only run manuals because I just hate/don't believe in automatics.
If you are anywhere in the northern CT area, I'd gladly meet up with you and gladly beat the snot out of my IDI to show you they can't be beaten. A lot of people think I'm nuts, but I glue that smoke-pedal to the floor at each light and the truck just goes. I don't even know what kind of damage a turbo would do, running N/A with some mods can break stuff as it is.
Want to talk about money? I paid $900 for my truck. It ran, but needed a fuel system because it was sluggish, it needed a windshield, the right front fender was (and still is) banged up, and it didn't have a bed. It's a long wheelbase rig that "was" a dually. I built a wooden bed for it and swapped over to Single rear wheels. I love it.
I estimate I have about $2k total in the truck.
For a 21 year old with commercial insurance (self-emplyed) I pay $651 per year.
For commercial plates, it's around $200 a year in MA.
I run it everyday making money during the season (landscaper) and it has paid for itself over and over and over again. I average 18 MPG's, and the lowest I've seen is 13 when the pedal was glued all day running 75-80 with no overdrive on the highway...and of course gluing the pedal all around town. What can I say? I love it!
The truck doesn't take much of any maintenance, I keep track of the antifreeze, oil level, air filters, all that basic crap...and it never needs anything.
I've bought a parts truck 85 F350 for $100 because it didn't run. Yep, the return lines were leaking so it wouldn't hold prime overnight. bought a return line kit and the truck fired right up! That engine is going into my '65. I used the radiator and many other parts already on my 85 and kept a bunch as replacements for the future.
If I were you, I'd snag that 94 IDI and MAKE SOME MONEY, and RUN IT HARD. Don't be shy, it won't break.
I could go on forever...there's no way I'll ever drive anything but an IDI in a truck. Well...the only other thing would be a TURBO'D IDI
My Dad has an 03 F350 with a 7.3 PSD he bought brand new and has taken very good care of. 170k miles and we haven't done a thing to it except for transmission flushes and filter changes. So I can't say anything BAD about a Stroke except for the price of ownership. They have a lot of power, we went cross country with a slide-in camper in the truck bed of his Crew Cab long bed single rear wheel 7.3/auto while towing my grandparents 28' tandem axle camper trailer. It was slower than I thought it would be, but it went like a dream. We hit the hills and I never thought it was going to slow down, but it did. I can't say my IDI wouldn't have though, unless it had a turbo!
All in all, the IDI is more economical and easier on the wallet to fix and drive. If power is what you're after, turbo the IDI. A turbo IDI may not be as fast or powerful as a Cummins, but it WILL do everyhting you ask it to do. Besides, what good is a 400 HP truck that has so much power it twisted the driveshaft into a candy cane and is not useless sitting on the side of the road?
Want more reasons to go IDI? Ask away on anything specific!!
Edit: I just read that you said it has a Banks turbo setup. F'IN JUMP ON THAT! If not, where is it? I'll buy it and put it to work myself!
maybe i should keep my cummins....
just playin i want a ford
