What diesel engines should one avoid? Tranny's?

[Willy]

&nbsp;I'm thinking of checking out a rig tomorrow, 1988 Ford Econoline cube van with a diesel and Allison tranny (forgot to ask the engine size), and was wondering what engines are crap and which ones are preferred. Also, seeing as I'm unfamiliar with diesels.. what should I be checking? ..Willy.<br>

 

[karl]

start with checking your bank account-diesels are expensive, bad diesels even more so.<br>That said, I am a fan of diesels (good ones) for economy and the luxury of being able to burn several fuels....<br>If you are looking at an 88 ford diesel it is (unless changed to another brand later in life)&nbsp; an International 7.3 normally aspirated(no turbocharger) v8. The allison surprises me- was not aware they used that tranny back then.....<br>The 7.3 is a decent engine, owned two of them, lots of them still around. Never, ever allow it to overheat- very bad for heads and gaskets. Prepare for 10 quarts of oil per oil change and some pricey filters for oil and fuel. It uses 8 glow plugs(12-16 bucks each) to cold start, they may last a year if you leave the automatic starting system- savvy folks rewire to a push button switch so that they are controled on an as needed basis......<br>fuel mileage should exceed 14mpg- depends on weight and gearing and the driver.<br>Beware of white smoke when it starts, as always- best to have a qualified mechanic check it over before buying.<br>Anything that needs fixing on a diesel is big $$$$, but a good one, properly cared for will last for a few hundred thousand miles.<br>It would be a good idea to search and read some of the diesel forums- Diesel Bombers comes to mind, there are several....some even dedicated to making their own fuels. Gm 6.2 and 6.5 v8 diesels have somewhat of a poor reputation, although there are advocates for them, have heard horror stories about&nbsp; duramax also, Cummins 3.9 and 5.9 are king in the 12 valve and 24 valve years- not so much with the new 6.7 L. same for the new ford 6.0 PS.<br>The newer low sulfur fuel is blamed for shorter engine life and poor fuel economy- many use additives or add transmission fluid to the fuel to replace some of the lost lubrication- I blend my own from filtered used motor oil for my sawmill equipment, forklifts and tractors with no issues in ten years or so.<br>Hope some of my rambling is helpful - I recommend&nbsp; searching&nbsp; the web and get an education the cheaper way<img src="https://vanlivingforum.com/images/boards/smilies/wink.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"><br>&nbsp;<br><br>

 

[Willy]

&nbsp;Sounds kinda scary to this puppy.. maybe propane powered would be the way to go. <br>

 

[Wild_E]

Willy are you buying my Cube Van?<div>same description. Mine had the Ambulance package installed, vents, roof vent, windows, insulated and before someone took them out, kitchen as well.&nbsp;</div><div>Karl, excellent description, and what to look for. Impressive</div><div><br></div><div>Those cube vans normally come with the 7.3ltr engine or above. Mine runs great, although I need to replace the Vacuum pump, for the break assist. From UAP Napa $160 from a school bus in the bone yard, $60 on a pick your own. At the same time I will do a Rad Re-core, while it is out and put a new rad cap on as well. At that age they do leak a little bit so take em out, replace them. It is not hard and not that expensive either. You can look for good Rads in the Bone Yards.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Remember as stated earlier most school&nbsp;buses&nbsp;use the same engine. They were and are made by International for that size, so use it as a reference. When ordering new parts ask for Ford then ask for International, chances are one will be cheaper than the other, get the cheaper one. (same as Mazda and Ford small pick ups)</div><div><br></div><div>Scary, naw they are not&nbsp;scary&nbsp;at all. Propane in BC, it will bog on every hill you hit, better make sure you have a good run at them, and Propane gets eaten up quickly in the hills and burgs!&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>If it is a 6ltr diesel, walk away, fast!!!!!&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Karl also stated about the glow plugs, on that year, I do believe the glow plugs are manual, like mine, so that is great! Flick the glow plug on, wait till it heats up when it heats up to temp, the light goes out, start the engine! Read the description on how to start the engine first. Mine says, halfway down on the fuel peddle normal start, full depression of fuel peddle below 10cel or something like that, similar. Manual glow plugs save you money</div><div><br></div><div>Lots of room underneath, do your own oil change, easy peezy, and way cheaper! Cheaper as well is to register it as a Motor Home, in Canada, so my insurance is less than half of what it would be if it was a Work Truck.</div><div><br></div><div>Karl I would like some more info on the whole, use different fuel thing.</div><div>I know you can run them on Veggie Fuel and Diesel, some put a switch in, so when the system is hot, you switch to Veggie then before you shut it down for the night switch it back to Diesel.</div>

