Been lurking for a couple months now, and I've been consuming as much info as possible. I think I'm finally at the point now where I can have an actual conversation about these trucks. The narrative is a bit long winded, but if you don't want to be bothered with it just scroll down to the bullet points.

I just moved up to the UP of Michigan from the south, and the house we bought came with a '91 7.3L Superduty manual 2WD dually plow truck. It also has a dump bed on the back, but it looks like the hydraulic system for it has been scrapped.

When I got the truck it wouldn't run, PO said his kids flipped the fuel tank over to a tank that had been empty for years. I started digging into it and realized how little I knew about diesels. That's when I first found FTE and I started reading all the 'help! truck won't start' threads.

While bleeding the air system, I noticed some bubbling around the return lines, so I picked up a return line kit from RockAuto (it was cheap and seems serviceable, but the plastic caps don't have a very durable feel to them). Also tested some of the glow plugs and they were all dead, so I got a fresh set of Motorcrafts. Took a few weeks for them to get delivered and a few more weeks for me to get a clear day that I could get outside and pop the hood, but I was finally able to get it all swapped in. Easy peasy for anyone with mechanical skills and the time to read even more forum posts.

After letting it idle for a good 30 minutes while I cleared out the snow around the truck, I pulled it out for its first test drive... and promptly got myself stuck in the snow. My wife is also from the south, so we were scratching our heads on how to get it unstuck. It was 4 in the morning and the truck was completely blocking our street. I sent the wife inside to get a box of table salt and there has been a patch of clear pavement in the middle of our street for the past week. I was able to get it back in the driveway though. Next day I tried again and had to have my stepdad come pull me out of the street with his Jimmy.

Back to the forums I went, and learned about how bad duallies are in the snow. A couple hundred pounds of firewood up against the tailgate and some chains got me all sorted out. After having to scoop out a couple tons of snow already this year, I was finally able to plow my yard today, and I'm excited to finally have a running truck.

With that said, I don't have a ton of experience with diesels, but I know my way around gassers. I don't want to spend a ton of money on the truck, but I do want to get it to a reliable working condition.

• Can anyone provide a list of recommended fluids/filters? Is there a particular brand of motor/trans oil that these trucks prefer? I know I need coolant with SCAs, but I saw a post that said you shouldn't mix different SCAs. Is there a way for me to check the type? I won't be able to do a full flush until spring, but it does need to be topped off.
  
• There is a panel in the cab with six lights that doesn't have a cover. One of them is the glow plug light, but I can't find a picture of this cover to figure out the rest. Does anyone have a picture of this panel, or can you give me the proper name so my google searches might actually work?
  
• How much value would having a working dump bed add to the resale value of the truck? I'm not looking to get rid of the truck anytime soon, but if its a good investment I'd get it fixed. I don't forsee any reason I would need the dump myself more than a couple times over the next few years.
  
• Something is slowly draining the batteries. I can start it daily, but waiting a full 48 hours drains them out too much. I've been disconnecting the cables after running it until I can chase down the culprit. I'm wondering if there are any known issues with electrical components that I can check first. Failing that, I've never had to find something like this on a vehicle before. I've got a multimeter and basic understanding of electronics, but its a bit overwhelming and I'm not sure where to start.
  
• The plow is a Boss V-plow with a chain drive. From what I've been able to determine this is a 1st generation Boss plow, but I'm not finding much info about it on the internet. Anyone happen to have a diagram/manual or something for this thing? One of the plow blades keeps getting ED, so I need to top off the hydraulic fluid too.

Thanks in advance for the help. I've read so many forum posts at this point that its just a huge jumble of information right now. Just looking for some help from those more experienced than I in putting all the pieces together.

-Bob

 

[QUOTE=bobross419;14941551
[*] Something is slowly draining the batteries. I can start it daily, but waiting a full 48 hours drains them out too much. I've been disconnecting the cables after running it until I can chase down the culprit. I'm wondering if there are any known issues with electrical components that I can check first. Failing that, I've never had to find something like this on a vehicle before. I've got a multimeter and basic understanding of electronics, but its a bit overwhelming and I'm not sure where to start.

In my 91 my glove box didn't shut all the way and the light in there drained my battery down over night. So I unplugged it and been fine ever since.

Welcome to the fourm

 

Thanks 3KP. I'll check that out. The interior is kind of falling apart, so its definitely possible.

 

Welcome to the forum!! Bob Ross, YES, the Happy Tree guy!

Duallies do suck in the snow, I'm surprised someone put a plow on a 2wd and a 2wd dually no less.
If it was me; since it's temporary until you do a flush and fill I'd just top it off with Fleet-Charge and call it good.

• Quote:

  There is a panel in the cab with six lights that doesn't have a cover. One of them is the glow plug light, but I can't find a picture of this cover to figure out the rest. Does anyone have a picture of this panel, or can you give me the proper name so my google searches might actually work?

Six lights? Should be two, wait to start, and water in fuel. Unless there are provisions for add ons with the super-duty?

• Quote:

  How much value would having a working dump bed add to the resale value of the truck? I'm not looking to get rid of the truck anytime soon, but if its a good investment I'd get it fixed. I don't forsee any reason I would need the dump myself more than a couple times over the next few years.

