Anyone want to look at a Ford for me?

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
Looking under the hood of the 6.4L usually is enough to scare most people away. :eek:

You have to "dig" for about an hour before you even can see the engine. They did address much of the 6.0L shortcomings, but added in some others.

The 7.3L is still far and away the best (least troublesome) version. But one of those in good (not beat up or rusted) condition commands a premium, still. The '99-2002 Super Duties around here are very coveted trucks.

Actually the 6.4L really has one major Achilles' Heel: the DPF. Not so much that it HAS a DPF, but the way it does a regen. It cranks the fueling up in #7 and #8 cylinders (the rear ones) and of course sends the turbo into supernova mode. You delete the DPF, remap the ECU to be happy about it, and the turbo will live a happy life. Technically there are two turbochargers.

But they use Siemens commonrail DFI, so no more HEUI issues that the 6.0L had (the 7.3L also used HEUI, but never seemed to have a tenth the issues with it as the 6.0L did).
 
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VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
The 6.0 can be "bulletproofed" for a reasonable sum of money. 7.3s are old and mostly worn out by now. The 6.4 is okay if you delete everything but tragically unreliable if you don't. My money is on the 6.0 due to parts availability, a solid aftermarket repair world, and excellent power and driving characteristics.
 

whitedog

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2004
Location
Bend, Oregon
TDI
2004 Jetta that I fill by myself
Thanks for all the suggestions, guys.

DPF? For some reason, the high desert air makes them fall right off. It's really odd. But now I am looking at this one: http://m.fleets101.com/details.cfm?ID=111829393

The Car Fox says it's a California truck it's whole life. I was thinking it over and with the Jetta, I could drive down there and inspect it for not much more than it would cost to hire a shop to do a pre-order. Then if I want it, I could drop the coin and have them ship it.

I wanted to drive down and get a tow dolly and just push the truck home with the car, but that won't work. If the truck is driven on Ca. roads, I have to pay sales tax of 9%. Running the numbers, it looks like it would be cheaper to have it shipped than pay the sales tax. Of course the Nevada border isn't too far away, do maybe have it delivered to a U-Haul in Nev. and drag the car home from there.

We have been discussing options and the easiest would be to just ship it.

On that truck, notice the kickin' Wilton vice on the back. The thing is, I have one I just paid $300 for, so that could be a bargaining point. $500 off and they keep the vice.

6.0? Sorry. Not going to buy one without a very knowledgeable person inspecting it and even then I would be scared. I looked at an extended cab, 11ft box, crane, hyd. air compressor F450 locally that had been Bulletproofed but still ran like crap. So what if I put injectors in and there are turbo problems. Fix that and find compression bad. Nope. If they would have put in injectors and it ran great, then we could have talked.

I am set on finding a 6.4 and dealing with the radiator and thermostats and radiator hoses and DPFs falling off.

I have seen decent prices on 7.3s, but a box that old is sketchy.
 

whitedog

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2004
Location
Bend, Oregon
TDI
2004 Jetta that I fill by myself
I have a friend. Surprising, isn't it? Anyway he has a 7.3 that must be approaching 750,000 with 5 or 6 original injectors and nothing done to the base engine. I think his serpentine belt went over 400,000 miles. He would have driven it to Texas last week but his brother would rather they take his truck.
 

Curious Chris

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jun 11, 2001
Location
Pineview GA
TDI
Jetta Wagon 2003 RIP Rockford IL
The 7.3 is the simplest of the group. The 6.0 is problematic as it has oil pressure assisted injection that is quirky, get a good one and it runs for ever. Now the 6.4 is a POS as it manages emissions by squirting fuel into the cylnder; and wo be to you if you have have to work on the fuel pump or turbo as that means pull the cab. I worked at Caterpillar Franklin Indiana where we remanufactured all these engine.
 

Andyinchville1

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 7, 2016
Location
Virginia
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI wagon, 5 sp, 226K miles
My 7.3 6 speed manual is definitely not anywhere near worn out at 350k miles ;)

Ahhh you late model 7.3 guys....

I got a moldy oldie with a with a 6.9 turning 535K ;-O

Any Ford engine that is in the 6's NOT ending in a "9" ......RUN

My 2 cents....

Andrew
 

whitedog

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2004
Location
Bend, Oregon
TDI
2004 Jetta that I fill by myself
So I went local from a guy I know. She ain't pretty and she's a gas hog, but I'll make it work for now. 1982 Ford F350, dually, 460 carburator, four speed manual transmission. It has a 3000 lb. crane, two stage gas powered air compressor, Miller 225 gas welder, on a 9 foot box with a horizontal mount for the Oxygen tank.

