Hey Guys,
Its been a long time since I've been on this site which is unfortunate because there is a lot of very good information on here but I have some big trouble. I recently bought a 1994 F250 with the 7.3 powerstroke and ZF 5 speed 4x4 with 194,500 miles on it. Upon test driving it everything seemed fine had good power and didn't seem to smoke at all granted when I bought it was 90 degrees in the shade but anyway I bought the truck. I drove it for awhile decided I should check the oil it was 3 quarts low keep in mind I hadn't put many miles on. I started to notice blue smoke at start up and under load it was like a blue cloud not to mention it doesn't start worth a crap if its below 50 degrees with new glow plugs. So I ask some diesel guys I know where it was getting in everyone seemed to think injector o-rings so I replaced them and that slowed my oil consumption down to one quart every 200 miles. So I didn't know what to think took it to a diesel specialist and he said the injector(s) are leaking internally and the really good news was he did a crankcase pressure test and it was right at the max spec. for wear on the rings. A new set of injectors is like $2,300 and having a less than solid bottom end I didn't want to put those in and still have trouble. So this past weekend I was looking around online at different options and hadn't really considered complete engine replacement until I found an engine out of a beautiful minus the huge dent in the side 1995 F250 with 58,300 miles on it for a $100 more than injectors with a good warranty on it so I bought it and plan to swap them out. So I guess what my question is whats the best way to do it? I have done several gas engines. Should a guy just take the radiator support off and do it that way? Anything I should look at when the 'new' engine shows up? Any parts I could put on it while its out and easy to get to? I originally wanted to chip the truck when I got it.

 

Well that is a lot to digest at once.

I would say fixing your current engine is better. I dont think its the injectors themselves necessarily..

I cant remember if blue smoke is coolant or what. It might be the injectors cups.


Even though I dont have the answers.. I do know that Jim Rosewood could rebuild your current injectors for cheaper than $2300.

Also, if you do decide to swap for a new motor... you can typically find used ones for less than $2400 (you did say $100 more than injectors).

So before you make any decisions let the gurus on here help diagnose your rig and try n fix it for under $2000.


Welcome back!

 

Man I hate to tell you this, but Rosewood Diesel can rebuild your injectors for like $500-600. He can sell you brand new injectors than less than that $2300 too. You need to give him a call. It is a LOT easier to have that done than to swap these engines. I suggest you click on his icon at the top right of this thread and give him a call or drop him an email. Jim's injectors are top notch and his prices and service can't be beat.

I think that $2400 is a little high for an engine too, even with that sort of mileage. I hope you can still get out of the deal, or at least sell the engine for what you have in it.

I have done the swap on these trucks and it's not that hard, but it is a lot of work. The radiator core support should come out in order to make the swap, and you have to remember that the engine weighs close to 1,000 pounds by itself. You've got to have some equipment to lift these things safely. They are HEAVY! In fact in the midst of my swap, the engine broke my 1,500 lb rated engine stand. Luckily nothing was damaged badly and nobody was hurt, but you really do have to remember that these things weigh a lot more than your typical gas engine.

I'm not going to tell you not to swap the engines if that's what you want to do, but if it were me, I would just send the injectors to Jim, and have them built into Stage I's for a lot less money and trouble than you're looking at with swapping the engine.

That being said, if you decide to do the swap anyway, I will give as much help and advice as I can.

 

^^^^^ This man I would consider a guru.

 

For the oil I'd pull the downpipe off the turbo and look to see if you have oil in the downpipe and exhaust housing of the turbo.

Jim can do the injectors for around 1300

 

Thanks for the replies guys. Even with a poor bottom end you would still fix the injectors? I have reason to believe this truck wasn't maintained the best it couldn't have had regular oil changes if its got this much trouble already. I replaced all the glow plugs they where all bad according to my ohm meter and the connectors where melted. I figured I would never find an engine with 58000 miles on it so that's why I went for that and the salvage yards around here want 2000+ for engines with 200,000. I could probably get out of the deal if its really that bad of deal but I want to have a sound truck when its all said and done. As far as the turbo goes the diesel guy I took it too said it wasn't my oil problem but the compressor fan fins where damaged.

 

Where are you located?

 

Central Minnesota

 

Apparently I had made another account at one point so Fordguy89 is me too I used my smart phone to reply and it came up with that username. But I am from central Minnesota.

 

Here is what I would do if it were me.

I would loosen the band clamp and pull the down pipe back far enough to see inside it. I would check to be sure that it isn't full of oil from blown turbo seals. I would also pull the intake ducting off the intake side of the turbo and take a look at the fins of the turbo. Take a picture if you can and post it here so we can see it too if you're not sure what to look for. You want to see the fins being sharp and pointed on the edges, and not rounded over, worn down or looking pitted like they have been sand blasted. Also, grab onto the intake side of the turbo and give it a good wiggle. If you see a little up and down movement, it is okay so long as the fins don't contact the housing. In and out movement in the wheel is a bad thing.

If that looks to be okay (no oil in the down pipe) then I would seriously consider talking to Jim about a set of stage 1 injectors. If you put those injectors in your truck and it works, great! You saved yourself a bunch of money. If it still smokes (which I doubt it will) then you have a set of upgraded injectors to install in your next engine. In Minnesota I don't know what these things go for but I would hunt around on CL some more as that price seems really high to me even for that low a mileage engine.

I don't know for sure that I would cancel the deal on that engine just yet, but if you could delay it until you know for a fact that the engine needs to be replaced, I think I would do so. These trucks can be worked on yourself if you're mechanically inclined (which it sounds like you are) and rebuilding a turbo can be done yourself for about $200. Injectors can be done for $1200 or so. You could do both and just be a little over half way to the price of that engine. Granted your truck may have more miles on it, but these engines can last a long, LONG time if they're maintained well. If you suspect that the engine in your truck may have been neglected and it is in bad shape, then maybe swapping it could be a viable option. I just hate to see you go to all that trouble if you don't have to.

 

When you had it looked at did the tech do a comp test? If it has in fact been dusted (wich will be the source of damaged turbo fins) then compression will suffer and you will need an engine anyway. For less than 2400 i am pretty sure you could build the present motor with better than factory parts and have a fire breather instead of stock...

 

Ok, I took some pictures how do you post them?

 

The easiest way to post pictures is to upload them to a hosting site like Picasa, photobucket, etc. Then you just make you reply here, click "Go Advanced" then click the little photo button (looks like a little yellow square with mountains on it) and paste the URL of your pictures on line into that little window that comes up.

Do you have a photo sharing account with a site like that? If not, PM me. I will send you my email address, you can email me the pictures and I will post them for you in the interest of time.

 

Agreed. But until we are sure that's the case, I am not a big advocate of just saying "yeah, sure. Change the engine." It may well be dusted, but until we know for sure I would go slow and make sure we know what's going on.

 

Alright, first the pictures he emailed me:
Turbo:

And the chariot in which it resides:


Nice looking truck!

I can see where the mechanic would say that the turbo wheel needs to be replaced, but it doesn't look badly sand blasted to me. Did you try to wiggle it while you had things opened up? What did you find? Did you pull the DP (Downpipe) and if so what did you find there?

Does this truck still have the stock air box in it? What do the screws look like that hold it shut?