Trailered home a 1989 F350 dump truck that looks great on the outside, but the 7.3 IDI is something else
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Old Goat
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That edge of the Piston eroded away, I think it is where the Fuel is sprayed in from the Pre Cup.
Seems like I read that years ago, I have some Datsun Diesel pistons that had a slight bit of that.
Goat
Seems like I read that years ago, I have some Datsun Diesel pistons that had a slight bit of that.
Goat
So I'm 0 for 2 at this point trying to find a block I can use without spending a lot of money sleeving it and getting new pistons.
I don't need an engine that will last 100k+ miles, I just need to be able to put about 500 miles on it a year. Do you guys think I can get away with re-using those pistons and just keep honing that bore with the mark until it gets a little better and hope the other holes are in better shape?
If it turns out the other 7 bores hone up half way decent (probably not), can I just have that one hole re-sleeved to a .020 and use one of the pistons from the original engine? Or would it be bad to run a mix of .020 and .030 pistons?
Alternatively, I can put this 2nd engine back together and return it. Guy did say if its not rebuildable, he'll take it back. I don't know if the condition its in warrants that or not?
It sure seems that used 7.3 IDIs have all had a hard life and at this point already been rebuild once or twice...
I don't need an engine that will last 100k+ miles, I just need to be able to put about 500 miles on it a year. Do you guys think I can get away with re-using those pistons and just keep honing that bore with the mark until it gets a little better and hope the other holes are in better shape?
If it turns out the other 7 bores hone up half way decent (probably not), can I just have that one hole re-sleeved to a .020 and use one of the pistons from the original engine? Or would it be bad to run a mix of .020 and .030 pistons?
Alternatively, I can put this 2nd engine back together and return it. Guy did say if its not rebuildable, he'll take it back. I don't know if the condition its in warrants that or not?
It sure seems that used 7.3 IDIs have all had a hard life and at this point already been rebuild once or twice...
I spoke to the yard where I picked up this 2nd 7.3 engine. They said to bring it back, and they will exchange it for the other 7.3 block they had. They had in their notes it had coolant in the oil. Fingers crossed its from a blown head gasket and not something more severe... At least that one supposedly has a brand new fuel injection pump on it. So if nothing else, I'll have some decent spare parts for what will likely be a 4th block I'll need to go through before finding one that don't need to be sleeved. I do have one in mind from another junk yard. Its out of a 1994 F450 truck that was wrecked about a month ago. They want $2,500 for it, but I guess that's the going rate for something that can actually be rebuild these days. New pistons/rings/sleeving/bearings one of my other blocks would have likely ended up costing about that much anyway.
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Old Goat
Full Access Member
Oil in the Coolant could be from the Oil Cooler.
Goat
Goat
IDIBRONCO
IDIBRONCO
That much? I guess that makes some of the ones that I've seen listed for sale lately not as badly priced as I thought they were. On the other hand, that makes Scrappy, the truck I picked up last Saturday, seem like a steal.
Old Goat
Full Access Member
$2500 is an out landish price for a old used engine, especially with questionaly maintenance and mileage.
Use to get Engines at PNP for around $350, but did charge for the Turbo, Starter, Alternator etc... but if attached to the engine, you at least got them cheaper than if bought separately.
Tee the prices kept going up, now they are in the $600 range. PNP has had 3 price increases in the past year.
Take an old vehicle to them and you get next to nothing.
Best deal I got was 2+ years back when I pulled a 7.3 out of an 89 where the guy took out the L/F corner of the truck and never touched the engine.
Worked 3 days cutting off the front end with a sawz all and disconnecting everything. Had an auto trans. and had to figure out how to get it apart. First one I have delt with.
Maybe I could have got it out sooner, but a 25% sale was coming up, and I wanted it ready to just lift out on that day....and I stayed till quitting time guarding by baby.
showed 85K on spedo, so probably 195K.
Got my BIL to help push that heavy ars "A" Frame up the hill, 2 old farts struggling to push it. Got the engine lifted out and a couple tires were 1/2 flat with the weight on them. Of course the truck had to be at the end of the row, and with the deep gravel made us work for that engine.
