Correction: it is not a 24V system, it's still 12volts. The dual batteries provide more CURRENT to the starter. They are connected in Parallel, not in Series.
Yup. I used to add 30 percent high octane gasoline to the fuel to make our dog pile brown junkyard wrecker crank easier cause the glow plugs quit working long ago. That was actually in the diesel supplement booklet, they could take 30 percent gasoline in the fuel. Wanna create new curse words? Change an injection pump on one in the junkyard with hand tools. I used to pick a car without wheels up, chain the front bumper to the d rings on the bed, then run the winch to the back bumper and tote the whole car to the crush pile and stack them 2 high, riding a wheelie half the time. One thing about a 6.9, everyone heard you coming 10 minutes before you got there.
Correction: That is not a block off for a center A/C vent in the dash. On upper level trim levels (XLT,Lariat ) it would have been home to an optional clock. Love your channel!
Steve is my favorite UA-cam presenter that can make junk sound so interesting. His vast knowledge and enthusiasm makes me one to save these treasures..
All diesel pickup engines (except military variants) are 12 volt systems. The dual batteries in parallel provide the higher amperage necessary to turn the large high torque starter that diesels require.
Enjoy your vids,I was a mechanic at a Post Office garage in 1984 and our medium duty International cargo trucks used that engine,they were overheaters and liked their headgaskets,glow plugs had a habit of swelling and burning up,swelled up they wouldnt come out of the head so off comes the head,the glow plug controller was a bi metal strip affair in a thin cast housing threaded into the rear of a cylinder head,usually it would snap off when you attempted to replace it,spent many a nite replacing those Stanadyne injection pumps and automotive style lift pumps too,I noticed the pickup you featured had a square hole cut into the air cleaner snorkle,a slick owner modification to inject ether I think.
I currently own a 1988 Ford F250 with the 7.3 IDI engine. I swapped the original motor for a 1991 version as mine was worn out. Those IDI motors are some heavy motors. A dressed 7.3 IDI tips the scales at 1100 lbs! I pulled it with a two ton engine crane. in my driveway. Mine is an XLT Lariat that the original buyer spent some money on. It has A/C, power door locks, power windows, extended cab, 8 foot long bed, carpets, cloth headliner, sliding glass on the rear window, and a small back jump seat. If you ever decided to do a "will it start" video Steve, that would be a good candidate. Those motors were tough and reliable although gutless.
The GM competitor was the Detroit Diesel 6.2L, released in 1982, so the Olds 5.7 was on its way out. The 6.2 had the same Stanadyne injection pump as the 7.3, each year getting revised, and tuned for military use. The last production number being DB2-4911, that was used on the late 6.2's and very early 6.5's that came after. There's a whole laundry list of Stanadyne injection pumps, compared to the more rarer P7100 Bosch injection pumps used on Cummins. If you're in a SHTF situation, with humvees roaming around, there's a chance several of them will still have the 6.2 Detroits, and since they're fully mechanical, are pretty much EMP proof. They use the Chevy engine mount and bellhousing bolt pattern, so they'll swap where small block V8s can fit easily.
The IPs on 6.2s and 6.5s rotate in the opposite direction of the pumps on the IH IDIs. I have an 86 Military Chevy K30 with a 6.2 and an 88 1 ton dually also with a 6.2. Gutless but reliable.
@@justinstearns9723 turbos really bring out the performance potential it should've had back in the 80s. What's nice is military crate engines are still available, a whole set of brand new pistons with rods installed can be had for $75!
I remember owning an 84 F250, about the thing in late 2012 for $1500 however it wasn't a diesel but a 351 Windsor with a 3 speed automatic, pretty strong truck for what it was and I was happy with it.
The empty spots above the radio are for an optional digital clock. Had a 1982 Ford bronco XLT lariat that had one. The AC vents would have been on either side of the speedometer cluster and there would have been two on the passenger side one on each side above the glove box. It's odd that a diesel truck doesn't have AC because AC usually works really well on a diesel engine!
The 420 cubic inch 6.9, the 444 cubic inch 7.3, and the quite rare (and often never heard of to some) factory turbo 7.: IDI International diesel engines. I absolutely LOVE these engines! Yeah sure they may be slow compared to modern diesels, but they had GOBS of low end torque and could easily last many hundreds of thousands of miles with nothing more than regular oil and filter changes. The factory turbo 7.3 is golden hen to find. Was a bit more than just a turbo on a stock 7.3, this one had others goodies such as better valves fitted to it to make it run better with the turbo. And could easily run with, last as long as, and get just as good as mileage as the good ol 12 valve Cummins in the Dodges of the day. (GM didn’t really have an answer until the GM/Isuzu Duramax as the 6.2-6.5 were just not in the same league as the Ford and Dodge at the time) What is a shame is that Ford purposely fitted a very restrictive downpipe to the factory turbo IDI 7.3 to make the upcoming DI (before they came up with the “Powerstroke” name) 7.3 due out the following year in mid 94. But even with the very restricted downpipe the IDI turbo actually made more low end torque than the first Powerstroke, and with that restriction taken out made just as much power (and according to some even more than) as the first Powerstroke 7.3. That turbo IDI was one hell of an engine, and one that many never even heard of sadly. But one thing most have heard is the growl of an IDI diesel. In my opinion it’s still the best sounding diesel (especially with a factory exhaust) ever fitted to a pickup. And trust me if you see a factory turbo IDI 7.3 out there, snag it up! You will not regret it! Thanks
Here is a wealth of information about the factory turbo IDI 7.3 for anyone interested mid-atlanticema.org/wp-content/uploads/93-94-7.3-IDI-Turbocharged-Diesel-Engine.pdf
@@dragon81heart Thanks for this. Very interesting. I have a 1988 F350, 6wd, C6 Auto, Gear Venders Overdrive, 7.3 IDI that I put the Banks Sidewinder System and their 3 inch exhaust system. To say that it woke that motor up is an understatement. Wow! Its a dump truck so I did not turn the pump up above what Banks recommended and still will pull down a house. Had to upgrade to the hydro boost brake system after that. Richard
Those 3 rectangles in the middle of the top of the dash were never vents for the A/C. The optional digital clock went there with the buttons to set the time and run the stop watch. The A/C if equipped came out of 4 vents in the dash. Two vertical vents on the drivers side and two horizontal on the passenger side. I had a fully loaded 1985 f150 xlt lariat with the 5.0 efi for 17 years. I would still have it today if it were not for the salt on the roads from the Canadian winters.