So far it needs park brake cables, king pins, front brakes, wipers, rear wheel seals, complete service. Secondly, the truck needs new muffler back, rear spring perch, new bearings in the differential, maybe a steering box. I need to buy complete oxy/act. set-up, welding leads with air-conditioning, air hoses, a cheap tool box, sand and paint the tailgate and decals. The safety stuff comes first, then a few of the supplies, and then just pick at things as I go. Lots of little stuff like the right size connector for my 3/4 air gun, a step to climb in, wire in the 110 outlet on the back... The list just goes on, but I'll stretch it out over the next year. Probably add $3-4000 by the time I'm done.

I'll post pictures soon.
 

whitedog

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2004
Location
Bend, Oregon
TDI
2004 Jetta that I fill by myself
So I have been waiting to post any pictures until I got my stickers on.



A better picture of the side door:



He was my great Uncle but I came along well after he died which is why I decided on "In Honor Of..." rather than in memory of...

The list of repairs has been long and some of them have just been annoyances like the loose window regulator knob. Some have been important like windshield wipers and parking brake. New front fuel tank with sender do I can see how fast I burn the gas. I kinda miss working out of the Jetta now that I get about 5 ( five ) MPG:eek:

I still have work to do like replace the rear fuel tank and replace the arm rest and rebuild the front seat and have Ricardo work his magic on the carbonator thing on top of the engine and... and... and...

But it actually runs good. To start it cold it takes three pumps on the gas pedal then hold part throttle for about 30 seconds to get it to idle on it's own. Then it needs to idle for a few minutes before leaving. I found out how spoiled I am with turn key and go.

The loud pedal works well. I had a guy wanting to race me to the merge ahead and when I stepped on the loud pedal, he backed out. Notice I didn't call it the accelerator pedal. Hauling 11,000 pounds, it doesn't accelerate that well, but just the sound got him to back off. LOL.

I do like driving it, though. It's slow and the transmission is clunky as heck and it wanders across the road so bad I get concerned I'm going to get pulled over for DUII, but the engine runs good (when I have gas in the tank) and that clunky trans feels like a real transmission. Also it says to my customers that their money isn't being spent on me being pretty and pretentious.

I did find out the crane isn't a 3000 lb crane. The winch tops out under 2000 pounds and I'm afraid of putting a bigger winch on it. Even though the box below it has been reinforced, it's not attached to the truck frame so I'm a bit leery of putting on more load than what it can currently lift.

And it has a new radio with Bluetooth. My phone's microphone is screwing up so it's actually best if I get in the 35 year old truck and talk on that. Kinda ironic.

I'll get a few more pictures another time.
 

Tdijarhead

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Nov 10, 2013
Location
Lawrenceville PA
TDI
2003 TDI Jetta Daughters Car, 2001 TDI Beetle, Wife’s car, 2005 Golf TDI Mine, all 5 spds
Nice looking truck. They are kinda fun to drive. That looks like it’s in really good shape.

I bought an 84 F250 with a dump box about a year ago. 351w with a 4 speed, 4 barrel Holly, the exact opposite mpg wise as compared to my Golf.

It started life as a F250 but somewhere along the line a 350 rear end was swapped in with additional leaf helper springs, probably about the same time as the dump box. First gear is a granny gear, so for all intents and purposes it’s a three speed. Dual rear wheels. It’s so slow that going down hill with a gale force tail wind and my wife running along behind pushing I can get to 55, sometimes.

They sure are cold blooded, I have a manual choke and you have to let it run for a few minutes before you can go any where. Reminds me of the cars my Dad had over the years when I was a kid.

I can haul just about anything with it but it doesn’t get a lot of use I've had it on the road inspected since February and I’ve only put about 1000 miles on it. 5-10 mpg sounds about right, I’m glad I don’t have to drive it everyday.

Your Uncle being at the “Frozen Chosin” places him in one of the worst and most brutal battles in American history. I had the privilege of meeting one of those Chosin veterans once. They served with Chesty Puller.
 

Tdijarhead

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Nov 10, 2013
Location
Lawrenceville PA
TDI
2003 TDI Jetta Daughters Car, 2001 TDI Beetle, Wife’s car, 2005 Golf TDI Mine, all 5 spds
Does anyone local to you rebuild drive shafts? I had the same problem, fortunately there is a company in our local area that rebuilds and rebalances driveshafts. I think it came to a little over $100.

I tried searching the junkyards but because of the age there wasn’t anything available.
 

whitedog

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2004
Location
Bend, Oregon
TDI
2004 Jetta that I fill by myself
Does anyone local to you rebuild drive shafts? I had the same problem, fortunately there is a company in our local area that rebuilds and rebalances driveshafts. I think it came to a little over $100.

I tried searching the junkyards but because of the age there wasn’t anything available.
Yep. A local driveline builder was one of my first thoughts when I saw it. They will do the Ujoints, carrier bearing, new splines and balancing for just a few baubles called Benjimans. But they do it right and it's no longer a worry.
 
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