New Here And To The 7.3IDI

[YachtTech82]

So last weekend I picked up a 1990 F-250 7.3L IDI for my son, he's 16 at the end of this month and has wanted a diesel pickup for a long time. I have been wrenching on diesels professionally for 25 yrs, mainly bigger industrial stuff but never these old beasts so I'm here to learn. This is a pretty clean untouched grampa truck, everything works short of the fuel gauge. We plan on throwing some injectors, glowplugs and controller and a CDR valve at her in the coming weeks. I need to replace the exhaust manifold gaskets and valve cover gaskets and we plan on doing all the maintenance items. It has a funky air cleaner on it which had a strange wire mesh air filter in it that had a foam cover over the mesh not sure if the stock filter fits anymore? Anyway, great to be here.

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[YachtTech82]

A few more photos

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[YachtTech82]

Looks like it has the original return lines still so i plan on changing those out with the billet return rails from r&d when i do the injectors. Will probably check pump timing and turn her up a flat or 2 while im in there. The truck runs great as is with no smoke even at startup.

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[KansasIDI]

WOW!!! That thing is super super clean! Nice find.

That air filter was an aftermarket ‘upgrade’ back in the day, they’re kinda rare now. But yeah, if you found a stock lid and went to a parts store and got a stock filter, it should fit right down in that housing. I don’t know if the stock filter fits in there with that lid you have… I know it does with the Banks lid, I have one of those. I don’t use it though.

If you want a stock lid, I have some nice clean ones. Even some that have already been repainted. Let me know if you want me to send you one.

Welcome to Oilburners!

 

[IDIBOBS]

Nice truck. Get some gauges if you’re gonna turn up the pump. If he isn’t hauling or towing why turn up the pump? I get 25mpg with a banks turbo and a properly timed pump and just enough fuel to give the power I need. Why mess with it if you dont need to. Id Do some research into the aluminum return rails. Many people hate them. And if yours arnt leaking why replace them? How is is starting and running? If your a diesel tech you know pumps and injectors wear at about the same rate so if the injectors need to be done most likely the pump does to. But if it’s starting and running right do they need to be done? How’s the timing set?

 

[YachtTech82]

WOW!!! That thing is super super clean! Nice find.

That air filter was an aftermarket ‘upgrade’ back in the day, they’re kinda rare now. But yeah, if you found a stock lid and went to a parts store and got a stock filter, it should fit right down in that housing. I don’t know if the stock filter fits in there with that lid you have… I know it does with the Banks lid, I have one of those. I don’t use it though.

If you want a stock lid, I have some nice clean ones. Even some that have already been repainted. Let me know if you want me to send you one.

Welcome to Oilburners!

I'm going to try and stay with this lid, gonna measure what came out of there and head to the autoparts store and see what I can find. I would suppose some weatherstripping may work if the stock filter is a bit too short.

 

[YachtTech82]

Nice truck. Get some gauges if you’re gonna turn up the pump. If he isn’t hauling or towing why turn up the pump? I get 25mpg with a banks turbo and a properly timed pump and just enough fuel to give the power I need. Why mess with it if you dont need to. Id Do some research into the aluminum return rails. Many people hate them. And if yours arnt leaking why replace them? How is is starting and running? If your a diesel tech you know pumps and injectors wear at about the same rate so if the injectors need to be done most likely the pump does to. But if it’s starting and running right do they need to be done? How’s the timing set?

So he doesn't plan on hauling OR towing but he is a 16 yr old boy who grew up around his father who was until recently always going for more HP numbers. The truck does have a Pyro that IS working but I don't necessarily trust it. I am thinking about putting 1 on each manifold for accuracy and future troubleshooting purposes. They truck really runs great, it did 70 mph down the highway no problem but being as old as it is I would feel much better just replacing all the wearables. The return lines look original to me, still have OE paint on them. It does start a little rough for my taste, after 1 glow cycle it will crank for 5-7 seconds then fire. It may just be the nature of the beast but being a diesel tech I think it could be better. I'm guessing OE motorcraft glowplugs are the way to go, might as well replace the controller and rebuild the harness while I'm in there. This one is N/A so I doubt it will be getting that great of mileage.

 

[KansasIDI]

I have the aluminum return rails, and while they are indeed a pain to get set, once they are set, they will not leak for a very long time, even if you bump them. Worth it, barely. I will put them on my 94 F350 at some point, but since it doesn’t leak right now, getting the transmission in order to do some road tests is step number current one

 

[KansasIDI]

I'm guessing OE motorcraft glowplugs are the way to go, might as well replace the controller and rebuild the harness while I'm in there.

