Hey all,

Today I went to look at a 94 f350 with the 7.3 n/a and the e4od. It ran great and smooth, seemed to have plenty of power, but I was sitting at a red light in drive, foot on the brake and it started surging in spurts. Looking in the mirror there were puffs of smoke when it surged. Any ideas? He said he'll fix it whatever it is before i buy it. It has 143,000mi and had around 1/4 tank of fuel.

 

What color smoke?

 

The woman said it was black, didn't see it myself.

 

Didn't smoke on acceleration though and felt smooth when moving.

 

Sounds kinda like water or bad fuel.

 

Oh okay. He's had it for a few months, said it was originally a Texas truck. When did they start using the filter with the integrated water separator? Should this have it or a separate water separator?

 

1987 was when they combined them.

 

Surging is almost always air intrusion. It might have leaking return lines/O-rings, and at 1/4 tank it could be a bad fuel pick up.

 

Nothing to bother about, my truck did it as well, few tanks of diesel clean and it is over, no smoke at all. Might be failing injector but if the truck is right price, get it I have noticed the prices rise on the old IDI trucks lately.

 

at 143k miles and 1/4 tank fuel, it could be a couple of things. if it still has the original injectors and pump, they are at the end of their life expectancy.
1/4 tank of fuel is where the in tank pickup usually likes to crack and suck air.
what is the asking price?
i would deduct $800 to $1,000 for the cost of replacement pump and injectors and do the repairs myself, this way i know it will have the best parts put in instead of the cheapest parts they can find.

 

Well it's hard to find a clean idi without a lot of miles on it around here. Its a 94 f350 XLT 2wd Super Cab Long bed Dually with 4.10s and an E4OD. KBB says its worth 6-7k and he's asking just under 7. I think i can get him to throw in 4 new rear tires at that price though. It is at a dealer. I've never been too great at haggling unfortunately.

 

i would go into it no more than 5,500 is the body and interior is spotless.