I remember those Ford's with the 6.9L and 7.3L IH diesel motors. During the early '90s I worked for a dealership that specialized in buying and reselling the used trucks. Whenever the boss bought a truck...no matter if it needed it or not...we would pull the motor; year it down; machine the block, heads and crank; clean and paint the painted parts (grey); put it back together and reinstall it. I had 3 distinct jobs: be the guy doing all the underneath things when removing/installing; tear the engine down; and clean and paint the parts. We had one guy who did all of the actual engine rebuilding. One of the "real" mechanics did all the stuff up top during removal/installing..... I'm sure it probably doesn't sound fast or impressive to most people (especially mechanics). But the "real" mechanic and I (after working together about a month), got into a good enough rhythm, that we could drive a truck into the shop; remove the hood and motor; reinstall a rebuilt motor and the hood; and drive the truck back onto the dealership lot, within 1-1/2 hours. (We thought that was a pretty decent time.😁)
My friend's dad had an 84 diesel dually... I never saw or heard it run. It was pretty old and used when he got it. An original Ford HU with tape in an old pickup, that's got to be rare!
My dad had an ‘84 when I was young and up to around 2001 I believe. It was an extended cab, had a tall camper shell and an awesome 10’ whip antenna that whacked the garage. Of course it had extruded aluminum running boards and a flat bug shield. He did the fender rust repair and painted the whole truck red again one summer. At one point the block cracked and we took the engine to some Minneapolis truck shop to have it stitch pinned back together. I think it had the nicer radio as shown here and maybe air conditioning. Manual transmission that the dog would always whack into and pop out of gear going down the road. Got about the same fuel economy towing a camper or empty. I think eventually the brakes needed constant repairs and the price of diesel by that time wasn’t cheaper than gas any longer. A great era for trucks in my opinion. Every part on the Pep Boys “Help!” wall fits trucks of that time ha. Thanks for the memories Steve
Ah yes I had a full size 84 gmc Jimmy with a 6.2...those early model 700r4 trans in them were bad though...in 160k miles i replaced it 2xs and had to fix a broken mode fork in the transfer case but as loud as that eng was, It had no problems pulling my other cars out of mud and/or snow.
I always loved the sound of those old idi’s. My uncle had an 86 f-250 extended cab, 4x4 with a manual trans with a gear vendors overdrive for freeway cruising. It was red with a tan interior. He daily drove it for almost 20 years. He sold it years ago and I sure would love to have it back.
With a modicum of general maint these things are beasts and can run for ages. Growing up my neighbor bought a brand new 84 or 85 f350, crew cab, 4wd, long bed, with a 5 speed. Last I saw it in the late 90s or early 2000's they still had it and it was nearing 700k miles. A few injection pumps, bunches of glow plugs and controlers, but it still hauled loads, made big road trips and as a kid I recall him revelling in his routine 20 mpg fuel consumption, which was a massive improvement over their previous truck....a tin grill 77-ish small block stick equipped Dodge Power Wagon 4x4 with the extended cab and jump seats. Both very cool trucks.
I just finished restoring a 86 f250 4x4 with the 6.9 diesel engine. Love driving that truck those 6.9 engines will run forever they don't like pulling hills. But very cheap and easy to work on
I remember my uncle and his father-in-law. My uncle had a 77 GMC 1ton Dually with the 454 and his Father-In-Law had a 84 Ford 1ton Dually with the 6.9L. They both had nearly the same camper in the bed. My uncles 77 looked like a hotrod next to the Ford. However my uncle burnt about double the fuel doing it.
A guy just gave me a 1991 that is in excellent shape body wise. Even the bed has no rust inside with original paint. There was a shell installed over that kept it dry. It does run but some leaves allowed moisture to enter at the air filter by capillary action. The engine oil is still nice and black, but there is rusty push rods under the valve covers. If it needs new heads, we are still only looking at a thousand for rebuilds.
Liked the 8 lug hub. My first truck and just a beast. Hauled a pallet load of cinder blocks and could still do highway speed. Only thing I didn''t like was friends always asking for help to move lol They were real work trucks.
Back in the mid 80's I was working for a mid west manufacturer of coal mine equipment and they had a F350 diesel with a custom flatbed that they used for expedited parts delivery for their products. I remember getting in it when it was -20 F turning the key and the glow plug light was only on maybe 2-3 seconds and it started. It was a good engine. Reliable, economic to run with plenty of power. Everything GM pickup truck diesels of the era were not. The engine in that truck died at 400 K when one of the kids that worked part time over heated the engine and warped the block and heads.
I worked in a radiator shop back in those days and we used to get a lot of the early Ford diesels for flushing the cooling systems. The engine mounted oil cooler would leak and pump the cooling system full of nasty diesel oil. We would flush the system and then drain it and fill it with mineral spirits and bring it up to temp and run it awhile, then drain and flush again. Most of the time it took two or three of these cycles to get it clean. Retired now and just pull wrenches for fun projects.
