Need advice with my 1992 F250 7.3 IDI

[Nick382]

Got the front header back from the machine shop today. There was indeed damage to the gasket surface. The gentleman who flattened the mating surface guessed that the existing oil leak contributed to the surface imperfection/damage. In any case, he suggested using "The Right Stuff" instead of the usual permetex. I went out and bought a small container at a local auto parts store as the only size he had was too big for what size bead I'm looking for. Seems like this "right stuff" has a pretty good reputation, as long as you the parts don't need to come apart in the near future.

My plan is to use the right stuff on the cooler / blank side of the paper gasket. Opinions?

I suppose I could completely disassemble the cooler again to replace the fel-pro o-rings with Ford version. They were rather pricey from ford, though. I haven't had an issue with the ones I installed, but they did come from the powerstroke cooler repair kit i was mistakenly sold.

Outside of that update, I still am waiting on my new fuel lines & clamps to arrive. I'll end up doing some thread repair to an injector or two, I'm sure. After that adventure I'll hopefully be able to get an alignment and time the injection pump.

 

[Nick382]

The oil cooler held this time! New injection lines from accurate diesel took care of the fuel leaks.

Immediately after installing the new hard lines, I had a lift pump start weeping fuel. A new lift pump from Napa sorted that out, and the truck is FINALLY holding all fluids. That's a pretty big accomplishment for me!

Installed the heim joint for the clutch and can actually use my forward gears now. I think I'm going to undo the clutch "jumper" so that I can park the truck in gear without worrying about it starting.

Beyond that, its alignment time on Wednesday; then a roadtrip to the nearest timing meter !

My last batch of parts to put on include the fuel tank pickups and the front brakes / rotors. I looked around for a guide, and found a few posts that didn't apply exactly to my rig (DRW, 4x4, etc ...) But from what I understand, I'm going to need the special hub tool, and should repack or replace the wheel bearings upon removal. Anyone have any suggestions for me going forward?




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[Nick382]

This truck is a four wheeled example of Murphy's law.

Went to start the truck this morning and the switch wouldn't work. I assumed it was the clutch safety switch and tried to plug it in since I have new pedal box bushings and the heim joint mod. Nope. Try installing the jumper for the switch.

Nope.

Jumping the relay on the fender works wonders. I'm betting it's the ignition switch.

After starting the truck from the outside, the clutch decided it doesn't want to work like it did after assembly. The only gear the truck goes into easily while running is reverse. Again. I have to test the arm at the transmission for movement to determine if it's time for a new master/slave or a clutch / flywheel.

Also, the serpentine system has this new awful squeal. The tensioner has a little wobble now, and I'm starting with the cheapest option being that I couldn't pinpoint the source.

Alright, that's enough whining for one night.


Edit: I lied.

I forgot to mention the odometer and speedo are also not working.

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[Thewespaul]

Jeeze man that truck doesn’t want to work

 

[Nick382]

Jeeze man that truck doesn’t want to work

And I just made it worse.

Burnt up the clutch trying to limp back home. Should have towed it... but it's too late now.

Any members in driving distance? Certainly willing to pay for some help at this point.


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[Thatoneguy]

Man that ol thing is putting up a FIGHT! This is all probably due to numerous years of bad Jerry rigging, and **** poor maintenance.

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[Nick382]

Man that ol thing is putting up a FIGHT! This is all probably due to numerous years of bad Jerry rigging, and **** poor maintenance.

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I agree 100%. I'm not mad at the truck, but damn I can't catch a break. I understand doing what you have to do in order to get by, but it seems like nearly every maintenance item was neglected. But, it's my headache now. At least I'll know what I've got by the time I'm done discovering weak links.

On the subject of clutch / flywheel: I'd really rather sick with the DMF setup, but have had a lot of trouble finding a place willing to resurface mine. New (NOS/aftermarket) DMF's seem to go for $500+.

Hopefully I haven't damaged any hard parts in the transmission. I looked into rebuilding one of those in some post and thought "Thats a lot of parts..."

I suppose I'll find out soon enough. I'll be back tomorrow to ask opinions on flywheels / brands.

 

[Thatoneguy]

I agree 100%. I'm not mad at the truck, but damn I can't catch a break. I understand doing what you have to do in order to get by, but it seems like nearly every maintenance item was neglected. But, it's my headache now. At least I'll know what I've got by the time I'm done discovering weak links.

On the subject of clutch / flywheel: I'd really rather sick with the DMF setup, but have had a lot of trouble finding a place willing to resurface mine. New (NOS/aftermarket) DMF's seem to go for $500+.

Hopefully I haven't damaged any hard parts in the transmission. I looked into rebuilding one of those in some post and thought "Thats a lot of parts..."

I suppose I'll find out soon enough. I'll be back tomorrow to ask opinions on flywheels / brands.

I strongly recommend a SMF... Little noisier, but it takes the bulletproof tranny and makes it indestructible.

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[Nick382]

Would you suggest a larger size than OEM to combat gear rollover? I've read the kits > 12" seem to remove this issue.

 

[Thatoneguy]

Would you suggest a larger size than OEM to combat gear rollover? I've read the kits > 12" seem to remove this issue.

Ya. I'm not sure what mine has, probably just the oem size cuz it's noisy. But if you're gonna do it, I think it's worth it to go all out with it.

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[Nick382]

It seemed to me those 12 1/4 kits were comparable cost with the DMF kits still floating around. I'll have to do some research.

 

[Thewespaul]

My 13” is noisy but if you raise your idle to 800ish it seems to negate it

 

[Nick382]

I'm going with a new old stock DMF. Found a new optional upgrade 12" unit (Part# 167755) for $130 shipped. 12" Clutch kit (Part #07-100) will be another $220 shipped. Hard for me to justify spending more money on a SMF conversion when I can get the OEM equipment for less money (at the very moment.)

Still need to decide on which brand of new master/slave combo and the source for the pedal box assembly. I should probably order a rear main seal while I'll have the transmission out.

The next part of this adventure starts as soon as I buy a transmission jack, and create some free time. I should really buy a book for this truck.

 

[Fordfan90]

I'm going with a new old stock DMF. Found a new optional upgrade 12" unit (Part# 167755) for $130 shipped. 12" Clutch kit (Part #07-100) will be another $220 shipped. Hard for me to justify spending more money on a SMF conversion when I can get the OEM equipment for less money (at the very moment.)

Still need to decide on which brand of new master/slave combo and the source for the pedal box assembly. I should probably order a rear main seal while I'll have the transmission out.

The next part of this adventure starts as soon as I buy a transmission jack, and create some free time. I should really buy a book for this truck.

I bought a LUK SMF kit from rockauto and I don't hear any noise from it. Removing the transmission is easy I left the transfer case on mine. Took me about a 2 days to get it all done. To me if the rear main seal isn't leaking I don't mess with it but that just my 2 cents.

 

[Nick382]

Luckily I have a 2wd truck, so that pesky transfer case isn't in the way.

Well, the clutches are contaminated with something. I'm guessing it's ATF, but it could be oil. The way I understand it, those are the only two things that can contaminate the clutches. I should probably drain the transmission and remove the inspection panel to get an idea of what's going on. But the engine oil level didn't move from what I could tell. Not that it's easy to see a small leak with an 11 quart capacity.

Do I need any special tools to replace the seals on the ZF5?


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