F-350's

[fordboy]

Just bought a 1990 F-350 7.3 diesel truck with 170,000 miles on it. Anybody have any comments or problems with these trucks?
Right after we bought it, the injector pump and some hoses had to be changed, and also a new starter. We plan to use this truck to haul hay and other things for a very short distance around our farm. Thanks.

 

[01rangerxl]

I don't have any experience with older IDI trucks, but my cousin (a contractor) has some 7.3 PSD trucks. One has over 300K hard miles on it and it's still a reliable truck. It's a 2002 or 2003 4x4 automatic. He also has a 1999 7.3 PSD F-350 with a 6-speed. It doesn't have as many miles as the 4x4, but it has over 150K on it and is very reliable. Both trucks tow trailers loaded with everything from Bobcats to concrete mix.

 

[crazyoildude]

ford makes some good trucks

 

[oilboy123]

I would find a Ford truck forum to get some more information.

Also go to the library to check the TSBs and save them to a flash drive or print them out as needed.

 

[Norm Olt]

Try the Ford Trucks Enthusiasts Forum: it has ALL you'll ever want to read about your truck & engine. Some think that was the best Ford diesel ever and the late 1980's early 1990's Ford trucks are BUILT FORD TOUGH! I think this is a valid link:

http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums

Cheers!

 

[rg200amp]

Originally Posted By: Norm Olt
Try the Ford Trucks Enthusiasts Forum: it has ALL you'll ever want to read about your truck & engine. Some think that was the best Ford diesel ever and the late 1980's early 1990's Ford trucks are BUILT FORD TOUGH! I think this is a valid link:

http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums

Cheers!


+1

I was a member there when I had my f250. Great people.

 

[NHHEMI]

Can't comment on the engine but can the SD's in general. My Brother had a 99 F350( 5.4L )and now has a 2006 F250(5.4L ). Both trucks overall are good work trucks BUT they have a common problem and that is brakes( especially calipers siezing )as well as u-joints. Every time he turns around he is having to mess with brakes and u-joints. He does plow so that doesn't help but it is a common set of issues on those trucks. Also have read/heard about the extra weight of the diesel engines leading to premature suspension issues.

 

[Dualie]

The IDI wasn't internationals best motor. Their prone to cavitation. (pin holes in the cylinder walls) Even with the proper SCA maintenance and coolant flushes and the most anal care I gave it my 94 IDI needs a motor at 230,000 miles.

If its an auto they have been known to eat transmissions also. The E40D wasn't up to the torque of the diesel.

common hard start problems are Glow plugs and glow plug really and injector return lines.

WWW. Oilburners. NET has a great IDI forum just remove the spaces after the .

 

[kaboom10]

Go to a Ford forum where they discuss that particular vehicle. Ford Truck Enthusiasts has a complete section just for diesels. See what others are saying. I found several idiosynchrosies concerning my F150.

 

[Ben99GT]

Originally Posted By: NHHEMI
Can't comment on the engine but can the SD's in general. My Brother had a 99 F350( 5.4L )and now has a 2006 F250(5.4L ). Both trucks overall are good work trucks BUT they have a common problem and that is brakes( especially calipers siezing )as well as u-joints. Every time he turns around he is having to mess with brakes and u-joints. He does plow so that doesn't help but it is a common set of issues on those trucks. Also have read/heard about the extra weight of the diesel engines leading to premature suspension issues.


Got 85,000 miles on the original brakes on an '02 F250 CC 4x4 PSD, which to me is really good for a truck that weighs over 7,300 lbs totally empty. Not all of these trucks have brake problems, or u-joints for that matter. Issues like this are very user dependent.

 

[Dualie]

Oh and you CANNOT compare anything about your IDI to any 99+ superduty.

 

[NHHEMI]

Originally Posted By: Ben99GT
Originally Posted By: NHHEMI
Can't comment on the engine but can the SD's in general. My Brother had a 99 F350( 5.4L )and now has a 2006 F250(5.4L ). Both trucks overall are good work trucks BUT they have a common problem and that is brakes( especially calipers siezing )as well as u-joints. Every time he turns around he is having to mess with brakes and u-joints. He does plow so that doesn't help but it is a common set of issues on those trucks. Also have read/heard about the extra weight of the diesel engines leading to premature suspension issues.


Got 85,000 miles on the original brakes on an '02 F250 CC 4x4 PSD, which to me is really good for a truck that weighs over 7,300 lbs totally empty. Not all of these trucks have brake problems, or u-joints for that matter. Issues like this are very user dependent.


I only commented on my Brother's truck BUT in the circle of folks I work with( new home construction )lots of guys have SD's from 99 and up. Calipers/brakes are a VERY COMMON problem on the 99+ SD's as are u-joints. At least if the truck is actually used for it's intended purpose( ie; tow, plow, work )rather than as a DD.

Glad you have had no problems. It is very common though. Visit any Ford truck site and see for yourself.

 

[Oldswagon]

Good friend of mine bought a '94 F-250 with the 7.3 IDI turbo engine (only made that year) years ago. The truck was decent, but far from problem free. The E4OD tranny isn't very durable, and it was on it's third tranny in less than 100K miles. That truck had lots of front suspension problems (twin I-beam with leaf springs, IIRC the F-350 uses a solid axle), and brakes. It rode very rough, so much so it broke the dash mounts. He ended up modifing the front end by removing a leaf and using air bags to soften the ride (worked great).

The engine was pretty good, but I know he had to change a couple of bad injectors. One of the rocker arms broke on the engine one day too (I remember hearing it "tick" before it broke). When the truck worked well, it was a great work truck, but he sold it becasue too many issues. Replaced it was an '03 F-150 (didn't need a heavy truck anymore), and has had no issues with that truck.

 

[Ben99GT]

Originally Posted By: NHHEMI
Originally Posted By: Ben99GT
Originally Posted By: NHHEMI
Can't comment on the engine but can the SD's in general. My Brother had a 99 F350( 5.4L )and now has a 2006 F250(5.4L ). Both trucks overall are good work trucks BUT they have a common problem and that is brakes( especially calipers siezing )as well as u-joints. Every time he turns around he is having to mess with brakes and u-joints. He does plow so that doesn't help but it is a common set of issues on those trucks. Also have read/heard about the extra weight of the diesel engines leading to premature suspension issues.


Got 85,000 miles on the original brakes on an '02 F250 CC 4x4 PSD, which to me is really good for a truck that weighs over 7,300 lbs totally empty. Not all of these trucks have brake problems, or u-joints for that matter. Issues like this are very user dependent.


I only commented on my Brother's truck BUT in the circle of folks I work with( new home construction )lots of guys have SD's from 99 and up. Calipers/brakes are a VERY COMMON problem on the 99+ SD's as are u-joints. At least if the truck is actually used for it's intended purpose( ie; tow, plow, work )rather than as a DD.

Glad you have had no problems. It is very common though. Visit any Ford truck site and see for yourself.


The '02 often pulls 10,000+ lb loads, sometimes with trailer brakes sometimes without.

I know a lot of SDs, also know a lot of Ford techs. Simply put, it's not a widespread problem. Do some SDs have brake caliper and u-joint problems? Yes. Is it prevalent? Not really.

 

[Dualie]

The major problem with the SUPERDUTYS brake systems is the caliper slide lube dries out and will no longer allow the brake caliper to float over the rotor. I simple yearly inspection and lube of the slider pins would eliminate these problems.

BUT none of those particular brake problems pertain to the original posters question.