Ok guys...my dad went and bought himself a "farm toy" he likes to call it. I'm not sure too much of the details as of yet...I'll let ya'll know. But I DO know that it has about 200K on it and 6" of lift he thinks is what it looks like. Good truck, or is it going to die on him soon? I was thinking about looking into an exhaust and intake for him if it's not going to crap out soon...thanks ya'll

 

I had a 96 ps and to be honest I kick myself everyday for sellin it I had a ton of money into it. The weekpoints are glowplugs, and cam sensors, and of course tranny, Not sure what his plans are for it but a great upgrade for the is a hypermax intercooler those trucks are not intercooled.

 

Sounds good. He's not power oriented...he already has a '99 2nd Gen that he adores (has 492K on it now) and the only thing that he did to it was intake and exhaust...he is one of those folks that feels like this "If I upgrade that, I will have to upgrade that...then i will have to upgrade that." so he has a grasp on his pocket book...unlike myself he just wants reliablity...And what I consider reliable on his truck is being tough for getting around the farm (mud, cow crap, some deeper creeks etc) as he will be using his '99 for the towing.

 

From what I hear, keep a cam sensor in the glovebox, they like to go out at will.

Other than that, he got they only good PS diesel. But my bro has a 86 F250 6.9, lots of power now that he has turned it up (from stock power, that is)

 

FYI...Stay away from Banks....A buddy bought the 'engineered kit' for his '97. Chip, intercooler, gauges, tubing, turbine outlet, etc. Almost totally disappointed. Not even getting the numbers he was quoted. It does tow better.

According to their claims he was supposed to get the same power at the wheels that my '06 has at the crank...you can tell by driving that it doesn't!

Tony

 

If taken care of they are solid trucks. I had a 97 and a 99 Both F250 Reg. Cab 4x4s, 97 was an auto, 99 was a 6spd. My buddies still rib me about being a closet "Ford Guy" and maybe I am, if my 99 was an ext. cab I might well still be driving it. The 7.3 Powerstroke is a very solid motor.

The advise about the CPS (cam sensor) is good advise, keep one in the glove box, they do seem to quit at will, and when they do the truck isn't going anywhere until it is replaced. Buy your CPS from International not Ford if you have an Intl. dealer near you, they are much cheaper there then from Ford. Just tell them you need a CPS for a (whatever year your truck is) T444E, that is what International called their version of the 7.3 Powerstroke.

While your at the Intl. dealer get some coolant test strips to check your coolant for the proper amount of DCA additive. While cavitation is not as big a problem for the 7.3 Powerstroke as it was for the 6.9 and 7.3 IDI motors, it can still cause problems. Checking for the proper additive level in the coolant is cheap insurance.

I see you are located in San Diego, so the glow plug system shouldn't present any problems for you. These trucks really need a well maintained glow plug system to start when it is cold out. If you do have cold start issues the first place to check is the glow plug solenoid. It is located in the engine valley next to the fuel filter canister, and it controls turning the glow plugs on and off and duration of time on. It is a fairly cheap part to replace and usually cures most cold start problems.

The only other reoccurring problem I had was both my trucks liked to eat starters. They are easy to change out (three 17mm bolts, a stubby wrench really helps on the top bolt), and aren't terribly expensive.