I am purchasing a 96 7.3 with standard shift. GREAT looking flatbed truck! From oil to gas additives I havent a clue. Forgive me I have always been a regular gassy guy. The truck has 144,000. I have read some posts concerning maintenence. What are some common things I need to keep an eye on and some things to inspect to keep it running strong. Any insight would be appreciated.
Thanks Tony

 

Here are a few link that will keep you reading for a day or so. welcome to the PSD (powerstroke diesel) Club

http://pages.prodigy.net/stevebaz/_i...az/index3.html

http://www.thedwilsons.com/powerstroke/PSD-Links.html

http://www.intellidog.com/dieselmann/home.html

http://freeautoadvice.com/powerstroke/index.html

 

well my first post is being moderated so here is one link I posted to get you starts
http://pages.prodigy.net/stevebaz/_i...az/index3.html

 

Thats alot of info. Is there a print friendly for this post? It runs off my page when printing.

 

I copy and pasted it to a Word document but I have not tried to print it. I am sure it would print good from word.

 

Thanks "T" Thats a whole lot of info and very useful. I dont plan on driving it alot maybe 500 miles a year. I cut, split, haul and sell firewood for a side job. This investment will pay itself off shortly. Any tips on letting it sit for a period of time.

 

"Betcha can't eat just one" That truck is just like a potato chip. These trucks are so much fun to drive and work on. There is no way you will just drive it 500 miles a year. 20 mpg, great 5 speed tranny, power and zoom-zoom. 144k is like new as far as we're concerned. So back to the original question-Any tips on letting it sit for a period of time-Don't. Seriously, though, it will be fine however if you do. (1) The oil may drain back down out of the HPOP so it may be tough to start but you can check that oil level before you start her if she's been sitting a while. (2) Be sure to keep the fuel tanks at least 3/4 full and use additives like DieselKleen(Walmart) (3) Keep a couple of moth ***** on top of the engine in the engine valley because rodents love to get up in there and nest and then they chew on wires and insulation and anything else that looks like good bedding material and they can cause a lot of damage under the hood. (4) Check your air intake to make sure it is keeping dirt out (5) Test your coolant additive level with a test strip to make sure your coolant is right. (6) if she's going to sit around alot check the undercarriage for dirt and keep it as dry as possible. They tend to rust more if they sit around getting wet and dry and not being used regularly. (7) Trickle charge the batteries from time to time to keep them up and maybe clean off all the terminals and spray with a battery spray

 

yes really it is best to drive it rather than let it sit. vehicles that sit need the brakes replaced more often becuase of rusting lines and rotors/drums. It would be best to put 500 miles a month on it rather than letting it sit. And as F350_hauler said you will like your truck too much to keep it in the driveway.

 

Yea you guys might be right about liking to drive it. But really like driving my 70 f100 too. I will most likely be cutting more firewood since I will have a real hauling truck. I will be looking for wood to cut just so I can haul something. I never had such a big truck. The only other big truck I had was a 81 chevy 1ton dually. It had a 350 in it-ran pretty good. I sold it.

 

i bet you like the psd alot more than the 350, good choice

 

I'll bet that 70 F100 with the 351 is a sweet ride, too. I know - the 70 can be like your sports car and the PSD can be your big, peppy, luxury cruiser with all the modern conveniences.