94 Turbo IDI versus 00 DI

[Tom Brown]

I'm looking at two different trucks. Both would suit my needs. 1994 f-350 dual wheel, 6 speed, 7.3l Turbo IDI with 210K kms. Looks almost new. No rust. 2000 f-250, 6 speed, 7.3 PSD with 330K kms. Lots of gravel, missing paint, needs minor body work and paint. I'd like to be able to tow 10K pounds from the bumper, although I expect to do this rarely. Mostly, I'll be pulling 4~5K from the bumper. This will be an occasional use work truck but I need it to be reliable. Also, I expect the odd extended highway haul so fuel economy is somewhat relevant. I really don't care if I can't fly 80 mph up steep grades with 10K pounds on the back. I only need to be able to make it safely. How will the fuel economy compare? Reliability opinions? I'm leaning toward the 1994 truck as it's $3K cheaper and I expect it will meet my needs but would really appreciate some advice.

[tjc transport]

first off, the 94 should only have a 5 speed in it.

and 10k lbs is way to heavy for bumper mount ball to tow. at that weight, you take a very good chance of ripping the bumper off the truck.
bumper mount is only good for around 3k lbs.

[Tom Brown]

Thank you for the reply.

The 94 owner claims 6 speed manual. He is very clear on this. It's definitely a 6 speed shift knob in the cab pictures.

Both trucks come with the Ford receiver hitch.

The 94 also comes with a 5th wheel hitch. The 2000 could come with a 5th wheel hitch but the guy wants $750 extra, bringing the price difference closer to $4000.

[tjc transport]

if he insists it is a 6 speed, then someone swapped the 5 speed out for the 6 speed.
the 94 F350 dually will be the better towing truck due to it's better weight rating, larger brakes, and extra stability you will get with the dual wheels. but it will be a little less on the power side.the 00 F250 will be the better riding truck

[Lubbockguy1979]

Parts would most likely be cheaper and more plentiful on the 2000. Not that the 94 would be a bad buy but they made the turbo idi for a short peiord of time compared to the 7.3 powerstroke. Also if I recall the turbo 7.3 was basically a ats kit added at the factory. Where the power stroke is a international design. I like the old turbos but I bet parts are harder to find and more expensive

[mountaineer27]

well i wouldnt pull that much bumper mount. if its a reese hitch youll be ok. if all your worried about is the weight the you can just buy a set of 5000lb overload springs for that f250. they only run around $250-$300. air bags are a bit more but a lot better ride. the 250 will have a lot more power and upgrades you can buy to. they dont make a whole lot for the idi.

[Tom Brown]

I had a look at the 94. It's in amazing condition.

The body is like new with the exception of some minor peeling of the original vinyl striping. The interior is like new, with the exception of the driver's seat which has noticeable wear. The interior of the box has quite a few scratches as it's obviously carried quite a bit of stuff over the years and never had a liner.

The truck is black and the body, with the exception of the vinyl, is showroom. It's obviously been garaged since doesn't have noticeable white chalking that black vehicles get when left out in the sun. It definitely hasn't been sanded and buffed.

The transmission is a 5 speed but it has a 6 speed knob. The original 5 speed knob is in the console and looks to be in new condition.

Every works: A/C, cruise, tilt, power seats, pneumatic lumbar, locks, windows, etc.

... so I'm looking at it and he drops the price another $900.

I bring it home Thursday. lol!

Thank you for the help, gents.

[Lazy K]

One thing the guys on the IDI page always point out is that you can buy a complete set of new fuel injectors for the IDI for the cost of one injector for the power stroke.

[tjc transport]

good deal!!

and i wish you good luck with it.

[jsimon724]

Didn't see the post sooner, so I'm not much help, but I would've suggested the 94. Sounds like a much better deal. OBS trucks are good looking and it sounds like you found a nice one. (BTW, I've got an 06 SD and love the look of it.)
Anyway, congrats on the purchase and enjoy!

[kenpobuck]

The parts for the 94 will be a lot cheaper and are not that hard to find (except fot the turbo stuff). Now that you have an IDI head over to the forum and get some ideas on uping the power. These IDI's will put out as much power as the first gen strokes with a little bit of modding.

[Tom Brown]

Thank you, gents. I appreciate the advice.

The IDI is a lot less powerful than a PSD. It's obvious, even when unloaded. I can see a 7.3 liter PSD would be amazing when towing.

I have no doubt, I'll be holding up traffic when I'm pulling a load of gravel out of the valley.

I had been hauling gravel with a dump trailer connected to a 2000 Explorer 4.0... automatic. The rear suspension is beefed up with F150 springs (the HD spring set with overloads). I know it's not a good idea to tow heavy with the Explorer, as they are known to consume transmissions like Paris Hilton goes through hand bags but with a small load (maybe 4000 lbs), I tow on the shoulder at 40 kph in 2nd gear and it walks out of the valley with little problem. I've never seen the TFT go above 180* so I'm not worried about it.

It will be great to be able to fill the trailer to capacity and drive at speeds closer to normal. I was always nervous when I would have to haul a skid steer or a load of landscape material up a long steep hill. In fact, I've never hauled my excavator because it's way too heavy. I keep an eye on the trans fluid temp all the time, although I've never seen it go above normal since I added an extra trans cooler. Now I'll be able to do that without worrying about blowing things up.

A PSD would have been ultimate. No doubt. I'm confident I'll be happy with the IDI, though. I haven't pulled anything heavy with it yet so maybe I should reserve comment until then.

The interior of the old truck was a mess but I cleaned it up and shampooed it with a portable Bissell steam vac and it came up amazing. The truck is really comfortable inside. I'm sure previous owners had always used seat covers because the front seats are like new, just like the rear seat.

Oh yeah... the first thing I did was put the 5 speed shift knob back on. It looks like brand new but it won't stop rotating freely. I guess that mystery is solved.

I had never driven a truck with dual rear wheels before. I noticed that on back roads with washboard and clumps of asphalt scattered around, the rear wheels can toss the truck around pretty good. It's oddly impervious to crosswind. I was watching people in front of me weave and sway around but the old Ford drove like it was a calm day. A little washboard though, and I was doing a lot of driving.

Thanks again!

[boggerted]

Originally Posted by Lubbockguy1979

Parts would most likely be cheaper and more plentiful on the 2000.

This isnt completely true. The 94 has very few electronic parts to fail and powerstroke injectors are WAY more expensive than idi injectors

[chrisjrosenbohm]

hello i would go with the idi for 2 reasons. 1 you said it has a much better body wich means it was prolly taken beter care of. I have owned both a f350 srw 5 speed turbo idi and a 00 f350 powerstroke the 94 can be easily turned up and will run great for free the only problems with them are cavitation if not properly maintained and cold starting. i always ran a push button for the glowplugs. My buddy still has the 94 it has 230k miles on it all that has broken was the starter alternator water pump vacuum pump and ac compressor they are both great trucks i would go with the 94 tho

[Kenworth]

Some parts for the old IDI will be harder to get. Many parts for older trucks are getting harder to get.

The big thing with the IDI is keep good BERU Motorcraft glow plugs in it and a good glow plug controller. The IDIs are very dependant on them. Also use a fuel lube the Stanadyne stuff is the best for IDIs but something like Howes works good.