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[BlowinSmoke88]

How you guys doing?? Well im looking at buying my first diesel truck and im really interested in this 1994 f250 ext. cab. It has a turbo charged 7.3 idi, It has 140,000 miles and has minimal rust. It has also had the pressure plate, clutch, flywheel, pilot and throw out bearing replaced with reciepts showing so.

Ive read up quite a bit on the truck and im alittle concerned about the coolant cavitation, because im not sure of the type of coolant that was used in it or if it had DCA in it. I guess my main concern is he is asking 3400 for the truck. and I dont want to run into a bunch of problems with it. I really appreciate any input you can give me??

 

[hesutton]

You've likely already read these, but here they are if you haven't.

Cavitation guide
Guide to buying an IDI.

You can pick up some test strips and test the coolant before you purchase the truck and see if there is any DCA in the coolant. If so, I'd have less worry about cavitation.

WELCOME TO OB!

Heath

 

[BlowinSmoke88]

Thanks for the link to the buying guide, that should help quite a bit. I had thought about buying some test strips and checking the coolant. Hopefully every thing turns out good.

 

[johneich]

Also a real good test is to ask the seller the last time he/she checked the DCA's, if you see a blank look on their face, consider walking away from the deal. You can assume that routine maintenance has not been done or not done properly.

 

[flareside_thun]

To say routine maintenance wasn't done is a little offputting...... Alot of people have no idea about dca in the first place. So, saying someone didn't keep up with routine maintenance because they lack the knowledge of one aspect of it is absurd.

 

[Diesel_brad]

To say routine maintenance wasn't done is a little offputting...... Alot of people have no idea about dca in the first place. So, saying someone didn't keep up with routine maintenance because they lack the knowledge of one aspect of it is absurd.

Correct. If i was a betting man i would say at least HALF of the 7.3 IDIs out there haven't had the SCAs checked EVER. And I would also say at least half of those trucks are running just fine

 

[92F350CC]

I'd never heard of SCA's until this website, and I had already sold my IDI by then(of course, it was a 6.9, not a 7.3).

I would wager a huge majority of IDI owners have never heard of it.

 

[BlowinSmoke88]

So if he has kno idea about the SCA but everything looks good. I should be able to flush the fluid put the right stuff in and be ok??

 

[flareside_thun]

In theory, yup. It will be hard to determine any kind of pre-existing condition.....

 

[redmondjp]

So if he has kno idea about the SCA but everything looks good. I should be able to flush the fluid put the right stuff in and be ok??

Maybe. A tiny pinhole through the cylinder wall is very hard to find, and could exist for a long time before anybody ever finds out about it. It may show up by doing a used oil analysis (UOA, typically done by Blackstone Labs, google them) which will detect coolant in the oil. Of course, a leak in the oil cooler could also cause coolant in the oil.

Just speaking for myself, the cavitation issue really scared me away from the 7.3IDIs, which are all around 20 years old and have typically 200-300K miles by now (rarely I would see one with under 100K miles, for top dollar). I am at a point in my life where I don't have the time or the means to do an engine rebuild, so I ended up with a 98K mile 460.

 

[hesutton]

One way to at least check for coolant contamination in the oil is with a used oil analysis from BlackStone Labs, Cat, or some other oil lab. Getting a sample prior to purchase however, isn't exactly easy unless the guy doesn't care if you warm up the oil and drain it for a sample and let you wait for the results.

Heath