Solid old truck...built in Oakville ON judging by the build plate (Canada for sure ...just not 100% sure which Ford of Canada facility had the pickup line. I know here in Oshawa we built full size Chevy and GMC pickups
Spent many hours plowing snow in the wee hours at the Ford Dealership that I was employed at when the 6.9 diesel came out. It was a workhorse...and I loaded it up with options when I ordered my personal demonstrator.
I'm the original owner of my 83 F250 6.9/T19 pickup. I was a dealership mechanic when it came out in 83 and just had to have one. I haven't been disappointed but would add a turbo and 5 speed or Gear Vendors if I wanted to improve it. I got 20 mpg towing a 15' travel trailer 700 miles round trip from Flagstaff to Albuquerque on a family vacation. It's been a dead reliable truck. A note about the starter; early versions had a Delco starter. After a couple years they switched to a Mitsubishi starter that required a different ring gear. When the supply of Delco starters dried up it was an expensive proposition to switch over. Another note; the radiator is so large because a precombustion engine puts more heat into the cooling system. They are less thermally efficient than a direct injection engine but the tradeoff is a "softer" combustion event that designers can design components down to to save money. Love your junkyard crawls.
@@willhorting5317 They did. And mine lasted about 30 years before failing. Luckily I had a spare squirreled away and didn't have to try to get the old one overhauled.
I used to have an '83 just like that, same color and patina! Had god knows how many hundred thousand miles. On a warm day, you could just bump the key and it would start cold. On a cold day, you had to bribe it with ether, and pray two batteries is enough. Upon starting you're met with instant smoke screen feature - you are now invisible to anybody behind you. And that roar that sounds like a 47 liter locomotive idling. And the 85mph speedo...LOL! I was lucky if I could hit 60 tops. Remember, no OD....
Drove a 1986 model for an RV dealership in Vegas. Save $ on Gas spend it on clutches. Hauled 5th wheel trailers All over the Southwest with that truck very slowly
Steve thank you for always sharing the knowledge you have of vehicles. I love the videos they are so educational and enlightening always look forward to seeing each video daily thank you!
I luv the way Steve jus dives right on in there , ozzie's , me anyway step abit more careful jumpin round ol' bush car bodies. Lest we become one ourselves. Luv ya work mate.
Steve you & I both remember those trucks new. LOL I have always love the 80 through 86 Ford trucks, they had great styling & I loved the dash lay out. Great video
Fords diesel powered cars of that time also had a diesel owners supplement guide in along with the regular guide. The escort/lynx had their own and tempo/topaz diesels had one. Also having the diesel badge on both sides just behind front wheel arches.
My dad had an 83' F250 Supercab with a 6.9/C6, it was slow, loud, leaked about 2 quarts of oil a week, and got 20 mpg somehow. Was a really reliable truck unless it was cold.
You had to have the only one my dad and both my mom's uncles had those engine in there trucks(my dad) others were in olds delta 98 both olds cars had there motors replaced B4 20000ml dad had it bought back under our states 🍋 law
It seemed like the oil patch switched to diesel pick-ups as though they were a status symbol even if the extra tow power wasn't needed. That stopped when they found out how much more the maintenance costs were, especially as the injection systems got more complicated....For heavy hauling diesel is the only way to go
I picked up an 84' F250 Diesel for $500 bucks about a year ago. All it needed was the lift pump and the routine maintenance, (glow plugs, fuel return lines) Mine is an A/C truck and it has a granny 4-speed in it...will pull anything I want it too as long as I'm not in a hurry and I can forget about taking it on the highway absolute top speed on the old beast is about 70 mph and it sounds like its coming apart when your going that fast! Also a fun fact Dodge had a diesel in the late 70s too...but It only lasted I think mabey 3 years? It wasn't a Cummins though it was a Mitsubishi engine Pretty rare truck to find these days though...
Only GM military rigs were 24 volt, M1009 Blazer, M1008, M1028, etc. All civillian things were 12 volt. 1st Gen Dodge's only used 1 battery with the Cummins.
@@kentlange5338 He does get some things wrong here and there, but we're all human. He's doing a lot of it from memory and in a short video segment. I cut him some slack on the mistakes.
Echo & The Bunnymen. I didn't expect that. One of my favorite bands from back in the day. I saw them at the Boston opera house in 1984. Back in the late 80s, I drove a 1986 F350 wrecker on occasion. Nice truck but no balls when towing. Pulling up a hill on route 1 was tedious. Later I drove school busses. One had a 6.9 and the other one was the 7.3. Both were decent. I liked driving the older one (1985 I think) because it had a slightly better turning radius. The front wheels seemed to cut more for some reason. 🤔
I had an F250 6.9 4x4 XLT Lariat in high school. I abused it at times lol you could seriously over rev them like crazy. I wrecked it unfortunately around 450k it lasted along time
Back in the day, I spent the better part of a year driving an ‘87 F250 Supercab with the 6.9, towing an 18’ enclosed trailer. On a truck scale, the entire rig weighed in around 11,500#. The truck had a 3 speed C6 automatic and 3:73 gears. I put 75,000 miles on it in that one year. As you might imagine, they were slow miles. But I will say, even though I was running flat out for much of the time, the truck pulled down around 12 mpg. Empty, which didn’t happen often, it would get high teens mpg.
Hold it, that block off plate you pointed out is for the factory clock option. The A/C vents were cut into the dash, just below the dash pad if memory serves.
