I just bought a 96 F-250 PSD, XLT, LWB,X-Cab. The best part is it had 59963 original miles. I happened to know both of the previous owners so I am not worried about the way it was taken care of in the past. My question is what do I need to do to to help ensure a long trouble free life. The only thing I will regularly haul is a 24 ft. travel trailer, appr 4250 lbs, and maybe 2 SeaDoos.
What kinda of mileage can I expect, empty? What is a good site to get the technical specs for my truck? What is the preferred service manaul short of getting the factory tech manual?

Thx in advance

Greg G

 

Welcome to the FTE!

Congratulations, you're going to love it.

Just routine maintenance. The only thing that you'll need to do that is unique to the diesel is maintaining the SCA (supplimental coolant addative) in the radiator. Other than that it's just oil, filter, and fluid changes, same as any other vehicle.

Probably 15-17 on average, maybe a little better.

You're already here dude. whaddya wanna know?

There really aren't any good ones short of the factory manual, but you can get the factory one on CD or DVD pretty cheap off the internet auction site.

 

congrats on your new mule...! i can tell you two things...

first: carefully read what cookie and the other gurus on here say about these mules... these guys know there stuff..!

second: when you tow that 24'... you won't even know it's there...! your gonna love that truck..!

 

awesome buy on the Old Body Style, classic trucks, i LOVE my '95. welcome to the Forum, now you'll never leave....Enjoy!

 

I agree that you can get a CD off the internet pretty cheap but I find the electrical diagrams on mine so small that I have to print them out just to read it. Nothing beats a formal manual that you can hold in your hand.

 

I would consider doing the GPR mod. Most of the early PSDs are known for eventually burning one of the valve cover glow plug/injector wire connections. The glow plugs cycle on, on every start, whether they are needed or not. The length of time they are on is controlled by the PCM, but even on a warm summer day they will stay on for a minute or more.

In the summer, after the initial start for the day, this is totally unnecessary. This extra usage shortens the life of the glow plugs, the GPR (glow plug relay) and especially the valve cover connections if they aren't making the best connections. In particular, even though the WTS light goes out, the GPR stays energized for 2-3 minutes in the winter, which isn't necessary once the truck is started.

The valve cover problem occurs when one of the glow plug connections become slightly corroded or loose. Due to the high amp draw of the glow plugs through a relatively small wire and even smaller connector, any resistance results in heat buildup and rapid over heating of the valve cover connection. This soons melts the plastic around the bad pin, which eventually spreads to one of the injector connector pins (which are right beside the glow plug pins) and causes a short in the injector wiring circuit. Once this occurs the IDM shuts off all the cylinders on that side of the engine and it will barely run if warm, and not at all if cold.

The GPR mod installs some sort of switch in the GPR control circuit so that the driver (or automatically if wired with a coolant temp switch) can shut off the glow plugs as soon as the truck is started and keep them from cycling on if the engine is already warm. It is easy to install, and well worth it in my opinion. You can easily double or triple the life of your glow plugs by reducing their usage, not to mention the GPR and valve cover connector issues.