Trailered home a 1989 F350 dump truck that looks great on the outside, but the 7.3 IDI is something else

[crazydane]

Thanks @IDIBRONCO ! Yes that helps a lot. I'll get those sensors moved around.

So I got out my original '89 harness along with the '92 one from the donor engine.

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The main difference I see is that the '92 harness (foreground) has the large 12 pin connector at the very end of the harness where the '89 harness has it teeing off in the middle.

Here's a shot of the original engine before I removed the harness:

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I'm assuming the '92 harness will work but will come out from the engine near the thermostat housing instead of from the middle of the engine like in the pic above?

 

[KansasIDI]

Thanks @IDIBRONCO ! Yes that helps a lot. I'll get those sensors moved around.

So I got out my original '89 harness along with the '92 one from the donor engine.

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The main difference I see is that the '92 harness (foreground) has the large 12 pin connector at the very end of the harness where the '89 harness has it teeing off in the middle.

Here's a shot of the original engine before I removed the harness:

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I'm assuming the '92 harness will work but will come out from the engine near the thermostat housing instead of from the middle of the engine like in the pic above?

The 92-94 harness is plugged in from the drivers side, it’s passenger side on 83-91

The plug is the same 87-94, different for 83-86 engines, I believe it’s 8 pin instead of 12 pin.

 

[IDIBRONCO]

The 92-94 harness is plugged in from the drivers side,

It's been too long so I didn't remember this. It does explain the two plugs next to the 12 pin the look like they go to the temp gauge and the overtemp light.

different for 83-86 engines, I believe it’s 8 pin instead of 12 pin.

I haven't counted the number of pins, but the older ones are smaller on the outer, square part.

 

[OldPhart]

That reman long block @ $3195 looking better and better in the rearview mirror...I feel for you, been down that same road a number of times in my 73 yrs...

 

[crazydane]

Thanks again guys! Ok, so the original '89 harness is going back in.

Got it pulled apart and cleaned up. It was nasty:

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Glow plus harness is separate from the rest of the wires. Got it loosely fitted back on the engine.

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Rear:

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No place to plug these in yet:

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But fuel shut off solenoid and high idle will go on the IP and I'm guessing the rest will go on the yet to be mounted accessories, fuel filter and chassis wiring.

I'll be adding fresh heat shrink, wire loom and electrical tape to make it look stock again once I know where the remaining connectors go.

 

[IDIBRONCO]

But fuel shut off solenoid and high idle will go on the IP

There's a third similar looking connector close to the other two. Actually it's closer to the FSS than the fast idle connector is. It goes to the timing advance on the side of the IP. The advance itself is on the side, the spade for the wire connector is on top.

 

[Nero]

Personal recommendation, the two big yellow wires for the main GPC supply, replace it with a single heavy gauge fused 200a wire instead. Rest of wiring is fine.

 

[crazydane]

Thanks @IDIBRONCO forgot about that one! @Nero sage advice! I was planning on doing that since those 2 pins on the 12 pin connected were more or less melted anyway:

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So as far as running new heavy gauge to the GPC, it looks to be about 4' to the starter solenoid or about 5-6' to the passenger side battery. What do you guys typically do? If I want 200A wire, it looks like 4 AWG for a run of 5ft or less to keep the voltage drop less than 2%.

Reason connector looks that clean is that I gave the harness a 30 minute bath in 50/50 simple green solution in the ultrasonic:

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Still need to do the rest of the harness in a 2nd round. I'm really digging that HF ultrasonic! All my bolts and other small parts are looking much better much quicker compared to how I used to clean small parts.

So how dressed do you guys typically take your engines before dropping them back in?

On the dip stick bracket, am I correct in assuming I need some fat washers between the bracket and valve cover?

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The bracket was all smashed before I fixed it and it will get smashed again without something to prevent that.

Engine is starting to get pretty dressed up:

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Figured I'll hold off on putting on the accessories until its back in the engine bay. How dressed do you guys typically go before dropping the engine back in?

Since I'm going to have a 8-10 weeks window while I wait for my new CDD IP, I'm going to turn my attention to the rest of the truck. It sat for probably a year or two before I trailered it home, and it has been about a year now since I picked it up.

Once I get it running, it will be going to the quarry to pick up gravel, maybe 10 trips, 50 miles round trip. Don't want any surprises.

I'm looking at doing this as a minimum before my 1st trip:

1. Check front wheel bearings and replace if needed
2. Check front end ball joints and replace if needed
3. Check U-joints and replace if needed
4. Check brakes in all 4 corners and replace components as needed
5. Change transmission fluid
6. Change rear axle fluid
7. Change PS fluid
8. Replace brake fluid (will vacuum each corner until I see fresh fluid)
9. Replace power steering high pressure hose (got a cut in the outer rubber portion down to metal, but its not leaking)

Shocks looks pretty bad in all 4 corners, but I don't think they would leave me stranded. But I will replace them "soon".

