"Lee's Limo" 2001 F350 crew cab 4x4 diesel

[milner351]

Re: "Lee's Limo" 2001 F350 crew cab 4x4 diesel

that's why I picked up this old merc when I had the chance - the guy sort of knew what he had - it was one of those

"wife and I got divorced she got the house and I had to get all my stuff out of there quick - follow me to the back of this field here and help me get it off the trailer"

This poor guy had what looked like a well stocked workshop at one time - all wrapped in tarps and sitting on a car trailer in the back of a friends field - the outboard was on it's side - with the controll box sitting next to it - all the control cables wiring harness, heck - even the prop didn't look as if it had seen water for more than a few hours.

I felt bad as we were fighting off mosquito swarms to ask the guy for a more detailed inspection - I had intentions of doing compression checks using the pull rope, etc, but he was anxious - and supposedly had a bunch of other guys calling on it from his craigslist add.... in fact - he got one call while we were loading in my truck.

After flipping the engine and getting the cowling off - I saw what looked like a brand new engine underneath - overspray on the plastic parts, factory wires still labeled with the paper self adhesive wrappers, even the spark plugs had black factory overspray on them!

The engine turned by hand, no funny noises - and I could feel compression as I spun it - I figured $700 was worth the risk even if I ended up parting out - seeing as though the lower unit would probably sell for more than that.... and it looked pristine.

Last year all I had time to do was rebuild the carbs and fuel pump - and replace the plugs - BUHW nippondenso's - flat - no ground electrode... never seen that before. Over the winter I found a genuine service manual - an that beat the pants off the clymer manual I got at the local marina.

I'm venturing a guess that the motor was new - got little use for it's first few years - then the stator went bad and it got removed and forgotten about.

Hopefully I can make it dependable - and use it for many years to come --- one thing about outboards - if they are maintained properly - they last for decades. There are dozens and dozens of old outboards out on our lake in good working order - some with the old round tops dating back to the 50s, still in service.


STILL NO CALL ABOUT THE TRUCK!

[SuperBuickGuy]

Re: "Lee's Limo" 2001 F350 crew cab 4x4 diesel

the plugs arc to the piston - it's why you have to be so persnickity about timing them.... but they do run forever as long as you service them and don't let them freeze (winterization is of paramount importance).

You're right about the bottom end, my dad broke his off (literally) hitting a rock. It cost 400 bucks twice (shop closed without doing the work) in 1980....

they also are pretty economical. we went from outboards to jets and I think we went the wrong way... outboards are really the way to go.

[milner351]

Re: "Lee's Limo" 2001 F350 crew cab 4x4 diesel

the $600 'toon came with a 25hp evinrude two cylinder. We ran that a while - I rebuilt the carb and fuel pump, and of course put a new impeller in the water pump.... then the lower unit went. We were able to find another parts engine with a bad piston for $200 - we swapped over the lower unit and ran it that way a while longer. It was just TOO SLOW... yes - even a '78 crest pontoon boat can be too slow - so I was looking for a 50hp outboard when I came across this 90 and couldn't pass it up. Keeping up with our lawn lately has turned into a major pita - like every 3 days it needs to be mowed again pita - so I didn't get to re-timing the merc last night. After I get that done - I need to pull out the come along and raise the engine on the transom a couple holes - it's too deep now, I already nicked the prop! >

[SuperBuickGuy]

Re: "Lee's Limo" 2001 F350 crew cab 4x4 diesel

so you'll put a water-ski roll bar on it? ;D I wonder what it'd be like to waterski behind a pontoon boat....

[milner351]

Re: "Lee's Limo" 2001 F350 crew cab 4x4 diesel

well - no - although there are plenty of new "triple toons" out there with 200+ outboards that can pull a skier or three any time... but not through a slalom course. Wakeboarding is really eclipsing slalom anymore. I might try to fab something up to pull the tube, but the wake behind our old toon would destroy a skier.

Thankfully I have several friends with ski boats on the lake - I may not even get ours out of storage this year since it's already mid June and I don't have the roof on the boat house yet, and there's no sense getting it until I do.

[milner351]

Re: "Lee's Limo" 2001 F350 crew cab 4x4 diesel

Well - I just got off the phone with Chuck at the shop
- the truck does NOT have catastrophic damage of the piston, cylinder, or head for that matter. 8)


he's cleaning the combustion chamber now - he says it looks like the head maybe cracked between the valves - but it's too hard to tell yet.


So - worst case - I'll be buying a rebuilt cylinder head - not a long block!



YAHOO.

[Bamfster]

Re: "Lee's Limo" 2001 F350 crew cab 4x4 diesel

Got my fingers crossed ... good to hear

[just_james]

Re: "Lee's Limo" 2001 F350 crew cab 4x4 diesel

Keeping my fingers crossed, hope this works out cheaply!

[milner351]

Re: "Lee's Limo" 2001 F350 crew cab 4x4 diesel

well the carbon was hiding a bunch of damage...the news isn't good. Sorry I don't have any pictures yet.

Something

(I'm guessing pieces of the compressor wheel thanks to a faulty airbox lid)

got into the cylinder - there are half dozen marks in the top of the piston, and some on the combustion chamber of the head - but that's not really the problem.

