Buying a 96 F350. Help me out with a few Q's.

[bighaeb]

Hey everyone. I'm purchasing a 1996 F350 w/ the Powerstroke in it and have a few questions/concerns about it.

1. The power steering seems to not work unless there is at least 100 RPMs above idle, then it's completely fine and I have no other issues. Is the idle too low? (sit's at 600)

2. The A/C seems to really want to kill the truck when running at idle (it did kill it when I put it in reverse on my driveway once already) Again, is it killing it because the idle compensator isn't working? Sits right at 600 but fluxes to 500 when coming to a complete stop.

3. The ABS pulses entirely too hard, and I would say that it causes you to take longer to stop because of it. It just doesn't feel normal at all. ???

4. The accelerator pedal makes a clicking sound everytime you push it in from having your foot off of it.

5.. And last, when you get on the accelerator from having your foot off of it, or letting off the accelerator pedal, the truck seems to have some sort of feedback, like a slight "bump" or lurch or something like that??? I don't know how to explain.

If anyone can identify any of these problems with some sort of diagnosis, I'd appriciate it. Other than the above, I am impressed with the rest of the truck. Still a very strong and alive motor on acceleration, not one drop of oil leaking from anywhere, and under the hood was clean and no problems to note. The truck has 140,000 miles on it and is a Crew Cab 1996 F350 if that helps at all.

Thanks in advance and see you all around!

 

[clem]

The first thing you want to check is if the blades are sharp on the intake turbo.If they are worn with maybe some nicks in them the engine could be dusted.

Welcome to the site.

 

[clem]

Is it auto or 5 speed?

 

[94f450sd]

Hey everyone. I'm purchasing a 1996 F350 w/ the Powerstroke in it and have a few questions/concerns about it.

1. The power steering seems to not work unless there is at least 100 RPMs above idle, then it's completely fine and I have no other issues. Is the idle too low? (sit's at 600)

probably needs a pump or is low on fluid

2. The A/C seems to really want to kill the truck when running at idle (it did kill it when I put it in reverse on my driveway once already) Again, is it killing it because the idle compensator isn't working? Sits right at 600 but fluxes to 500 when coming to a complete stop.

never heard of this one before.only way to turn the idle up is through the PCM with a chip or tuner.

3. The ABS pulses entirely too hard, and I would say that it causes you to take longer to stop because of it. It just doesn't feel normal at all. ???

thats normal

4. The accelerator pedal makes a clicking sound everytime you push it in from having your foot off of it.

thats also normal.its the throttle on/off switch.

5.. And last, when you get on the accelerator from having your foot off of it, or letting off the accelerator pedal, the truck seems to have some sort of feedback, like a slight "bump" or lurch or something like that??? I don't know how to explain.
sounds like you may need a couple u-joints,a carrier bearing or the rear end is on its way out

If anyone can identify any of these problems with some sort of diagnosis, I'd appriciate it. Other than the above, I am impressed with the rest of the truck. Still a very strong and alive motor on acceleration, not one drop of oil leaking from anywhere, and under the hood was clean and no problems to note. The truck has 140,000 miles on it and is a Crew Cab 1996 F350 if that helps at all.

Thanks in advance and see you all around!

check out this page.tons of info on buying used powerstrokes

http://pages.prodigy.net/stevebaz/_import/pages.prodigy.net/stevebaz/index3.html

 

[bighaeb]

Is it auto or 5 speed?

It's an automatic.

I'm sure the motor isn't crapping out. I had a mechanic come with me to see it and he checked all the fluids, and he believes it would have a lot more problems if dirt had passed into the motor. It runs entirely too well for that to have happended. If that is the case though, I'd be surprised.

 

[jrdrag]

I found out an interesting tid bit about the clunking type thing in the rear end. We bought a 97 F-250 a few months back and my dad noticed the clunk right away. We bought it anyway and did a little research. Our rear end is a detroit locker and because of the way it works there is about 45 degrees of play in rear end at the driveshaft. I called 3 dealers and this is the way all detroit lockers are. They said it is the rear end reseting itself.

I would check and see what kind of brand of locker it is if it has one and then go from there. I would also imagine all locker have a similar characteristic even if it isn't as bad.

 

[clem]

I have a slight lunge when i get back on the pedal. I think it is my DMFW thats why I asked about the auto or 5sp. Follow the link that Rich sent you that covers about anything.

 

[94f450sd]

It's an automatic.

I'm sure the motor isn't crapping out. I had a mechanic come with me to see it and he checked all the fluids, and he believes it would have a lot more problems if dirt had passed into the motor. It runs entirely too well for that to have happended. If that is the case though, I'd be surprised.

does this mechanic know anything about diesels?especially the powerstroke?if not,send him packing,read the site i linked to and grab some tools.you cant tell if the motors been dusted just by checking fluids.remember this,when somebody wants to sell something first thing they do is change oil and tranny fluids and all the filters!!

 

[94f450sd]

another thing.

did you pull the fuel filter to check the color of the fuel?this is an indicator of injector o rings.did you ask if the orings have been replaced?have the glow plugs been replaced?its a good idea to replace them atleast once a year.

 

[Tates97]

In my honest experience... I agree, find a qualified diesel mech.(In my area the there are some big rig type guys who have a good smaller truck diesel tech) I should have done a compression test...and if possible w/o being a pest kinda,be curious about the motor (watch them) I didn't, and I think from what happened later, that they took my truck around parked it around back and brought it back around an hour later. Baz's site is the place to go. See ya Tate