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O/T my new truck

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Nancy Howell

Well-known Member
Here"s a couple of pics of the truck I bought Monday. Its a 97 Ford F-350, srw, 7.3L diesel, dual tanks, sprayed in bed liner, air shocks, goose neck hitch, electric brake control box, automatic, and had 91,000 miles.

Had my mechanic check it out and he gave it a thumbs up.

I have only two small complaints, former owner smoked and it has a slight smoke smell which I will work on and the suspension is stiff which makes it ride a bit rough.

<a href="http://s200.photobucket.com/albums/aa5/jameslloydhowell/Ford%20350/?action=view&current=IMG_1509.jpg" target="_blank">
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<a href="http://s200.photobucket.com/albums/aa5/jameslloydhowell/Ford%20350/?action=view&current=IMG_1510.jpg" target="_blank">
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I have two '97 F350 pickups and yeah, they ride about as rough as a steel wheeled tractor in a new england field.

One thing though, you'll never break that suspension or drivetrain. Damn tough.
 
If you look closely in the second picture, you can see the pressure gauge for the air shocks in front of the sunglasses. I was wondering if dropping the pressure would help.
 
Nancy,
Talk to your local trucker performance buds, they can probably tell you what a minimum pressure would be for those shocks. I'm thinking 15-20 lbs and up it if loaded. On board compressor ?? That's a 1 ton and will never ride like a 1/2 ton or even as smooth as a 3/4.
 
Nice truck! My son bought a 99 a couple of months ago with twice that mileage, and it is in great shape.

The cigarette smoke odor is annoying, but my experience is that if you keep quite a bit of air moving through the cab, after a while the odor nearly disappears. I would leave the windows open a bit all the time unless it is really dusty where you are. You also might try deep cleaning the seats and carpet with upholstery shampoo.

What did you have to pay for it? That is sure low mileage...I wish I could find one with that little use. Most of the used diesels I have looked at have over 200K. Hope it works out great for you!
 
Well mrs. Howell, i'm not sure what will happen then, because the stiff front springs on these trucks get really really reallyyy bouncy when the shocks get wore out after a while.

I know my one truck got to bouncin' so bad in the front, that I had to buy new shocks. The rough ride is actually a lot easier on the stomach than the bouncy ride.

Lol.
 
Just as a precaution, those Automatic transmissions are known for some problems, I use to to go to the Ford Plant where they are made, in Sharonville Ohio. In the 90's that truck transmission had the worst warranty tracking of all the automatic transmissions that Ford made.

If I was you get the transfluid and filter changed at a minimum.
 
Looks like you did good, Nancy; I'd say you'll be tired of it and 'ready' for something else before you get close to wearing it out. A good diesel is like the Energizer Bunny..........
 
Couldn't get the pump to come on. Mostly my fault. Storm last week and popped the breaker and when I reset the breaker, I didn't flip it all the way off and all the way back on.

Pump does have a leak at a seal, though. We will be getting that fixed in the next week or so.

The house is on city water and we use the well for filling the sprayer tank for the farm.
 
I like the truck and I think I did well to buy it even if I overpaid a bit, so I'll learn to live with the stiffer ride.
 
The truck originally had very large mirrors on each side. Second owner removed them, but did a nice job on the holes. They are chrome screws with rubber washers so no leaking. If you look at the post between the windshield and the door, you might be able to see the remainder of the bracket.
 
Paid $12,975 which is over blue book a bit, but I didn't think I would find another that nice and with the goose neck, brake box and other "goodies".

James found the original sticker and original owners' name and phone number in the glove box. Original price was over $32,000.

Called the original owners. They bought the truck when they retired and had the biggest camper the truck could handle put on. Used the truck just for recreation. Traded it in in 2006, it had just over 70,000 miles, for a dually because they wanted a larger camper.

Second owner probably took good care of it, too, considering they put Michelin tires on it at $300 each and the tires are almost new. My mechanic said "someone's not going to pay $300 a tire for a truck they're not going to take care of."
 
I would agree on the tranmission problem. They have a habit of blowing a seal and running themselves out of fluid resulting in a fried transmission.
 
my 95 ford 350 went thru four transmissions, all ford. I finally an replaced it with a Jasper and added an extra oil cooler and used synthetic transmission fluid. No more problems. Henry
 
Really a nice truck Nancy!
I had 2 f-350 with 5 sp, but a friend had the same set up as you and drove it to horse shows pulling a double trailer. He got rid of it at 215,000 and never had a problem with it (but kept to a rigid maintenance routine) Short trips are harder on the 7.3 fuel wise, but my buddy got around 17 on the highway.
 
NICE truck. Although you guys are JD folks, you'll probably love the up-dated IH diesel engine in it. Many people don't know that the V-8 diesel engines in Ford trucks were originally designed by International Harvester. When IH went down in the '80's Ford bought the engine design and existing stock from them. Some Ford diesels during that era even had "International" molded into the valve covers. (My $0.02 worth. jal-SD)
 
Nice truck! Check out Edge for products that will make it a sports car. The ride will be much better with about 250 lbs of horse feed stacked in the bed right next to the tailgate.
 
