New 6.9l owner

[hawaiian808]

Hey whats up?
i just picked up a 1984 6.9l with 190k on it

it has
banks turbo
injectors been turned up ( to what i have no idea)
it has a boost gauge ( although it really only builds boost when shes winded out)
and a pyro meter ( runs near 5-600 )
6 inch brand new rough country lift
36x12.5x16.5 tires ( where can i get a set of 35-36inch with a 16.5? tires having a hard time finding them online)
4 inch straight banks exhaust


I'm still learning about it and tinkering with it. it runs strong a little white smoke whens shes cold ( why does it smoke? ) once I'm moving down the road and she warmed up it runs awesome.

so i been lurking and reading on the forum about this truck and other standard how to's/fix its.

so i learned what cavitation is
now is there and additive that i can add periodically to the coolant other than just swapping coolant out all the time.

and i been reading about fuel additives
I'm guessing 2 stroke oil is the norm
and other advice?

and does anyone do the sea foam treatment to there trucks?
i was thinking about doing it ( have to go thru the vacuum because i assume you cannot feed it thru a turbo haha )

any problems these trucks have that i should know about?
i plan on running this motor till it dies and by the sound of it and the way it runs probably....somewere near around the year 2090. then ill swap maybe a power stroke or another rebuilt 6.9l


my known problems

truck sways on road when I'm driving on highway I'm 99% i need a sway bar and i cant find one for this truck anyone know ?

the tranny wines when in the higher rpms
the original owner said he swapped the old tranny out because it whined for a newer ( less miles) and it still whined. is this normal?

the driver side floor pan is near shot just going to take that to the body shop

and thats about it other than cab corner with a little rust everything works even the two tanks (miracle i know)

and advice for a 1st time owner?



also i just got the oil changed/fuel filter glow plugs tanny serviced ( have not driving it yet still in shop) and rear diff fluid changed (asked them to look at transfer case). so I'm up to speed except coolant on maintenance stuff i believe?



also i frickin love this truck hahaha

Copied and pasted from my other introduction to lazy to type

 

[oldblue05]

You might look at replacing the airfilter, that definately helps your turbo build boost.

Wouldn't call runnin 2-stroke common, actually Iv'e never heard of it, heard of rednecks(me included) puttin used motor oil in the tank more for free fuel than any actual benefit. Diesel Kleen works good for an additive, look in the tech articles theres a whole write up on additives.

What the hell you mean about putting sea foam in the vacuum baffles me, I've only put sea foam in a boat... in the tank...

Sway bars.... these trucks as far as I know never had em till 92, my 90 sure don't. Sounds like you might need new tie rod ends, try shootin some grease in the ends this might help, also could be the ball joints. Maybe shocks as well.

For the tranny whining someone that has messed with the 4-speeds will definitely have to step in, check the fluid tho.

 

[hawaiian808]

You might look at replacing the airfilter, that definately helps your turbo build boost.

Wouldn't call runnin 2-stroke common, actually Iv'e never heard of it, heard of rednecks(me included) puttin used motor oil in the tank more for free fuel than any actual benefit. Diesel Kleen works good for an additive, look in the tech articles theres a whole write up on additives.

What the hell you mean about putting sea foam in the vacuum baffles me, I've only put sea foam in a boat... in the tank...

Sway bars.... these trucks as far as I know never had em till 92, my 90 sure don't. Sounds like you might need new tie rod ends, try shootin some grease in the ends this might help, also could be the ball joints. Maybe shocks as well.

For the tranny whining someone that has messed with the 4-speeds will definitely have to step in, check the fluid tho.

Thanks for the info
as for the sea foam in the vacuum i know it sounds like I'm
or bat sh^t retarded but its a trick i learned from my old Friends on my camaro forum and my motorcycle forums. i didn't believe it till i saw it but it does do something ha ha. I'm not sure if its good for diesels. here is a run down on the process for my old camaro.

while running take the vacuum hose off the intake have some one giving it a little throttle, then slowly pour the sea foam into the vacuum so it goes into your intake etc. it will stumble for a minute keep it steady then it will stall out pour just a touch more after this and stop. wait for 15-20 minutes fire it up and watch the show by your exhaust. when i did it tons of carbon build up came falling out literally a little pile of crap at the end of my exhaust. car ran better and felt better. i do it every 10k on my car and have not burned anything up.


now the theory behind this madness is that it allows to "sit" on the piston and the top of the rings and set in to help it come off and when its pour in just a bit after it stalls out it sits on the valves and helps get the carbon build up off the seats and valves them selfs. is this proven fact ? no
but seems like it work and my car does spit up something whether it be good or bad we will see how long my engine makes it ( so far 50K while doing this).
does anyone know where to pick up a refurbished engine and tranny? just gathering parts so i can tear it apart sometime this fall

the shocks etc are all brand new, the mechanic told me the ball joints look good and so do the tie rod ends ( taking it to someone Else to get a second opinion) if they are not ill get them swapped out for new shiny parts and then try a steering box next.

 

[oldblue05]

yeah I've heard of camaro owners doin some weird ass **** like that and gettin away with it time and time again.

