Project Thread: 89 F250 Franken Truck

CalIDI

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I will do the water pump, but I don't have a good excuse to get the nice one previously mentioned because I already have one that someone gave me. Brand new. I don't think I'll do main seals. I would if I was sure that this motor was gonna be the one... In the case that I don't keep it, I'd rather not have put a bunch of time into this one just to sell it.

Just ordered a comp tester. Will be ordering GPs and Motor mounts, oil cooler stuff and radiator hoses


Thanks for the advice. Keep it coming.
Happy Tinkering!
-CalIDI
 

94turbocrewcab-lb

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I know that when I did the main seals they were brittle..it would have poured oil out of those seals in no time at all. I’d hate to pull this motor again but I’ll learn the lesson. They didn’t take that much time considering I already had the water pump off.

I’m just avoiding draining my coolant..I’ve got to get the radiator resealed and the water pump swapped. I’ll get to it soon. There is 4 inches of freezing rain and more to come! I’d be lying if I didn’t contemplate working on it today.
 

CalIDI

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I don’t have an arbor press or a straight edge yet. Is there a way to do the main seals properly without those tools? I could possibly install it carefully without the arbor press but I think a straight edge would be necessary to make sure that it is in right.
It isn’t much more expensive to buy all the lower seals, so I may as well buy all of them…
 
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CalIDI

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Spent 5 hours tryna do a compression test on the 7.3 I want to put in it. Cranked over really slow and only made it to 275 psi on the front two cylinders. I didn’t check the rest because It won’t turn over quick enough.

Checked everything. Changed starters, burned out a set of jumper cables, changed cables, changed leads and signal wire, etc. Every connection and cable reads less than an ohm, and the starter bench tests just fine. Both of the starters I tried have always worked previously.

The batteries stay at 13v for the duration of the cranking cycle.

Any reasons it would crank so slow even with the glow plugs removed? I don’t have any other batteries to try but I may borrow some soon. It’s in the 40s here but I don’t think that’s the issue.


Any ideas welcome.


Thanks and I hope you’re having a better time tinkering than me!
-CalIDI
 

Old Goat

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"Tryna" That`s a new word I haven`t come across.

You need some good Jumper Cables, these engines take a lot of amps to turn them over. If they are too small, they will heat up.

When cranking on the Starter, run it 30 seconds, and let cool 3 minutes so you don`t burn it up.
Your 2 Starters may be "OK" but are probably weaker than you think.
I think these Engine`s need to rotate 650 RPM`s just to start.

275 is pretty low, but maybe not turning over fast enough is the problem with the compression number`s.

I agree what Dave said above.

Goat
 

The_Josh_Bear

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Battery voltage should drop to about 9-10v when cranking IIRC. So you're just not getting the juice to the starter. Most cables are little 6ga wires wrapped in heavy insulation, you need real cables for boosting.

Shouldn't take much amperage to turn it over with all the GP's out. Something is wrong electrically(or you have a seized engine). Clean any connection point between batteries and starter. After that it must be either starter or batteries. If the batts say 13v I'd lean heavily towards the starter being the culprit.

Starters can bench test(no-load) fine, but still have no torque with a load. So that's definitely a thing. I've had 3 do that over 16 years. In my case it's from oil fouling. There isn't much to go wrong with a starter, clean the contacts and make sure bearings spin and it's pretty much good to go. The nice thing is that you can do that yourself if you have the time.
 

CalIDI

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Thanks for the advice. I don't think its seized, it turned over just fine a few months ago when we got it running, and its been under 3 tarps since then.

I'm leaning towards batteries and cables, because I got the same result with both starters... I'll be trying out different batteries and cables as soon as I can.

If I can get some welding cable for a good price I'd build jumper cables with HFT 300a ground clamps.


Thanks all, Happy Tinkering,
-CalIDI
 

Old Goat

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CaLIDI, you have a lot of PNP`s around you.
I use to live in Santa Cruz, use to hit Moss landing, 2 in San Jose, one in Newark and once in a while come up to Sacto and hit that one.

Back then was pulling Mercedes parts before the F-250 came into my life.