They rot even worse here in Otsego County, New York. Some of our roads even get salted in the summer (to keep dust down). My father-in-law has a 95 F150 he plows snow with in northern MI (Alpena County), and it doesn't have a single rot-hole yet. I suspect different counties use different amounts of road-salt.

Anyway, here's evidence of a 1994 F250 4WD, ex-cab, with 7.3 turbo diesel that is spotless - and IN northern Michigan. But, I cheated a bit. I bought it in Colorado, and it is now inside a pole-barn every winter in Northern Michigan, Presque Isle County. I go up and use it every summer. 241,000 miles and runs like it's new. But, best fuel mileage is around 15.5 MPG. 4.10 axles with the E40D overdrive trans. Sits all winter next to an IH 3414 backhoe, Ford 641 tractor, Case VAC, and a Deere 420 crawler.

<a href="http://s104.photobucket.com/albums/m162/jdemaris/?action=view&current=29mich.jpg" target="_blank">
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wow nanc, nice lookin ride ya got there!!!!! when do we get to go for rides??? 5th wheel huh? hmmm.....wanna haul my backhoe for me? fancy interior too!!!!
 
Good luck with it and good to see you BOUGHT AMERICAN.Dont listen to any negative comments you will get thousands and thousands of trouble free miles.Nice truck.
 
Ford did NOT take them over. Some guy at International Harvester simply had the bright idea that they needed a new, fancier name. So, they changed the name of the company to "Navigating the Stars" - which was quickly shortened to "Navistar." Not Ford owned. In fact, Ford and Navistar have been suing each other for years over engine disputes.

Navistar has tried, many times, to buy back the old "International Harvester" name, but so far, has not suceeded.

By the way, those first 6.9 and 7.3 IDI diesels were built from extisting IH HD gas engines, and were not new designs. Isuzu did the same with their first 1.8 and 2.2 diesels (made from gas engines). Same for Nissan.
 
Is it American? Both my diesel Ford F250s were built in Canada. And, my Dodge W250 with Cummins diesel was built in Mexico. Only vehicle I own that was built in the USA is my Subaru.
 
My 97 F350 Ford Crew Cab Dually was built in "Canada" as was my 2005 Chevrolet Impala.I realize "American" is usually denoteing USA Status but in reality North ,Central and South America have equal right to use of the word "American" .IMHO. Most of civilized world automatically visualize USA when confronted with the word American but I guess I am one of the few who see use of the word differently.The rest of the uncivilized worid is too busy trying to find clean water to drink or food to eat or trying to topple their dictatorial government.
 
Actually my best lasting GMC was Canadian made.The car companies like the Canadian employees because of health care cost vs US workers.Avalanche: Made in Mexico.So change that to thanks for supporting an American car company.We can only try.Paper today said 1/6 of the world is starving.Our problems might not be so bad as some might think.
 
Navistar used to be the engine division of International Harvester and IH also had Navistar Defense - the military truck division.

On August 12, 1985, The tractor division became part of Case. The engine and truck division was still called International Harvester for several more years. All 6.9 and 7.3 IDIs had International Harvester on them, but by the time the Powerstroke came around, all rights to the "IH" name had reverted to agricultural division own by Tenneco and it had changed to Navistar.

About 2000, Navistar changed the name of its manufacturing and sales divisions to International Truck and Engine. The only thing that retained the Navistar name was the holding company that owns International Truck and Engine.
 
My wife, a Michigan native, went to college in Toronto - and learned real fast that US citizens do not have exclusive rights to being called "Americans." But, here in the USA, it seems most regard "American" as meaning USA citizen. Obviously, Mexico and Canada are are parts of the American continents, but I doubt that's what Chevy is referring to with their "Heartbeat of America" stuff. Even parts of France are actually in Canada, not far from me here in New York (France owns two islands near Québec). So, to be technical, parts of France are also in "America."
My point was more about what is actually built here in the USA and what autos actually use more parts generated in the USA. Right now, Toyota uses more than Ford, GM or Chrysler.

That all being said, I WAS a lifetime Chevy fan, and am now a new Ford fan. At least they've held their own and are not owned by external_link, and funded by us taxpayers.
 
Yes, I'm aware of all that, and much more. In fact, a Navistar division was casting blocks for the GM-based 6.5 diesels for awhile, to use in Military HUMVEEs. My main point was, and is - Ford never took over IH or Navistar. In fact, Ford had Navistar undercontract to build a new, small V-8 diesel - and then backed out. That's what started following chain of law-suits. 6.9 and 7.3 IDIs were converted/enhanced IH gas truck engines. In late 94, when the Powerstroke came out with ID, it was an enhanced 7.3 special built for Ford, not BY Ford. Navistar tried several times to buy back rights to use the "International Harvester" logo, but failed.
 