Somehow I fail to get excited by such vehicles. Nevertheless Steve, your channel rocks! I'm waiting for the day you start working on the Remcharger '62 Dodge and give us regular updates via this channel. That, needless to say, _will_ "excite" me. 😀
This is a 1985 F250 made in October 1984, not a 1984 model year, so it's the third year of the IHC/Ford partnered diesel engine. That partnership would continue for years only being severed in the past few years due to a cost dispute between Navistar (who is now owned by VW) and Ford. As noted by others, GM came out with the Detroit Diesel (then a part of a GM) 6.2L engine in 1982. We got the VIN, we win: 2FT for Canada made Ford truck, complete vehicle, H for 8,500 to 9,001 pound Gross Vehicle Weight rating, F25 for F-250 2WD pickup, 1 for 6.9L V8 International sourced diesel engine, then a check digit that's hard to read, F for the 1985 model year, C for Oakville, Ontario Canada Truck assembly and the rest is the production sequence. The Oakville, Ontario plant that produced this truck opened in 1965 and closed in 2004, however, there is a current Ontario Ford plant on this same site that still operates today. We got the tag, we can brag: 4A for Dark Teal Metallic exterior paint, 133 for the truck's wheelbase in inches, F257 for F-250 pickup body style, BA4 should be for all black vinyl interior trim, K for three speed C6 automatic transmission, 73 for 3.54:1 Dana Spicer rear axle, non-locking, G and K are front and rear axle codes that are related to certain part numbers, and 11 for Boston, MA sales district.
Dosent this truck have a 3 speed automatic, not a 4 speed? Do these share a bell housing with the C6 for Ford big blocks? So they ordered a fancy AM/FM/ cassette radio, the diesel engine, and automatic trans. I wonder if being Canadian produced it came with a factory installed engine block heater?
@@WildBill236 Yup, I went back and it's a code "K" on the label for the transmission which is a three speed C6 automatic. I somehow had "X" in my head which is for a four speed manual. I corrected that. A block heater would be an option more than likely. If not from Ford directly, through their accessories catalog at the time. I do not believe that the C6 from a gas engine will fit the diesel where the C6 was fitted (at least not without modification) from what I remember reading.
I bought a new one 84,was a $5k option, 4 speed manual 3.54 gears. Nice truck but pretty weak compared to today's oil burners. Diesel option got you the faux wood grain dash at the one your showing was on the 85 and up where 83-84 shared a darker version. Diesel technology has come a long way but mostly in the area of horsepower not so much in the gains of mpg's. The truck you illustrated was a solid 18mpg with 170hp where a modern day diesels are well over 400hp and you'd be lucky to get 18mpg out of them.
Correction: it is not a 24V system, it's still 12volts. The dual batteries provide more CURRENT to the starter. They are connected in Parallel, not in Series.
That is correct.
Correct
Interesting. Our 81 Chevrolet diesel had a 24v starter. Two 12v in series.
anyone else notice the square ether port cut into the intake tube? #cosbysauce
I thought of you right away! MINT!
Makes it easy to get CO2 in when she decides to runaway!
Yup. I used to add 30 percent high octane gasoline to the fuel to make our dog pile brown junkyard wrecker crank easier cause the glow plugs quit working long ago. That was actually in the diesel supplement booklet, they could take 30 percent gasoline in the fuel. Wanna create new curse words? Change an injection pump on one in the junkyard with hand tools. I used to pick a car without wheels up, chain the front bumper to the d rings on the bed, then run the winch to the back bumper and tote the whole car to the crush pile and stack them 2 high, riding a wheelie half the time. One thing about a 6.9, everyone heard you coming 10 minutes before you got there.
Minty cold starts for the old farts .
LMAO I just commented Peg's favorite engine and here you are.
Ford Still remains the best truck manufacturer 70 years later.......
Correction: That is not a block off for a center A/C vent in the dash. On upper level trim levels (XLT,Lariat ) it would have been home to an optional clock. Love your channel!
I had a 1986 F-350 6.9 diesel with a 4 speed in high school. I loved that truck and wish I still had it. Great video.
Steve is my favorite UA-cam presenter that can make junk sound so interesting. His vast knowledge and enthusiasm makes me one to save these treasures..
All diesel pickup engines (except military variants) are 12 volt systems. The dual batteries in parallel provide the higher amperage necessary to turn the large high torque starter that diesels require.
You're correct. But, you'll never get a correction from Steve.
@@kentlange5338 Yup. He's kind of earned his egotistical right tho so I hope it would be read by someone who needs to know.
Love me a good old IDI! I've got a couple 7.3 IDIs, and while they may not be fast. They are certainly determined.
Enjoy your vids,I was a mechanic at a Post Office garage in 1984 and our medium duty International cargo trucks used that engine,they were overheaters and liked their headgaskets,glow plugs had a habit of swelling and burning up,swelled up they wouldnt come out of the head so off comes the head,the glow plug controller was a bi metal strip affair in a thin cast housing threaded into the rear of a cylinder head,usually it would snap off when you attempted to replace it,spent many a nite replacing those Stanadyne injection pumps and automotive style lift pumps too,I noticed the pickup you featured had a square hole cut into the air cleaner snorkle,a slick owner modification to inject ether I think.
I currently own a 1988 Ford F250 with the 7.3 IDI engine. I swapped the original motor for a 1991 version as mine was worn out. Those IDI motors are some heavy motors. A dressed 7.3 IDI tips the scales at 1100 lbs! I pulled it with a two ton engine crane. in my driveway. Mine is an XLT Lariat that the original buyer spent some money on. It has A/C, power door locks, power windows, extended cab, 8 foot long bed, carpets, cloth headliner, sliding glass on the rear window, and a small back jump seat. If you ever decided to do a "will it start" video Steve, that would be a good candidate. Those motors were tough and reliable although gutless.
