As far as coolant, chances are it has plain green coolant in it, as I've never seen an IDI in the wild that actually had something like Fleet Charge (pink).

The proper coolant for IDIs contains chemicals called SCAs which prevent breakdown of the cylinder walls, which eventually leads to pinhole leaks. Fleet Charge contains these SCAs, as does Zerex G-05 (which is what I use, mainly because it's easier to get). You can get test strips that will tell you whether or not there's actually any SCAs in the coolant, and that will give you some clue as to how meticulously maintained the truck has been.

The overall system capacity with the radiator, heater core, and block drained completely is 8 gallons of coolant -- 50% antifreeze and 50% distilled (not tap!) water.

If it's got plain green in it, I would just buy Prestone extended life green coolant at Wal-Mart (make sure it says low silicate and phosphate free), pre-mixed so you don't have to worry about getting the 50/50 ratio exactly right, and just top it up with that. After you get home you can think about flushing the system and replacing it with the correct SCA coolant.

...

Don't know about the tires, really. I just put four new Hankook LT235/85R16s on mine, since the old tires were 10+ years old and the sidewalls so badly cracked I was afraid to air the tires up for fear of an instant blowout. You can expect to pay about $200 per tire to have them mounted and balanced.

 

Just called an Lube Shop they want $80-$90 to change my oil Rotella 15-40. I think I will go buy a wrench and oil pan for $20, buy the oil at Walmart as stated and do late night oill change in the hotel parking lot. Ha !

Going to price out the fluids you stated above, thank you for your input. Its very valuable information for me as I know gassers, but I'm a rook with these diesels.

Tires I am pricing out right now, I may opt for a good set of used ones as $800 is too pricey at the moment. that size tire, the 235/85/16 a good overall tire for highway and DD commuting ? This diesel will not be sitting around....

 

Doable. Don't forget a filter strap wrench ... and I've found that these trucks like their filters on tight. Most every other vehicle I've owned was fine with the "hand tight plus another quarter-turn" rule for oil filters, but on IDIs it seems the filter leaks if you don't really crank it down. Maybe it's just me.

Sure, happy to help. These trucks involve some specialized knowledge, but they're not nearly as bad as something more modern. At least you can still work on these ones if you're so inclined.

I just put the stock size tires on my truck. Apparently 215/85s will work too, but that would have raised my RPMs a bit and burned more fuel. The Hankooks I put on are HTs, which I guess are for primarily road-driven vehicles and only for occasional off-road use since they're not at all aggressive.

I don't have any MPG figures yet for this truck but I can tell you these tires do ride nice on the highway.

 

Don't know Texas all that well, so I may opt for the Discount Tire selection. Looks like the Hankook 235/85/16's are about $650 or so, for the set.. I have a cosco membership and they have a BFG all terrain for 161.00 per tire. I am using truck as DD, not off road, and I won't be towing much. I will re eval current tires when I get truck.

I am enjoying this discussion, please add anything else you feel I will need to know, I have been reading alot of the other threads throughout the afternoon...
Anybody else feel free to chime in as well.
Thank you flainn for your advise, input and time. It is well appreciated.

 

if you haven't seen this one and all it's links,it's a good one too;
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...owner-faq.html

 

Any diesel rated ELC coolant. I have Fleetcharge in my IDI. You can get it pre mixed 50/50 or not premixed and mix it yourself. She'll hold about 8 gallons so I would suggest buying 4 gallons of not premixed and 4 gallons of distilled water. That way you won't be buying 8 gallons of coolant.

 

Sure -- but I recommend you do this after you get home, unless you have a way to flush and refill your coolant system in the parking lot of your hotel (not to mention a way to properly dispose of 8 gallons of coolant).

And *don't* mix coolant types. If it's already got plain-green in there, use plain green to top it up. Don't mix it with Fleet Charge; the different chemistries can cause major problems.

 

Just got off the phone with the PO, he has the green coolant, just changed last month with a new thermostat as well. He said the oil has only 1000 miles, but truck has been sitting for 5 months. I know well enough that PO's tend to "shorten" or "lengthen" things to make it sound more appealing so I will check oil, and change if I feel needed. If he put a new thermostat in, I know historically with gassers that there could be a potential overheating problem, with a diesel, when the PO says he just changed the thermostat, what possible issues might I be looking at ? FYI- Heater hoses have been rerouted, assume because core leaks.....

 

FYI diesel oil is always completely black even if it was changed and started once. If there's a napa near get napakool its in a white bottle and its the sca additive. If the thermo was just replaced your probably good but keep an eye on your temp gauge assuming it works

 

SCA additive for the green coolant, correct ? Thats great to know. Once I get the wheels I will find a NAPA here somewhere.
I didn't check to see if Temp Guage works. You mean the "engine temp" light to the right of steering wheel or the engine temp guage on the left by the light switch.
I guess in hindsight it doesnt matter which one.

 

Rino,

Welcome to the forum, you will find that these guys know about all there is to know about these trucks, collectively. FWIW, oil changes in these trucks are every 5k miles, so I would check the level and top her off, then check all of the rest of the fluids, and drive her like you stole her! You can do all of the PM stuff, when you get her home. These trucks are pretty robust. They can take a lot of abuse. (Not that I am condoning that!) Even e rated tires at 40% tread are well capable of 1200 miles. I would hit the road and watch the gauges. I would ask the PO, if he knows what brand of t-stat he put in it, only motorcraft or IH should be used, and see if he knows what brand of glow plugs were installed, again only Motorcraft. If he used anything else, you're going to want to swap them out after you get her home.

Good luck,

Mac.

 

well said. My trip isn't until Apr 26, so I will be tweaking things here and there as cash permits. I am impressed with the feedback I have been getting from all you gents, thank you. I WILL keep up on this thread until trip starts.
I now will take ownership of truck on Saturday instead of tommorow. Clean the f*&^ out of her, as she has been sitting for some time.

Just texted PO about thermostat, lets see what he says.

What is an E rated tire. I stated earlier that the tires were 8 ply, is that the E Rating ?

 

PO states its a generic Autozone thermostat. Yay.

 

the letter is a load rating. E rated tires are made for hauling heavier weights than standard light duty truck tires. Along with load rating, things to consider when buying a tire are; tread, rubber compound and mileage rating. Since you'll be in Vegas, you should be fine with 235/85/16's with a highway tread and a hard rubber compound, not a mud and snow like we need here in CO. All of these things will give you better tread life and MPG's.

 

I hate to pee on your cheerios, but changing it is kind of a *****! At least much harder than it should be. Well, you'll need to drain your coolant to change it, which you need to do anyway. I don't think it is something you'll need to worry about before the trip home, but keep it in mind.