New Here -- Looking to join the club (With a 6.9 IDI)

[ballwad]

Hey everyone, I'm new. I have lots of questions and little to offer (just being honest) as I have never owned a diesel. I'm hoping to purchase one in the next couple of days and found a lot of helpful info here about the truck I'm considering. Thought it would be a good place to hang in the event I pulled the trigger.

Here's what I'm looking at:

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'83 F350 6.9 IDI
105,000 original miles
one owner
sweet flatbed with winch crane
new fuel tank/filler necks/lines to rear of truck
restored cab/interior
$2500

Any thoughts or advice before purchasing? I'm new to these, so I don't know exactly what to look for or what makes a "good one." I think it could be a good work truck, but it will be my DD as well. My commute is like 2 miles every day, but I do a lot of concrete work in the summertime.

Thanks!

 

[79jasper]

Looks like a nice truck.
If it runs fine, I'd go for it.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

 

[ballwad]

Ya, i drove it once and it seemed to drive nice and shift properly, etc. It has sat a decent amount the past couple of years so i imagine there will be some things that need addressed. The lack of use is my concern, everything else seems pretty solid. It started and idled well, smoked for a bit but cleared up during test drive. Taking an old Ford mechanic with me tomorrow...and cash

 

[Waystro]

I love that bumper.

 

[towcat]

that looks like a retired Penske truck. got any service records?

 

[ballwad]

Towcat, the guy who owned it was a Penske employee for years(retired from there i believe. He's like 83 and having his friend move it for him), and when he and his brother painted the cab he put the penske stripes on for some reason. It was never a fleet vehicle. It hasn't been used much in the past ten years, but I've been told the oil changes have been kept up on and things of that nature. Judging by the condition of the rest of the truck, im inclined to believe him.

I was told that it did have to have a new glow plug controller, but i dont know if they or the stock plugs or if they were replaced. I'd like to make sure they're not Autolite--seems like those cause problems? I also know that they put the banks turbo kit in it. Beyond that, i don't know much about the motor except that i doesn't have a ton of miles on it.

 

[KZF250]

Hello from Denver. Signed up here after buying my first diesel about a year ago. Site is full of great info and the tech section is a great place to start.

Looks like a nice truck and a decent price. I converted to a manual glow plug switch for better control and it's a cheap mod. Unless they have records it might be hard to tell what kind of GP's are in there with out pulling them.

 

[ballwad]

Ya, it's solid. The more i read though, the more scared i am of paying 2500 and then having that in a rebuild shortly after. Im trying to get info from as many sources as possible

 

[KZF250]

Ya, it's solid. The more i read though, the more scared i am of paying 2500 and then having that in a rebuild shortly after. Im trying to get info from as many sources as possible

Well I'm by far no expert but unless it's been neglected the motor will not need a rebuild any time soon. Bought mine from the original owner for 2800 with over 200k miles. Some wear parts can be cheap others not so much but compared to newer rigs I will gladly attempt to maintain my old, computer free truck for as long as possible.

Edit: many have paid alot less but all depends on condition and which part of the country your in.

 

[ballwad]

Im in ohio where 10 yr old trucks look way worse than this one and cost 4 times as much. Just trying to be as informed as possible

 

[ballwad]

Well, I left without the truck. I was on the fence, but there was one thing that really made me leery -- I intentionally told him that I would arrive about 45 minutes later than I actually did so he wouldn't have time to pull it out and start it again. When I got there, guess what? It was already out and running. That deal could've been good if you were primarily interested in the bed and had a bit o cash to put in the truck--I was not and do not. However, I went to look at the CL ad afterward just for giggles and there was a new listing for an '86 F250 6.9 that looks like a nicer truck for $1900. More miles (180,000), but it hasn't just been sitting around. Guy said he has a deposit from some teen that "will have the rest Friday", but I told him I had a pocket full o cash from a deal that didn't go through....he said I can come tomorrow.

 

[TahoeTom]

An '86 6.9 engine would be better than an '83. The earlier ones had issues with the block cracking in the area of the block heater if the block heater is used. The later blocks are a better candidate for a rebuild because the oil cooling jets are bolted in rather than pressed in.

 

[Waystro]

So these engines came from the factory with Champion GlowPlugs?

 

[icanfixall]

I feel the yeoolw truck is a good buy but.. I noticed the after market breather with the hose on the front of the oil fill spout. Thats something you will want to return to factory connections. Then I see no belt on the ac compressor either. Ask why? Then I see what looks like maybe the engine main wire harness plug melted and has been replaced already. Thats a good thing really if done correctly. Otherwise it appears to be a nice truck. If it has a bad set of glow plugs they are easy to replace. Just be sure to use only motorcraft Beru ZD1 plugs. These have the spade connectors. If this truck has the better upgraded solid state glow plug controller then it will use a ZD9 glow plug and they are the bullet type connectors.