Project Leatherneck

[Chief]

Going to start the rebuild of my ‘93 7.3 IDIT real soon. A little history - dad bought the truck new and I drove it in high school back in the day when it was still cool to cruise Main Street. Years ago, he had it in for a rebuild and they royally screwed him over. Ended up costing way more than it should and for some reason they replaced the block. Not long after, the turbo gave out and he parked it. It sat for 6 years until he decided to have it fixed. They “supposedly” put in a new turbo but it started burning oil big time. Mechanic said to drive it hard to seat the rings and they added an RDT to bypass the CDR. That didn’t fix it. He wasn’t aware of how bad it was burning oil when he gave it to me. Ran to Texas to get it and on the way back I was adding 4 qts every 100 miles. Hoped it would go away but it progressively got worse to the point I was adding a qt every 20 miles. I decided to park it to prevent any further damage knowing the gem that I have.

With y’all’s help, I’ve run the gamut of potential fixes. Thinking it was loose or stuck oil rings, I’ve run auto rx, 50/50 MMO and DELO 15w40, liqui moly, and removed the RDT mod back to how it should be. I can’t keep solvents in her long enough to do any good. I’ve also towed another 3/4 ton for a few hours trying to run her hot to unstick rings. Thinking it was a worn turbo, I pulled it and rebuilt it. I’ve also replaced the turbo pedestal grommet thinking it was a problem with the turbo. I ran a compression test and found 5 cylinders at or under 200psi. Haven’t done a leak down test because I’ve got major problems with multiple cylinders.

Here’s my take - I think I have bad valve stem seals or valve seats. I’m blowing white/blue smoke no matter if it’s idling or under load. I’m not sure if the heads were rebuilt when the rest of the engine was. I won’t really know until I get in there.

So, the plan is to pull the heads and have a look. I don’t mind pulling the whole motor but if I don’t have to then I don’t see a need. Like most everyone, I don’t have time or money to really invest in the ‘ol girl but, I have great memories of riding in her with dad and just love the truck. Plus, it’s an IDIT! Who wouldn’t want to keep it?

So a question, if you were in my place knowing you were gonna pull the heads and possibly rebuild the engine, what mods and/or upgrades would you want? I know I want head studs and eventually I’m adding boost, EGT, and oil pressure gauges. I’ll likely upgrade the IP and maybe add an inter cooling system. She’s a strong truck but has a problem with showing everyone she’s sick. I’ll post pics as I move along.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Selahdoor]

Wait.

They replaced the block.

You've not put that many miles on it....

And you have compression on at least 5 cylinders, of 200 or less? (Plus major problems on multiple cylinders.)

Are you sure the block was actually replaced? (And NOT with the mechanic's own ganky old block...)

 

[Thewespaul]

Pull the engine, its not going to be a simple fix.

 

[Chief]

Wait.

They replaced the block.

You've not put that many miles on it....

And you have compression on at least 5 cylinders, of 200 or less? (Plus major problems on multiple cylinders.)

Are you sure the block was actually replaced? (And NOT with the mechanic's own ganky old block...)

I can’t confirm it was replaced or not. Just what I was told. They really screwed him over.

 

[Chief]

Pull the engine, its not going to be a simple fix.

I don’t think so either. Might as well rebuild the bottom half. At least then I’ll know it was done right. How do I know if the block is for an IDIT? I suspect that even if it was replaced, they put in an N/A block.

 

[Thewespaul]

Check the engine serial number to the right of the ip timing cover on the block. If it starts with 7.3D then na, 7.3t is turbo.

 

[Chief]

Check the engine serial number to the right of the ip timing cover on the block. If it starts with 7.3D then na, 7.3t is turbo.

To say I’m angry would be an understatement!

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[IDIBRONCO]

The N/A block will hold up just fine to about 400HP or so. Unless you're planning to go big, there's no need to be upset about this. Another thing is that unless you're planning to run big HP numbers, you don't really have to upgrade from a stock IP. These can have the fuel turned up and can put out some decent power numbers. I would guess that the "mechanics" took out one wore out engine and put another in it's place.

 

[Chief]

The N/A block will hold up just fine to about 400HP or so. Unless you're planning to go big, there's no need to be upset about this. Another thing is that unless you're planning to run big HP numbers, you don't really have to upgrade from a stock IP. These can have the fuel turned up and can put out some decent power numbers. I would guess that the "mechanics" took out one wore out engine and put another in it's place.

Makes sense to me. It really just needs to get me down the road. I thought there was a difference between the na and turbo blocks? Something about thicker walls etc. Do they still use the same parts? If so great!

 

[IDIBRONCO]

Something about thicker walls etc. Do they still use the same parts? If so great!

The crank, rods, pistons, balancer, and flywheel/flexplate are different. I think the cylinder bore is the same too. Other than that, I believe the other parts are all the same. I think you can take all of the N/A internals and use them in a Turbo block. All of the external parts will interchange except for the oil sender on the N/A engine. The block had 1/8"NPT threads in the block in this location while the turbo block has 1/4NPT threads here. The hard work is already done for you. Just rebuild what you've got.

 

[Chief]

So after a minor setback/lack of knowledge, I’m still planning to rebuild the IDIT/“NA”. I’ve got to make room in the garage and get a lift and stand but man I’m ready!

I’ve got another project going too. An 04 Ram with the hemi. Has 95k on the odometer and a blown head gasket. Not pulling the motor on that one. It’s my son’s girlfriend’s and she’s going to do most of the work. I’ll just stupidvise. I love passing on knowledge to the younger generation!

My truck has been used for storage of job supplies from my electrical business since the wife made me get rid of the the 93 F350 na I had. She’s loaded up with conduit and wire but I have her parked in the driveway so I can work on her.

I’m planning to upgrade the cam and lifters, put in head studs, and do the smf conversion since I’ll have access to it. Depending on the condition of the cylinders, overbore them slightly really just to clean the walls up. I’m interested in the baby moose ip from Wes and the high torque cam from typ4.

 

[IDIBRONCO]

I’m interested in the baby moose ip from Wes

Mel is the one with the Moose products. Wes doesn't have names for his products to my knowledge.

 

[Chief]

That’s good to know. Thank you