And you needed 40 acres to turn the xlt used the same steering box as the standard cab I had a 76 460 gas hog f250 then I bought a 87 f250 diesal
Sad to see that blue super coupe in the bone yard, love those cars!
The GM competitor was the Detroit Diesel 6.2L, released in 1982, so the Olds 5.7 was on its way out. The 6.2 had the same Stanadyne injection pump as the 7.3, each year getting revised, and tuned for military use. The last production number being DB2-4911, that was used on the late 6.2's and very early 6.5's that came after. There's a whole laundry list of Stanadyne injection pumps, compared to the more rarer P7100 Bosch injection pumps used on Cummins. If you're in a SHTF situation, with humvees roaming around, there's a chance several of them will still have the 6.2 Detroits, and since they're fully mechanical, are pretty much EMP proof. They use the Chevy engine mount and bellhousing bolt pattern, so they'll swap where small block V8s can fit easily.
The IPs on 6.2s and 6.5s rotate in the opposite direction of the pumps on the IH IDIs. I have an 86 Military Chevy K30 with a 6.2 and an 88 1 ton dually also with a 6.2. Gutless but reliable.
@@justinstearns9723 turbos really bring out the performance potential it should've had back in the 80s. What's nice is military crate engines are still available, a whole set of brand new pistons with rods installed can be had for $75!
I remember owning an 84 F250, about the thing in late 2012 for $1500 however it wasn't a diesel but a 351 Windsor with a 3 speed automatic, pretty strong truck for what it was and I was happy with it.
The empty spots above the radio are for an optional digital clock. Had a 1982 Ford bronco XLT lariat that had one. The AC vents would have been on either side of the speedometer cluster and there would have been two on the passenger side one on each side above the glove box. It's odd that a diesel truck doesn't have AC because AC usually works really well on a diesel engine!
@Bennet Fox Yep. You beat me to it.
Yup, you both beat me to the AC and digital clock.
Also the top left slot is where the orange 4x4 light would be to indicate when in 4 wheel I believe
The 420 cubic inch 6.9, the 444 cubic inch 7.3, and the quite rare (and often never heard of to some) factory turbo 7.: IDI International diesel engines.
I absolutely LOVE these engines!
Yeah sure they may be slow compared to modern diesels, but they had GOBS of low end torque and could easily last many hundreds of thousands of miles with nothing more than regular oil and filter changes.
The factory turbo 7.3 is golden hen to find. Was a bit more than just a turbo on a stock 7.3, this one had others goodies such as better valves fitted to it to make it run better with the turbo.
And could easily run with, last as long as, and get just as good as mileage as the good ol 12 valve Cummins in the Dodges of the day. (GM didn’t really have an answer until the GM/Isuzu Duramax as the 6.2-6.5 were just not in the same league as the Ford and Dodge at the time)
What is a shame is that Ford purposely fitted a very restrictive downpipe to the factory turbo IDI 7.3 to make the upcoming DI (before they came up with the “Powerstroke” name) 7.3 due out the following year in mid 94. But even with the very restricted downpipe the IDI turbo actually made more low end torque than the first Powerstroke, and with that restriction taken out made just as much power (and according to some even more than) as the first Powerstroke 7.3.
That turbo IDI was one hell of an engine, and one that many never even heard of sadly.
But one thing most have heard is the growl of an IDI diesel. In my opinion it’s still the best sounding diesel (especially with a factory exhaust) ever fitted to a pickup.
And trust me if you see a factory turbo IDI 7.3 out there, snag it up!
You will not regret it!
Thanks
Here is a wealth of information about the factory turbo IDI 7.3 for anyone interested
mid-atlanticema.org/wp-content/uploads/93-94-7.3-IDI-Turbocharged-Diesel-Engine.pdf
@@dragon81heart Thanks for this. Very interesting. I have a 1988 F350, 6wd, C6 Auto, Gear Venders Overdrive, 7.3 IDI that I put the Banks Sidewinder System and their 3 inch exhaust system. To say that it woke that motor up is an understatement. Wow! Its a dump truck so I did not turn the pump up above what Banks recommended and still will pull down a house. Had to upgrade to the hydro boost brake system after that. Richard
Those 3 rectangles in the middle of the top of the dash were never vents for the A/C. The optional digital clock went there with the buttons to set the time and run the stop watch. The A/C if equipped came out of 4 vents in the dash. Two vertical vents on the drivers side and two horizontal on the passenger side. I had a fully loaded 1985 f150 xlt lariat with the 5.0 efi for 17 years. I would still have it today if it were not for the salt on the roads from the Canadian winters.
I remember those Ford's with the 6.9L and 7.3L IH diesel motors. During the early '90s I worked for a dealership that specialized in buying and reselling the used trucks. Whenever the boss bought a truck...no matter if it needed it or not...we would pull the motor; year it down; machine the block, heads and crank; clean and paint the painted parts (grey); put it back together and reinstall it. I had 3 distinct jobs: be the guy doing all the underneath things when removing/installing; tear the engine down; and clean and paint the parts. We had one guy who did all of the actual engine rebuilding. One of the "real" mechanics did all the stuff up top during removal/installing..... I'm sure it probably doesn't sound fast or impressive to most people (especially mechanics). But the "real" mechanic and I (after working together about a month), got into a good enough rhythm, that we could drive a truck into the shop; remove the hood and motor; reinstall a rebuilt motor and the hood; and drive the truck back onto the dealership lot, within 1-1/2 hours. (We thought that was a pretty decent time.😁)
So like usual
@@chuckb9867 if you say so.😎
That is a great time. I know what you mean about the rhythm.
@@shaggydogg630 😎
Smoking already
they were a 12 volt system the batteries were hooked up in parallel the 2 batteries were used for more cranking amps
Ya he got that wrong.
