ok i wanted a little help and for yall to lead me in the right direction. i have a chance to buy two trucks,both for a reasonable price i would think. one is a 93 f350 excab na, power everything, bucket seats with center console, alloy rims, cab spoiler, fifth wheel hitch and lift gate, alumi running boards, and 6 new tires for $3500.00. the other is a 97 reg cab long bed, standard trans, flat bed, and 6 new tires and its just a basic work truck nothing fancey and i can get bthis one for $3000.00. man i wish i could buy both but that would role over like a turd in a punch bowl lol. so im going to leave the descion up to yall.

thanks for the help.

 

I would buy the 93. Parts are to high for the power strokes

 

thats the one im leaning towards, cause the power stroke has a intermittent stall every once and awhile. its a good strong truck, its just sometimes while your driving, it will stall like someone just cut the switck off and on real fast one time. and if your sitting there idling it will just die, and you can turn the key and it will fire right back up no problem. i dont think its fuel i think its electrical, like a bad sensor. doesnt the smokers have a oil sensor that if the oil gets low it will shut itself off are something like that. i know alot of history about the truck and the maintnance has been kept up better than good. it just has that stall, what do yall think?

 

What trans is in the 93? Also the powerstroke will have alot more power than the 93 but there are alot of things that could cause the problem and if its injectors it could be quite expensive.

How many miles are on each?

 

tate , i work for a dealer and i have an 89 it has to do with two things servicability and cost of parts
if a DI drops dead on a trip its an expensive tow bill and shop repair especially depending on what failed
i carry an extra IP in the tool box and its about the only thing that will stop an IDI and i can replace it on the spot and continue on
you need specialized equipement and about 50K in tools for a DI

 

Yep, cost of the PowerStroke is definitely a big factor for me, too. One rebuilt injector for a PS is around $330. The computer is around $1600, and you can't get one from a junkyard because they have to be programmed from a code that is printed on the original computer. They have good power, but you can add a turbo to an NA IDI and get just as much if not more. The Banks people quote their Sidewinder kit at about 265 HP and 510 ft. lbs of torque in their literature.

I have mine for two reasons. One: I don't want the 8 mpg from the 7.5, 11 mpg from the 5.8 or the 12 mpg from the 5.4. Two: I'm a mechanical nut and enjoy working on engines, so for me the 7.3 IDI is the ultimate engine to work on. When it finally wears out, I plan to pull it out and rebuild it myself. Not because it'll be cheaper to do it or more practical, but so I can have the satisfaction of doing it. I've built more motors than I can remember, some old (50's, 60's), some newer (90's) and done high-horsepower jobs as well, so I'm sure that I can build a good IDI. It's all about the tolerances!

 

I would go with the 93. Thats even the same year I bought and even put on the banks sidewinder kit which helped expecially when pulling trailers. It sounds like its completly loaded and ready to pull. I had several chances to by the newer ones but I don't like not have the computer to work with them. Most of the repairs of this engine are as easy as changing spark plugs in a chevy. Most of the stuff is at the top of the motor like the injectors, glow plugs , ip and can all be changed fairly easy even on the side of the road while its hot. It will have less power than the 97 though. You can add a turbo system which will be the equivent of having a stock powerstroke, powerwise. Hows the 93 look under the hood. Clean and well maintaind. Do the glow plugs work and does it start easy when cold. I would also take them out for a drive if you can to check the steering, transmission and features and see if your getting your moneys worth.

As for the 97, the intermidate shut down would probably be the cam position sensor.(just guessing) Very common problem and you can buy one for under 100 bucks. (probably around 60) Sometimes it will throw a check engine light and if it does, the codes will tell you exactly what it is. It is located at the front passenger side of the engine right beside the harmonic ballancer. It fairly easy to change to. As for the low oil sensor, no. It will shut off if it does run out of oil though because it uses oil to build pressure in the injectors and will die if it runs out. I can get more info on this at work tomarrow. The 97 will be alot harder to work on too. Just to change injectors and glowplugs you have to remove the valve covers, drain the oil and fuel rails and drain the antifreeze and pull them out. They are very expensived (from $250 up past $300 a pice). They are amazingly dependable engines though and give little trouble, but when they do it could cost$$$ I know several people with the PS and have had good luck with them. My parents have an 2000 f350 and have only had to change the cam position sensor.

