I found a truck for sale;1985 ford 6.9 turbo diesel 4x4 sc with aux tranny and 4 speed. Also has a flat bed. I know the seller well and has always maintained his trucks well. He says it heated up on him this summer and now is using a a little oil and he says its starting hard with the colder weather. He'll sell it for 3000$. Worth it?? thanks

 

how many miles are on it and was the turbo an aftermarket one or was it the stock one that some came with. about the oil and all i dont know about that just might have to ask around about that but 3000 aint bad for it but like i said miles and turbo would mean alot, another thing i have done since i bought another diesel is always check the gear oil in the rearend, if its low or u cant get any on your finger then u dont want it because u will be rebuilding that , other than that u might get him down on the price alittle if i had the money i would buy it but i just bought a 1985 ford 1 ton crew cab diesel 4 spd dually with only 170k orginal miles on it for 4250 i had a 86 ford f250 and rebuilt the C6 and the rearend in a year and alot of other things but just didnt want it anymore so i got the 1 ton more room and its got the stout 4 spd in it too. Lance

 

international/navistar didn't put turbos on til 94. its an aftermaket.there is no such thing as a stock turbo til then.

 

With the turbo, 4x4 and an aux tranny I would say it is a great price.
The hard starting is probably glow plug related.
That early glow plug system was great when it was working right, but it had a bunch of things that could cause problems.
High mileage 6.9's love oil.
The radiator may need to be rodded out to cure the summer heating up problem.

Ford never installed a turbo on the 6.9.
Ford did offer turbo's on the 93 and 94 7.3 IDI.

 

k why is it there is a guy in Weatherford, Texas that he bought the pickup brand new in 1986 with a turbo on it and it aint like a turbo u think of it a rectangle box on top of the motor where the breather should be but it does say 6.9 Turbo Diesel, and Four Wheeler Magazine has had one in there magazine awhile back and Ford did put a expermental turbo on some ford 6.9 diesels just to see what it would do, my mechanic even says there are a few out there that did come from the factory like that, so dont try to tell me that , and ford did offer turbos in 1992 the very late part of the year and about 6.9 with high mileage well i know a few people that have them or 7.3 with over 500k miles that it uses alittle oil but not alot it all depends on what u use it for and how u take care of it and when u change the oil and dont change from one oil to the next especially from Rotella T to Delo that is a bad problem that people have but i dont use Delo and never will either. and Nogo no offense but they did make a few and far between u just got to look for them but if u put a turbo on it u better watch it the compression wont hold up to one youll be rebuilding it very shortly

 

huh? If I put on a turbo I better watch it??? My understanding is the motors do have a high compression 22.5 to 1. but It isn't like I would throw a 100 psi at it or would I . I guess I would try 20psi but only after I had an intercooler to go with it. watching pryo will save you from rebuilding. and not pushing it until its broke in helps too.

 

the mechanic i have said if u put an aftermarket on a 6.9 diesel it wouldnt matter how u drove it in 6 months u would either have the cam in the oil pan or broke in half but i guess if u do other things u dont have to worry about that but ill keep mine non turbo there are other upgrades that will give u as much power as a turbo and not have to worry about replacing it either

 

after market turbo works fine on a 6.9,you can use a newer stock 7.3 turbo on a 6.9,but they total suck,on the 6.9 you don't want to put more than 11 psi on it because of the 21.5to1 comp ratio,the head bolts and head gaskets can't cope.on the 7.3 the head bolts are bigger witch will hold your gaskets better,you still keep your boost below 15psi,getting spooled quick and effecient burn are inportant.on my 7.3 with a ATS turbo I have 495psi@12lbs of boost.you goota whatch what kind of pistons you have,i had a old 6.9 that had a turbo on it and it had 475,000 when i took it out,i put a crate motor in and it lost a piston right away,so i had a guy built me a new 7.3 (sleeves everything)with the best parts it is bullet proof,but i don't think i'd put that kind of heat on it,it cost too much.they say this water-methanol injection cools 60% better than a intercooler,i am going to try one of those soon.i always haul way heavy equipment and it puts hi heat of the pyro,you gotta watch it.went from springfeild missouri to nampa idaho with 23,700,70-75 the most of the way.