So out the door that day it was $341.
Don`t see many 6.9 or 7.3`s coming into the yards here in Nv, I see them in C-o-m-m-i-e land over the hill, PNP`s quite often.
EDIT: Bad word, had to redesign it.
Goat.
Use to get Engines at PNP for around $350, but did charge for the Turbo, Starter, Alternator etc... but if attached to the engine, you at least got them cheaper than if bought separately.
Tee the prices kept going up, now they are in the $600 range. PNP has had 3 price increases in the past year.
Take an old vehicle to them and you get next to nothing.
Best deal I got was 2+ years back when I pulled a 7.3 out of an 89 where the guy took out the L/F corner of the truck and never touched the engine.
Worked 3 days cutting off the front end with a sawz all and disconnecting everything. Had an auto trans. and had to figure out how to get it apart. First one I have delt with.
Maybe I could have got it out sooner, but a 25% sale was coming up, and I wanted it ready to just lift out on that day....and I stayed till quitting time guarding by baby.
showed 85K on spedo, so probably 195K.
Got my BIL to help push that heavy ars "A" Frame up the hill, 2 old farts struggling to push it. Got the engine lifted out and a couple tires were 1/2 flat with the weight on them. Of course the truck had to be at the end of the row, and with the deep gravel made us work for that engine.
So out the door that day it was $341.
Don`t see many 6.9 or 7.3`s coming into the yards here in Nv, I see them in C-o-m-m-i-e land over the hill, PNP`s quite often.
EDIT: Bad word, had to redesign it.
Goat.
Made the 130 mile round/trip this morning to swap out the core with the 2nd one he had.
This one sure looks a *lot* rougher on the outside:
Not sure how someone managed to mangle the screen so badly on the intake, but fortunately the one that came in the truck is fine.
Looks like it spent some time sitting outdoors before the yard got a hold of it...
But being out of a '92 truck, hopefully the block hasn't already been bored .030 over. Serial seems to confirm it being a '92.
7.3D U2 U638837* '89 Yard #1
7.3D U2 U649677* '89 Came in truck
7.3D U2 U970730* '92 Yard #2
I did keep the oil cooler from the Yard #1 engine since that one had no coolant in the oil. So in case this oil cooler is bad, I got a spare.
Guess I'll know soon if I'm 0-3 or this one is actually usable.
This one sure looks a *lot* rougher on the outside:
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Not sure how someone managed to mangle the screen so badly on the intake, but fortunately the one that came in the truck is fine.
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Looks like it spent some time sitting outdoors before the yard got a hold of it...
But being out of a '92 truck, hopefully the block hasn't already been bored .030 over. Serial seems to confirm it being a '92.
7.3D U2 U638837* '89 Yard #1
7.3D U2 U649677* '89 Came in truck
7.3D U2 U970730* '92 Yard #2
I did keep the oil cooler from the Yard #1 engine since that one had no coolant in the oil. So in case this oil cooler is bad, I got a spare.
Guess I'll know soon if I'm 0-3 or this one is actually usable.
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Got it somewhat cleaned up and on a stand. Looks like previous owner put on a new glow plug controller:
It worked so well that it burned the tip off every single glow plug:
Whatever brand these "8115" plugs are, I'll for sure be looking for a different make/model. I'm hoping he was never able to get it started so that the damage from the tip is minimal, but that's probably being optimistic given my track record so far with these engines. Almost all the fuel lines were finger tight, so I'm guessing he was trying to bleed it to get it running.
Most of the injectors were also just finger tight. Here they are:
The tops are all Ford factory grey. Original injectors maybe?
The valley actually looks really good, all things considered:
No surface rust on any of the push rods from what I can tell, which is quite a change from both previous engines.
I'm cautiously optimistic the bores will be in decent shape as long as the glow plug tips didn't scar them too bad.
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It worked so well that it burned the tip off every single glow plug:
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Whatever brand these "8115" plugs are, I'll for sure be looking for a different make/model. I'm hoping he was never able to get it started so that the damage from the tip is minimal, but that's probably being optimistic given my track record so far with these engines. Almost all the fuel lines were finger tight, so I'm guessing he was trying to bleed it to get it running.
