JoeH

New frame rails are 25k+ or so unless you're mechanically inclined and can do it yourself.

It'll probably have a right side computer, which people say you have to be very careful with. Its close to the frame and if the engine torques too much from worn out engine mount bushings all it takes is a tiny dent in the housing and the ECU is shot. Personally I like the 2001 etech engines, but I only had limited experience owning one for a year or so.

We just bought a 1988 RD690S with an EM6-300L. The M stands for maxidyne, which has a massive powerband, and the L stands for Low RPM. Governor kicks in at 1750 rpms. Is the low rpm scenario a new phenomenon or have the trucks always been this way? It would help us to know what the engine model is. Like my EM6-300L I referenced. Maxidynes make 90%+ torque through the whole powerband, while the older ones used to wind out to 2100 rpms they started dialing the gov back in the 80's, but the powerband kicks in at a lower rpm too.

By allergy do you mean algae? There's a fungicide fuel treatment you can use. Kills it, but nothing's going to dissolve it. Pretreat fuel with it when you fill a truck up.

Great find. I assume you had it towed out? I assume it's not running yet.

Reminds me of this. I think this has gotta be "fly over" country?... I wish I had this kind of time on my hands....

Nah once the driver gets sea sick he just cuts the wheel, flips the truck over and climbs out the up door!

Heads up algae grows in diesel, or at least in the new diesel, so you may want to make liberal use of the fuel tank drain and flush the tank out real well. They make a fungicide additive that kills the algae but it doesn't dissolve it. It'll clog things up pretty good. Flush tank, change fuel filters, put some fresh fuel in it and pump new fuel through the system via the (hopefully equipped, but if not it's easy to install) fuel hand primer pump. You'll want to prefill the new fuel filters, and make sure you lubricate the fuel filter orings. And make sure old oring comes off. Never know with a 30 year old sitter.... (2 fuel filters)

There's enough mud on that steering tire for 30 years sitting, but that cab looks rust free. Dirt floor barn find? There is no visible rust, must have come from a no humidity state...

I would guess just the fuel pump. Maybe the turbo. Maybe the camshaft too if the maxidynes use different valve durations. Personally I would want higher oil pressure. My 79 maxidyne makes 60 psi at idle, 90+ for the powerband. Higher oil pressure helps ensure the crank bearings have a good film they're floating in so the bearing surfaces can't contact. You really need it IMHO when you're pulling with 90%+ of your peak torque at 1000 rpms. Look through used truck ads for a truck with an em7 and run the VIN through your dealer to see what camshaft/turbo part numbers are used. See if it compares to yours.

No gauge tells me your accessory relay is shot, which sometimes coincides with no cranking.

Sorry to hear about his passing. Location? Someone here may take enough interest in it to swing by and have a look!

Also you can boil a tstat to make sure it isn't faulty.

I would take it apart and correct it.

Not sure what the oil sensor should read for voltage, replace anyway? I think oil, low water level, and high water temp are shutdown triggers. Cover your bases and replace all 3?

The E7 block is different from the ETECH blocks. Totally different fuel system setups. ETECH has a fuel gallery in the block itself, E7 used a traditional injection pump. Some E7 engines are completely mechanical, like my 1995 e7-350, others are a traditional injection pump with a vmac I or II computer that adjusts injection timing never worked on a vmac I or II. ETECH motors are vmac III. Etecha are great engines, easy to diagnose fault codes, but the fuel side of the block is completely different. Plus the camshaft is different as each fuel injector gets a lobe on the camshaft in addition to the valve lobes.

Lol I think that falls under the category of "if you want it, you build it."

That I want to see a picture of.

Check your ignition switch for failing connections? Also replace your accessory relay, they tend to fail intermittently, sometimes engaging sometimes not. Is this a mechanical engine or does it have a computer?

Those angle irons were factory. Truck we just bought has a pretty large tank that uses brackets and straps similar to how the fuel tanks are mounted, plus the two smaller tanks in the frame rails that supply the lift axle. It's a 1988 r690s.

You usually have to go into edit mode and change the aspect ratio to dumb the picture file size down. That's the only way I can post.

You will want to use flexible exhaust tubing to run for a couple feet along the underside of the frame. This allows the system to flex as the engine torques and the truck frame twists going down the road. Pictures please!! We love to help but we love looking at trucks too!! 😎 Here's my dad's U model he used to plow with, we're getting it running for yard work. It's a little older than yours, used to be a single axle tractor too!

Not sure how/why your wiring got cooked by the exhaust. Exhaust should be 4 inch diameter from turbo to exhaust tip. Exhaust elbows down off the turbo, goes between flywheel housing and the frame; should be a clamp that bolts the exhaust to a machined hole on the flywheel housing; exhaust then goes along underneath the frame, til it hooks up to a goofy looking muffler behind the passenger fuel tank, muffler outlet is 4" diameter straight out the top. Any air lines/wires in the frame rails should have been clamped to the inside of the frame, with the exception of a copper tube that comes off the air compressor and is clamped to the transmission before it changes over to a braided stainless steel hose going to the wet tank.

This truck is a 97 also. It's up to 220k miles, original trans. Lots of towing and plowing. Left fender fit well, next I'm putting the left door on before doing g the rocker and cab corner. Gotta do it all just right to get it all to blend together. My panels came from LMC truck, which gets them from Taiwan. So far their metal seems good, but I bought plastic parts from them once. Never again. It's brittle and really cheap, as low quality as anything I've ever seen.

This is what I just started in my other bay. Gotta finish it for snow season! It's getting new fenders, rockers, doors, cab corners, bed skins and I'll be sandblasting/painting the frame and axles too. It's treated me very well since I got it, now I'm just replacing rot so I can get another few years out of it. (It's a 12v)