# How deep of snow can a plow push? Not sure if I can plow my driveway!



## Sigma.40

I am looking at buying a 93 F250 7.3L diesel ( 5sp. manual transmission) with an 8ft Western plow today. First I need to find out if it will even plow my driveway. My driveway had 3 feet of wet snow covering it. I already shoveled it about halfway down and gave up. Can a plow truck push 3 feet of wet snow about 50ft? My driveway goes downhill from the road. I would really only need to take 1 full swipe and after that I could push smaller amounts. Lifting up the blade a bit is not an option, I don't think, as I'd be trying to BACK uphill in 1.5ft of snow to get the 2nd half. I want the truck to keep my driveway clear but I need to know if it will clear it right now first! Thanks!


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## procut

Well, I would say probably not very well. The plow is 29" tall and if the snow if 3 feet deep, you do the math. It will typically work fine, just try to plow with the storm, and not let it get 3 feet deep.


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## White Gardens

procut;1767831 said:


> Well, I would say probably not very well. The plow is 29" tall and if the snow if 3 feet deep, you do the math. It will typically work fine, just try to plow with the storm, and not let it get 3 feet deep.


Yep.

Or if it's deep, you'll need to take swipes out of it to open it up, basically grabbing a load and pushing it to the side as you go down the driveway.

Personally, a two stage walk behind blower is probably your cheapest and easiest option in my opinion.

......


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## Sigma.40

Would I want to have the blade angled to the side or hit it straight on?


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## White Gardens

Sigma.40;1767838 said:


> Would I want to have the blade angled to the side or hit it straight on?


All depends on conditions.

Seriously, for your own drive, a two stage blower is going to be your best option.

A plow on a truck is going to be more headache than worth on a personal drive only 50' long.

.....


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## Brian Young

Sigma.40;1767838 said:


> Would I want to have the blade angled to the side or hit it straight on?


About the only thing you could do in this case would be to push off to each side of the driveway all the way down. If you try to angle the blade with that much heavy snow, the only thing your going to do is the truck will keep getting pushed off to one side and you'll probably end up getting stuck.


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## BUFF

Brian Young;1767853 said:


> About the only thing you could do in this case would be to push off to each side of the driveway all the way down. If you try to angle the blade with that much heavy snow, the only thing your going to do is the truck will keep getting pushed off to one side and you'll probably end up getting stuck.


X2
Use a Blower or Loader to get it opened up, from there a pick up / plow combo can be used.


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## White Gardens

One other thing to consider is how steep your drive is. A picture would be great.

The reason being is the with a plow, you'll sometimes create hardpack or have an ice situation under the snow.

Even with 4wd, it's going to be tough to negotiate the hill. Especially if your truck is on the downhill side of the drive when you start. So going uphill is going to be dangerous and potentially get you stuck if the snow is too deep and you can't get traction.

Go with a blower....


.......


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## Sigma.40

I'll consider a blower. The reason I'm thinking about a plow truck is that we need a second vehicle anyway. My wife and I share a car in the winter. I have 2 motorcycles for the other 3 seasons, but winter is difficult.


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## Sigma.40

White Gardens;1767862 said:


> One other thing to consider is how steep your drive is. A picture would be great.
> 
> *The reason being is the with a plow, you'll sometimes create hardpack or have an ice situation under the snow.
> *
> Even with 4wd, it's going to be tough to negotiate the hill. Especially if your truck is on the downhill side of the drive when you start. So going uphill is going to be dangerous and potentially get you stuck if the snow is too deep and you can't get traction.
> 
> Go with a blower....
> 
> .......


My driveway is not too steep. Its about 100' long.

-Explain the hardpack/ ice under snow. Is that a problem? I have it and am currently outside trying to dig at it.


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## White Gardens

White Gardens;1767862 said:


> One other thing to consider is how steep your drive is. A picture would be great.
> 
> The reason being is the with a plow, you'll sometimes create hardpack or have an ice situation under the snow.
> 
> *Even with 4wd, it's going to be tough to negotiate the hill. Especially if your truck is on the downhill side of the drive when you start. So going uphill is going to be dangerous and potentially get you stuck if the snow is too deep and you can't get traction.*
> 
> Go with a blower....
> 
> .......


Re-read

With a blower, you'll be able to manage the hardpack much better. Sometimes with a plow and driving over the snow, you'll pack it down. Just depends on the snow conditions and how your plow reacts.

A walk-behind two stage blower will allow you to scrap closer to the ground and blow the snow out farther away from your drive. A plow just piles snow up.

Is the drive gravel or pavement?

......


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## MajorDave

Plow is not going to clean ice off - they don't get along. You should pay someone to do it now. Save you a lot of money. Buy a blower - a good one and then revisit the second vehicle in the Spring.


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## Brian Young

MajorDave;1767883 said:


> Plow is not going to clean ice off - they don't get along. You should pay someone to do it now. Save you a lot of money. Buy a blower - a good one and then revisit the second vehicle in the Spring.


^^What he said^^.


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## JB1

back up and hit it harder.


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## Sigma.40

White Gardens;1767879 said:


> Re-read
> 
> Is the drive gravel or pavement?
> 
> ......


Neither, its sand.


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## White Gardens

Sigma.40;1767908 said:


> Neither, its sand.


Plow is going to be horrible on sand, especially if it's ever soft.

Take the money you'll spend on a truck and plow and get the driveway built up better first.

That's it for me, I'm ringing out.

.....


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## Banksy

Two stage blower with the skids to raise the cutting edge. This is a no brainer for your driveway. Then go buy a decent SUV or something. A truck and plow won't be worth it.


