what is a BANKS TURBO DIESEL?

[Trailerbunny]

I saw and ad for an'86 Ford f250 6.9 diesel with 154,000 miles, 10,000 tow rtg "fully loaded" for $3500...since I'm low budget and have a backup vehicle it might work to pull my 24 ft Argosy up to Northern Cal from Ariz, etc...

I've owned two Fords for towing horses in the past non diesel 2wd...but not so ancient...any thoughts on a potential used tow vehicle purchase such as this...I'm not very adept beyond changing tires and cking oil levels ( My AAA is paid up))....What should I be looking for and ? to ask sellers?

[silverback]

Trailerbunny, Banks makes aftermarket performance parts for diesels (and gassers too). I have a Banks 4" exhaust system on my Duramax.
Ken

[silverback]

You also may want to go to The Diesel Place forum and ask questions. They have sections on Ford diesels.

[Porky Pig]

Trailerbunny ...

Before making a purchase ... go to The Diesel Stop and get edumacated.

Click on the link for Forums ... there is a section there for the 6.9L diesels.

[Mariner]

Originally Posted by Trailerbunny

I saw and ad for an'86 Ford f250 6.9 diesel with 154,000 miles, 10,000 tow rtg "fully loaded" for $3500...since I'm low budget and have a backup vehicle it might work to pull my 24 ft Argosy up to Northern Cal from Ariz, etc...

I've owned two Fords for towing horses in the past non diesel 2wd...but not so ancient...any thoughts on a potential used tow vehicle purchase such as this...I'm not very adept beyond changing tires and cking oil levels ( My AAA is paid up))....What should I be looking for and ? to ask sellers?

Hi,

What the pick up is, is an ordinary naturally asphixiated IDI diesel that has an after market turbocharger system added to it (I have a 86 with with a CTS turbo system). The truck might be OK, but a lot depends on the previous owners maintenance and care. I would be inclined to invest in lots of research on these vehicles before making a decision. To me the price seems a bit on the high side.

These model trucks had severalthings that caused problems. The big one is the cavitation in the engine block (pinholes and subsequent coolant leaks into the engine oil). This is because of lack of water treatment - a coolant additive should be used to prevent this happening. Test strips are available to check for this additive and give a reading on the level of the amount in the water. The engine itself is good and well proven with proper maintenance.

As others have said, check out the Ford diesel web site (http://www.thedieselstop.com) and go to the 6.9 forum.

I have used my truck for towing all along, with no major problems. However, it is now 18 years old and is showing signs of age and is now being replaced with a 2002 Dodge 3500 with the Cummins TD.

Hope this helps.

Mariner

[Trailerbunny]

Thanks for the good advice, Siverback, Porky, and Mariner,

I already talked myself out of this...due to the high miliage. Too many unknowns and potential headaches. There are plenty of those good deals out there...and the price was 2x what I would expect...but I was planning to bargin the dude down to a better offer.
I'm still set on diesel and 2wd over 4wd...Fords and Dodges are my favorites.
Thanks for the resource...I can still come back and pick youseall's brains before I make any Major purchasing descisions can't I? I sure enjoy reading all the woes and joys of tow vehicle owners in this forrum.

[Tarheel]

I'm using a 92 dodge cummings banks powered with 127k miles on it. Its a 4x4 5spd pulling a 34'. It would pull the toughest grades here on the east coast, but it took a lot of downshifting. Since the installation of the Banks system, exhaust, bigger intercooler, new internals for the turbo, exhaust brake, tweaking the fuel pump it does a much much better job. The fuel mileage remaind the same.

[Trailerbunny]

Originally Posted by Tarheel

I'm using a 92 dodge cummings banks powered with 127k miles on it. Its a 4x4 5spd pulling a 34'. It would pull the toughest grades here on the east coast, but it took a lot of downshifting. Since the installation of the Banks system, exhaust, bigger intercooler, new internals for the turbo, exhaust brake, tweaking the fuel pump it does a much much better job. The fuel mileage remaind the same.

I've really heard good things about the Dodge Cummins deisel....that they last forever with routine maint...are some years better than others? I expect to be pulling on a lot of grades here on the Pcfic Cst Hwy.....so, Tarheel, so your system sounds pretty good... I would prefer automatic and 2wd (Although I will be braking a lot on the grades w/o my stick.) Was it expensive to ad the banks system aftermkt?

[Tarheel]

Originally Posted by Trailerbunny

I've really heard good things about the Dodge Cummins deisel....that they last forever with routine maint...are some years better than others? I expect to be pulling on a lot of grades here on the Pcfic Cst Hwy.....so, Tarheel, so your system sounds pretty good... I would prefer automatic and 2wd (Although I will be braking a lot on the grades w/o my stick.) Was it expensive to ad the banks system aftermkt?

For my money I like either the oldie like I have (12 valve) or the brand new 24 valve HO engine. Since 2004 1/2 all of the Cummins engines are the same. No state by state mods for emissions compliance. I like the stick for two reasons the first is I feel as though I have more control on downgrades and I don't have to worry about transmission temperatures. Up to 2004.5 the Dodge autos would not hold up to the exhaust brake. The exhaust brake was a very big plus to me when traveling through the Rockies, just downshift and listen to that beautiful hiss. I saved a lot of wear and tear on the brakes on the truck and trailer.
The Banks system for my truck ran about 4K installed along with the Pack exhaust brake, and tach, vacuum boost and exhaust temp gages. It was worth it to me because I knew the history of the truck and it does most everything I could ask of it. I am looking hard at the new 600 ft/lbs of torque in the new Dodge with a crew cab and a 6' bed 4x4 6 speed stick.
Hope this helps.