RE: [ihc] Diesel scheming.

["Ed Sohm" <idaemes@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Thanks for the input guys.  

The decision has been made for me.  We received a much better offer for
the ambulance complete as it sits from a private ambulance company.
They plan to use it for long hospital to hospital transfers.  Sounds
like the perfect plan for an older, but low mile, non turbo rig.  

It was fun to dream for a little while.  I liked the farm truck idea
more and more too! 

I wasn't aware of the thin cylinder wall issue, but got a taste of the
AOD issue lately here.  When it went in for the new injection pump,
evidently they forgot to hook one of the sensors up.  Limp mode was a
little weird and they fixed it right away at no charge.  

Might be a source for low mile powerstrokes if anyone is interested
though.  Look for a company that deals in emergency vehicles.  Most
Ambulances are traded at 6 years.  Fire trucks are a little longer.  The
used market is not good, not many locksmiths out there anymore <g>.

Ed


-----Original Message-----
From: owner-ihc@domain.elided [mailto:owner-ihc@domain.elided] On Behalf Of
Dave Read
Sent: Monday, November 24, 2003 6:00 PM
To: ihc-digest@domain.elided
Subject: Re: [ihc] Diesel scheming.


> So for $4500 or so I could get a complete (cut off behind the front
> doors) '93 E350 van chassis with 19,000 miles on it. 7.3 diesel 
> (non
> turbo), Od automatic, 4.10 rear end, new injection pump......

Hi Ed, Don't know if you are aware of this, but the Navistar 7.3 IDI
(Indirect Injection) has overly thin cylinder walls which are prone to
cavitation erosion.  This became a warranty problem for Ford and they
eventually recommended a coolant additive be used.  The additive coats
the water jacket with a sacrificial layer which is attacked by the
cavitation, thereby protecting the thin cylinder walls.  Cavitation is
not a problem with the 6.9 IDI and the 7.3 DI (Direct Injection)
Powerstroke.

The E4OD automatic has also had its share of problems.  From what I've
been able to gather a lot of these problems are due to the E4OD going
into "limp home" mode when it doesn't get the right signals from some
failure prone electronic sensors.  The ZF-5 speed manual has a pretty
good reputation.  Some folks don't like the Dual Mass Flywheel, but LUK
make a Single Mass Flywheel clutch kit to replace it.

I'd like to have an IH truck with a Diesel.  I think if I were going to
build one, I'd go with the 6.9 IDI or a Cummins, and a manual trans.

Dave
84 F350 6.9, 4speed manual, 4.10 gears
88 F350 7.3, ZF-5, 3.54 gears

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