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what to look for when buying psd?

792 views 7 replies 8 participants last post by  SHARPMACHINE 
#1 ·
I have some questions about what to look for when buying a used psd. im new to diesels but have always loved the look of the old body style.
I currently drive an older tacoma works great around town. I run a kayak business so I often pull a 1500lbs trailer and the tacoma handles that no problem. I also have a 21foot pontoon boat that my tacoma cant pull. so now im in the market for a new truck that can do both.
I was completely set on buying a 2005 tacoma v6 crew cab it will pull both but then I found this around the corner from me
1997 f250 crew cab psd auto 2wd 162k miles and the guy was originally asking 5300 but needs cash fast so i talked him down to 4500.00
he has only owned it for 2 years and says oil changes and fuel filters are every 5k but other than that hasn't done anything to the truck no idea of tranny rebuild or any previous work.
i checked for blow by and turbo color/play
so good deal? and what else should I look for? or should I just stay toyota and let you guys have all the diesel fun?
thanks for your help
 
#2 ·
Pull the air intake tube off of the turbo inlet and look at the turbo fins. The outside edges should be nearly square. If the edges of the fins are rounded off or look like they have been sand blasted, walk away. One of the biggest problems was injesting dirt. The dirt will cause the above conditions mentioned. It will also take out the middle cylinders. If this looks good and you believe him on the lof and fuel filters the engine should be ok. Good luck with the rest of the truck.
 
#3 · (Edited)
make sure you check it for blow by when it is up to operating temperature, they blow by alot worse when they are warm, check the oil and see how dirty it is, the injectors fire alot easier when the oil is clean, if you really want to be anal get a ph test kit and check the ph of the coolant, low ph in these engines will cause tiny pin holes in the water jackets and they will start to use coolant. last thing if these are hard starting do not assume it is the glow plugs, replace the glow plug controller first, then if the hard starts continue replace the glow plugs.
 
#4 ·
What he said! The other thing on these older strokers is the injector wiring harness, if it hasn't been replaced theres a good chance you will have to maybe sooner, maybe later. Not cheap I can't remember for sure but I'm thinking $700 or higher including labor. These are good motors but it is going on 14 years old, pretty low miles for the year but its still 160k+ not trying to scare you off but it could be anything at anytime on one of these.
Whether or not it's had a hitch (5th or goose) in it it's whole life and how hard it's been used would also be a big factor for me.
 
#5 ·
Injector harness are easy to do, you don't need to pay labor. Its just a valve cover gasket basically. IIRC they are a dealer only part, or at least I've always gotten them from the International/ Ford dealer in the city. Another thing to look at/ consider is an oil analysis. If its been more than 1000 miles, you can do one and trust it. Usually costs about $20. Take a 2 or 3 ounce sample of the oil, record vehicle, engine, miles on engine, miles on oil, type, brand, and weight of oil, and they will send you a letter back, or call you and tell you whats up. If the guy is willing to wait a week or so for you to do one that is one of the best ways to get a feel for the engine's longevity. Also know that the E4OD trans is not one to use if you plan on doing any power adders, unless you want to upgrade it as well. They aren't weak per se, but they aren't set up for big power/ torque right off the bat.
There are some throttle pedal tricks you can do to try and make a 7.3 PSD act up, but its really had to explain without showing you. I've built several of these trucks for other people.
 
#6 ·
You can get the valve cover gaskets and both the UVC harness and the truck side plugs as a kit on e-bay now, very reasonably, I just did a set on a 96 with those parts, and it was all factory stuff, think it was somewhere around the $200 mark(at work, no e-bay...)
 
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