KansasIDI’s 1986 Ford F250HD 7.3L IDI

[KansasIDI]

So I’ve decided to just make a thread for my truck, as it needs a lot of work. This won’t exactly be a build thread, more of a project thread because the truck is far from perfect and never will be cherry. The truck is “mint”, in the way quoted by Peg from the YouTube channel ZIPTIESNBIASPLIES.

I will start with the truck’s specs. These are factory specs, plus some subtle addons that, due to age of the addons, would have to have been ordered by the truck’s original owner. I am unsure of how many people have owned that truck. I think 4, including myself, but I have no way of knowing for certain.

1986 Ford F250, Extended Cab Long Bed

6.9L 420ci Indirect Injection Diesel V8 manufactured by International Harvester

Borg Warner T-19 4-speed manual transmission, synchronized in all forward gears, narrow ratio diesel version
Ratios:
1st, 4.02:1
2nd, 2.41:1
3rd, 1.41:1
4th, 1:1

Borg Warner 1345 dual range transfer case
Ratios:
Low range, 2.72:1
High range, 1:1

Dana 50 Twin Traction Beam 4WD front axle, 3.55:1 gearing

Sterling 10.25 Solid rear axle, 3.55:1 gearing

Now on to the fluff specs

Exterior color is Oxford White with blue pinstripes that run the length of the truck, and wrap around the windows

Heavy duty package, as far as I know this is just heavier leaf springs. It still rides real smooth though

Custom interior, but it’s nice…

Air conditioning, tested it the other day, it’s weak…

Factory tachometer, the way I understand it that was a very rare option. It does not always work… I believe it is a wiring issue.

Dont know which radio it would have had, but I think the Am/Fm. It currently has no radio

Interior color is blue. I haven’t seen that color in a Bullnose body style interior before…

Crank windows, which I like very much.

Has front seats from a mid-late 90’s Ford truck. They are nice, an improvement over what were in that truck from the factory.

Add-ons from days gone by

Kennedy slide out rear bumper, which puts the spare tire under the rear fuel tank. However, there is no spare, and the track that goes into the slide is missing, as is the spare tire. The system is real cool, and the bumper looks super sharp. It needs some work.

Very very chrome grille guard, had rubber strips on the uprights but they were falling off, so I removed them. It is very shiny in contrast to the faded and rusted white paint of the truck.

Antenna mounts on the roof and cables in the cab for CB radio. I have a CB radio that is similar in era to the truck, I’ll probably put that in someday.

Moving on to what all I’ve done to the truck…

Purchased it Jan 20th 2023, hauled it home the next day, as I hauled a truck for my buddy home first that he bought same place same day.

Put new injector lines on

The ground on the fuel shutoff solenoid was not functioning properly, cleaned up the connections and it now works fine

Ordered new mirrors for it, as the small swing-lock Western style mirrors are falling apart, and they are too small. I do not like them. So it will have junior west coast mirrors soon, 6” wide by 11” tall, and 5” small rounds.

Ordered a cab light kit for it, because if the mirrors look like they’re for a semi truck, you need cab clearance lamps

The water pump was shot, so I put a new one on. I think the fan clutch is bad, but the antifreeze is super filthy so I’m gonna flush it till it is clean and replace the thermostat. If it is still getting hot after that then I will replace the fan clutch.

Speedometer sensor gear is bad, I’m gonna get one next time I’m at AutoZone

Brake booster is bad I think, the brakes act like manual brakes. I have driven plenty of vehicles with manual brakes, so it is still safe for me to drive.

It has much rust, but I think with replacement body panels and a good paint job it will look real good. I don’t know if I would repaint it the same color as it is now or if I would paint it up like an International tractor of that era. Or maybe something different entirely…

I may at some point switch out the T-19 for a ZF5, even with the 3:55s at 65 mph the engine is at 2500 rpm… an overdrive would help quite a bit. The truck has a single mass flywheel, and a ZF5 would bolt up tk the engine and transfer case, and no driveline lengths would have to change. However, the guy who sold it to me put a clutch in two months before he sold it to me and then he hardly drove it after that. I’d like to get all the kinks worked out of the truck before I go changing stuff, so J probably won’t do this until at least fall of 2023.

I will use this thread for what I do to the truck.

What’s funny is this truck is getting lots of work here fall of ‘23

 

[KansasIDI]

Some progress. Engine and tranny. Wouldn’t fit with turbo piping on it, so have to put that on later. But still good.

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[KansasIDI]

Some progress. Engine and tranny. Wouldn’t fit with turbo piping on it, so have to put that on later. But still good.

You must be registered for see images attach

Lighting is really off in that picture, when there is no daylight only the lights of the shed my phone thinks the light is green. But it isn’t…

You must be registered for see images attach

Here’s the real color

Gotta pour concrete tomorrow, and then check pastures Saturday morning and haul hay to a hay auction Saturday afternoon, and have a Bible study that evening. Sunday afternoon, should be gettin more done on the truck

 

[Old Goat]

I see you added a couple more Lift Brackets.
Help`s keep the Engine level dropping it in.
I have a bunch of them I grabbed at PNP.


Goat

 

[The_Josh_Bear]

How will you start the engine without glow plugs?

 

[KansasIDI]

How will you start the engine without glow plugs?

Most people probably won’t like this, but I’m adding ether shot injection. Just a tiny bit should work. I am DONE with glow plugs. Didn’t take long for me to decide that.

 

[The_Josh_Bear]

I'm not going to argue that, I think it'd be fine.
Someone else did that, can't remember the screenname. Just make sure the engine is turning before you hit the button and it should work well. You may run into issues with the kind of cold you get, I'll be interested to see your results. Modern day ether is garbage at cold temps in my experience. The stuff from 20 years ago was golden but they took most of the good stuff out of the modern mixture.

