Truck headaches all week

[country gent]

Well today in the daylight we filled the power steering pump and it has a leak in the one line going forward towards the bumper. But the brakes and steering seemed to come back also so may have had a critter chewing when it was sitting last summer. No whines or growls so far will get it into the shop monday. With the wieght size of the vechicle with out the power assits you need really strong arms and legs to steer and stop it. Garage is only 6-7 miles away so wont be to bad.

[country gent]

May sell it to the one mechanic he wants it and it seems :happier" there also.

[Sgtonory]

If you sell give me a PM would love to have one of those.

[Petrol & Powder]

geargnasher gets first prize for the most informative post in this thread !

[TXGunNut]

geargnasher gets first prize for the most informative post in this thread !

Very true, but if I may add the hydroboost unit on these trucks fail from time to time as well. Glad it was apparently just a fluid leak, those can be expen$ive enough. Good job checking out the basic stuff first, OP!
7.3 Excursions are tough old beasts, lots of folks like them. Basically it's an SUV version of an F250, much like the seldom-seen (unless your work for Uncle Sugar) 2500 Suburban. Downside is many parts are getting hard to find and those that are available may be quite expen$ive.

[geargnasher]

I'm certainly no Ford fan, but those Diesel Excursions are good trucks, really good. I actually have little difficulty finding anything for them at all, and they are becoming very inexpensive to maintain. Fuel injectors and radiators, for example, are VERY cheap these days, as are valve cover harnesses, turbos, chassis parts, and even small parts for the interior. Lots of aftermarket AND dealer support still there.

I seem to recall a power steering cooling loop up inside the left front frame rail that could leak if a small rock got kicked up in there and wore a hole through it and is an absolute BEE-ATCH to replace, but maybe that was on some of the Chevy trucks of the '96-2000 vintage. Those 7.3L truck powerstrokes had a PS system that will burp a pint of oil all over the place if you turn the wheels with the engine off, so watch out for that. They're also tough to get the air out of, just be patient, crank the engine and turn the wheel quickly to a lock and kill it asap. Let it sit for an hour. Do it again, try not to run it more than two-three seconds at a time. Do this four times. That should take care of the moaning/groaning and pulsing/kicking of the hydroboost if it does that when you get it back from the shop.

Gear