Hello Im new here. I am the proud owner of a 99 E250 work van (love it) . I have been thinking about picking up a 1990 E350 7.3 diesel. I never owned a diesel so looking for advise as to what to look for when test driving? Also is the 7.3 a good reliable engine or could this be a money pit full of potential problems? My other option is an 81 e350 with a 460. But gona be a huge gas hog . Lol. Thanks so much.

 

Welcome to FTE. Also welcome to the FTE IDI section. We are a bit biased here, so likely you won't hear a lot of complaining about the IDI engine from us. For the most part, we like the IDI for its engine simplicity, longevity, and potential. If you are somewhat handy, you can do most of the engine repairs yourself. An added benefit to the IDI engine is it lacks a computer, and everything is timed mechanically.

It's good to have another van guy on this forum. Most of us are truck guys, but a few black sheep have the elusive IDI Van. They are somewhat rare.

The nice thing about the IDI engine over the 460 is that with proper maintenance, timing, and care, you can get over 15-19mpg with the IDI. The 460 will probably at best get 8mpg but probably much worse.

If you are test driving a diesel for the first time, you need to check things like blow-by. Also, the 7.3 has been known to have a problem called cavitation, which you can read about in length on this forum. Ideally, the previous owner (PO) should be running a special coolant with added SCA's. If not, it's not a deal breaker, but just keep in mind that the proper coolant wasn't run for a long time. Other things to look for in a diesel are how it smokes. No smoke is good. Some white might mean fuel restrictions, bad injectors, etc. Some black smoke means too much fuel supply, IP fuel screw too high, timing off, etc. Those aren't really too big of a deal if you know how to fix them. The bigger red flag would be bluish smoke, which would mean some decent engine wear. Other things to look for would be how the engine runs. Check if it skips or if the engine loses power when accelerating. It would be nice if you could get a compression check, but that would be a tall order and expensive process for a used van from 1990.

You probably know all the usual things about test driving a van, since you own a 99. I've experienced the usual things. Namely, the steering and suspensions are usually awful, and require work. Not a deal breaker either, but just to manage your expectations.

 

Welcome to FTE!

In addition to Genscripter's points ...

Get some test strips like Napa #4106 and take them with you to test the coolant.
Check the coolant for any signs of black or grey colors floating ...

Check the oil and dipstick for signs of water or grey goo. Also the oil filler cap.

If you can get to it before it is started for the first time of the day that is good ... See how it starts, that points out some of the easy fixable startup issues.

There is over a half million miles on the 7.3 in my 94, never been apart, just external maintenance items.

If you do buy it, the first thing you'll want to do is ensure it has Motorcraft/Beru ZD9 Glow Plugs!
No others ... Others tend to break off in the motors requiring head removal!

Most of the issues with the IDI are startup issues, they are very resolvable in factory form. I.E. no hacking needed.

-Enjoy
fh : )_~

 

Thanks for the great reply! I m glad to hear this is a strong simple engine. Im just a little scared, given I never owned a diesel , and I hear parts can be more expensive .
Yes Im one of those weird van guys . Ive owned 6 vans over the last 20 years. However My current van is solely for work (carpet cleaning) this diesel would be for recreation. Camping and towing. If I get it I will certainly be a regular on this forum. Thanks again.

 

Some parts can be more expensive, they don't get replaced nearly as often either.

Oil changes is where it bothers most gas folks in comparisons, with a FL1995 filter these IDI motors take 11 quarts!

They are also not zippy little gassers, but a 4x4 getting traction just might be able to idle through typical 2x4 walls without grunting to hard!
Never tried it, don't want to! Might be fun to see though ...

-Enjoy
fh : )_~

 

Post the link to the van you plan to buy (If it's online) and we can help determine if it is a good deal and if it's a solid engine.

 

Honestly, parts for the IDI motor is pretty cheap; far cheaper than any other diesel. That's one of the main reasons I like these motors over, say, a Cummins.
They aren't particularly powerful(until you add a turbo), but the longevity is good, and they are pretty simple to diagnose and fix.

