Shameless, the tired old F350 powerstroke gets a revival

[kfgk14]

Got a bit of an emergency here...
Going to look at this truck:
The object of my desire
Truck was owned by a ford technician, unregistered but supposedly "roadworthy". What should I be looking for in terms of issues, things to scare me away, etc?
I leave for Berlin in half an hour...
I've got a general idea about buying used vehicles and some understanding of buying a diesel, but I'd love to know Ford/Powerstroke-specific things to look at.
Please make it quick ExPo, thanks!
ETA: If you're just finding this thread, the meat and potatoes will get started at post #4, so scroll down. Long story short, I have a BIG project in my driveway spewing power steering fluid and rust.

 

[Kaisen]

I can't give you PS specific advice as the general descriptions could point to any number of small to huge issues.

But at $2K (or less) it's a no brainer if you have the time, space, and skill to undertake the project. You could part it out for that. And/or transfer some of those parts to another, more solid truck.

 

[Kaisen]

Well? How did it go?

 

[kfgk14]

Kaisen, it's in the driveway! The seller, Dave, was a very nice guy, very up-front about all the issues it has (many). Another guy came and looked at the truck the same day I went, but I got him money first so it's mine now He apparently wanted to sell the truck to me over the other guy on account of me being a student and aspiring mechanic who intends to turn the truck into what he had dreamed of for it (capable off-roader/expo truck) and not just part it out :victory:
Dave's buddy Ben towed the truck down, over 100 miles each way for $250 bucks :costumed-smiley-007
Just the short list, kinda depressing to see it all spelled out, but I'll learn a TON in the process so it will be fun:
Needs batteries
Needs glow plugs
Needs a new steering box
Front hubs need work, passenger side is frozen and the cover of the driver's side hub needs to be rotated
Engine may have a significant enough oil leak that I feel the need to address it
Transmission may be leaking
E-Brake might not be working
Needs new headlights
Needs lots of internal cleanup, trim pieces replaced, etc...
And, of course, the obvious rust issues which are gonna consume most of my summer...
The bed is shot, I'm gonna flatbed the truck unless I stumble upon a good bed in the near future
Gonna repaint it eventually, probably tan or light brown
Will go through the diff's, trans/tcase, etc. and do new fluids, repack bearings, check all the lines in the engine
Thankfully, it doesn't look like anyone has tried to redneck the wiring at any point...at least, nothing's visible in the engine compartment/cab...
Remove trailer brake controller
Replace bumpers
Might need shocks soon
Really hoping it's gonna be alright up to highway speed in terms of death wobble and all, speedo only goes to 85 but I'd like to be able to hold 70 comfortably
It's got some pretty worn, unnecessarily wide 35's on it but they'll serve the purpose until I get some narrower ones for the winter. What's the narrowest you can get a 35" tire anyway?
That's still not all the stuff I've found...If I go look at it for a while I'll surely find more.

I'll get my own pictures up soon...Got to finish my US history final project. Wednesday morning I should be able to tear into the truck, clean all the previous owner's crap from the bed and such.

For now, any advice from those of you out there on good batteries and glow plugs? This is a high schooler part time job+some funds from my parents budget build, so if there's a sale at VIP/NAPA/etc. right now please point me that way.
Thanks in advance Expo, you all have done so much for me just by getting me into the world of automotive and off-roading

 

[INSAYN]

I would highly recommend doing most of your shopping at RockAuto.com. I have Autozone, Orielly's, NAPA and other autoparts places in my area and still get better products and prices through RockAuto.com.

They gave me a 5% discount code to share with anyone and everyone so here ya go, bro.
Copy 14960675968336 into the "How did you hear about us" line of the shopping cart.

A tip I figured out to save more money there is to play around with different parts. They have many distributors around the states and your parts may come from multiple places from just one order. The more places your parts have to come from, the more you will pay in shipping overall. The trick is to add items you want to the cart and go all the way through the order to add shipping. You will see shipping locations A, B, C, D, E etc.. Replace parts with even upgraded parts that can fall into the same shipping locations. I have done this and actually was able to get upgraded brakes for less than the lower grade with the additional shipping costs.

You will learn a lot from this truck that will serve you well into the future. Don't forget to visit your local "Pick-A-Part" junk yards for similar trucks for body, chassis and interior parts, or just to practice tearing down a tricky section that you don't want to mess up on your truck while learning how it goes together. I used to spend 8 hours on any given Saturday at my local junk yard back when I was in high school.

Good luck and keep us posted on progress.

 

[bftank]

congrats on the powerstroke purchase! how about some more info on it please!

-what year
-auto or stick
-gear ratio
-miles on odometer

-post up some pics please!


-the parking brakes probably just need cleaned out and adjusted. they are on the rear drums. with fords, the drums slide off of the studs after the brakes are loosened up to get the pads over the ridge. these should be taken apart and cleaned anyways. good to know what you are dealing with here

-hubs, those should also be taken apart cleaned and regreased, new seals put in etc. not expensive, a little time consuming, best to do with a parts washer. look for wear on the bearings and races. most likely your froze hub is just nasty and needs cleaned and regreased. dont buy a replacement until you do this and are sure it is broken.

-changing all fluids and filters is an excellant idea with these, i would suggest making this a top priority. the powerstroke injectors are fired hydraulicly (sp?) with the engines oil so keeping up on the maintenence is a must. common leaks for the early strokes with a lot of miles, are oil coolers, lift pump, high psi oil lines, oil rail plugs, turbo pedestal.

