I am about to buy a 1984 e350 with the 6.9L international. I want to pay to have the engine inspected before I buy it. Mainly the injector pump because I know it is a very costly fix. I want to ask the experts here what tests I should have done and what the expected results should be before I buy this 30 year old vehicle. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks mcwille

 

Not sure there are any tests besides visual, looking for any leaks or if it's been replaced recently or performance, just driving it. Maybe some one else will chime in. If you know a mechanic that's familiar with older diesels you could take it to him and tell him you want the vehicle checked out because you want to buy it. Tell him your concerns about the the injection system and glow plug starting system. If the front ends shot on it or just about any other "system" it could be as much or more as a injection pump.

 

Is there no way of testing the injector pressures? I am already planing on replacing the glow plugs right after I buy it. I don't know enough about these diesels other than it is the same engine that was in our family truck that we put 350K+ on it and still ran when it was scrapped. I just want to have it checked out before I buy it by a mechanic. But I want to know what tests I should have them do and what are good results. I know gasoline engines front to back but I am still learning about diesels.

 

If it runs smoothly(especially once warm), and has decent power, you're probably fine.

Thing is, if you intend to drive it a lot, you will want to put a new IP and injectors into it sooner or later; chances are the IP's getting worn as it is.

Mind you, an IP will run for several hundred K miles, but as it wears it won't work quite as well -- not as much power, timing moving slightly as the servo piston cam wears... but it will *work* for a long long time.
There are also "patches" you can apply to a wearing IP -- turning up the fuel to compensate, adjusting timing a bit, etc.
But for your best results, it's recommended to get it rebuilt every 100K miles.
Mind you, you're only talking around $700 for a rebuilt pump and injectors, which isn't that much in the scheme of things. Plan it out, run it till you have the money, and you'll usually be just fine.

There are also a lot of minor problems in these engines with cheap fixes -- the $27 mechanical lift pump fails every so often, O-rings in the injector caps fail and leak diesel, sometimes make for hard starting due to air getting into the system.

 

Thanks macrobb for the tips. I am probably going to repair or replace as much as I can afford. It is in a Motorhome that I am planing to take on a 20k mile drive in the fall looping around the country. So even though I will be pulling a trailer full of tools I would like to make sure before I leave it isn't going to breakdown. I sought out one with this motor because although I don't know much about repairing it yet, we owned a 85 F350 with this engine since new and even after 350k the frame gave way but the engine never failed.

 

Mcwill,

First of all, welcome to FTE. lots of help here for newbies like yourself. You are not giving us much to work with here. What we know is that it is an 84 e350 with a 6.9, So it will have a C-6 trans, N/A unless it has an aftermarket turbo, one ton suspension, and you don't know much about diesels. More information would be useful. What are you paying for this ride? 700 or 3700? If 700 and you don't need to push or tow it from his house, buy it and learn as you go. If 3700, then there are a thousand questions you should ask, like; Does he have service records? Can he document mileage? (pre-92 IDI's had 5 digit odometers, so it could be 26k 126k or 626k) What components have been replaced? Does he know about SCA's? (although cavitation is not a big concern for the 6.9 it will give you an idea of what kind of owner he was.) As far as tests, unless you find an old as dirt mechanic, he is probably full of yit, if he says he knows anything about these old girls, but about the only test that will tell you anything, would be a compression test. You could pull the injectors and have them pop tested, but that would be unusual for a pre-purchase. Again, what you should look for depends a lot on what you are paying, but if it is over 1500, I would demand that the motor is cold when you look at it. A lot can be told about the maintenance of these trucks by a cold start. Check all of the fluids to see if he is keeping them full. Ask for service records, and use common sense. Are the tires worn unevenly? is there any rust? Puddles under it? Are there signs of neglect? (lots of empty oil or trans fluid containers in the back, can of starting fluid, those kinds of things) Things to keep in mind: you are buying a 30 year old van, it will need attention, diesels are more expensive to maintain than gassers, vans are in many ways more difficult to work on than trucks, and no matter how well it has been taken care of or how honest and forthright the previous owner is, YOU ARE BUYING A 30 YEAR OLD VAN.

If you get it, we will help you to navigate the dino-diesel waters,

Good luck,

Mac.

 

Thanks Mac
Yeah I guess I should have given more information. It is an e350 motorhome I believe it has the C6 trans, no turbo and dullies in the back so is that bigger than a one ton?. It has 116k on it and if he really wanted to with how clean it is he could have pushed that it only had 16k on it. So I doubt very much that it has 216k on it. The wear inside just isn't there. It was in the middle of this terrible michigan winter when I saw it and put a small deposit to hold it till spring. I have not heard it run yet, when I went and looked at it, it was spur of the moment and it was not plugged in and he said it was too cold to start. We agreed on $4500 as long as it passed a mechanical inspection in the spring when I could get it out. It was buried in snow along side his barn. I wasn't too worried that he didnt want to start it when it wasn't plugged in because I remember our truck had to be plugged in every night in winter or it was a lost cause trying to start it until it was plugged in for a few hours. So should I be worried about that though? Or by cold you just ment not recently started? I hate to just take people at their word which is why I wanted to pay to have it inspected I just wanted to know what I should be asking them to check and what I should be expecting to hear. There is an rv service shop he recommended I take it to to have the inspection done but because he said he has always taken it there I am hesitant that without enough information going in I could get duped. Even though he seems like a very nice old man I don't trust anyone, but he said when he does oils changes he gets very close to exactly 10qts back out of it and he always keeps both fuel tanks full so they don't get any rust or crap in them. It seemed very well taken care of. What should I be looking out for on the cold start? Are there and flags I should look for above the common sense ones like leaks and fluids? Is it worth paying to have it inspected?

 

With good glow plugs, one of these engines should start reliably down to 20F easily... though at those temps, you can only get it to start if you're running good fuel(biodiesel blends start to gel up around there, and make for hard if not impossible starts).
In a case where you /need/ it started, you can use ether to give it a boost, but you need to make sure the glow plugs aren't hot when doing so(you would turn the key on and leave it on for a couple of minutes after you stop hearing the GP controller click).
With that boost, things will start at any temp, as long as the fuel is still liquid.

 

So I drove it today. Sounds great runs smooth and goes down the roads straight no pulls or wobbles, stops well. The bad. It blows white smoke. And it does not like hills. He said the the trans doesn't want to downshift and he believes it is a vacuum line to the trans that is bad. It looks like the rear main seal might be leaking because there is oil on the trans. The white smoke is a big concern of mine, best case it is bad injectors worst case burning coolant somehow. Those are my big concerns and I am worried about and I don't know if they are going to be horrendous to fix. I have not picked it up. I told him I need time to think.

 

If it doesnt smell sweet its likely a combination of IP / injectors. Given the age and mileage, these should be replaced anyway. It wont like hills. I suggest keeping an eye out for a van turbo kit, but good luck.