1997 F350 New to Me

[WV1964]

Well, I wanted a truck to tow the classic and searched for a few months. Ended up with way more than I needed, but a solid runner

1997 F350 XLT dually long bed. 7.3 Powerstroke. 2 wheel drive. 281,000 on the odometer

Steering was sloppy when I test drove, but figured it needed ball joints and bushings

Had 6 new tires on it and regular oil changes and maintenance.

Interior was in pretty good shape. Driver's seat was worn, as expected. Everything in the dash worked, but the radio is worn out

Issues with the rear tank, a leak the seller said. Front tank is fine.

Plan is to get the stock stuff up to par and then see what's what. Maybe an intercooler.

More to follow

 

[WV1964]

Well, we were a no-go at the State inspection station. Upper and lower ball joint on the passenger side, upper ball joint on the driver's side. 10 days to repair and get back.

Decided to go with Moog components and Bilstein shocks... Monroe steering stabilizer.

Needed to expand on some of my available tools to get at it. Harbor Freight run is in order.

 

[WV1964]

New upper and lower ball joints installed.

Went ahead and took care of the inner and outer tie rods shocks and steering stabilizer.

Moog parts - Everything labeled "Made in USA"

Bilstein shocks

Monroe steering stabilizer

Headed back to the inspection station tomorrow morning.

 

[65 sporty]

Did you paint or sandblast the spindle?

 

[WV1964]

Did you paint or sandblast the spindle?

Nylon brush to clean them up and Slip Plate

 

[WV1964]

In and out of the Inspection station. No issues. Road legal

 

[WV1964]

Found a crack in the top tank of the radiator. Crazy that it's plastic. Seems like something that JB Weld might resolve

Anyone else played with this?

Little to no fluid loss. Temp is fine at distance. Haven't towed with it yet

 

[7mopar]

Nice looking truck for it's age.

 

[WV1964]

Started getting materials together to repair the rear fenders. From what I've read, it's a common point of failure on these where the fiberglas cracks. Only problem is that if you don't fix the crack ... It'll shake itself apart like this one.

Driver's side is also damaged, but not to this degree. Going to get it fixed while I still have a bit of warmer weather

 

[WV1964]

Fender Damage taken care of. Will see how long it holds up. Heavy duty fibreglass cloth and long fiber filler....

 

[65 sporty]

Found a crack in the top tank of the radiator. Crazy that it's plastic. Seems like something that JB Weld might resolve

Anyone else played with this?

Little to no fluid loss. Temp is fine at distance. Haven't towed with it yet

View attachment 25007

View attachment 25008

Replace it. I don't know it anything would seal it

 

[volaredon]

I have done the jb weld thing on plastic radiators before. As long as it's empty/dry it can be made to work at least short term. One spot it won't work is at the seam where the aluminum is peened over the edges of the tank which is where I see most of those POS plastic/aluminum radiators leak. Stupid design.