Using an 87 F250 as my daily driver

[tbiagent69]

Last year when Diesel was over $5 a gallon here in Commiefornia, I saw a ton of old ford diesels going cheap on craigslist. My brother was looking for a truck but was afraid that it'd be too expensive to maintain a diesel. I convinced him that it was the way to go since it offers so much more power and economy, that he'd at least break even or end up ahead.

We found this 87 on craigslist for $2500 that has a banks turbo setup (Does not look wastegated) and a gear vendors on it. The truck ended up sitting this whole time and I ended up borrowing it from him. I moved from San Diego to El Centro and the second I parked my truck to unload it the water pump went out. Took care of that and fixed the A/C, and now I want to check everything else out to make sure it will last. I'm pretty mechanically inclined so I can tackle most problems...

I noticed some weeping coming out of the rubber lines that connect each fuel injector together. What are these lines for, and do I need special hoses to replace them? I ran a half gallon of ATF through a half tank of fuel to clean the crap out of it and washed the K&N that is in the intake box.

I was looking inside the intake and there is a huge amount of motor oil that looks like it is coming from the crankcase breather, it's coating the whole filtered side of the intake box, almost pooling up. Is this normal? Also, I only get about 20-25psi of oil at idle and it goes up to 30-35 when I'm driving.


Anyway, I was looking at the intake box and it appears like I can just bypass the crankcase hose and vent it out into the atmosphere and bypass the air box all together and just run a cold air intake from the turbo inlet to the outside of the truck. Can this be done? It looks like the turbo pressure gets passed through this box too, so can I just cut off all the portions around it to make space to run my cai? I know it's a lot of stuff to ask, but I would appreciate any info you can provide. Thanks!

 

[Diesel JD]

That oil pressure is a little low but not too bad. If you have measurable oil pressure at idle and at least 30 psi at 2000 rpm your bearings are getting plenty. That oil in the intake side is not unusual on a slightly tired motor with a lot of blowby or on a turbo with bad oil seals. It could also be something to do with how the crankcase is vented. You'd have to show a picture could be a plugged CDR plugged hose, excessive blow by or a combination of all of these. The injector return lines are a special part but they can be had at any number of online diesel shops, ebay, and even from Typ 4 and Agenem who are members here and sell a little fuel injection stuff on the side. Cost will be in the $20-45 range depending on who you buy from and what kind of deal you can get on shipping. You all scored nice on that truck a working GV alone is almost worth that price, and I don't know how good the engine is but it's not terrible, its def. a runner. Banks turbo is worth coin too and makes the truck a lot more fun to drive. Is the main transmission a 3 speed auto or 4 speed manual? The auto is good it sometimes needs a little extra care in terms of vaccuum adjustments and such the T19 is dead solid manual. Don't know much about the GV but they sure do help with fuel economy on the highway.

 

[zpd307]

yes, you can just run a hose down towards the ground, it is called a road draft tube. those hoses are the injector return line hoses. when they start to leak, they also air leaks which in turn will make for harder starts fisrt thing in the morning after the truck sits overnight, you are also losing fuel. i know russ, type4, sells return line kits. i think there is an article on the road draft tube in the tech articles, along with fuel injection servicing that covers the return lines. also, welcome!

 

[Michael Fowler]

Yes, WELCOME to the best source for information on your new diesel!!
Spend some time reading through the IDI Tech articles, and you will soon be an expert. Almost everything you need to know is in there.

 

[tbiagent69]

yes, you can just run a hose down towards the ground, it is called a road draft tube. those hoses are the injector return line hoses. when they start to leak, they also air leaks which in turn will make for harder starts fisrt thing in the morning after the truck sits overnight, you are also losing fuel. i know russ, type4, sells return line kits. i think there is an article on the road draft tube in the tech articles, along with fuel injection servicing that covers the return lines. also, welcome!

Sounds good, thanks for the info everyone! The truck is pretty solid so far, no starting or smoking problems whatsoever... I do have an ENGINE light that is on, and I have not been able to find out how to diagnose the problem or what to look for. It came on when I was making the 110 mile drive through the desert to El Centro. I was going about 70-75 for a solid hour and all of a sundden it showed up. Anyone know how to find out what is setting it off?

