Let me ask all of you this, I found this local injector/diesel shop, pretty cool place, kind of helpfull, but have you guys noticed people attituding over your trucks, because of the year & not being a PS? Seems everytime I goto do anything & spit out the year, attitudes change. I really don't care, my truck is old & ugly, it's truely a huge beast, but for whatever reason I love it!! I'm searching for painters now to paint it & man you should seem some of the reactions to me wanting to paint it!!
There seems to be some kind of mind set, if it's not new, it's not worth it, well I've got a little over $3500 into my truck total, that includes the purchase price, that's a far cry from the what, $40- $50 grand for a new one? I asked this guy about Turbos & he said all he dealt with was Banks but they probably can't get it for my truck.

 

That seems to be the mentality lately, if it's not late model, it's not worth fooling with. That being said though, I would rather buy an older vehicle and rebuild it from one end to the other than buy new "junk". At least when I get through, I know what is there. I have never owned a new vehicle, and probably never will.

Jeff

 

i have an 84 6.9 and a 97 psd.i run into the same thing when i drive the 84.but my 84 gets almost the same fuel milelage,and it is cheaper to fix.i love it for that!

 

It's a shame, especially the aftermarkets, I understand the aftermarket but hey, we're still here.
My Harley is the first new vehicle I've ever bought, love it beyond compare but not cause it's new.
Oh well, I guess it just adds to the challenge!

 

My 7.3 I can fix but my 6.0 forget it unless you've got the computer and special tools. Yes I can change fan belts, alt, and external parts but forget the injectors etc.

 

What I noticed in my area is that most of the old diesel mechanics who knew anything about these trucks are no longer around or use to working on the newer trucks with PS or Cummins engines. If they do know how to work on them, it's more of a headache due to the fact that parts are typically not stocked. Another factor is Ford is starting to discontinue less common parts (found this out checking on a new wastegate) so it's becoming harder to get parts. Just for grins, I asked the dealer if they would service the truck, the response was it would depend on what work needed to be done and if they could get parts and then we need to check to see if anyone knew how. Not very reassuring.

BTW, I actually didn't have a clue as to the difference between an IDI and PS before buying my truck. I was looking more at the year and wanted to get something old enough to keep the purchase price down. I lucked out in getting an IDI. This site has been essential to getting the truck set up the way I want and I can actually work on it. I 've actually been toying with the thought of getting a HVLP sprayer and painting my truck myself. Look around the web, people say it's not that hard.

If you have a bit of mechanical skills, these trucks are pretty fun to work on. Can't really do that with a PS.

 

I have found the newer mechanics are lacking in the ability to work on older vehicles.

No computer port, they have no idea where to start looking for the problem.

Computer port, OK we can fix it.
The computer says to change part X, hence I refer to the new school mechanics as parts changers.
To many times I have seen several parts changed that were not the problem, but the owner still had to pay for them.

I really have no room to talk though, hand me an auto computer and point to a car and I would not even know where to plug it in.

One of my wifes cars had problems with quiting when the engine was warm.
She asked me what I thought it was.
One day it stopped while she was in the driveway, so I popped the hood and took a look.
Everything looked OK, no loose wires so I tried to start it.
It would run as long as the key was in the start position, but it stopped as soon as you let the key return to the ON position.
My guess was the ignition control module, but it was something like 150 dollars.
Are you sure was her next question, which I had to answer no I am not positive, but...
She said she was taking it to the garage for them to fix.
I said OK.
As soon as the engine cooled off a bit it started and away she went.
So they hooked it up to the computer and it said ignition control module.
Then they charged her 50 dollars for the computer diagnosis, 150 dollars for the module and 50 dollars to change it.
She was happy, I guess that is all that is important.

I have not liked working on gasoline motors since they took the points out of the distributor.

 

I had a similar experience with my (since replaced) 1995 Ford Explorer. I had a headlight out, first thing was change the bulb. Did that..still out, maybe bad bulb so I swapped it with the good one, still out. Then I went digging around checking fuses and relays, all the fuses for the headlights were good so I finally threw my arms up and took it into the dealer. Turned out the onboard computer system that is used to detect faulty operation was bad and prevented the headlight from turning on. $600 dollars later, I had a new computer to tell me my headlights were working. I guess if I didn't have it, I would've be driving in the dark for years.

 

i had the owner of the local ford dealership ask me why i was driving that old pos instead of a new truck. my answer?? cause you can't do this with a new truck. then i walked out and stomped on it, and left 35 ft of rubber in the parking lot that was full of white smoke from the 36 inch tires, and black smoke from the stacks.

when i got back to the office, there was a message on my answering machine from the service manager. he said that the owner was impressed, and said to tell me he was sorry, cause i was rite and he was wrong.



little does he know that the newer 6.0 trucks will roast the tires off easier than my 9,000lb 88 will.

 

Every now and then, people say to me "why don't you just buy a new one?" I usually reply that the Bekins truck that normally shows up and dumps money on my front lawn every week has been running late.

 

That is, of course, pretty cool. But, with my luck, my drive line would end up through
the windshield of one of those $50,000+ PSs if I tried such a thing.

 

well, i don't normally do that, cause i have dropped a drive shaft or 6. if i try to do it in low transfer case, the d-shaft just twists like a pretzel. i have a collection of rear d-shafts in the shop for when i get stupid and try to make shrapnel out of one.