Probably not a whole lot, but if you found the right buyer. Keep in mind these trucks are 20+ years old now. Doesn't bother me, but doesn't help the resale market.




Like 3K mentioned, glove box light, check under hood light, aftermarket stereo and/or amp, stuff like that. The electronics in these trucks are pretty simple, not a lot of places for a drain.

 

Drain wise, if you can't figure it out right, just get yourself a continuous-duty master relay:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Solenoid-Relay-Switch-Continuous-HD-Duty-300-Amp-/330568222984?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item4cf766c908&vxp=mtrHook that up between the battery and auxiliaries(between the red take-off wire on the passenger side battery and everything else), and add a switch on the dash to power it.
When you leave the truck, kill power with that switch... and you'll not have power to /anything/... so no possibility of draining.
I did that when my key switch broke, but realized just how nice it is; I've since fixed the key switch, but kept that relay.

 

Thanks again for the replies.

Here's a pic I took of the light panel: https://i.imgur.com/ZPK9htJ.jpg

Now that I've got good light on it I see there are only 4 bulbs. The top left one is definitely for the glow plugs... It stays on 15-20 seconds then I'm able to start the truck. No clue what the other ones are. Sometimes the middle left one comes on, but usually only when I turn the key on before hitting the starter.

The master relay sounds like a really good idea. Should be a lot quicker than tracking down electrical gremlins, so if it isn't something obvious I'll probably just do that.

 

Thanks for the help so far. I picked up a jug of coolant with the diesel additives just to top things off.

I was also wondering how I can make the truck quieter. I work some goofy hours 3pm-midnight, and the best time for me to plow would be right after work. Its a diesel, so there is certainly going to be some noise, but I'd like to get it down as much as possible. My neighbors are all really good people, and I doubt they would complain anyways... I just want to be considerate to folks that sleep more normal hours.

The engine is actually fairly quiet already, but it definitely sounds like the majority of noise is currently coming from the engine itself and not the exhaust.

I've been doing some reading and a few suggestions have come up:

- 2 stroke oil/acetone. I've seen some posts suggesting putting some additives in the fuel to help, but the ratios are vastly different. I've seen some suggest 1oz/gallon while others say 1oz/10gallons. Anyone able to clear this up?

- Powder coating the valve covers. I think I came across this one on another forum, but would it actually help? Not wanting to spend a ton of money on this, but if it would make a noticeable difference I'd probably spring for it.

- Engine compartment blankets? I've seen these suggested quite a few times, but the cost seems pretty high. I'm hesitant to just go sticking loose material around the engine compartment though. Unfortunately, this seems to usually be recommended as the biggest source of noise reduction :/

- Regulated fuel return kit? This is another one I think I may have found on another forum... Possibly a Cummins forum... I really should have noted my sources. Anyone have a good link to info on this?

Thanks again.
Bob

 

There should be insulation on the inside of the fenders, and underneath the hood. I've been told the Valve covers are dual-layer steel, someone tried to weld a bung into one and he found oil in between the layers, so as far as I know, they're already pretty thick. Regulated return on an IDI is a can of worms many choose not to mess with. Mine had a electrical drain, happened to be a loose connection in the body to engine connector, a black plug on the passenger side inner fender.

 

under coating fender's and use your block heater so you can leave, asap, as long as you aren't revving the **** out of it and racing away they can't say you aren't trying to be quiet..

 

I have welded a tube in one of my valve covers with a hose to a CDR valve then a draft tube and it was just single layer thickness. But I think adding noise insulation blanket would give better results than coating the vc. The hood on my F super duty had been replaced at some point and didn't get the blanket put back on the underside. That makes a lot of difference.
If naturally aspirated, make sure all the air filter ductwork is still in place and the "soupbowl" is not cut off the bottom of the air cleaner lid. It will roar loader from the intake if it's not "stock".
Three places excessive noise would come from- intake, exhaust, and engine rattle/ clatter... The latter being the hardest to quite up. Just the nature of the beast

Your indicator lights go as follows: top left=wait to start
Left center= engine temp
Lower left = water in fuel
Lower right= fuel filter (restriction)

 

I used to plow commercially with a 2wd F-Super Duty. You just need good tires, and a lot of weight in the bed. I usually had 3 tons of road sand in mine...

 

I had the problem draining the battery on my 1983 6.9 and it was the voltage regulator was shorted. I don't know enough about the newer ones like a '91 or even the '93 that I have to comment on these. These may have the voltage regulator integrated into the alternator or something like that.

V-465

 

Judging from your picture, I think you have a 92-97 dash. Are you sure its a 91? or is that just the date of manufacture? Remember that 1992 model year vehicles often are made in late 1991.

The picture that Chevy_Eater posted is for the earlier dash (87-91?). I'm having trouble finding one showing the 92-97 style dash.

How is the plow wired? It could be causing the battery drain if the controls are always on.

 

I think you nailed it, here's a pic of the 92+ dash; couldn't find one with all the indicators lit though:

 

Just last week I had dead batteries from something draining the batteries overnight.
With a test light, I narrowed it down to the underhood light.
The underhood light was burned out.
But, that didn't stop it from draining the batteries.
I pulled the underhood light off...
And, the batteries hold their charge again