 

you put a turbo on a 6.9 and you will gain 50% power at the rear wheels.and it will not hurt your motor,just keep it under 10-11 psi

 

You will not find any other mod that will give you as much power as a turbo if it is installed correctly with the right exhaust.
The turbo that has the box on top of the motor is an ATS turbo exactly like the one on my truck, which is the same turbo that Ford did install on the 93 and 94 7.3. But Ford ruined the power boost from the turbo with the 2.25" ID downpipe that was all flattened out so it cleared the back of the engine and the cab.
ATS and Banks did design the turbo back in the 6.9 days, but Ford Motor Company factory did not use it or install it. A Ford dealer may have installed it for a customer, but it did not come from the factory with it.
Keep the boost down to about 15 pounds, stock ATS gives you about 8 or 9 pounds with a three inch exhaust. If you start cranking the boost up the head gasket will be the first thing to go, not the cam.
My family owned the Ford dealership in my home town since the days of the model T's. My father closed the dealership a couple of years ago but still owns the building.
A turbo was not a factory option until the 93 model year that was first shipped in late 92. First one I ever saw from the factory was like August of 92 for the new model (93) showing last of September. We used to hide the new models till the showing date back in the older days. Made the day of the new model releases more exciting, even though it was a lot of late night work changing all the cars and trucks in the showroom and front of the lot in the middle of the night.

And as an afterthought I drive a 1986 7.3 turbo 4x4 F250.
But I will not try to tell you that Ford put that engine in there, I did that.

 

dave, i know what your saying now and you are right i found out more about the one in weatherford but thats a different story but how much did u pay for that turbo kit from ATS and if i was to put one on my pickup, could i still run stacks on the outside of the bed like i want even though it will be Y off wont it. just asking is all thinking about putting one on it to get alittle horsepower not including turning the pump up but will a injection pump off of a 7.3 turbo diesel or powerstroke fit on mine 6.9 or not just wondering is all

 

you can get the exhaust to work but you'd might be better off running in to the bed (I would be a cleaner look). you would have to do some thing a little like how my H-pipe runs across under my frame. Plus theres nothing a 7.3 pump will do for ya that a 6.9 can't. and PSD don't have injector pumps.

 

I paid $1,800 for the ATS turbo kit, complete 3" exhaust and gauges, another $450 to have the pump rebuilt and calibrated for turbo. I installed the kit myself on an 84 F-250 4x4 SC. Made a huge difference in power and torque.

 

Mine cost me 6,595 dollars with a complete three inch exhaust I threw away except the down pipe. I also got a reman motor with the turbo though.
I run stacks on mine, but I have a dump bed. The best way to do stacks on a stock pickup box is inside the bed. Turbo down pipe then staright back to the front of the bed. Cut a 4" square hole in the bed for the pipe to come up through. Right above the bed floor make your split in the exhaust which runs across the bed to both sides. One side will be a bit longer than the other, but that does not make any difference. Then use another 90 to turn the pipe up, and install the stacks on the 90 outlet. A clamp to the top of the bed rail on each side and you are done.

The frame and fuel tank is in the way to split the pipes under the bed unless you go under them also. That would put the exhaust down so low that it would get caught on something unless your truck never goes off road.

I need to take a picture of the Y that I made out of two 90 degree bends because it splits the exhaust real good and it flows well. A T to split the exhaust is not a good deal, to much backpressure from the T. I have installed several sets of stacks on Fords and Dodge trucks, they are all the same.

Words of caution, you must put something over the pipes in the bed to keep things in the bed off of them. They do get hot enough to set things on fire when you are working the motor.

Also if you install a turbo, get the pyrometer and boost guages. They help you tweek the pump and turbo and keep you from toasting your motor or turbo. If you have an automatic you should also get a tranny temp guage.

Texasroughneck I have some pictures of my truck in my gallery that show the stacks.