Back in early 2009 I parked my 88 F350 7.3 diesel because it needed a radiator, 6 new tires and the glow plugs had stopped working. So after getting married moving to texas and back and buying several other vehicles when I could have fixed this one I finally am ready to take this one out of hibernation. Although the truck was driven for about a week in august 2011 it has not even been started since and I am just seeking advice on what all i should do during its revival.
Here is what i have so far:
New glow plugs(Motorcraft)
GP controller (Internatoinal dealer)
new radiator( Marietta radiator)
new injectors& install kit ( Pensacola Diesel)
New michelin steer tires( Tire rack)
used drive tires( off a wrecked truck)
new belts, hoses ( Gates) & 4 gallons of Fleetcharge antifreeze

Have I missed anything?

Also 2 other things i should add is 1) while it was parked the first time the engine somehow got full of water so much so I had to drain the oil out, put in clean oil& filter and then remove the glowplugs and turn it over by hand b/c it was hydrolocked, there was even water in the intake manifold and the only reason I knew it was it was too close to a light pole that was being replaced and had to be moved. I have no idea how crystal clear water wound up in the oil and cylinders but it ran fine afterwards. 2) Since winter of 2011 the engine has had no coolant in it, I had my grandfather drain the block because that coolant was diluted too far and would not make it thru the winter so will I need to flush the engine before I add my new coolant? Sorry for the long post but I do try not to leave any details out! THANKS for any suggestions guys :-)

 

engine full of clear water is probably from a bad hood seal. rain water leaked in on top of the air filter, then leaked into the engine through the intake till it filled the engine.

if the block was drained, i would just close all open plugs and fill it up.
you could flush it out with clean water to see if any rust comes out, but i would not be very concerned with it if it was truly drained.

 

check your cdr grommet in the intake, as rainwater from the aforementioned bad hood to cowl seal can pool in the valley pan and leak past the cdr seal as well.

 

Personally I would stay away from Pensacola Diesel. They're not exactly a reputable company. Some people have good luck with them, but most don't. You aren't saving any money by buying rebuilt injectors, because the parts to rebuild them cost more than just buying a brand new injector. Most companies that "rebuild" IDI injectors just pop test and flow test them, clean them up, and make matching sets from all the used ones they have sitting on the shelf. Just look for a set of brand new Delphi BB injectors, and expect to spend around $300 on a brand new set that will last you for another 100k+ miles.

 

If your NA its been my experience a bad cowl sill will allow water to drip / pool on the air cleaner and run down the stud into the intake. Water can also get into the valley pan if its rusted, or via the CDR grommet.

 

The cowl seal is shot and ford says its discontinued so where can I get a new one? Now that I know how the water got there I am not so worried and i think I will do an Intake gasket and a cdr seal just to be certain. As far as the Injectors go I have never had an issue with pensacola diesel for ford stuff and they have always given good customer service for me but I am not going to tell any of you folks you need to use them thats none of my buisiness. Also who sells a decent battery these days as I am going to have to buy 2 brand new ones and I cant find champion batteries anymore . THANKS for the help guys!

 

Walmart batteries will work fine. They have a decent warranty, and are all over the place when you need to replace them.

Check junkyards for trucks with a good looking cowl seal.

 

I like interstates now, theyve converted me. As for the cowl sill, grab a door weather strip off a truck that has "over the pinch" crimp type and stick it on the lip of the cowl, worked for me.

 

I found the cowl seal at LMC but for the price they can keep it I am going to get a hood seal for a freightliner classic xl it screws down like the ford one but is of much higher quality

 

I just got a cowl seal from LMC and yeah, $30 seems kind of steep for a piece of rubber ... but it's a hell of a lot cheaper than a bottom end rebuild.

 

personally i'm leaning heavily to avoid pensacola. trying to finish up a head gasket job used their line kit and every single line was leaking from the clamps, just not enough tension. ran out and picked up some 3/8 ct clamps. just a couple leaking O-rings to deal with. just bothers me when simple things don't work as they should, makes me doubt the more complex stuff like the injector pump and injectors.

 

My recent experience with a return line kit I got from Accurate Diesel (plastic bag with orange writing, can't remember the brand exactly) was similar. The clamps looked like they had been cleaned up and repainted, as though they were used old clamps. Many of them leaked fuel and caused me to have hard starts in the mornings, especially when parking on an incline. I replaced them all with regular hose clamps and problem solved.

The caps and o-rings are worth using (with a bit of grease) but toss the clamps and use regular hose clamps. By the time you realize they're all leaking, everyone in the cab will be breathing diesel fumes and you'll have to get in there again (but only after the engine has cooled off ... talk about frustrating).

 

Unless you buy the install kit directly from ford those crappy little squeeze clamps NEVER work, they just are not tight enough so i always spend the extra $$$ and get a couple boxes of worm gear clamps. Also someone mentioned accurate diesel and I can tell you I wont ever buy another set of injectors from that arsehole, I bought 3 sets at one time 2 for running engines and 1 for an engine I was rebuilding . I send in my cores and never get my refund so I call to see what is going on with it and am told that I sent in several rusted and stripped out injectors and they all were beyond repair. What the heck was I supposed to do rebuild them for him and send him perfect injectors back and like I said 2 sets were out of running/driving engines and the ones that came out of the broken engine looked ok. So yeah until I have an issue with pensacola diesel I will continue to use them, for $130.00 for reman injectors you just cant beat it and i have out of probably 50 sets got a couple bad injectors and they always took good care of me.

Thanks again for all your advice folks it is very much appreciated!

 

If the truck has sat for 2 yrs, I would drain the oil, flush w/diesel, and replace w/new oil and filter. No telling what might have gotten in there in 2 yrs

 

I would not flush with diesel fuel, nothing will get in there if the valve covers and such are there.