Here is a good website that I picked up on this forum that can give you some more in depth info on these engines.

FDDTS - Tech Publications

---------------------------------
93
PROS
Completly loaded ready to pull
Much easier to work on (most repaiers can be done on the side of the road)
Parts are cheaper (and fewer of them)
No computer (for the engine anyway)

97
More power than the 93


Anway, If you get the IDI and need help with it, there is alot of great info here with some helpful polite folks. Either way, tell us which one you get. Good Luck.

 

the 93 has 220,000 miles on it and it is a good friend of mines truck. it is pretty mechanicly sound and has alot of new parts on it. as for as the 96 it belongs to the company that i work for, ive drove it quite alot and i know about the power it has. it has 160,000 miles on it and the fuel system has just been rebuilt along with the glow plugs. the shop that did the work did put it on the comp and they didnt say what the codes were. and as of right now the check engine light is on and was on when they read the comp. i told them before they even sent it to the shop that it wasnt fuel related it had to be a sensor.

 

Cam sensor. $25 at the dealer and a 10 minute install. There are other possibilities, but none of them are terribly difficult or expensive. It's not an injector. Might just need the fuel filter replaced.

That's a rediculous assertion. A $300 scan tool and a basic set of hand tools will fix anything under the hood. If anything it makes the Powerstroke easier to diagnose.

Any 94-97 computer will run any 94-97 truck. Every program is interchangeable. The only stipulation is you need an auto computer for an auto truck and a manual for a manual. The injectors are expensive, but with regular maintenance they'll generally go two to three hundred thousand miles before they start wearing out.

Misconceptions about the Powerstroke aside... I also would probably select the 93 because it sounds like a cleaner and better optioned truck. Why buy plain jane when you can get decked out for the same money?

 

IMO its much easyer for me to diagnose a 444, the IH version of the 7.3l powerstroke then my own truck. Hook up the lap top pull codes wich will either give you an idea of whats wrong or if there are none it eliminates a bunch of stuff.

On my truck if it aint ruunning right I have to pull injectors and pop test them, depending on what its doing.

But my IDI is much cheaper to maintain.

 

Get the 93...and if you tow invest in a turbo. If mine ever becomes a dedicated tow rig I will put a turbo on it. I may get one even if I dont tow thought......

Thad

 

fix a powerstroke with basic hand tools , hahahaha

 

That's correct. There is nothing...and I mean not one single thing that a dealer tech can do to my truck that I can't accomplish in my own driveway. A few things....like an injector buzz test or cylinder contribution require the laptop, but it's not an expensive program and it's not difficult to learn. You think mechanical diesels are easy....try having live data logging at your fingertips. Takes the guesswork out of the equation.

Powerstroke parts are generally more expensive, but the engine is anvil reliable. There is no need for anyone to fear the electronics or one's ability to work on them.

 

As an Electrical Engineer and having more than 25 years experience working with "computers" (software and hardware), I'll still take the IDI any day. There is simply no replacement for common sense and real knowledge (IMHO).

Without a good knowledge of what's really going on, having all the high-tech tools just makes you a parts changer and like so many dealers you can easily get caught up changing a lot of parts... (not saying this about anyone in particular, at least in this forum)

That said, I'd rather have a powersmoke than a cheby any day

 

That's an accurate statement tbone, but common sense and "real" knowledge is a requirement to be an effective maintainer on any engine. It's not something that only applies to the IDI.

Taking any vehicle to any dealship is the worst possible thing you can do to it. Those people get paid by shoving as many jobs out the door in as little time as possible. They do not care what's wrong with your truck or why....it's all about a paycheck. Grouping everybody that owns a scan tool into that class is not only inaccurate, it's highly offensive.

All I'm saying is there is a lot of intimidation in this thread. People think the Powerstroke is difficult to diagnose and difficult to work on. That simply is not the case. It's an easy engine to learn and it is not difficult to maintain and/or repair.

I'll bet the first time you opened the hood of an IDI it seemed complicated and difficult to work on.....well it's the exact same thing. It is simply a matter of familiarity.