Been looking at 7.3 power strokes and idi's for a long, long time. I am finally in the market to purchase one and have come across a very clean 1993 RCLB, 5 speed, 4x4, 7.3 idi, f350. I was given a cold start video which will be attached, seems to crank a little long to me. Could be air intrusion etc... I do not know, as I have yet to lay eyes on the truck. Does it sound normal other than the long crank? Attached also is a photo of the underside. Frame looks to be painted, but no pitting. Body looks immaculate!

 

The interior looks clean, underbody looks great, manual +, and 4x4, yes confirmed, the startup and engine does sound normal. .. do check everything out as you should, but going off that little bit, I see no problem, If everything else does look good, go for it.

 

how much is he asking for it?
startup could be a bad glow plug or two, but an 8 or 9 second glow plug time, 5 second crank time is not that bad. at 43 degrees my 88 will glow closer to 15 seconds, but i also have new glow plugs in it.
as for engine sound, it sounds normal for a cold start. but like i also said it could have a bad plug or two which would explain the slight flutter when it first started.
not sure if the 93 still did it, but my 88 will flash the wait to start for around 20 seconds as the "after glow" kicks on/off every second or so to keep the glow plugs warm to help keep the cold engine running.

 

It looks like the current owner lives in a pretty normal neighborhood. Ask to meet him at a local PD, then you can follow him home and make sure the truck can start COLD. Or, if he's willing to just give you his address.

 

Thanks for the replies! He wanted 13k, right now I have him at 10k, which I think is a little high. However I am in Canada, so it is not easy to find something in that good of shape. We also have strict inspections, so it is worth the money to get something that will pass safety easier. A truck like that would easily sell for that in Canada for that, or so I think! It has some new parts, but is also an N/A truck. He said it has all new motor craft glow plugs, glow plug harness, tires are new, new pads and rotors etc... The plan was going to be to roll up to his place for a cold start. He can pick me up from the airport in his other car!

 

The cold start is not normal. It may be normal for old battery cables, worn starter, some glow plugs burnt out etc. but it's not normal when everything is in tip top shape. When everything is working properly, the engine will start within 2 seconds of cranking, down to 0F with just glowplugs.
(My F250 w/ oversized bat cables will cold start on GP's alone, at 0F in, count them; 1 second crank time. No exaggeration, I couldn't get out a second Mississippi before she clattered.)
That said, everything sounds good, other than, like Tom mentions, I too think the glow duration was simply too short for a cold start at 40F.
He may have replaced the plugs, but he may have gotten knockoffs and that's probably why two or so of them are burnt out already.


So that you'll know when you own an IDI:
This truck doesn't suffer from air intrusion issues, like you first suspected. That issue is much different. With that one, what happens is, the truck will cold start no problem (if all else is good of course), but it will only run for a few seconds, burning off the fuel left inside the IP. Then it will stutter and stall, running out of fuel because there isn't enough fuel in the IP to prime the drained back fuel in the lines, that air let bleed back towards the tank overnight (or a few days, depending on how bad the leak is). Then you need to crank for a good 20 second session at least twice to re-prime the system, it finally fires, stutters and then smooths out. This issue is very distinct from a simple hard cold start.


Oh, I almost forgot! Dang, that truck is clean! If it all looks like that, pay the man whatever he wants. You'll have it for decades to come if you keep it off the salt roads like he clearly did. You'd be hard pressed to have a 9th gen Ford truck restored for 10k, even doing it all yourself. Depending on what you started with, it's not likely you'd be able to do so.

 

Thanks for that info. Batteries are just over 3 years old, so definitely could be an issue. He said it was all motocraft plugs put in her...I will ask for receipts. I don't doubt you could get a bad one or two from the factory though?

Edit: sounds good about the cleanliness of the truck. No doubt there about restoring! I am mid build on a rusty jeep TJ, drove across the country twice for parts. Jeep idiot, lol.

 

Batteries and starter are not suspect here, because it's cranking (turning over, before firing) "very good"! Hear how fast it cranks? That's what you want. No issues there.

There's a major problem with knockoff/counterfeit so called "Motorcraft" brand glow plugs. They're all over ebay (but not limited too) especially and some 3rd party sellers (last I bought were real sold directly from Amazon as the seller) on Amazon. He may have just been a victim without knowing it. Tom is correct on this this, that glow time just isn't enough followed with a rough stumble once started, all points to at least one burnt out plug.

 

Sounds good to me! Were is the best place to source the plugs, wouldn't mind grabbing a spare set as well!

 

The owner was talking about cold high idle being around 1000 RPM which is correct. Notice though when it is started that the idle was lower than that until he jabbed the throttle a time or two. That tells me that he did not depress the throttle half way and hold as it clearly states in the owners manual. Which would also mean the pump was not delivering all the fuel it should have been. That may be the reason for the extra crank time. It does sound normal and the quick shot out the right mirror you can not see any excess exhaust smoke so that is a good sign.

 

bad factory glow plugs are very rare, because the manufacturer has good quality control.
the problem is there wat too many selling cheap chinesium counterfeit plugs these days.

 

^^^THIS^^^

Here's a good thread on counterfeit glow plugs and how to ID them.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...s-zd-28-a.html

It's so bad the only way you can be sure that you get OE glow plugs is to order them from

 

Forgot to mention it does have an electric fuel pump, so fuel to it shouldn't be an issue? Thanks for the link to that discussion. I would like to put a mechanical injection pump on it at some point this summer. Any recommendations? Already looking into the billet return line option. Outside of that going to be kept close to stock. Just going to be the camping/ sled hauling rig. I put a deposit on her. Flying out in a few days. I am unable to resize the images.

 

Nice, looks solid. ..

Only use good electric fuel pumps on an IDI, no on mechanical fuel pumps, it's a thing, we all get tired of saying it.

I would try and find a sliding back window at the junk yard from out a bullnose or OBS truck, they're a real nice addition.

Good luck and happy hunting.

 

Why not the mechanical fuel pump? Already found a window, with seals local for $200. Going to snag that up tomorrow.