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From: Arild Jensen (no email)
Date: Tue Sep 02 2003 - 21:53:21 EDT
Hi folks;
I'm back amongst the living ( on the internet that is) < grin>
I have just done what by all accounts should be classified as a hare brained
stunt and likely decried as terribly risky by most of the list members.
A friend sold his property in California and had to vacate the place by August
30.
Three years ago he parked an old high mileage 1984 truck ( F 250 with the 6.9L
International engine ) and effectively abandoned it.
He did this after burning out several sets of glow plugs and having no end of
problems starting it.
The truck sales men managed to scare him out of getting another diesel, so he
bought a new gasoline powered truck.
Two weeks ago during a phone conversation, I mentioned a need for getting a
replacement for my own van.
He told me I could have the truck if I would come down and get it and remove
it at my expense.
So off I went with a Hayes manual for the engine and little else.
Took me three days of tinkering with the starting system, leaky injectors and
installing fresh batteries.
Well the engine started and kept running. Two bottles of fuel conditioner was
the only concession to the old fuel.
( Yeah I know, fools and angels etc)
Point is; that old engine with 264,000 miles on it and two or three year old
fuel in the tanks fired up and ran smoothly.
I pulled the fuel filter fully expecting a gummy mess and clogged lines etc.
Nada!
Poured the fuel into a glass bowl and let it settle to check for sediment and
water. Nothing!
Used two liters of Kleen Fuel additive for 40 gallons of fuel plus preloaded the
filter before priming the system with fuel.
Drove the engine 1000 miles back over the mountains, mostly at night with
nary a missed beat.
Yes I did have my wife escort me in the newer Lincoln town car, just in case.
Guess which vehicle had to be towed 20 miles back down the mountains when it
over heated? < grin >
The point being; diesels are usually incredibly tough and durable.
Given even a modicum of care and clean fuel they usually perform sterling
service.
But Sh** happens; even with equipment straight out of the factory.
In other words, neither my story nor the report of an injection pump failing
after only 800 hours is indicative of a trend or proof of anything.
Just remember that oft repeated acronym YMMV ( Your Mileage May Vary )
In general diesels engines will still provide very good reliability and service
despite benign neglect.
I know someone who was struck by lightning, that doesn't mean walking outdoors
is always risky.
I could trip on a rug indoors and break my neck.
Now, as soon as I get a bit of spare time, I have a bunch of gauges to fix.
The truck was fitted with an after market turbo charger, exhaust pyrometer,
boost pressure gauge and oil temp sensor, in addition to the regular factory
gauges.
None worked. I had to rely on my IR thermometer to tell me what was going on
and the dip stick to check on oil consumption.
But that got me through.
cheers
Arild
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