@@chrisleggett685 no I don't just because there are 2 batteries don't make it 24 volts measure the voltage at the starter
My friend's dad had an 84 diesel dually... I never saw or heard it run. It was pretty old and used when he got it. An original Ford HU with tape in an old pickup, that's got to be rare!
My dad had an ‘84 when I was young and up to around 2001 I believe. It was an extended cab, had a tall camper shell and an awesome 10’ whip antenna that whacked the garage. Of course it had extruded aluminum running boards and a flat bug shield. He did the fender rust repair and painted the whole truck red again one summer. At one point the block cracked and we took the engine to some Minneapolis truck shop to have it stitch pinned back together. I think it had the nicer radio as shown here and maybe air conditioning. Manual transmission that the dog would always whack into and pop out of gear going down the road. Got about the same fuel economy towing a camper or empty. I think eventually the brakes needed constant repairs and the price of diesel by that time wasn’t cheaper than gas any longer. A great era for trucks in my opinion. Every part on the Pep Boys “Help!” wall fits trucks of that time ha. Thanks for the memories Steve
You mentioned the GM 5.7 diesel. Let’s not forget the lovely 6.2 diesel.
Ah yes I had a full size 84 gmc Jimmy with a 6.2...those early model 700r4 trans in them were bad though...in 160k miles i replaced it 2xs and had to fix a broken mode fork in the transfer case but as loud as that eng was, It had no problems pulling my other cars out of mud and/or snow.
We had over 1 million miles on a horse farm first gen f250 diesel. It was always on life support, but would not die
I always loved the sound of those old idi’s. My uncle had an 86 f-250 extended cab, 4x4 with a manual trans with a gear vendors overdrive for freeway cruising. It was red with a tan interior. He daily drove it for almost 20 years. He sold it years ago and I sure would love to have it back.
With a modicum of general maint these things are beasts and can run for ages. Growing up my neighbor bought a brand new 84 or 85 f350, crew cab, 4wd, long bed, with a 5 speed. Last I saw it in the late 90s or early 2000's they still had it and it was nearing 700k miles. A few injection pumps, bunches of glow plugs and controlers, but it still hauled loads, made big road trips and as a kid I recall him revelling in his routine 20 mpg fuel consumption, which was a massive improvement over their previous truck....a tin grill 77-ish small block stick equipped Dodge Power Wagon 4x4 with the extended cab and jump seats. Both very cool trucks.
I like the aftermarket port for the starting fluid!
I just finished restoring a 86 f250 4x4 with the 6.9 diesel engine. Love driving that truck those 6.9 engines will run forever they don't like pulling hills. But very cheap and easy to work on
Steve, You are my Junkyard Hero! I appreciate your willingness to get grease and dirt all over your hands and arms.
I had one just like this. Went through 5 engines in 7 year's of ownership. Got a 94 Chevy 6.5 in 2004, still driving it with the same engine.
I remember my uncle and his father-in-law. My uncle had a 77 GMC 1ton Dually with the 454 and his Father-In-Law had a 84 Ford 1ton Dually with the 6.9L. They both had nearly the same camper in the bed. My uncles 77 looked like a hotrod next to the Ford. However my uncle burnt about double the fuel doing it.
Had a 85 and 86 f250 4x4 6.9 very dependable trucks,both of them had close to 300k,sold both of them 2 weeks ago, still have my 90 7.3 idi good trucks
These things sound great with an open exhaust!
BTW, I think the starter is 12V Steve. 2 batts for lots of current and running the glow plugs.
As far as I know starter runs 12v but the glow plugs run 6 volt on 6.9s
I always thought you would be an Echo And The Bunnymen kind of guy. Love watching you and learning from you.
The IH idi is basically a IH mv404 gas motor with diesel heads just like the 350 olds diesel
A guy just gave me a 1991 that is in excellent shape body wise. Even the bed has no rust inside with original paint. There was a shell installed over that kept it dry.
It does run but some leaves allowed moisture to enter at the air filter by capillary action. The engine oil is still nice and black, but there is rusty push rods under the valve covers. If it needs new heads, we are still only looking at a thousand for rebuilds.
Steve, I love how you make all the vehicles seem so enticing. I was about to get my checkbook out at the end of the video.
Liked the 8 lug hub. My first truck and just a beast. Hauled a pallet load of cinder blocks and could still do highway speed. Only thing I didn''t like was friends always asking for help to move lol They were real work trucks.
Back in the mid 80's I was working for a mid west manufacturer of coal mine equipment and they had a F350 diesel with a custom flatbed that they used for expedited parts delivery for their products. I remember getting in it when it was -20 F turning the key and the glow plug light was only on maybe 2-3 seconds and it started. It was a good engine. Reliable, economic to run with plenty of power. Everything GM pickup truck diesels of the era were not. The engine in that truck died at 400 K when one of the kids that worked part time over heated the engine and warped the block and heads.
I worked in a radiator shop back in those days and we used to get a lot of the early Ford diesels for flushing the cooling systems. The engine mounted oil cooler would leak and pump the cooling system full of nasty diesel oil. We would flush the system and then drain it and fill it with mineral spirits and bring it up to temp and run it awhile, then drain and flush again. Most of the time it took two or three of these cycles to get it clean. Retired now and just pull wrenches for fun projects.
Steve is a walking encyclopedia of vehicles! Thank you for junk yard crawl
I love watching Steve go through a yard and pick out vehicles. Grease on his hands and arms you can tell he gets right into it
It's got the *EXTRA* full-float axle....even floats from side to side! 🤣
Steve,you are a walking encyclopedia!!!
