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I bought an 88 F-250 IDI in June 2016. I live in Minneapolis, MN. I bought this beast to pull my boat (3500 lbs) 200 miles up north and the 88 Suzuki Samurai (5000 lbs w/ trailer & tools and extra junk) out to WI to go wheeling 100 miles away. I got this thing for $1,000 on Craigslist so I was OK with a putting some time into it. Very little rust for MN. I have about $1,470 into right now and it runs great and starts much better than when I got it, but I want it to start a little sooner. Roughly 8 second key turn in 28 degrees to start this morning. I couldn't be happier with this truck at this point.
The guy I bought it from (2nd owner) had rebuild the front end 6 months before. New bearings, seals and such.
I immediately had some trouble with overheating while towing an empty trailer & hard starts.
What I have done:
Overheating: (June)
New radiator 1st since it had a slight leak and when I tried to run water thru it it trickled. Coolant flush w/ distilled water. W/ coolant additive. (Didn't do the thermostat yet, but should have) This brought the temp down to directly relate to how fast I wast going while towing.
New thermostat - and now I can pull my 3500 lb boat or 5000 trailer at 70 MPH with the still functional AC running on a 90 degree day no problem at all.
Starter: (July)
Starter solenoid terminal was loose and shorted out. Can't replace just the solenoid. Upgraded starter. turns great now once I get fuel.
Headlights suck: (July)
New LED fog lights / small light bar on a toggle switch.
Glow plug relay clicking: (October)
Had 3 bad plugs. Replace them all.
Broke terminal off glow plug relay while cleaning connections. Replaced the relay too.
Glow plugs function well now.
Slow Starting / Lots of cranking (air leak): (October)
Got a kit. Replaced fuel return lines, caps and rings on injectors. Pulled injectors out and cleaned them and replaced copper washer inside. - This helped a lot to reduce air getting into the lines and reduced cranking time. I could see #8 injector cap was still wet with fuel. All fuel line connectors were a little mashed and misshapen from over tightening in the past. I had it very close to not leaking and it stripped. So, my buddy in OH is sending me one tomorrow to replace it.
I went from running hot on an empty trailer, not starting in cool weather and hard starting all the time to having this thing nearly firing up right away on the key turn during all seasons and pulling all my toys.
I have read so many threads on this site that I feel like I know a few of you.
Thanks to you guys!
The guy I bought it from (2nd owner) had rebuild the front end 6 months before. New bearings, seals and such.
I immediately had some trouble with overheating while towing an empty trailer & hard starts.
What I have done:
Overheating: (June)
New radiator 1st since it had a slight leak and when I tried to run water thru it it trickled. Coolant flush w/ distilled water. W/ coolant additive. (Didn't do the thermostat yet, but should have) This brought the temp down to directly relate to how fast I wast going while towing.
New thermostat - and now I can pull my 3500 lb boat or 5000 trailer at 70 MPH with the still functional AC running on a 90 degree day no problem at all.
Starter: (July)
Starter solenoid terminal was loose and shorted out. Can't replace just the solenoid. Upgraded starter. turns great now once I get fuel.
Headlights suck: (July)
New LED fog lights / small light bar on a toggle switch.
Glow plug relay clicking: (October)
Had 3 bad plugs. Replace them all.
Broke terminal off glow plug relay while cleaning connections. Replaced the relay too.
Glow plugs function well now.
Slow Starting / Lots of cranking (air leak): (October)
Got a kit. Replaced fuel return lines, caps and rings on injectors. Pulled injectors out and cleaned them and replaced copper washer inside. - This helped a lot to reduce air getting into the lines and reduced cranking time. I could see #8 injector cap was still wet with fuel. All fuel line connectors were a little mashed and misshapen from over tightening in the past. I had it very close to not leaking and it stripped. So, my buddy in OH is sending me one tomorrow to replace it.
I went from running hot on an empty trailer, not starting in cool weather and hard starting all the time to having this thing nearly firing up right away on the key turn during all seasons and pulling all my toys.
I have read so many threads on this site that I feel like I know a few of you.
Thanks to you guys!
