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85 Ford F350 Diesel information?

4K views 10 replies 6 participants last post by  jdkline 
#1 ·
I'm hoping my first diesel post is in the right spot? I believe the 1985 F350 four door dually 2wd would be a 6.9? If not where do I go? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/phoney.gif

If so how is it? Mileage? Motor longevity? Maintenance? What kind of motor, who makes it?

There's one for sale down the street that is in real nice shape for $3000. Clean truck! Mileage looks to be 26,000 The truck is nice but I'm pretty sure it's 126,000.
 
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#2 ·
Welcome to TDS........

Mileage on those older models rolls over at 99999 to 0 again. Check over the starter for a cracked block at the block heater frost plug area. You could check the engine serial # for engines above the problem serial numbers, see my gallery for the location.

Above serial number 173828 you should be safe........ ask the owner if he uses the block heater, he may explain the problem/precaution to you.....

IH/Navistar made it.......

Long working motor with upkeep and upgrades......ask owner if head gaskets were done.

Depending on the rear axle ratio mileage could be 12-15, unfortunately they have a C6 good bullitproof trans but short on gears "3 speed".

Use good diesel rated oil Shell rotella 15-40W, Delo etc .....and good oil filters.....no Frams, Frams for air are good though.
 
#3 ·
Wow, big information! Thanks!

The fact that it's an IH motor helps as it will be pulling a Scout sometimes. Mostly driven empty but not far. What's a loaded mileage?

So what kind of longevity do these motors get?

I'm going to take a closer look tomorrow when they are open. Unfortunately it's a used car lot. But man this truck looks good. I'll look at the serial numbers for sure. Is there a fix for the issue or another motor? I'd probably have a shop look at it before I bought it. It's a nice old truck but I don't want to get into a money pit...

Thanks again!

EDIT: Also the c6 if well maintained is there an area in mileage where they just need rebuilt?
 
#4 ·
cd,

Where did you find that exact serial number. The guy at one of the rebuild shops told me 179000 and above roughly.
 
#5 ·
I just pasted part of this post....... here.......
 
#7 ·
Went and took a harder look at this truck today, very nice truck! Four speed, drives well a/c don't work. I think I'll let Ford or a diesel shop look at it to reassure me?

What is the procedure for starting? The truck is on consignment at a used car dealer. I was under the hood when he started it and heard something clicking then he cranked it over for awhile, pumped the accelerator, cranked some more then it started. Revved high for awhile when warming up which from what I've read is correct. How long should they crank? This was definitely to long. Maybe he did not wait long enough on the glow plugs?
 
#8 ·
Turn it to the run position for awhile give the glow plugs a chance to warm up. I give my truck a 20 or 30 count before I crank mine up. Its not a carbed gasser dosent do anything to pump it except race it when it finally dose crank, not good. I would find a good diesel shop to take it to. I would bypass ford. Most of those guys probably haven't seen a 6.9 in 10 years if ever. Quick checks, oil pressure if it has a gauge, when its running, pull the oil fill cap and check for excesive blowby, little smoke is ok but if its puffing like a locomotive walk away unless you want to rebuild it. There are a lot of guys in here that know a lot more about 6.9's than me and they will be more than happy to help you out. good luck
 
#9 ·
I'll be checking another cold start tomorrow and try a 20-30 count, he did a ten count if that.

Man I really want this truck but don't want to buy a thousand dollar repair bill too!

There's a place here in town that does the light truck diesels and have a good reputation, I'll talk with them tomorrow. I guess the head gaskets would have been changed by 126k ?
 
#11 ·
Well, on that 85 I would bet for one thing either there are some bad glow plugs or there are air leaks around the injector leakoff caps. Seafarer is not wrong, but his truck is a PSD, controlled by a PCM computer, so playing with the pedal may do nothing in a stroke. What it does in an IDI is set the fast idle and cold timing advance. Here's the procedure, turn key to on, wait for glow plug light to go off, and then depress throttle slightly and crank, let off the throttle as soon as it begins to start. No need to race it. If the truck for some reason ahs a manual glow plug system, hold the button on for only 6-8 seconds in warm weatehr, maybe 10 in cold. You don't want to burn up the glow plugs, it can get ugly fast! I would get the light diesel shop to look it over, ask them to check for compression and excessive blowby. It may cost you a couple hundred, but it will be cheaper than a longblock or rebuild if things are not right with this engine. My gut says it's minor, but I don't want to sell you on a truck that will not serve you well.
 
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