Solid old truck...built in Oakville ON judging by the build plate (Canada for sure ...just not 100% sure which Ford of Canada facility had the pickup line. I know here in Oshawa we built full size Chevy and GMC pickups
Spent many hours plowing snow in the wee hours at the Ford Dealership that I was employed at when the 6.9 diesel came out. It was a workhorse...and I loaded it up with options when I ordered my personal demonstrator.
By far one of my favorite videos, thanks Steve
back in the day, banks turbos made a turbo kit for these i think there called the "Banks Sidewinder".
I'm the original owner of my 83 F250 6.9/T19 pickup. I was a dealership mechanic when it came out in 83 and just had to have one. I haven't been disappointed but would add a turbo and 5 speed or Gear Vendors if I wanted to improve it.
I got 20 mpg towing a 15' travel trailer 700 miles round trip from Flagstaff to Albuquerque on a family vacation. It's been a dead reliable truck.
A note about the starter; early versions had a Delco starter. After a couple years they switched to a Mitsubishi starter that required a different ring gear. When the supply of Delco starters dried up it was an expensive proposition to switch over.
Another note; the radiator is so large because a precombustion engine puts more heat into the cooling system. They are less thermally efficient than a direct injection engine but the tradeoff is a "softer" combustion event that designers can design components down to to save money.
Love your junkyard crawls.
Wow, I never knew that Ford ever used Delco starters!🤯
@@willhorting5317 They did. And mine lasted about 30 years before failing. Luckily I had a spare squirreled away and didn't have to try to get the old one overhauled.
@@paulolson734 👍
I used to have an '83 just like that, same color and patina! Had god knows how many hundred thousand miles. On a warm day, you could just bump the key and it would start cold. On a cold day, you had to bribe it with ether, and pray two batteries is enough.
Upon starting you're met with instant smoke screen feature - you are now invisible to anybody behind you. And that roar that sounds like a 47 liter locomotive idling.
And the 85mph speedo...LOL! I was lucky if I could hit 60 tops. Remember, no OD....
I had an 83 bull nose extended cab with a 300 i6. That thing I swear would climb a tree if it could get traction.
A company I worked for had a one ton dually with a steel bed, and a 300 six. It actually ran quite well
I've had 1986 ford f250 long bed ext cab lariat 2wd. diesel needs lotta amps to start.
Drove a 1986 model for an RV dealership in Vegas. Save $ on Gas spend it on clutches. Hauled 5th wheel trailers All over the Southwest with that truck very slowly
That truck was built in Canada I noticed it on the sticker when you were looking at the rear gear ratio. Very Interesting
Steve thank you for always sharing the knowledge you have of vehicles. I love the videos they are so educational and enlightening always look forward to seeing each video daily thank you!
Two batteries not just for the starter motor but the glow plugs too.
Had an '88 f250 4x4 diesel. Great work truck.
I luv the way Steve jus dives right on in there , ozzie's , me anyway step abit more careful jumpin round ol' bush car bodies. Lest we become one ourselves. Luv ya work mate.
Steve you & I both remember those trucks new. LOL
I have always love the 80 through 86 Ford trucks, they had great styling & I loved the dash lay out.
Great video
Fords diesel powered cars of that time also had a diesel owners supplement guide in along with the regular guide. The escort/lynx had their own and tempo/topaz diesels had one. Also having the diesel badge on both sides just behind front wheel arches.
My dad had an 83' F250 Supercab with a 6.9/C6, it was slow, loud, leaked about 2 quarts of oil a week, and got 20 mpg somehow. Was a really reliable truck unless it was cold.
Love this channel and your knowledge Steve!
That 350 Olds conversion motor was a beast, it ran like a champ, I had one, and remember starting it up, it had a clitter clutter sound.
You had to have the only one my dad and both my mom's uncles had those engine in there trucks(my dad) others were in olds delta 98 both olds cars had there motors replaced B4 20000ml dad had it bought back under our states 🍋 law
The man is simply a wealth of knowledge on all things automotive history ..
Great job Steve you're the man 🤠 get R done😎✌️
It seemed like the oil patch switched to diesel pick-ups as though they were a status symbol even if the extra tow power wasn't needed. That stopped when they found out how much more the maintenance costs were, especially as the injection systems got more complicated....For heavy hauling diesel is the only way to go
I have a 1988 6.9 IDI diesel engine with only 95k miles in my Chinook motorhome. Probably a unicorn in today's world.
Ya ya ya Steve love Love your channel , show us production of your POLICE car recreation , we’re watching !
Built in Oakville Ontario Canada saw the silver maple leaf sticker above the vin tag 🇨🇦
U-Haul specials , all the uhauls in our town had that motor, pretty bulletproof.
Dodge had a diesel in the D series trucks in 1977 using Mitsubishi diesels.
They were also available in the early B van/ RVs. I’ve only seen one in person. I think it was a 72.
Yeah they did but the sucked bad way worse than that damn thing olds made
I picked up an 84' F250 Diesel for $500 bucks about a year ago. All it needed was the lift pump and the routine maintenance, (glow plugs, fuel return lines) Mine is an A/C truck and it has a granny 4-speed in it...will pull anything I want it too as long as I'm not in a hurry and I can forget about taking it on the highway absolute top speed on the old beast is about 70 mph and it sounds like its coming apart when your going that fast! Also a fun fact Dodge had a diesel in the late 70s too...but It only lasted I think mabey 3 years? It wasn't a Cummins though it was a Mitsubishi engine Pretty rare truck to find these days though...
Only GM military rigs were 24 volt, M1009 Blazer, M1008, M1028, etc. All civillian things were 12 volt. 1st Gen Dodge's only used 1 battery with the Cummins.
This guy constantly gets things wrong. You're correct.
@@kentlange5338 He does get some things wrong here and there, but we're all human. He's doing a lot of it from memory and in a short video segment. I cut him some slack on the mistakes.