 

[Diesel JD]

It can only be three things on these trucks. 1) Low oil pressure, that is <7psi triggers it 2) Overheat situation temp over 243*F 3) False alarm, just an electrical gremlin. I don't know if in your part of the worker's paradise they are tolerant of smog but a RDT can call unwanted attention your way. Some folks have found a way to route it to the exhaust. Probably in California you need to follow their lead or hook up some sort of CDR valve. It's a good chance that the cdr is giving you your oil problems if you don't have a lot of smoke or oil consumption. Either way the crankcase needs to be able to vent those gases so they can be reburned or emitted into the atmosphere. Otherwise you'll have all kinds of oil leaks eventually.

 

[tbiagent69]

It can only be three things on these trucks. 1) Low oil pressure, that is <7psi triggers it 2) Overheat situation temp over 243*F 3) False alarm, just an electrical gremlin. I don't know if in your part of the worker's paradise they are tolerant of smog but a RDT can call unwanted attention your way. Some folks have found a way to route it to the exhaust. Probably in California you need to follow their lead or hook up some sort of CDR valve. It's a good chance that the cdr is giving you your oil problems if you don't have a lot of smoke or oil consumption. Either way the crankcase needs to be able to vent those gases so they can be reburned or emitted into the atmosphere. Otherwise you'll have all kinds of oil leaks eventually.

I was going to see if there was an exhaust shop that would weld a pipe thread bung in to the exhaust so I can route it through the exhaust and try for some sort of venturi effect. At least it will just look like its a worn out truck and not attract as much attention.

Does anyone have ideas on the airbox? The setup that banks uses just seems so small and restrictive... I know there's more power to be had there... The air filter is rectangular and about 2 inches tall, and the air has to go through so much crap just to get in to the turbo... Any ideas?

 

[91f2504x4]

I was going to see if there was an exhaust shop that would weld a pipe thread bung in to the exhaust so I can route it through the exhaust and try for some sort of venturi effect. At least it will just look like its a worn out truck and not attract as much attention.

Does anyone have ideas on the airbox? The setup that banks uses just seems so small and restrictive... I know there's more power to be had there... The air filter is rectangular and about 2 inches tall, and the air has to go through so much crap just to get in to the turbo... Any ideas?

Many people make cold air intakes for these trucks with turbochargers. The easiest way is to take some pipe and using elbows and straights, position them in such a way that the filter will end up somewhere in the location of one of the front corners. Some people choose to move a battery to achieve this and others just mount it behind one of them.

There are lots of articles about this, if I remember one of the posts I will post a link for you.

 

[razorback]

which banks kit do you have? the earlier ones intake hat and the airbox can come apart (should have bolts in bottome of airbox) if it can, you can rig up intake tube to turbo, with a filter on the end

 

[tbiagent69]

which banks kit do you have? the earlier ones intake hat and the airbox can come apart (should have bolts in bottome of airbox) if it can, you can rig up intake tube to turbo, with a filter on the end

I'm not entirely sure which kit I have. The airbox is rectanguar and needs to be unbolted for air filter removal. It simply says "Banks Turbo" on it. I've looked and haven't seen a wastegate. I haven't taken it apart further than getting the air filter out but it looks like the pressure side is integrated in to the casting. If it doesn't come apart I was thinking of just cutting off the parts that aren't necessary and making an intake out of abs and a rubber 45.

 

[razorback]

take the top off of the intake box, look in where the filter would go, do you see 2 threaded studs with 2 nuts on them? if you do, thats an earlier system (also look for the number banks 42020 or something like that) cast into the parts, also an earlier system (mine has that) if there are the threaded studs then take hte nuts off and the other mounting parts (should be 4 bolts outside of box on sides) it should come right off and expose the pressure intake, there will be a 9/16 inch bolt in the top of that one to take it off the intake plenum.

 

[tbiagent69]

take the top off of the intake box, look in where the filter would go, do you see 2 threaded studs with 2 nuts on them? if you do, thats an earlier system (also look for the number banks 42020 or something like that) cast into the parts, also an earlier system (mine has that) if there are the threaded studs then take hte nuts off and the other mounting parts (should be 4 bolts outside of box on sides) it should come right off and expose the pressure intake, there will be a 9/16 inch bolt in the top of that one to take it off the intake plenum.

Yup! that's what I've got, thanks for the info!

Any ideas on the engine light? Like what would set it off?

 

[razorback]

on the drivers side front of the engine, on the head (i believe there are 2, this is the upper one) , there is a sensor that looks plain, almost like a bushing, it should have a wire going to it. its the thing that says if the engine overheats (i think it goes bad alot like what someone mentioned above) unplug the sensor see if the light goes off.