Okay, so i had a half assed thread going, but it got kinda polluted. So this is the fresh start.

Specs. 02/92 F250: 7.3L NA, ZF5, BW1356, D50TTB, Sterling 10.25. With ATS 088 installed.

Pickup was bought new by my grandpa for my dad as a bonus. However the majority of the first 200k were put on it by my grandpa hauling horses when the 91 lost the transmission. The next 45k were put on by my dad, then when he passed it came to me and ive added the last of the 257,174 (i literally went and looked because i never remember whats on it).

Sometime around 97-99 / 160-180k it needed a rebuild, im pretty sure it was cavitation. I dont have all the specifics on what was done, but ill share what i know / think. At least 2 cylinders were sleeved, pistons were likely shaved .015", balanced and blueprinted, also it may very well have a cam.



92side


Now for mods.

4 hole A-pillar gauge pods with Isspro EV2's - 0-40 boost, 0-1500 pyro, 0-20 fuel pressure and 100-280 trans temp


Isspro 16000 series EV2's


Electric fans, running a Harris Performance Controls, controller. Thing works great and seems to be well worth the price. Also they have FANTASTIC service, seriously nobody compares to Jeff at HPC. I highly recommend them. I tried a chinese controller twice because it was cheaper, and well, you get what you pay for, even today American> Chinese. The fans cost me $22 at the junkyard, they are off of a 96 Ford windstar one larger, one smaller. Seem to be doing a good job, need to get around to building a full shroud. Right now they dont cover the bottom 6" of the radiator. This winter i am plan to pick up another set of fans / motors, and fab two larger fans into the stock mech. fan shroud.

Next is e-fuel. I bought the stuff from wheeler which includes, SD electric fuel pump, Quickfuel boost reference fuel pressure regulator, primary and secondary fuel filter heads, along with all the little connectors and fittings. I fabbed a mount for the filter heads to start,


filter head 2



Then plumbed it in. Stock fuel line from tanks to selector, then 3/8" hi press rubber from selector to filters. Supply is 3/8" SS tubing, return is 5/16" mild steel (stock supply, re-bent). Anyone thinking about this, i highly suggest NOT using SS tubing. It is a nightmare to work with, cant flare it, cant bend it, and kinks easy... also its not cheap.

Next is the regulator, fabbed up a little bracket out of some scrap and stuck it in a convenient spot.


fuel psi regulator


Now, adding electric stuff can be messy, 15 wires coming off the battery, fuse here, fuse there, some relays stuffed over there... I didnt want that. So once again, to the junk yard i went. 90s xploder- $5


aux fuse box


Slipped it in right next to the factory one, and just jumped from the factory hot in over to the new one. Has plenty of maxi and micro fuse slots, as well as 5 relay spots ( + 2 micro relays).

The pickup sat too low for my taste, i didnt want "lifted" but i wanted more ground clearance and taller tires. I still need to be able to pull a trailer, and TTBs are not known for thier ride. D60s are expensive, also, my open rear diff sucks, and the brakes on it suck. Furthermore, its always bothered me that the rear is 3-4" narrower than the front. So lets kill... well all those birds with $1100. Precision Metal Fab 2.25" rear shackle kit fit the bill, my particular kit was built to use super duty springs and axles. I picked up a set of axles from a 2002 F250, D50 mono front, 10.5" sterling rear. Got a pretty good deal on them as the gears dont match. The rear is brand new 4.10 LS with new calipers. The front has 3.73 gears, needs at least upper balljoints, but has all new brake hardware as well. Got a set of X-code springs from the JY and stuffed everything in. The benefit (probably the only one) of having the D50 mono, is i can regear it with my TTB gears saving a good wad of cash. On top of the axles, the guy pitched in all sorts of goodies including lift blocks, add-a-leafs, several U-bolts, a steering stabilizer and 3 poorly painted SD wheels.


** Finding pics from the swap will update when found.

Finished.



I need to shorten the rear block 1-2", it sits slightly taller than i wanted ideally (about 4" total) but it did and does everything i wanted. Stops AMAZINGLY well with the stock master / booster. Ride is sooooo much better... it still rides like a pickup with the X-codes, but 10x better than the TTB.

Im forgetting little things along the way, tow and spot mirrors, mudflaps, cold air intake, and various other cosmetics like the bumper trim and valance.


Most recent, i just got new headlights. Im not 100% if i like them yet, but at least i can see down the road more than 50'. As mentioned early, chinese junk sucks, and these are no exception. The passenger side sticks out about 1" on the bottom once it was adjusted, and fogs up inside when it gets wet. Hoping its just a bad housing and expecting warranty to cover it.





As im sure many of you can agree, the stock glow plug system kinda sucks. Its not overly reliable, and its fairly cantankerous, also, mine just happens to be buried under the turbo sitting in 20+ years of oil and grease. So i opted for something a bit more reliable and way simpler, ether. However, popping the hood every morning kinda sucks, so i picked an injector off an old IH tractor and stuffed behind the headlight where the drivers side battery used to be. Hooked to a momentary toggle switch, well out of the way of being bumped.

Collection of parts waiting to go in.


IMAG0160




Hopefully now that i took the time to write this all important like it will help motivate me to save money to spend on parts for the truck, and more importantly get some real progress on the ol girl.

She still needs some TLC, AC died last spring for starters, pretty sizable exhaust leak pre-turbo, needs a spare carrier desperately.. 255/85s take up alot of space and is just wide enough it wont slide under my tool box like the 235/85s.