Thank you Steve Get well soon
Echo & The Bunnymen. I didn't expect that. One of my favorite bands from back in the day. I saw them at the Boston opera house in 1984.
Back in the late 80s, I drove a 1986 F350 wrecker on occasion. Nice truck but no balls when towing. Pulling up a hill on route 1 was tedious.
Later I drove school busses. One had a 6.9 and the other one was the 7.3. Both were decent. I liked driving the older one (1985 I think) because it had a slightly better turning radius. The front wheels seemed to cut more for some reason. 🤔
Echo & The Bunnymen!!👍
Writes notes on the cars.....smart😏
I had an F250 6.9 4x4 XLT Lariat in high school. I abused it at times lol you could seriously over rev them like crazy. I wrecked it unfortunately around 450k it lasted along time
Back in the day, I spent the better part of a year driving an ‘87 F250 Supercab with the 6.9, towing an 18’ enclosed trailer. On a truck scale, the entire rig weighed in around 11,500#. The truck had a 3 speed C6 automatic and 3:73 gears. I put 75,000 miles on it in that one year. As you might imagine, they were slow miles. But I will say, even though I was running flat out for much of the time, the truck pulled down around 12 mpg. Empty, which didn’t happen often, it would get high teens mpg.
Hold it, that block off plate you pointed out is for the factory clock option. The A/C vents were cut into the dash, just below the dash pad if memory serves.
Great trucks. My daily driver is a '87 1 ton dually, 2wd single cab. 6.9/T19 4speed.
Cool, it has a Cosbysauce hole in the intake tube.
Steve, I can't believe you referenced "Echo and the bunnymen".
I drive one every day as a daily . The last year of the idi mine has the factory turbo with a 5 speed.
This is like a library, but 100xs better!
I can smell this trucks interior through the computer screen. Those blanks above the radio weren't for A/C, it was for the optional digital clock
Somehow I fail to get excited by such vehicles. Nevertheless Steve, your channel rocks! I'm waiting for the day you start working on the Remcharger '62 Dodge and give us regular updates via this channel. That, needless to say, _will_ "excite" me. 😀
I had 93 idi wvo and could get 20mpg plus. I had 5.7, 6.9, 7.3 , 6.2 and 6.5. All great for alternative fuels got me through college during Obama area
This is a 1985 F250 made in October 1984, not a 1984 model year, so it's the third year of the IHC/Ford partnered diesel engine. That partnership would continue for years only being severed in the past few years due to a cost dispute between Navistar (who is now owned by VW) and Ford. As noted by others, GM came out with the Detroit Diesel (then a part of a GM) 6.2L engine in 1982.
We got the VIN, we win: 2FT for Canada made Ford truck, complete vehicle, H for 8,500 to 9,001 pound Gross Vehicle Weight rating, F25 for F-250 2WD pickup, 1 for 6.9L V8 International sourced diesel engine, then a check digit that's hard to read, F for the 1985 model year, C for Oakville, Ontario Canada Truck assembly and the rest is the production sequence. The Oakville, Ontario plant that produced this truck opened in 1965 and closed in 2004, however, there is a current Ontario Ford plant on this same site that still operates today.
We got the tag, we can brag: 4A for Dark Teal Metallic exterior paint, 133 for the truck's wheelbase in inches, F257 for F-250 pickup body style, BA4 should be for all black vinyl interior trim, K for three speed C6 automatic transmission, 73 for 3.54:1 Dana Spicer rear axle, non-locking, G and K are front and rear axle codes that are related to certain part numbers, and 11 for Boston, MA sales district.
Dosent this truck have a 3 speed automatic, not a 4 speed? Do these share a bell housing with the C6 for Ford big blocks? So they ordered a fancy AM/FM/ cassette radio, the diesel engine, and automatic trans. I wonder if being Canadian produced it came with a factory installed engine block heater?
@@WildBill236 Yup, I went back and it's a code "K" on the label for the transmission which is a three speed C6 automatic. I somehow had "X" in my head which is for a four speed manual. I corrected that. A block heater would be an option more than likely. If not from Ford directly, through their accessories catalog at the time. I do not believe that the C6 from a gas engine will fit the diesel where the C6 was fitted (at least not without modification) from what I remember reading.
Great video! Who knew that international had anything to do with them earlier diesel ford engines! I didn’t!! Great history lesson!😎👍
I bought a new one 84,was a $5k option, 4 speed manual 3.54 gears. Nice truck but pretty weak compared to today's oil burners.
Diesel option got you the faux wood grain dash at the one your showing was on the 85 and up where 83-84 shared a darker version.
Diesel technology has come a long way but mostly in the area of horsepower not so much in the gains of mpg's.
The truck you illustrated was a solid 18mpg with 170hp where a modern day diesels are well over 400hp and you'd be lucky to get 18mpg out of them.
I learned so much from you Steve..
It does have two 12 volt batteries . The paired batteries are wired parallel , providing 12 volts (not 24 volts)
Echo and the Bunnymen...I wasn't expecting that lol.
The block off above the radio was the clock/calender area.
Center top was not an AC vent. It was used for a digital clock.
My buddy had one with an old banks sidewinder turbo conversion and the rest of the truck was an old man grandpa truck and was wired like one too
I had a 1981 Buick Riviera with the 5.7L diesel. It did not have a lot of torque. It was never able to spin the front tires.
sorry steve but these were 12 volts , i not only worked for ford but had several .
I had the same radio in my '86 Escort.
Those batteries are wired in parallel, not series. They were a 12v system. Dual batteries served to increase cranking amperage.
Echo and the Bunnymen - hilarious.
man I love the IDI so few around here in Aus