The Ford-International divorce is FINAL. Next year you will not be able to get a new Ford with an International Diesel, I am a JD guy but loved the powerstrokes I have had, great motors. Its a shame two companies that helped each other make so much money cannot work out their differences. I believe they will now be a Range Rover diesel with a Bosch common rail fuel system on them... should be a great combo as well.
 
Glad you got a powerstroke, my truck was my hobby before I got into the JD’s. Below is my signature on the powerstroke forums with my truck mods. If you ever need any help with it I can point you in the right place. I’m not much on the 94-97’s but lots of stuff is similar to 99-03 and I know folks who are familiar with them.

My advice would be to check the air intake, if it has the factory severe duty intake then your okay, just keep it clean and watch for dust leaks. If it doesn’t have the special intake then do a DIY intake for about $40. The regular factory intake can and will leak dust and a new engine can cost around $10,000, it cost me $4,000 just for parts to rebuild mine.

Advice number to is to get gauges, at least a tranny temp gauge and don’t let the tranny get over 180*. Most likely you will need to add a second cooler. I like the Trucool 40K, its about $120. If you keep it cool the tranny will last, if not it will fry over time, especially if you tow with it.

Clean fuel is important too, those injectors are around $250 each.



signaturemods.jpg
 
the IH plant here in Indianapolis the built most of the Ford engines is being closed down.

My understanding is that they have a newer engine plant n the south sonewhere.
 
(quoted from post at 11:43:26 06/24/09) the IH plant here in Indianapolis the built most of the Ford engines is being closed down.

My understanding is that they have a newer engine plant n the south sonewhere.
Click to expand...
They built a plant in Madison Al. near the Huntsville airport about 15 miles from my house around 8-10 years ago, rumor was it was for the new V-6 powerstrokes they were going to put in Ford Rangers but that never happened. I’m not sure what they actually make but there are plenty of rumors, everything from the 6.0 (sick-o) to a 4 banger diesel.

Also you can buy most engine parts for the Powerstroke from the IH dealers and the parts are usually around ½ price as the same parts from the Ford Dealer.
 
so thats where they built it. I know they are in the process of closing this engine plant down....... only a handfull of workers there now.
 
Ugliest thing I ever saw... And that stiff suspension will be the death of you. I'd be glad to take it off your hands to spare you the grief.


Only thing prettier than a red truck is a red and white one.

Nice find,

Dave
 
So we can count on Ford to produce its own version a deisel? Given the corners they've been cutting I'd be surprisd if it does any better than the GM 350 Deisel.

The V6 deisel is not for Ranger - its for the F150 - if the EPA will ever let them install it. Then they have to deal with Navistar's lawsuit that the Ford V6 is a knock off of the V6 they designed and shared with Ford.
 
Ford already has many excellent diesels of their own in Europe. Not sure if it's worth it to them, to get them certified for the USA though. The Ford Ranger was already sold with a four-banger diesel - a 2.2 NA, and a 2.3 turbo. The 2.2 was built built by Mazda, under license from Perkins as I recall. Ford was selling those diesel Rangers around the same time GM was selling S10 trucks with 2.2 Isuzu diesels.
 
The truck already has a secondary cooler for the tranny. Don't know what brand. My mechanic has already told me to start using an additive to kill the fungus that grows in diesel and can cause damage in the fuel system. Also will be adding a little Marvel oil with each fill up for lubrication.

I'll ask him about the air filter.

This weekend I'll be taking it to AutoLube and have the oil and the filters changed.
 
They come factory with an external cooler but most of the time it is necessary to add a second larger external cooler in series with the factory one. Like I said a gauge is a must have and is way cheaper than a new tranny not to mention breaking down and being stranded.
Nice looking truck and I’m sure you will be happy with it but if you have any troubles please holler at me before you take it in, I’ve heard many horror stories about repair bills that I am sure were not necessary, lots of mechanics don’t understand the complexities of the powerstroke and they just start throwing parts at it and tell the customer the old parts were bad and charge them. Not to mention the extreme difference in parts costs depending on where you buy them.
I bought mine for $17,000 and have spent at least another 17 on it.

Here are some links to some great PSD forums if you ever need them;

http://www.getitlubed.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=postlist&amp;Board=8&amp;page=1


http://www.powerstroke.org/forum/
 
Most trucks that old here in Ohio are all eaten up. Ford , Dodge , Chevy doesn't matter none of them use rust stopping methods any more. What ever happened to the Galvanized rocker panel ? I think they cut costs and quit doing the extra added steps to prevent rot.
 
We were able to locate the original owners. They had the tranny cooler added, so I don"t think it was a factory item. I will check with my mechanic about a gauge.

The mechanics we use were both mechanics at a Ford dealership for many years before they opened their own shop, so I"m pretty comfortable with their knowledge on the Ford diesels.

I had been looking at Dodges and had not been able to locate one that fit my needs that I could afford. They recommended I look at the Fords with the 7.3L diesel and I literally stumbled across this one.

I"ve printed this post and will so I have the links. Thanks for the advice.
 
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