- narrowest 35 is a 12.5" unless you run a swamper and they are 10.5" but suck in the snow with out siping. most likely have 4.10 gears as well.

-for headlights i would suggest getting the diamond cut clear replacement lenses from ipcw if its an obs body style. and some good sylvania headlamps.

-as i recollect the rangers, explorers, f150 and f250 all share the same powersteering box, might look for a used non leaking one before moving to a new one first. also there is a powersteering pump upgrade to a saginaw pump which has a metal case and better flow. i believe it comes of a late 70's thunderbird, if you do need to replace the pump

most of these things are fairly cheap and can be done one at a time

some helpful websites i have used in going through my '94 powerstroke

powerstrokenation.com
powerstroke.org

autopartswarehouse.com
rockauto.com
car-parts.com (this is a salvage yard search engine)
craigslist.com


looking forward to watching your progress, welcome to the family!

 

[kfgk14]

INSAYN:

Thanks for the info and discount code. Every penny counts...

Bftank:
1996
ZF5 :costumed-smiley-007
unknown as yet
about 220,000

No pic's yet, sorry

I am planning on doing the rear brakes as the PO said they need to be done soon

I figured out the hub is not frozen, just took some more force to turn than I would expect. Will definitely clean/regrease

Will check your listed areas for oil leaks

Hmm...hadn't even thought about how to attack the headlights...could the truck be converted to HID's in the future if I wanted to? Is there a better lense to choose in preparation for such a conversion?

About the steering box, wouldn't a sub-f350 box of the same year be designed for a TTB system? Would said steering boxes work with a solid axle? Sorry if this is a stupid question, really haven't dug into the steering concerns heavily yet...

And thanks for the websites. Should keep me on the right track, better than Pirate4x4 which will just get all manner of crazy ideas in my head...

 

[bftank]

steering boxes are the same the steering arms are different i believe.

5 speed transmission is what you want, when you change the oil in that use a synthetic atf or if you are doing some towing use a sythetic 30wt transmission oil. about 5.5 qts,
-also check for a dual mass flywheel. do some reading up on them on pnation and the org. you will want to replace that with a single mass flywheel. so it doesnt literally blowup your trans when it goes bad.


there have been a few folks that have done some homebrew stuff to convert there headlights to hid. in my opinion it is not needed. clear ones like these i linked below, and a high quality sylvania ultra star bulb should be all you need. hid's are just going to piss people off.
http://www.xtralights.com/92-96ford...dium=organic&gclid=CPCutafR6bcCFXRp7AodcjUABA

my build thread is a mess and has a little bit of everything in there but a lot of the stuff i have had to do to get mine up to par is in there. listed in my sig.

 

[kfgk14]

Thanks for the info, I was really driven to go powerstroke based off your build and a few others on here...Seemed like a relatively straightforward platform to start with and be able to build on and keep...
Unfortunately, just discovered the front body mounts are pretty rusted out...ton of metal to cut and weld in...

 

[bftank]

if you have the tools to cut and weld, you are already at the head of the class. body mounts wont be that hard to fab up.

glad my thread was of some help. they are a great build platform with few weaknesses. wish i had started with a one ton back in high school instead of playing with the 1/2tons. i'd be a lot farther a long starting with the right truck for the job.

post up if you have any questions, lots of good ford folk on here to help out.

 

[kfgk14]

I don't have a welder at this time, have to go to my buddy's shop for that...
But I was thinking, I do have an angle grinder and could borrow a sawzall or similar and do a lot of the fabrication of the raw steel beforehand...would make the task go faster...
I do know already that I hate sheetmetal work...
ETA: I think I've decided on pulling the cab for the summer so I can fix rust issues and such. I will borrow a small 110v welder to do the sheet metal work, and bring the frame to my friend's shop. I think I should do some plating, maybe an auxiliary crossmember to stiffen the frame up some, as it really flexes now. Me and four buddies were able to flex the frame just by putting all our weight in one corner of the bed, there was noticeable deflection...Given that I intend to eventually have either a camper or cap on the bed, this is an issue. I'll definitely do paint/cleanup on the frame when I have it stripped of cab and body. Hopefully I'll be able to work on the truck two or three times a week and keep interesting stuff coming you guys' way all summer. I have further plans than just cleaning up the mess this truck is right now, don't worry

 

[BBslider001]

Worthless without pics bro...and congrats on your purchase. :sombrero:

 

[kfgk14]

I know, I know...I'll see if I can get some up tonight...
It's sorta hard to get them seeing as the truck isn't running yet so I can't pull it into the garage for them and it rained all day today...
Tomorrow, I promise, I'll get a ton of them.

 

[2dedge]

There is a good chance you only have a bad relay for the glow plugs not all 8 being bad at once, hopefully at least case that's a cheap easy fix

 

[kfgk14]

2dedge, i will check but the PO is a mechanic and said he'd determined it was the glow plugs...perhaps not all 8 but I believe the plugs are original so I don't feel too bad about replacing them...
But I will definitely check. Glow plugs aren't expensive but I'm high-school-kid-with-a-girlfriend poor so every penny counts.

On batteries, anyone have a recommendation? I really don't know what to look for or choose. I did a search on Napa and found these, they sound good I guess but I really don't know much...I know you want as many cold cranking amps as possible, I don't really understand the rest though...reserve minutes? Wet/dry?

Explain, oh enlightened ones!