Looking at buying 6.9

[KansasIDI]

I believe that these are only for the 093/Factory Turbo.

Everything I mentioned is. Good catch.

 

[Eric Ditwiler]

I’m not sure when the turbo kit was added but it looks to have been on for a while. I’ll definitely check the turbo. Do they frequently need rebuilding or is that solely a result of poor maintenance. I know these don’t make a lot of boost so I’d expect they last long with appropriate oil changes.

The biggest problem is when you drive up the mountain and shut down hot. That's when the oil film in the turbo bearings gets burned into little abrasive chunks that attack the turbo shaft. There is a good turbo shop in Orange County. There were at least two different ATS turbos. They used standard Garrett turbines and cast housings to fit them to the manifold and exhaust. Mine has no wastegate and I blew my heads off at 12 lbs of boost going over the grapevine pulling a trailer. I can't get near to that now with the stock differential put back in and cruising down the highway at 65 mph at the top of the torque curve at 1400 RPM. I wore out my Gearvendors on that same climb. They are outside of San Diego.

 

[Eric Ditwiler]

Oh, a lot of these are just coming in to the junkyards now. F350s that did 40 years of service. Check the LKQ on Milliken in Ontario.

 

[Indadesert]

I’m looking at downsizing from my current duramax and am intrigued by these IDI’s. I came across a very clean ‘87 F350 crew cab 4x4 with 90k and an ATS turbo. It’s also an auto with gear vendors OD attached to the C6.

What things should I specifically ask or physically look at to ensure it’s a good buy? I’m in so cal so it’s rust free and the paint looks good too.

Im not looking to tow heavy at all. At most I’d flat tow a jeep. I know I’ll be slow and loud compared to my current truck but I don’t use it enough to let a nice truck rot away and lose value.

I just want a simple and reliable truck that’ll do what I want and in this area crew cab 4x4 diesels fetch a premium price but these IDIs are relatively cheap

Loose value? If you had gotten a super duty they never loose value. I got a 2001 f250 in 2002 off the lot for 24k. I put 580,000 on it. Sold it in 2024 for 20k. It was like renting the truck for 20years for $4,000.

 

[Indadesert]

The biggest problem is when you drive up the mountain and shut down hot. That's when the oil film in the turbo bearings gets burned into little abrasive chunks that attack the turbo shaft. There is a good turbo shop in Orange County. There were at least two different ATS turbos. They used standard Garrett turbines and cast housings to fit them to the manifold and exhaust. Mine has no wastegate and I blew my heads off at 12 lbs of boost going over the grapevine pulling a trailer. Wore out the but I can't get near to that now with the stock differential put back in and cruising down the highway at 65 mph at the top of the torque curve at 1400 RPM. I wore out my Gearvendors on that same climb. They are outside of San Diego.

Blew the heads off at 12? Why? I run the cajon every day with 10k trailer and 10-12 psi at 55mph no problem at all in 3rd gear.

 

[Eric Ditwiler]

I think I was going a bit faster than that.

 

[Black dawg]

I think I was going a bit faster than that.

Blew the heads off.....dramatic much......?