Hello fellas, I have a question for you. I just recently picked up a 95 Ford L8000 with the 8.3 Cummins. I know that I paid alot for the truck but I'm hoping it was worth it. Trucks around here aren't that cheap and I sold my 2000 F650 for it because the 650 didn't haul what I needed it to. The truck cab, frame, tires, brakes dump body etc is in MINT condition. No rot, no rust, brand new 10ft dump body. I am more curious about the 8.3 Cummins than anything. It has 292k on it and seems to run great and have good power but I just want some opinions on the motor. The truck has a straight 6-speed. Thanks guys.
That's the CTA 8.3? with a turbo and water to air cooler? If so I worked on those in snowcats. They are a workhorse, biggest problem I had was the oil cooler letting go and all of my coolant turning to grey mung. That's a great engine, I just feel sorry for you when you try to set the valves on #5 and 6 buried deep in that Ford firewall, I guess you've got a dog house. Sounds like a nice truck, wait...."no Rust" and you are in Mass?.... that thing sounds like a MIRACLE TRUCK!
Tell me about it! That's the only reason I bought the truck ( no rust ). At higher RPM's i can hear some loud tapping almost like an exhaust leak but maybe they are the valves? Not sure but I'm running it. About the cab, the previous owner that I bought the truck off of kept the truck indoors and only used it during the spring / summer. It won't be pulling much weight as the heaviest piece that i pull is around 9 tons plus another 2..5 tons of trailer.