Concentrating on getting everything fixed / working, then on getting the chassis "done" before diving into the go fast stuff. The list is getting shorter, all thats left is to re-gear the front, traction bars, i have my new LEDs waiting to go into the dash, and a few minor things.

 

Its looking good Mike. I didn't know you did the straight axle already. Now you just need to get a bigger IP and turbo. What other mods do you have planned?

 

Looks good man, keep updating the thread as you go. Ill be watching it

 

Keep with it, I'm watching, getting ideas!

 

Looks great man, is that an RSK on the front or still a fixed rear shackle? What cam is that in the picture? I might be able to help you out with some spare hydroboost parts if you ever decide to go that route. Keep up the progress and the thread. Subscribed!

 

Yes its a rear shackle kit. That cam is the J2 which i may or may not have a use for.

 

why not just fix/repair the system? both my trucks are 100% reliable and issue free.bump the key with instant starts.very basic and easy to diagnose systems.the pre-87 system wasn't worth bragging about,but any idi should get the updated '87 controller and z9 plugs and can also have the same reliability your '92 would have it was simply repaired.

any plans for hydroboost brakes? ditch that mushy cornflakes unfriendly street cam.call up Russ.

good thread and great truck.

 

Let me answer with a question. What are the two causes of the single major issue with the IDI engine? Poor starting, or failure to start entirely is the plague of the IDI, caused by either air in the lines or glowplugs and / or their failure ridden system. So why not remove the problem instead of fix it to happen again? Also, no more waiting to start, starting in the coldest weather, and most of all: glow plugs $100, relay and controller $200, harness $70. VS. Can of ether $2 , injector $20, wiring, switch and line $10, not having to check, diagnose, repair/replace the glow plug setup $priceless. Only downfall is if / when someone else is to drive it and should they need to start it cold, however it shouldnt be that big of a problem, either way, no worse than push button glow plugs.

For the brakes, honestly they are awesome. I was fully preparing to buy the hydro-boost setup new. However theyre so good now only way i would consider it is if i need the room. I have a nice cushy pedal and responsive, predictable brakes. They are every bit as good as our 03 without the stiff pedal. I would like to ditch the vacuum pump and go electric, but im in no rush.

 

I guess its been longer than i thought since i added more to this. That said i havent gotten a whole lot more done, but im alot closer to getting a whole lot more done. I ended up pulling the rearend for a craigslist steal that had 3.73s to match the front, came with factory 4" blocks, which make for a much nicer stance, and much happier drivline angle. Also scored a E40D from a 90 something PSD that im pretty sure only has a bad converter. Transfer case is making some pretty horrible noises and pukes about a qt. per 1000 miles. Worse than that though, what i thought was my imagination, then possibly an injector, seems to in fact be a rod / main knock. She seems to be slowly giving up the ghost, im noticing less power and worse fuel mileage steadily over time. I guess the time it got ran out of oil, and the couple weeks of driving it with 2 gallons of diesel in the oil are catching up with the 170k miles, but she hasnt let me down yet.

Some wheels i got for free, shot a little black on em to draw eyes from the bad spots. Theyre wrapped with 255/85 Toyo M-55s now.



New (same brand) housings, with H1 projectors and HIDs from the the retrofit source.












Been a long time coming, wouldve went faster if i didnt go on a gun, tool and electronic buying binge, but finally got the donor engine yanked out. '88 7.3, shows 160k via records and odometer, but a substantial part of that is from being towed behind an RV. Im optomistically thinking its somewhere in the low 100k range. It definately runs better than any other IDI ive been around. Given its out of a 2wd single cab with a C6, im pretty sure it would take my 92 in an empty race. The engine has an appointment with the hotsy tomorrow after work, then tear down so i can deliver the block to the machine shop monday if everything goes well.

Somewhere in between, im going to try to get at least the back half of the diamond eye, turbo back, stainless, dual 4" exhaust put in.

 

tips on using Stainless Steel tubing.

having the correct bender is a must.
these benders, while expensive make the job alot easier.
i have a 3/16, 5/16 and 3/8 benders of this nature.
Lever Tube Bender, 3/16 Inch Brake Line

trying to double flare SS is a royal pita, you must have a hydraulic machine to do these,
doing them by hand, even off the slightest bit, they will deform and crack.
always use 37* flares (AN style) there is a nut and a sleeve you nstall before flaring to 37*
37 Degree Flaring Tool for Stainless Steel Line - Free Shipping @ Speedway Motors

as you can see, thats just about 500 in tooling to bend SS
this is the only way to do it correctly.

for the average enthusiast, mild steel will work just fine, and you only need 50 bucks in tooling.
but i have done many many brake and fuel systems with my tools, and its paid for itself easily over the course of 5 years.

 

So you are tearing down the "good" engine? What all are you going to do to it?

 

Yes the good engine is the one coming apart, heres to hoping the cylinder walls are mint
Block and heads wise, getting hot tanked, magnalfuxed, and sonic checked. If everything is good, deck everything hone and align bore the the block, new cam bearings. Rotating assembly, as currently planned, will have PSD forged rods with IDIT pistons shaved to approx. 18:1, everything balanced of course. Heads will be cleaned up, maybe new valves, comp 910s

 

Sounds like a plan! I like those light assemblies. Where did you get them?

 

How big of an injection pump are you gonna go with and what are you going to do for the turbo setup? It seems like you plan on pushing the engine a bit with 18:1 compression and forged PSD rods.

 

So the donor is getting the full treatment. Sweet. How much are you cutting off the pistons? I started a thread on calculating the CR and I'm curious what you came up with shave wise to get 18:1. Are you going to run that J2 or something else?