One of my MB buddies put me onto some BMW models and maybe MB`s also, have the Battery in the trunk. Goes through the back wall, runs along the inside Rocker and through the FW. Is about 12ft long and maybe 2 Ga. Big sucker.
Pulled two, and used one for the cable on the 250, from drivers side to pass side. Used the BMW Bat clamp on driver side, and crimped on a ring terminal on the other end. Been on there 8 years and has worked great.

Also up graded to a larger wire from Bat to Starter and GP relays from what Ford used.

Last year I went to NAPA and had them make me two new ground cables with ring terminals on both ends.

Kid wanted to sell me some made up ones in plastic bags hanging on the wall about the size of my pinky finger.
I said. NO NO NO, about the size of my Thumb.

I never have any battery, starter issues unless some DA leaves the tumbler in the ACC position all night. :Q

Best thing about the PNP Cables they are or were $5 ea. haven`t checked prices in a while.

Goat
 

CalIDI

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Old Goat, I like that idea a lot. I am blessed to have a lot of junk yards within reach. We pass a PNP just driving to church!

I hadn't considered that a cable from one of those would work. Already need to go to PNP for a different vehicle, so Ill search out a BMW while we are there. Thanks for the good idea!

Thanks and Happy Tinkering!
-CalIDI
 

Old Goat

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I don`t remember what models I got the cables from. I think you can get a list of all BMW`s in the yard when paying your $2. I think the batteries were mounted on the pass side.

Check the MB`s also.
Since I have MB`s also, I have more parts than PNP....LOL
They use a lot of the 20amp Ice Cube relays (as they call them on the Forums) They also used some that have a Spade fuse that fits into the top. Noticed it in the trunk of one of them, think it was 40 amp, but can use a lower amp one depending what you want to use it for.
Think I used it when wiring in some lights. I also cut out the plug and wire harness they plug into also.

The only piece of Battery cable I have not changed, is the section from the battery to Starter.
The BMW section that runs across the radiator support to pass side, I covered with a large piece of red Heat Shrink to show it is a Positive one. So it is like the original.


Goat
 

Reggie f250

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Other cars you could look for are the Buick Olds and Cadillac fwd cars especially v8 cars. They didn't have room for the battery under the hood so they used a junction block and put the battery under the back seat. Only difference is they are side terminal but it is basically a gigantic ring terminal and a lot of them you can even slide off the cover on the end.
 

CalIDI

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Hey IDI guys, new update:

I Did the compression test today. The numbers in order from 1-8 in psi are;
420

380

400

415

380

410

400

360

Seems fine to me. The cylinders that have >415 compression may have leaky valve stem seals making them have higher compression. It seems like it will run just fine though, and they are all healthy. I’ve been told they need a minimum of 275psi to fire.

I borrowed batteries and cables, removed the starter and put it back in. Worked great. I am still going to build a couple sets of cables soon.

We cranked it for long enough that anywhere that would leak oil did, and it looks like I need to reseal the IP housing. The main seals appear to have been replaced and are fine, as are the valve covers and oil pan.


It is looking like I will do the following and then install the motor. In addition to some small tinkering, I will pull the valve covers, torque the heads, new thermostat, radiator hoses, water pump, glow plugs, and oil cooler seals, reseal the IP housing, install new motor mounts, delete the ats turbo pedestal and valve cover tube (not sure exactly how…see below) and re-torque all the essential and non-essential bolts. Also need to swap the transmission adapter and flex plate.


Questions;
Did I miss anything major? It ran without knocking, and the compression seems healthy, so mechanically the motor seems fine. I will reseal the leaking spots, and replace the common failure points, but we’re there any I missed? Not gonna do intake seals or head gaskets, main seals or valve stems. Like I mentioned the main seals and oil pan, etc have been done.
Anything else major I should do?

Any advice on deleting the ats turbo parts? The shaft is worn out so I can’t run it with the turbo on. What is the best way to seal up the intake manifold and valley pan once I remove the pedestal? The air filter housing clears the pedestal, but there isn’t enough room for a block off plate, though it may still be a possibility. I think I’ll rout the vent tube into the exhaust.

Let me know any ideas and advice you may have. You guys have been a great help to me!

Happy Tinkering!
-CalIDI
 
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