 

[johneich]

Don't put that Seafoam in your crankcase, another additive is recommended here, forgot the name, someone will chime in here, you have to buy it from the manufacturer. Seafoam in the crankcase cleans too fast causing problems, you didnt ask, but I wanted to tell you before you went there.

 

[gonecrazyi]

Gassers pulltheir own vacuum from the intake while diesels have a seperate vacuum pump not connected to the motor.

 

[Mullis23]

Don't put that Seafoam in your crankcase, another additive is recommended here, forgot the name, someone will chime in here, you have to buy it from the manufacturer. Seafoam in the crankcase cleans too fast causing problems, you didnt ask, but I wanted to tell you before you went there.



That other additive your talking about i think is the auto rx.

 

[bike-maker]

My truck came from the factory with front and rear sway bars. It also came from the factory with a 460 and C6. When I swapped in the diesel, there was no way in hell the front sway bar was going to clear the diesel core support, so I torched it off and never looked back. The diesel radiator hangs down between the frame rails behind the front bumper; right where the sway bar was located.

 

[johneich]

That other additive your talking about i think is the auto rx.

Thats the stuff I was talking about

 

[oldblue05]

My truck came from the factory with front and rear sway bars. It also came from the factory with a 460 and C6. When I swapped in the diesel, there was no way in hell the front sway bar was going to clear the diesel core support, so I torched it off and never looked back. The diesel radiator hangs down between the frame rails behind the front bumper; right where the sway bar was located.

ok thats what I meant, diesels, I knew gassers had them

 

[Dieselcrawler]

glad to see ya made it here. these guys will set you straight.

 

[icanfixall]

About Seafoam.... Never pour anything directly into the intake from any opening. A diesel will burn anything for fuel... Any burnable fuel poured into the air path will cause the engine to runaway. This will not be a governed runup either. The engine will rev way past the normal redline on the tach. Only the injection pump can regulate the fuel delievery to the engine. Pouring fuel into the intake is like holding a gasser wide open with no load on the engine only worse because the diesel will burn anything and continue to climb in rpm.... Till it windows the block. If you hold open the injection pump throttle lever the internal govener will limit the rpm to 3300 or 3500.... It wont climb higher. Uncontrolled fuel loaded into the intake can not be controlled.... Don't believe me.... Then pour some seafoam directly into the intake but get ready to run faster than the schrapnel....

 

[hawaiian808]

About Seafoam.... Never pour anything directly into the intake from any opening. A diesel will burn anything for fuel... Any burnable fuel poured into the air path will cause the engine to runaway. This will not be a governed runup either. The engine will rev way past the normal redline on the tach. Only the injection pump can regulate the fuel delievery to the engine. Pouring fuel into the intake is like holding a gasser wide open with no load on the engine only worse because the diesel will burn anything and continue to climb in rpm.... Till it windows the block. If you hold open the injection pump throttle lever the internal govener will limit the rpm to 3300 or 3500.... It wont climb higher. Uncontrolled fuel loaded into the intake can not be controlled.... Don't believe me.... Then pour some seafoam directly into the intake but get ready to run faster than the schrapnel....

i belive you haha

auto rx? ill look some of it up.
im just trying to get my truck tuned up so i can use it for work for a few months. then i plan on ripping the motor and tranny to get them rebuilt.
anyone know of someone who rebuilds the 6.9's and does a good job? ( cant do it my self not tools no garage no time )

 

[Diesel JD]

I have a few thoughts. My truck has a sway bar, but I don't think it functions right, endlinks were bent, I replaced them and now they broke again. The whining is probably much more likely to be from the rear end than the tranny I think but the T19 and any ZF5 with a SMF are going to have quite a bit of gear rollover noise. It's nothing to be concerned about. Is this a 4 speed or an auto? As far as the wander on the road I've been trying to correct that issue with my truck ever since I got it 8 years ago. I have never gotten it completely correct. Best you can do is make sure the components that wear are in good shape and you're properly aligned and the tires aren't too uneven in terms of wear. Unless you have a lot of blowby or oil consumption I'd probably not worry about any engine cleaner, but as already stated, anything into the intake can destroy the engine, the Auto-RX is a slow cleaner and is probably the best safest bet for you. With cavitation the 6.9s are not like the 7.3s. They can cavitate like any diesel but the cylinder walls are thick enough that using a diesel rated coolant and keeping up the system is probably sufficient. Most folks here myself included try to keep up with them just in case. You need to either go with a precharged coolant or add the additive. It's called variously DCA4, VC-8, FW16 depending on who is selling it. As far as who rebuilds 6.9 diesels, there are a lot of reman outfits. People have had experiences with them ranging from good to very bad. A local machine shop with lots of diesel experience and good references and you provide genuine OEM Mahle pistons and premium gaskets along with ARP studs is probably the best answer given that you haven't got the time to do the work yourself, but I doubt you'll need that service anytime soon. Keep your eyes on the head gaskets, that's what I would be concerned about. 6.9s tend to die from just being badly maintained, worn smooth out or hydrolock from bad head gaskets, not much else.

 

[93_444idi]

regarding seafoam, even if it did work, it would send that crap right into your turbo. cant imagine that being good for it.