Yes OE Motorcraft plugs for the win.

ididiesel.com has some super nice overpriced wiring harnesses, I have many of their products on my 91. They also sell Motorcraft glowplugs that aren’t fake, which is a problem that many here, including myself, have encountered.

I would look at the bottom of the controller. If it’s an older one that takes up the whole base, then slap a new high quality solenoid on top of it and go. If the controller is one of the cheaper new ones that doesn’t take up the whole base, just replace the whole thing, also with Motorcraft.

Oh btw, if you want to chase horsepower, a turbo kit is the way to go.

 

[YachtTech82]

So, went to the local car quest and they had the OE 5x11 round air filter on the shelf so I gave it a shot, seems to fit perfectly in the ray-wel powerplus air cleaner.

 

[Old Goat]

WOW!!! What an incredibly clean truck, that is a Cream Puff.

Walmart carries the Motorcraft FL-1995 Oil Filter. around $27.
If the Valve Covers are not leaking, I would leave them alone.
They seem to be the where the biggest oil leaks come from.

When you replace the CDR hose, there is the Valley Pan Drain
next to it. make sure it is open, it drains water/Diesel down the
back side of the engine. With the Air Filter removed, blow the area
out with compressed air. Amazing how much stuff builds up under
the Intake Manifold.

Starting up rough in the morning, most likely a few of the GP`s
are not heating up the cylinders enough. If it smooths out after
a few minutes, that is a clue. Being Diesel mechanic you know that.
Remove the wires to the GP`s and use a test light and or a DVM
to Ohm them out to see who is good or bad.
As mentioned use Motorcraft Plugs.

Also it is recommended to use the Motorcraft Thermostat.

Can`t get over how clean that engine is. It will last him a long time.
I just rolled over 364K miles on my 86 6.9.


Welcome to the Forum.


Goat

 

[YachtTech82]

WOW!!! What an incredibly clean truck, that is a Cream Puff.

Walmart carries the Motorcraft FL-1995 Oil Filter. around $27.
If the Valve Covers are not leaking, I would leave them alone.
They seem to be the where the biggest oil leaks come from.

When you replace the CDR hose, there is the Valley Pan Drain
next to it. make sure it is open, it drains water/Diesel down the
back side of the engine. With the Air Filter removed, blow the area
out with compressed air. Amazing how much stuff builds up under
the Intake Manifold.

Starting up rough in the morning, most likely a few of the GP`s
are not heating up the cylinders enough. If it smooths out after
a few minutes, that is a clue. Being Diesel mechanic you know that.
Remove the wires to the GP`s and use a test light and or a DVM
to Ohm them out to see who is good or bad.
As mentioned use Motorcraft Plugs.

Also it is recommended to use the Motorcraft Thermostat.

Can`t get over how clean that engine is. It will last him a long time.
I just rolled over 364K miles on my 86 6.9.


Welcome to the Forum.


Goat

I didn't purchase the truck with the engine that clean, that's after a decrease and pressure wash, the valve covers were making quite the mess on the passenger side and some soot from an exhaust leak on the driver side, I had to have it clean enough to evaluate what we needed to do.

 

[Old Goat]

Gotcha...well I can pretend you bought it that way...

The VC`s are always a leak problem, and the Pass side leaks all over the Starter.
Last July/Aug I replaced the IP and Injectors I bought from R&D IDI performance.
I read where one of the guys had a couple of the HYD Lifters have a
Clip come apart and think tweaked a couple Push Rods. With my high mileage, decided to dig down and replace the Lifters and Push Rods, and replace the 6.9 Rockers for the better 7.3 Rockers.

Got it all together, and was installing the VC`s. Cleaned the mating service of head and VC with Alcohol and also the rubber Gasket.
Blew out the Bolt Holes with carb Cleaner and Air Hose, Wire Wheeled the Bolt threads. Blue Lock Tighted the threads, and torqued it down.

The Pass side cover bolt next to the AC/Heat Box is next to impossible to tighten down, used every tool in my arsenal, and
never got it really tight.
Iam thinking of maybe install some Studs with red Lock Tight,
Triangle washer, and maybe a short piece of tube, and a Nylock Nut.
Haven`t read of anyone doing it, just something banging around between my Ears.

I have a Hotsy Pressure Washer, gets warmer going to hit it.
and stop this leak.
It`s leaking like an old Detroit Diesel...


Goat