Something got between the cylinder and piston and either broke the ring or spread the ring and the excess pressure bored the cylinder oversize a bit - it's like the rings were pressed out harder against the bore than the others.

So - it's time for me to make a decision based on what I can find.

1. good used short block (or long block) less $$ but some risk

2. re-manufactured short block (or long block) more $$ but a warranty - but I doubt that warranty will cover labor - so is it really worth i?

3. re-build what I have -
can you over bore these blocks?
can they be sleeved?

[mustang13]

Re: "Lee's Limo" 2001 F350 crew cab 4x4 diesel

When it rains it pours, ugh!

[DanStokes]

Re: "Lee's Limo" 2001 F350 crew cab 4x4 diesel

I can't see why it couldn't be sleeved. I'm assuming this is a dry sleeve engine, right? (or as the guy at Brighton says, "Not a real Diesel). Wet sleeve, of course, is MADE for this. Anyhow, as long as the machinist steps the bottom of the bore so it can't slide down and makes the top of the sleeve clamp with the head, it should be good. That'll be a shrink fit, of course. In other word, just good standard practice. If the old bore gets into the water jacket it's really no big deal as long as the sleeve is thick enough.

But all this may not be worth it depending on the price of the rebuild. A warranty and everything fresh is worth a LOT.

Sorry for the buzzard luck
Dan

[milner351]

Re: "Lee's Limo" 2001 F350 crew cab 4x4 diesel

I hope this is #3.

we found out Lee's prescription was wrong for his zantac - 5x too much wrong - verified twice by pharmacy and ourselves >

I got a letter from the state, the taxes are going up on the rental where my shop is... >

Now this... and of course Rhonda has to say something about how I could have left it alone..... > >


Here are a few of my options if I go the high dollar route:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/7-3-P...Q5fAccessories


Here's what looks to be a good used one but it's in OKLAHOMA:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/7-3-P...Q5fAccessories

Then there's this -- but if I go this route - it will be several hundred to have my heads redone, plus a gasket kit - and should I put rings and bearings in it while I'm there? A rebuild kit with pistons for these things is $1000.

http://detroit.craigslist.org/okl/pts/1770805339.html

[88 Dippy]

Re: "Lee's Limo" 2001 F350 crew cab 4x4 diesel

working on these things for a living i say get the short block with warranty it will save you so mutch hassel in the long run. and that way you do not have to worry about the other 7 failing in the future


eather way you have to remove the engine

[Bamfster]

Re: "Lee's Limo" 2001 F350 crew cab 4x4 diesel

The big question is ... what do you want out of the truck?

At this point, is it something you want to be using for a good long time with excellent reliability and decent performance?... Or just a truck to use occasionally and maybe flip in the next few years?

If it's a keeper ... reman w/ the warranty.

If you see yourself unloading it in the near future, do it as cheap as possible.

[milner351]

Re: "Lee's Limo" 2001 F350 crew cab 4x4 diesel

Thanks for your thoughts guys.

My question about the reman with the warranty is - how good is a warranty from a rebuilder several states away?
There are several on Ebay from VA and FL... they have Warranties and the descriptions sound good - but - I always wonder about what's really going on in those "mass production" type shops.... Lord knows they won't pay the labor required to pull their faulty engine out should it prove to be an issue in the future. And - as much as I drive these trucks - I will time out long before I mileage out on a warranty.

Here's the deal - this truck is rust free and in otherwise pretty good shape - new tires, I've already done the injector and turbo work, AC blows cold, power stuff works - Trans appears to have been gone through already (there's the inline filter in the coolant lines) shifts well, etc.

The driver seat is beat up, it needs a tail gate - has some dents and the trailer wiring is a nightmare.... those are the downsides other than the #8 cylinder.

Finding a diesel 4x4 long box crew cab that's NOT a dually and is not rusty or beat to a pulp is not easy - I was looking all over the country when I found this one - and they were few and far between.

I got this one cheap enough that even if I put a few grand into it for a "new" engine - I'm still good compared to the 13,300ish blue book.

Rhonda likes traveling in it - and now that I've found it and put this work into it - I don't anticipate selling it for quite some time - if I take good care of it and stay ahead of the rust - I can probably keep it for at least 10 years.

Used ones in better shape are near $20k, and a new one is closer to $50k.... so - having ~$12k into this one with a fresh engine isn't so bad? ???

I think it boils down to - rebuild what I have (superior diesel is right up the street with a good reputation - family business since '78, full machine shop, the works http://www.superiorturbo.com/about_us.asp)

or - get a remanufactured long block - -- on the #8 anyway - there is enough guide wear that you can feel it rocking the valves back and forth. Superior charges by what the heads need - so it's hard to predict how many valves / seats will be required - worst case - it's $900 a pair for everything new (seats, guides, valves) so would probably be less than that. Bore and finish hone is $300. I'm waiting on my ford employee price for the rebuild kit with pistons.... probably around $1000.

So - who has experience with remanufactured engines and knows where a good reputable place to buy from?
I can have it shipped right to the shop where the truck is - they have a forklift next door....