cavitation detection

Hey Nathan, I have a '99 F350 Powerstroke CrewCab 4X4 Dually I'll try to help anyway I can.

Spdloader

awesome, thanks brother.

There is really no way to detect cavitations problems until failure, which would come out as oil in the antifreeze. The best thing you can do is find a truck you like and listen to it run. Salesman hate this but get the keys and tell you wife to start it. Salesman (of course) want to put everything into a bright light so they can do things that can cover up problems. By having your wife start it you can listen from under the hood and you will know the salesman is not pulling "a fast one"... Don't be worried if it make a lot of racket when you first start the engine, if it has been sitting for a while it will make a lot of noise for the first 30 sec. Also pay attention to the exhaust when it first starts. If it is white then it may have glow plug issues, blue then it may have a leaking valve or injector O-ring or black which is relatively normal. It should sound something in between a 6.5 Chevy and a Dodge Cummins. No loud knocking (idle knock - injector problem) or anything that sounds like marbles in a steel can (cackle - air in the fuel system, future injection problem). Check the oil it should look dark or black, not white/tan. Ask if it has a chip on it, you can get a chip that will add hp but they can also cause major problems. It should drive smooth and you should hear the turbo spool up around 1800 to

2000 rpm if too early then it may be chipped or if too late the turbo may be dieing. Climb up into the engine compartment and look at the top of the engine (between the heads) and see if there is any oil. If you find "the truck" have a Ford dealer run it on Oasis to find if there are any repair issues in its history. And the most important thing you can do is your homework. Go to the site I have posted below and read everything you can find. It is devoted specifically to the 7.3 turbo PSD. When you are done you will know more then the mechanics that work on the trucks. If you are looking for a 6.0L PSD then go to the second link

good luck, mark

thanks much for all the useful info!

hey nathan, long time no see. :-) sorry I can't help you, I have a Triton v10, but good luck.

• * * Matt Macchiarolo
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my condolences. ;-) we took my brothers f250 v10 to tellico pulling a trailer with 2 atv's and gear. its about a 6-8 hour drive each way (depending upon time of day when you leave) and i think we ended up spending about $58,000 in gas on that trip. :-)

All of that info was good except when he referred to the color of the crankcase oil. I use Shell Rotella in mine and it stays relatively clean for almost 2,000 miles after an oil change. Looks almost like fresh oil. The other thing I might add would be to purchase a coolant testing kit (available at NAPA.) Read the directions and test the coolant. If it is not within both acceptable ranges that are being tested, don't buy the truck.

That occurred to me when I was typing it but I suspect most people know the color of clean oil so I did not add dark tan to the list. Generally I always considered clean oil to be of concern when buying a used car... I also like Rotella T it is good oil and have yet to hear anybody having issues with it. I just read an article about the 6.0L apparently when the first set was coming off the assembly line they installed bad injectors that leaked diesel. Enough that it would flood the crankcase and wipe out the bearings. So Ford has recalled some 66,000 SD w/ the 6.0L PSD. Article linked below.

LOL. Just doing my part to further enrage Lloyd Parker. I'm averaging about

12-13 mpg now. 10-11 before it broke in. Wifey didn't like the noise the diesel made. Have to agree there...I can hear my neighbor 2 doors down when he starts his truck to go to work, '00 PSD. That v10 will get up and move, though.

• * * Matt Macchiarolo
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Mine will pass anything on the road, except a gas station. Just got back from a 1200 mile trip from Corpus to El Paso and back. Really had to plan out those gas stops in advance, in west Texas they roll up the sidewalks at dark. 4x4 cc shortbed, no chip, 35" BFGs, superlift speedo calibrator. ATV and everything related for hunting and soccer and family. 11 mpg. Love that V-10 Flowmaster sound!

I've got a real good friend who is a Ford service mechanic and just bought a

2004 6.0L PSD. He said the troubles were definitely there in the early production run of the '04 PSD but have since been ironed out. He says the productions dates to look for are post 6/03.

-BunnMan

cool, I tried to find the actual serial number run but could not find anything official from ford. Interesting there was no TSB or recall officially posted to the masses, must have been a mailing.

mark