As far and the engine is concerned, I'll be putting in all new hoses (radiator, heater) and all new belts. Will likely also drop both fuel tanks and get them cleaned out and make sure all hard file lines are good and replace all soft lines.

Anything I'm missing?

I will obviously drive it around for a bit before hitting to the quarry.

 

[Nero]

4 AWG should be good. Thats what I have and it runs great. I also had the same connector, and the same two pins melted, its a common failure point.
As for the dipstick bracket, there should be studded bolts, with nuts, that hold the bracet on.

Rest of to do list looks solid. What radiator are you going to go with?

 

[jwsfarrier]

the hold down for the dipstick bracket is actually two studs. On mine I did the oem VC washer thingy ,then nut, bracket, then another nut. Project is looking great btw! keep up the good work

 

[IDIBRONCO]

I'm really digging that HF ultrasonic!

I really like mine too. I had one from HF for a while, but it would only heat for 4 minutes. I ended up buying another one off of Amazon and like it MUCH better. It will heat for 30 minutes.

On the dip stick bracket, am I correct in assuming I need some fat washers between the bracket and valve cover?

It uses studs like Nero and JWS said. it uses the triangle shaped valve cover hold downs, like the rest of the bolts, underneath the nuts. Then there's two more nuts on top of the bracket to hold it against the lower nuts. Those don't have to be very tight or else you'll pull the studs out when you want to remover those nuts in the future. They only hold the bracket in place instead of sealing anything. If you don't have those studs, you can cut and use some 1/4" coarse thread all thread to do the same thing.

Figured I'll hold off on putting on the accessories until its back in the engine bay.

I never pull an engine with accessories if I can help it at all.
Overall, it's looking pretty good and almost complete. You might want to cover it with something to keep the dust and dirt out until you get your IP. Even a trash bag works. I like to sit something on top of the trash bag to hold it down. Something like an old blanket or towel works fine.

 

[crazydane]

Thanks for the tip on using studs under the dip stick bracket. Much better now:

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I had one flat nut, I'll see if I can find another, or maybe just fine one down to keep the bracket from being raised that far off the "triangles" but it doesn't really hurt anything the way it is I suppose.

Ordered up a 6' section of this for the GPC:

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And this 200A fuse:

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Bonus is I can cut out a piece of the wire to insert the fuse and trim the cable to the needed length.

As for the radiator, I was planning on using my existing one. I'll clean it up and flush it well and then pressure test it.

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Its 31" x 24". Unless these are prone to fail (I'm guessing its the original one from '89) so 36 years old. Maybe I should replace it?

The A/C condenser is 24" x 16" and 32" wide with the ears: (excluding those goofy angle brackets that someone added).

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I bring this up because I need to order a new radiator support and want to make sure I get the right one. Also need new battery trays. Any recommendations on a good place to pick up those 3 pieces from? LMC truck?

 

[KansasIDI]

Thanks for the tip on using studs under the dip stick bracket. Much better now:

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I had one flat nut, I'll see if I can find another, or maybe just fine one down to keep the bracket from being raised that far off the "triangles" but it doesn't really hurt anything the way it is I suppose.

Ordered up a 6' section of this for the GPC:

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And this 200A fuse:

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This way I can cut out a piece of the wire to insert the fuse and trim the cable to the needed length.

As for the radiator, I was planning on using my existing one. I'll clean it up and flush it well and then pressure test it.

You must be registered for see images attach

Its 31" x 24". Unless these are prone to fail (I'm guessing its the original one from '89) so 36 years old. Maybe I should replace it?

The A/C condenser is 24" x 16" and 32" wide with the ears: (excluding those goofy angle brackets that someone added).

You must be registered for see images attach

I bring this up because I need to order a new radiator support and want to make sure I get the right one. Also need new battery trays. Any recommendations on a good place to pick up those 3 pieces from? LMC truck?

Good luck finding a diesel bricknose core support… they’re not super common

 

[crazydane]

Yeah, most of the ones I've found so far don't have the lower support going down deep enough.

I'm starting to get nervous about my 2 IP cores I sent to CDD:

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They were sent "ground advantage" which was still $45 and no, I didn't add insurance.

Called the San Antonio PO, but I can't get a live person. They received the 2 oil coolers Monday (Joe called me). Guess I'll just have to be patient (not one of my strong suits). The bummer is that the 8-10 week lead time doesn't start until they get the cores, issue my store credit, and I use that the order an IP on their website.

Also, can I assume my truck has "factory air" given these controls in the dash: (not sure what's going on to the right of the sliders, maybe something was double taped there at one point)

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Apparently there are different core supports, radiators and condensers depending on if the truck has factory, dealer installed or aftermarket A/C. Didn't even know that was a thing. I thought it either had it from the factory or didn't.

 

[Nero]

I just tossed a slightly bent bricknose support in the metal bin at work... I could fish it out if you want it, but freight might be a penny or two