 

[yesican]

<p>What does white smoke mean coming from a diesel engine?</p>

 

[Wild_E]

it means lots of money!<div>your blowing anti freeze out the pipe so blown seals or cracked head, etc</div><div><br></div>

 

[romani10]

Had a 6.0 on my first conversion. Don't remember the tranny. The white smoke advice is right on the $$$. White smoke started pouring out of the exhaust after I had nearly completed the conversion. Total loss......

 

[karl]

Willy- don't be scared, do be cautious and informed.<br><br>WR- WVO (waste veggie oil) is one substitute fuel, I have been using WMO (waste motor oil) blended with diesel-&nbsp; simpler and requires no heaters and switching of fuels before shutdown. There are folks running nearly straight oil with gasoline to boost the combustion, I keep it simple with a simple settling/water removal and filtering system and running about 20% used oil in diesel or heating oil. Used tranny fluid is tops with a lower viscosity and more btu's per unit.....instant power and fuel mileage gain.<br>Most older diesels thrive on WVO or WMO or raw veggie oil- newer computorized , not so much.Check out this site- http://www.thedieselstop.com/forums<br>Keep in mind that there may be regulations against highway use of "colored fuels" in your area, especially in "commercial vehicles"<br><br>Romani- Many of the newer diesels are having real engineering issues, in my n'hood we refer to the 6.0 power stroke&nbsp; as "6 Litre piece of s***" Seems like every decent engine ever made has been "improved" right into the toilet....JMHO<br><br>

 

[Wild_E]

Willy- don't be scared, do be cautious and informed.<br><br>WR- WVO (waste veggie oil) is one substitute fuel, I have been using WMO (waste motor oil) blended with diesel-&nbsp; simpler and requires no heaters and switching of fuels before shutdown. There are folks running nearly straight oil with gasoline to boost the combustion, I keep it simple with a simple settling/water removal and filtering system and running about 20% used oil in diesel or heating oil. http://www.thedieselstop.com/forums<br><br>

<div>Karl = awesome post, thanks and will look this up, probably print out entire site&nbsp;<img border="0" align="absmiddle" src="https://vanlivingforum.com/images/boards/smilies/biggrin.gif"></div>

 

[yesican]

<p>Thank you, Thank you for your knowledge.&nbsp; I have a 95&nbsp;dodge full sized&nbsp;pickup with a 5.9 Cummins diesel.&nbsp; Bought it a few years ago to help out a friend who needed cash.&nbsp; Much things have been replaced.&nbsp; I have not been driving it at all this winter because one of the front u-joints are out...easy fix yes, but I drive for a living and my car gets 30 mpg on gas so I haven't been pressured to fix it yet.&nbsp; I wanted a van for my vehicle to live in, but if the ability to use WVO or WMO is not too complicated, I would prefer to keep the truck and build a cap on the pickup and live in a cargo trailer.&nbsp; I so appreciate your knowledge; it helps me get past the fear of driving this diesel pick up long distances as I know so little about diesel.&nbsp; What you have been posting here has been helping me make decisions that will help with my transition into vandwelling.&nbsp; Thank you.&nbsp;</p>

 

[Wild_E]

sooooooooooooo<div><br></div><div>what happened did you go and look at it? did you consider it?</div>

 

[Willy]

&nbsp;Not yet. We had been having some beautifully sunny days and I had to tear apart the front overhang of my camper to remove the rotten wood where the bed is. Went whole hog and got 'er done and sealed up (including putting roof tar on the top seam and around the roof vent). I also have to await use of the car since I'm not about to drive my rig all the way from Abbotsford to Richmond just on a maybe.. gas is just too much. <br>