Getting into Diesel
 

Hello! My name is Michael and I am looking to purchase a diesel truck. It will mostly be used as a daily driver but will also be used to tow my 27ft camper. I have found a 1992 f-250 with a 7.3 and a banks turbo 2x4 with 172k miles. I have never owned a diesel so my questions are 1) how do i know if the motor is solid? the body looks good no rust the prior owner had a 5th wheel in it I believe (bolt holes in bed) and 2) what do i need to know about diesels before i take the leap? any info is greatly appreciated as i have no idea about anything diesel with exception of the fact that they are beast.

The 92 Ford is an IDI or Indirect Injected motor and you will never get the power out of it like a Directed Injected motor.

After looking at it more I ended up not getting the 92 because it didn't cold start well and had white smoke. things the local ford mechanic told me to look for. I did however find a 2002 f350 with a 7.3 with 94k miles are the motors different or is a 7.3 a 7.3 ?

Only thing the same is the displacement. IDI is a simple mechanical engine. The Powerstroke (PSD), well... is not, although is does have more power potential.

Having owned and wrenched on number of Ford and Dodge diesels.... I like the quality and beef of the Ford truck, especially the OBS F350 4x4 crew I had. However, I exhausted all the patience I ever had for the PSD. They were a complicated money pit for me, despite doing my darndest to DIY and keep it cheap. I'd sooner do a performance build on an IDI turbo, or a cummins swap.

I've since switched over the 1stgen Dodges. Extremely simple, reliable, powerful, and cheap to run. The main downfall IMO is the body quality... and to have a cummins crewcab, you have to build your own.

I prefer the IDI over the power stroke. But, I'm never really in a hurry. The white smoke and hard cold start both could be very simple. I have a 93 model. My service truck was a 94 IDI with the factory ATI turbo kit. Just stick yoir foot to the floor and ride all day. I wouldn't turn down a mechanical cummins.

There has been a 90s f700 on CL for a while for $5. It has a cummins and Allison auto. It is 4 door with a dump bed. It used to belong to the road department. You may find something similar in your area. It is so tempting to buy and swap onto a f350 chassis..

The 7.3 DI engine is fairly simple and only has a few generic problems, injector Orings external and internal, as well as some glow plug and injector wiring issues in the valve cover gasket and under it. the odd one will have injector cup problems but not that many. An 02 with only 94K miles on it sounds like a no brainer a far far far far far better truck in all aspects over and IDI. If you have to do the injectors get the Alliant ones as the cheap rebuilds don't last, other than that it's clear sailing.