Most of the injectors were also just finger tight. Here they are:
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The tops are all Ford factory grey. Original injectors maybe?
The valley actually looks really good, all things considered:
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No surface rust on any of the push rods from what I can tell, which is quite a change from both previous engines.
I'm cautiously optimistic the bores will be in decent shape as long as the glow plug tips didn't scar them too bad.
Got the heads off and I believe I found the source the the coolant in the oil. One of the heads is cracked in #5:
Corresponding bore:
All the other bores on both sides look great and the block has never been bored:
Other side:
The pistons barely have any build up on them and there's barely a ridge in any of the bores.
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Corresponding bore:
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All the other bores on both sides look great and the block has never been bored:
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Other side:
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The pistons barely have any build up on them and there's barely a ridge in any of the bores.
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The valves all look brand new, or maybe they are the originals ones that have just been cleaned up really good? Maybe the T 9 91 and T 11 91 is when they were made. Being a 92 engine, that would almost make sense.
And other than #5, the other bores all look great:
I wonder what the history is for this engine?
Once I tear the block down the rest of the way, I'll see if I might be able to rescue bore #5 with just a hone job, but I suspect its going to need to be bored to .010 at least. If I do that, I might as well take all the bores to .020 and reuse all the pistons from the original engine.
Or, should I look at having #5 sleeved so that I can use standard pistons in all 8 holes?
Oh and I guess those little bits of glow plug tips just went out the exhaust without really causing any damage.
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And other than #5, the other bores all look great:
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I wonder what the history is for this engine?
Once I tear the block down the rest of the way, I'll see if I might be able to rescue bore #5 with just a hone job, but I suspect its going to need to be bored to .010 at least. If I do that, I might as well take all the bores to .020 and reuse all the pistons from the original engine.
Or, should I look at having #5 sleeved so that I can use standard pistons in all 8 holes?
Oh and I guess those little bits of glow plug tips just went out the exhaust without really causing any damage.
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Old Goat
Full Access Member
A Diamond in the rough?
Goat
Goat
I hope so!
Popped the oil pan and the bottom end looks good:
Popped #5 piston and the rod bearings are all standard and have minimal wear:
The piston itself however, is half melted away:
Popped the oil pan and the bottom end looks good:
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Popped #5 piston and the rod bearings are all standard and have minimal wear:
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The piston itself however, is half melted away:
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To get the piston out, I sanded the rusted and rough areas of the bore walls with some 120 grit, sprayed some WD40 on the walls, and it came out pretty easily after that. Wiped down the walls with a rag and this is what I got:
Ridge doesn't catch my fingernail anywhere, so maybe, just maybe, I can hone up this bore and just get a single new piston for #5 and a full set of rings, and be back in business.
If I can't hone #5, would it be an issue to take just that one bore to .010 and leave the others STD? Yes, #5 would technically have a lightly larger displacement that the other 7 cylinders, but in the grand scheme of things, does that really matter? I mean you can have compression variances that probably results in greater differences between bores, as far as power delivered from each cylinder.
I've been thinking about the possible history of this engine and I wonder if the head had a flaw and cracked under warranty and Ford replaced the engine and tossed the old engine aside and it was later picked up by some poor sap that tried to get it running again without popping the heads to see what the real issue was. He finally gave up trying to get it running, and the yard ended up with it.
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Ridge doesn't catch my fingernail anywhere, so maybe, just maybe, I can hone up this bore and just get a single new piston for #5 and a full set of rings, and be back in business.
If I can't hone #5, would it be an issue to take just that one bore to .010 and leave the others STD? Yes, #5 would technically have a lightly larger displacement that the other 7 cylinders, but in the grand scheme of things, does that really matter? I mean you can have compression variances that probably results in greater differences between bores, as far as power delivered from each cylinder.
I've been thinking about the possible history of this engine and I wonder if the head had a flaw and cracked under warranty and Ford replaced the engine and tossed the old engine aside and it was later picked up by some poor sap that tried to get it running again without popping the heads to see what the real issue was. He finally gave up trying to get it running, and the yard ended up with it.
