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gutless idi?

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Old Jul 15, 2011 | 11:39 PM
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gutless idi?

ok, i FINALLY got to dink around with my 84 f250 for the first time. it is a four wheel drive, four speed t19, has a 6.9 idi, and 3.55 gears.

first gear, obviously, pulls hard; second pulls hard; third gives you the feelin this motha trucka has some nuts; and then you hit 4th and its like a 10,000lb trailer magically appears on the hitch. its like one: , two: , three: , flop: .

why does it run so good and then hit brick wall on fourth?? it still has the soup bowl, which im gonna take care of tomorrow, and the factory exhaust. its been taken excellent care of, mechanically, but left stock.

my dad told me it wouldnt pull hills more than bout 35 to 40 miles an hour, mostly cause thats what it will do in 3rd.

im fixin to drive it 1700 miles, and im guessin the best things i can do on the super cheap include the soup bowl, timin, and maybe turnin the IP up a flat or two. any other advice would be much appreciated.

also, the tachometer is pegged at 4k and wont move. what is the most likely cause of this, and how can i fix it, again on the cheap?
 
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Old Jul 15, 2011 | 11:49 PM
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A turbo with arp head studs will make it run like a raped ape. I plan to do it with my 460 if I ever can find a donor truck. Also a set of 4.10 gears would be mighty nice.
 
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Old Jul 15, 2011 | 11:52 PM
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i know that. im talkin bout stuff i can do on the cheap to give the ol girl a little more oomph for my trip in a couple days.
 
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Old Jul 16, 2011 | 12:03 AM
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Besides super amping up that IP not a whole bunch.
 
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Old Jul 16, 2011 | 11:24 AM
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Ram Air... Die grinder, sheet metal/cereal box and pop rivits... JBweld if your goin cheap lol

But in all seriousness, to get more power to that thing you need air, and fuel. Turning the pump up will help, getting rid of the bowl will help, the more fuel you add the more air flow you should try and get. Not much you can do quickly and cheaply though

And at the same time, remember this is a non turbo diesel, not a 460. Its potential shows up when you hook that 10000 lb trailer up, and take the hill at the same speed, w/o downshifting.
 
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Old Jul 16, 2011 | 11:59 AM
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There is a BIG gap between 3rd and 4th gear. That is what you are feeling.

I wouldnt turn up the IP untill you get a EGT gauge, or you risk melting a piston or 2
 
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Old Jul 16, 2011 | 12:03 PM
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It will go faster than 30-40 mph in 3rd, dont be afraid to rev it up to the governer.
 
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Old Jul 16, 2011 | 05:28 PM
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There is something wrong if it can only hold 35-40 mph up a hill.

Plus it's an F250, is it only a two door? On your typical hill, a crew cab dually with 3.55 gears can hold more than 35-40 mph pulling decent load.

The slowest we have ever gotten our truck (F350, crewcab dually 3.55's) was about 25ish mph going up the steepest hill I know of with the back seat full of tools, 700lbs or so on the bed and pulling the trailer with about 4k lbs or so on it. I don't know what the trailer weighs. It was down to around 25 at the top of the hill; it made it all the way down to first gear. And I mean steep... I wish I knew what % grade it was and the actual weight of the truck/trailer. It's a stock 6.9L N/A IDI.
 
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Old Jul 16, 2011 | 07:16 PM
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well, i didnt turn up the pump at all, but i loosened up, used some elbow grease and a pry bar, and "tweaked" the pump bout 3/16 of an inch to the drivers side. now it smokes less, what smoke it give off is more of a white/gray than a gray/black like it did do, throttle response is quicker, and 4th gear doesnt feel like i dropped anchor. itll actually do 70 in under 30 seconds, and im currently over 6000 feet above sea level. i believe my dad is bringin a cutoff wheel from work tonight, so the soup bowl will be gone shortly.

bashby, i have been waitin to hit the governor. i go until i just start to feel it takin fuel, and then shift.

i think the ol girl is gonna run the highway good now.

my next issue: the tach is pegged past 4500 and wont move. what is the most probable cause of this, and how can i fix it?
 
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Old Jul 16, 2011 | 07:54 PM
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I believe you will find the "soup bowl" mod will make the intake noisier, but that's about it. I did it to my diesel and that's all it did for me. Making a duct to go from the aircleaner to pickup up outside air will make a little difference. The turbo kit is what you are going to need to make it hotrod. Otherwise be patient, it will make it like it is if you don't get in a hurry.
 
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Old Jul 16, 2011 | 09:16 PM
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Take the tach out of the cluster, and dissassemble it. There will be some old glue in it, clean it out and it should work fine unless it is internally damaged. It shouldn't be though.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/7...dywhompus.html
 
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Old Jul 17, 2011 | 11:09 PM
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thanks for the advice bout the tach. ill give that a try tomorrow.

today, i took the rear end apart to inspect the bearins. all is well. so i painted the hubs metallic silver, and the flanges of the axle shafts dark metallic blue. the bolts that bolt the two together i also painted the same silver. popped the diff cover and painted it the same blue, and the fill cap the silver. looks really sharp. ill get some pics when i can.
 
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