 

https://kpr.craigslist.org/cto/5740257687.html

 

If you can get it to start and drive home, it's probably totally worth that.

 

yea .. looks like a good price / claimed low milage ..

definitely worth it if it's a solid runner ..

these motors are generally low maintenance / and the parts are inexpensive .. so no problem there ..

though i would only get it if you were mechanicly inclined ..

aside from this forum and a few places online there is alot of misunderstanding of them..

most faults are a result of - glow plugs + starters .. someone has a problem with one of these and it doens't start .. they drain the batteries and burn up the starter .. get frustrated .. and it's "them darned idi's are all problems" lol

but no not really just people who have no clue .. the motors themselves are rock solid ..

as stated above .. do check the coolant .. cavitation can be a murderer of them if not maintained .. check the oil for water .. check the water for oil .. check the crancase oil filler off for blowbye .. check for smoking tailpipe colors .. start it cold .. check the tranny driving .. turn it off hot .. wait 5 minutes and restart it ..

if you buy this (and i hope you do // idi's a great motor) you have to expect that it will need some 500 -1000 dollars in parts and some repair of some sort the owner isn't telling you about .. it may not .. but be prepared .. they sometimes get neglect / uninformed owners and they need some tlc .. but once in the right hands will run 'forever'

 

That van looks pretty nice for a grand. I'd say buy it if the other stuff ain't too bad. I hate it when a CL ad doesn't show the underside or the engine bay. WTF. That's all I really want to see.

I'm a little suspicious on why the PO changed the return lines. Probably has some air intrusion issues. For diesels, if air gets in your fuel lines it can be a pain to find the problem. it can reduce the power of the engine, make it hard to start, and sometimes not run at all. Lots of people get diesels and try to treat them like gassers, and then try to fix them like gassers. That's when things get messed up. So if the PO is tracking down an air intrusion problem by changing the lines, then I suspect there was a leak somewhere and he'll say something like "It runs funny and you can't go over 40mph. other than that, it runs good."

Another thing I noticed was he said "overdrive." Most of these didn't have the overdrive tranny. So that could mean he installed a Gearvendor or other aftermarket OD. I don't see the OD on the column, and I don't see the E4OD button on the tree. But I do see a toggle switch at the driver's left knee, which could be the control for the OD. If that is true, the gearvendor or US Gear OD that is on that van is worth the $1000 he's asking for the whole van. I've seen them sell on Ebay for that much.

Kinda weird thing tho.... It's supposedly an XLT, but the thing doesn't have power windows.... I thought all XLT's had PW PD. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe the doors had been replaced with standard doors without the power feature.

Last thing. That van has the rear AC. that's kinda rare too. It took me a while to fix mine so that both the front and rear AC units work, but it's really nice when it was fixed. Especially in these California road trips.

Like Leroy said, you'll probably have to drop some money on fixing the mistakes of the PO. it's an investment, but it'll pay off. These engines are nice. That E350 will be a solid van for you and your plans.

On a different note, I WANT THAT BENCH. It's exactly the same color as my existing bench. when you buy that van, stop by LA and drop off the bench. ;-)

 

Now that you mention that, I wonder if it's that button hanging by the middle A/C vents in the dash ...

Could be Glow Plugs.

-Enjoy
fh : )_~

 

Interesting. What year did they start putting e40d's in? I think it was sometime around '90.

That back window that needs replaced could cost you a bit. If you don't mine investing a little time and $ into it, it looks like it could be nice. Just plan on doing some work to it.

 

I thought about the E4OD thing. But his column doesn't have the OD letters. Just 1, 2, and D. Maybe someone replaced the column with a C6 column, but the E4OD is underneath. Hard to tell without photos. I'm 101% IDIJohn could answer all this in a heartbeat.

 

It could just possibly be an E4OD swapped in ...

-Enjoy
fh : )_~