Hey gang. Just thought I'd share my experiences with my obs corn binder! It's a 96 F-250 4x4. I bought the truck in September from a fella that was selling it for his kid that was in some sort of legal trouble. He wanted $2500. I drove it, got it up to 70 mph and seemed to go down the road fine. 4x4 worked great, and so did the heater. So I thought this was a good winter beater/toy hauler. Well I gave him $2000, and 15 miles later I couldn't get past 30 mph hahaha. Ran some codes, and determined the trans mission was toast. (After it was out, when I turned the old torque converter, it sounded like a big plastic ball full of rocks! After a lot of looking, and a lot of research, the plan was to get a remanufactured transmission from a company callled Browns transmission out of Billings MT.Default title | Brown's Auto Service They have an exceptional track record for quality products and warranty coverage. I went with a "Heavy Duty" rebuild which has steel planets, billet torque converter, shift kit, and an upgraded valve body. Also installed a bigger trans cooler out of a wrecked 6.0 powerstroke. Since I had the transmission out, I figured it was a good time to replace that pancake of a downpipe with a 3" Diamond Eye stainless steel pipe. And I fixed an annoying exhaust leak on the drivers side exhaust manifold. (broken bolt) That was a p.i.t.a by the way. And I'm happy to say the truck is running like a scalded ape now! I just put on the riffraff in take as well. Thank God I did, that factory box and hose/boot was in horrible shape. There is some dirt in the boot to the turbo! The boot riffraff gave me doesn't seem to fit 100% on the turbo but when it gets warmer out I should be able to correct that. Truck is ugly as heck, but she goes down the road great. Engine was out of a wrecked obs and only has about 80k on it. I also had to swap fuel tanks as the one in it was leaking around the seam. And I serviced the transfer case and replaced the master cylinder. Wheeew! It's been a lot of work, and my $2000 truck is now about a $5000 truck, but she's good to go for a long time now. Up next is a paint job! Sorry, this is the only pic I have of it so far. Those wheels and tires I picked up for $300 by the way, it had some nasty Dodge wheels on it before. And I replaced three cab lights that were busted, as well as a new hood.

 

5K? that is GREAT (w/trans and mods)!
need a new boot? $50 page 4 post number 41 https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...t-boots-3.html
Is this your first OBS PSD?
See you around!

 

Very sharp find and deal! Congrats!!!

 

First diesel period. I used to sell these 15 years ago right out of high school in a lil town called Fort Benton MT. Always wanted one since. And yeah I figure for 5k I still got it pretty cheap. Found a pretty good sized puddle of oil under the truck this am though... It is about -2 out though. Sometimes you have leaks out of no where when it gets that cold. It looked like the rear main was fine when I had the trans out. I wonder wtf it could be from.

 

Well WELCOM to the PSD side of the forum. These guys here know their chit and will help anyone out anytime so don't be skerd to ask questions (they won't beat you up like in others forums.
I will get you some "add to favorite" sites when I get home.

 

buddy thats a hell of a deal and the paint job it looks perfect , im payn a total of 8 grand for mine , i had the transmission rebuilt at dealer , torque convertor and main pump started messin up , welcome to fte , ive only been here for a couple weeks and learned alot about the motor and the trans its a repair manual lol

 

Mine leaked from the turbo pedestal o rings. I thought it was rear main seal. Could be some other things. Great deal on that truck!! NICE!

 

Thanks guys. Well that leak is worse than I thought. Leaking consistantly now about a quarter size puddle under the back of the pan in about ten minutes while running. Dripping pretty good. Theres some oil in the valley as well. No time to figure out what it is this week. Any ideas?

 

Oh and the Riffraff intake is awesome. Just really cold out when I put it on, and the rubber was obiously harder to work with because of it. Between that, and the downpipe this engine is a monster! Amazing what these two mods do.

 

Nice truck, awesome deal you got on it. Looks real good. as for the puddle of oil, I would check the oil cooler. Its the cylinder shaped deal right forward of the oil filter. they seem to leak when its real cold and you dont wanna climb under it.

 

well maybe not if its in the valley...

 

Nice truck! As far as the oil, try to clean the valley as good as you can and look around the hpop fittings and lines, also turbo pedestal orings like mentioned. Oil rail plugs can leak in the back of the heads, but if its in the valley, probably one of the other things.

 

Clean the "Valley of Death" real good (you will be amazed what you may find in there under all that cat hair). Thats the normal spot where you will see fuel leaks. When it collects in the valley it will run down the back left (passenger) side of the block. Could it be fuel that you are seeing?

 

Here are the links you should save:
1994.5 - 1997 7.3L Power Stroke Diesel - Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums
Tips - Idea - Hints
1996 Bronco/F-Series Workshop Manual
97-15A 7.3L DI Turbo Workshop Manual
These links will keep you out of trouble (or even in trouble, lol). The 1st link is the most important.

 

Oh, add your signature so we can see what you have (it helps when troubleshooting)