This might crazy but you could also consider doing a gasoline sprayer. I've used gasoline to start my rig a time or two-- it won't crap out on you in the cold like ether and it's actually very gentle on these engines, unlike ether. That means it takes more, but it definitely works.

 

[KansasIDI]

I'm not going to argue that, I think it'd be fine.
Someone else did that, can't remember the screenname. Just make sure the engine is turning before you hit the button and it should work well. You may run into issues with the kind of cold you get, I'll be interested to see your results. Modern day ether is garbage at cold temps in my experience. The stuff from 20 years ago was golden but they took most of the good stuff out of the modern mixture.

This might crazy but you could also consider doing a gasoline sprayer. I've used gasoline to start my rig a time or two-- it won't crap out on you in the cold like ether and it's actually very gentle on these engines, unlike ether. That means it takes more, but it definitely works.

I use Johnsen or Macs (Napa) starting fluid above -10, then I switch to John Deere. That stuff is VIOLENT. Has to be very very cold… or it’ll ether rattle way too long

I think @catbird7 had an ether system

The gas thing might work, I use a rag over the intake soaked in gas when it’s warmer than 50 out, for the most part. Low content ether sometimes, like the stuff from Sta-Bil

 

[KansasIDI]

Made, 4, trips into town today, with the new motor. No issues until the last one, truck died at 70. No electrical power. Turns out the battery cable that goes to the starter had melted on the exhaust manifold. It was brand new… and melted the negative stud offa one battery and killed the other too. Well good ol’ Council Grove Napa warrantied the one battery that hadn’t melted down, and me and one of the Napa guys made some top notch negative cables, $60 a piece, and I got new batteries, and a new positive cable. Turned out to be a $400 mistake that could have been avoided, had I double checked that. Got that new new one tied down real good so it won’t melt. New starter from when I put the engine in, so it starts really really good now. Hope that was my only mistake, am starting to trust the truck more, but not necessarily myself lol. Gonna drive it to Manhattan town on Thursday, and if that goes well, Saturday maybe. Might actually want the Dodge up there on Saturday, flatbed may be better for some of what I’m doing.

 

[KansasIDI]

It runs so good! I… can’t get over it. Whole different truck now. It’s awesome!!!

 

[onetonjohn]

Not to self. Check wiring g around exaust.

 

[KansasIDI]

This thing gets HORRIBLE fuel mileage. Like, real ******* fuel. 8-9, without driving hard. But, was getting 6-7 at first, seems to be improving? Does the fuel system take time to break in??? I don’t get it. It’s not smoking, but it makes pretty good power. I didn’t time the pump, could that be the problem? Does too retarded or too advanced hurt mileage? My 6.9 was way advanced, got 23-25, so could it be too retarded? Turbo spools up good, EGTs are staying manageable, my boost gauge doesn’t work, will have the parts to fix it this weekend. Not terribly worried about boost with head studs. Any suggestions are appreciated, thanks in advance.

Also, I don’t have the equipment to time it, I should get it though…

@IDIBRONCO

 

[IDIBRONCO]

That is awful mileage. Your timing sure can affect the mileage negatively. You need to have it checked pretty quickly. I won't be very close any time soon or I'd volunteer to check your timing. I'm planning to go to Little River on Sunday and could be convinced to go to Mc Pherson, but that's all the farther that I'm going. It's already going to be a long day for me.

 

[KansasIDI]

That is awful mileage. Your timing sure can affect the mileage negatively. You need to have it checked pretty quickly. I won't be very close any time soon or I'd volunteer to check your timing. I'm planning to go to Little River on Sunday and could be convinced to go to Mc Pherson, but that's all the farther that I'm going. It's already going to be a long day for me.

I’d take you up on that offer, but I won’t be anywhere near McPherson on Sunday. No worries, I should buy the timing equipment anyways. I think it’s important to have the specialty tools.

 

[The_Josh_Bear]

This thing gets HORRIBLE fuel mileage. Like, real ******* fuel. 8-9, without driving hard. But, was getting 6-7 at first, seems to be improving? Does the fuel system take time to break in??? I don’t get it. It’s not smoking, but it makes pretty good power. I didn’t time the pump, could that be the problem? Does too retarded or too advanced hurt mileage? My 6.9 was way advanced, got 23-25, so could it be too retarded? Turbo spools up good, EGTs are staying manageable, my boost gauge doesn’t work, will have the parts to fix it this weekend. Not terribly worried about boost with head studs. Any suggestions are appreciated, thanks in advance.

Also, I don’t have the equipment to time it, I should get it though…

@IDIBRONCO

23-25 is absolutely phenomenal! My rig gets 13-14 driving relatively fast with big tires and 3.55 gears. I hate the mileage and love the pickup. I've never averaged better than 16. I do live in a hilly area.

The 6.9's seem to get better MPG's than the 7.3's. Hopefully it comes up and up for you. I posted in the "So, what did you do to your truck today?" thread-- if you are seating rings that'll affect the MPG's for a while.

And yes timing can affect MPGs a lot. But sometimes, not so much, like in my engine. I dunno what the heck is up with mine but she can be 6* either way and still get about the same MPG. That's no exaggeration, I have a meter!

That said, get a meter, they are worth it. Plus then you can help others that need timing. I sold some N/A stuff to a nice man that was just getting into these engines. Ended up timing it just to be kind and he was blown away with how much better that thing ran. Power, MPGs, sound, drivability...he loved every minute of it.

That also reminds me that if your timing is quite retarded, that will help it cold start a lot. I once had 0* timing and my stock engine could cold start without glow plugs at 60* ambient. Which is bonkers for anybody not named KansasIDI
But then I timed it correctly and it needed glow plugs.