I know a local guy here in california that has a 94' F-250 7.5 with 312,000 miles on the odometer with the original engine.

On my 91 F-250 I have 134,000 and I wanted to know what Engine maintenance I should be thinking of doing for the ole' girl. I have asked before but could not get a straight answer as far as worrying about replacing the timing set. Should I do it? I now it is not hard but is it necessary? I just worry about the nylon coating coming off and plugging the oil pickup. Other then that I know I will be doing some gasket replacements and just the normal oil and component changes when necessary. So any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

you are referring to the the timing gears being nylon?,,,pretty sure they were steel gears for that year,,,id worry about broken exhaust manifold bolts get some headers,i have also heard about the oil dipstick rubbing inside the pan leaning on the oil pump pickup tube ,that it actually rubs and makes a hole in it,so i plan on leaving the dipstick out of the tube for now,may by rare for that to happen but iv read some posts some time ago on this,,, i also need a new dipstick tube as i broke mine unrelated,,,went to the dealer they want 100.00 for a new oil dipstick tube;(

 

I know it is probably a bad comparison but the reason I was worried about the timing gear was because a few years ago I worked at a Mobil fast lube and a 70's lincoln with a 460 came in for an oil change knocking. I pulled the oil filter and there were chunks of nylon blocking the oil filters inlet holes. So I just had nightmares of this happening to my engine. I have never heard of the dipstick rubbing on the oil pump pickup tube but I guess it is possible. So now I am in the market fore a new smog pump, got one from napa a few years ago but now it's knocking. So I guess I will bend over and get one from the dealer for around $250.

Other then that I guess the best idea for me is to save for my continuing college education rather then worry about the old girl, but it is hard not to sometimes.

 

Exhaust manifold gaskets are famous for going, but that is usually because folks drive w/ heavy loads and keep the gas mashed heating everything up. But when they go, they usually go pretty bad. Re: the timing gears, they are double row chain and "STEEL".. no nylon in them. Don't know if the water pump is original, but that may be a point to look at, if you do so, that is a good time to do the time chain set. If you are burning a little oil, it may not be rings, but valve guides, time to do a top end, and at that, change out the cam with new lifters along with the timing chain. But if everything appears good, don't fix what ain't broke I say. If you change your radiator, go with a 2 core aluminum, it is large enough, and the aluminum is a super heat dissapator, also the 2 row will allow air to pass through for good cooling and the clutch on the fan won't be engaging all the time which robs power from the engine. I also run a T-stat that is a notch cooler than factory callout, and this keeps the mixture just slightly richer for a bit more power and cooler valves.

If it an automatic, put on an extra trans cooler if you do any towing. Save your pennies for that, they are a somewhat weak link, especially if it is original. Once you do the tranny, make sure all the updates are done, basically, put all the 96 stuff into it. costs a little more, but worth it.

just my 2 cents.
DB916gt
91 F250SC 4WD w/ 460/E4OD/4:10's, Duallied