Saturday, October 11, 2014

Those hard lessons.......

The new dually I bought seems to run fine, that is, as long as its warm out. I started noticing it starting harder as it began to cool off outside. Now that we have seen some temps in the 30's F it would not start.

I expected it needed glow plugs and probably a relay as those 7.3 litre diesels were kinda known for having issues. So I scheduled an appointment with my mechanic to change them out. He picked it up Thur eve and stopped by to see me at work yesterday. When he comes to see me, it's never good.

At some point in the past the area behind the turbo on the back of the engine has been on fire and several wires and various parts are burned or missing. Apparently, a squirrel or something built a nest back there and it caught on fire. The previous owner had to know this because the truck had been fixed just enough so it was impossible to tell it happened without removing several covers off the engine.  It can be fixed correctly, but when it's all said and done, it will cost about 8 times as much as the original fix.

Luckily, I paid far below actual value so I've got some room, just not expecting the expense. The good news is that once fixed it should start even in the coldest weather, run like a top, and see improved fuel mileage.

So all in all, I'm glad to find it now while I'm still working steady rather than after I get on the road.

3 comments:

  1. Some people suck, hopefully the cost isn't too bad. Once its fixed it should be a reliable work horse for you.

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  2. Well, if a pinch, you could always look for a similar year in a scrap yard and harvest the wiring harness off of it and do the swap out, which would likely save alot of money, but would eat a lot of time.

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  3. You are right Erik, it should be a good truck when finished.
    Matt - It turns out that the harness is 1996 ONLY. It is proving difficult to find one. We have been searching all over. A new one from Ford is $400.
    The Wiring is mostly ok, it's just the plastic adapters that are damaged. My mechanic is trying to find just the adapters now to save some costs. Worst case I pay the $400.

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