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## leolkfrm

buy a professional grade ariens snowblower


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## Sigma.40

Thank you for all your replies. I understand that the plow won't push that much snow. Going to see the plow truck has been moved back to tomorrow afternoon. I am still going to consider it but today I am going to go borrow my dads snowblower (and truck to get it here) and get rid of the snow (near 4 feet now) before I possibly get the truck. I had my driveway plowed several times last year and once this year without any problems so I am not too worried about that. Plus, my neighbors informed me that the previous owners had a plow truck and my driveway didn't give them any issues, I was really only concerned about pushing the amount of snow that I currently have on my driveway, but I will take care of that with my fathers snowblower.

-I am not "blowing" off the idea of a snowblower. I will seriously consider it if this truck is not in the mechanical condition that I am being promised that it is in. I just do not have the time to snowblow, nor do I have a place to store it. It would just sit in the driveway year-round.


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## Banksy

A plow is going to take up a lot more room and harder to move around conveniently, no?


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## Sigma.40

Banksy;1768736 said:


> A plow is going to take up a lot more room and harder to move around conveniently, no?


I was more referring to my lack of a garage. I have lots of space outside to store a snowblower or plow. 5 acres of space. We get lots of rain in the summer and I don't want to buy a brand new snowblower and then just let it sit outside when sometimes it can rain for weeks almost constantly. Maybe my thinking is flawed, but I don't feel a plow would be nearly as affected by it.


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## leolkfrm

tractor supply has those quanset hut style sheds for a couple of hundred bucks...they do withstand a good amount of weather......neighbor put up 3 from harbor freight 4yrs ago and the first on just tore because he wanted to knock the ice off it...the one from ts is 2 yrs old and still looks good


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## Sigma.40

leolkfrm;1768907 said:


> tractor supply has those quanset hut style sheds for a couple of hundred bucks...they do withstand a good amount of weather......neighbor put up 3 from harbor freight 4yrs ago and the first on just tore because he wanted to knock the ice off it...the one from ts is 2 yrs old and still looks good


That is actually a really good idea. I was actually considering a canopy-type tent to put my motorcycles in during the spring, summer and fall, but your idea is much better. Though, I might just look at building a shed this spring.

-After thinking about this thread, I just want a plow truck. I'm not quite sure why, but I do. Couldn't get my parents snow blower here today, so I hand shoveled my entire driveway. Then I took a hammer and pounded away ALL the hardpack and built-up ice (2ft wide x 100ft long x 3ft thick). It took me all day and I am exhausted. However, there is now enough room at the bottom of my driveway to make a complete U-turn with a plow truck. So this truck that I am going to see tomorrow had better be worth it.


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## Urdum2

A Cargo container would work too......great for storage, water tight, and the price wasn't to bad....depending if you get a one tripper 3100.00 or a used one 12 to 24 hundreds, plus shippping.....I bought two and going to put at a 10 space between the and the build a roof between them....lots of uses for them...Google it...


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## Sigma.40

A cargo container would work great. but I am fairly certain that my wife would object.


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## peteo1

Sigma.40;1769041 said:


> A cargo container would work great. but I am fairly certain that my wife would object.


Put some vinyl siding on it and throw a few plants around it and she'll be happy


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## BUFF

peteo1;1769251 said:


> Put some vinyl siding on it and throw a few plants around it and she'll be happy


Or he can cut her off..........Thumbs Up


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## jasonv

BUFF;1769258 said:


> Or he can cut her off..........Thumbs Up


You're not married, are you?


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## BUFF

jasonv;1774117 said:


> You're not married, are you?


 19yrs and it's going good, I threaten to cut her off all the time and she just laughs...........On of the days I'll follow through.


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## Big-Foot

So how did the truck look Sigma?

No one "Likes" to walk behind a snow blower.. Particularly when the wind is up or the temps drop to sub zero..
I have a Jeep Wrangler with a 6.5' plow on it and a couple hundred pounds of weight in the tail. It met it's match with the last snow storm we had where we got a few inches of snow followed by heavy rains followed by a foot of snow and immediate temp drop to zero. I could push no more than 20' or so before the load was too heavy and I would lose traction. I got stuck a number of times and had to shovel my way out. The truck you're looking at would be substantially heavier and also able to carry a lot more ballast. But it will surely meet it's match in the same way my Jeep did.. The bad thing is that if you get that big SOB stuck, you're really going to get a work-out.. I would suggest buying a winch for it too and hang it from the rear trailer hitch.

Buff - when you've been married twice that long - come talk to us... Buy then you'll be dating again. Usually the Mother-Thumb and her four daughters.. LOL


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## IPLOWSNO

No way in hell I'd buy a standard!! Or shovel lmao, and certainly not snow blow it!!

Once he has his set up, he will be out there all the time plowing it who's he kidding he's been married 19 years!!
I got kids older than he's been married lol

Hell he will be staring at the window muttering wtf dam weathesn said snow why don't them sobs ever get it righ they get paid too dam much, honey I'm gonna run down to the neighbors he could use his banks pushed back see you in a few !!

I'd get a jeep, that will lead him to a garage, which will lead him to buying every gizmo there is honey I need this I'm going to put it on see you in a few!!

He stays happily married after ever


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## BUFF

Big-Foot;1775043 said:


> Buff - when you've been married twice that long - come talk to us... Buy then you'll be dating again. Usually the Mother-Thumb and her four daughters.. LOL





IPLOWSNO;1775050 said:


> Once he has his set up, he will be out there all the time plowing it who's he kidding he's been married 19 years!!
> I got kids older than he's been married lol


I held out to 34yrs old before getting married to a 20yrs old lady.Thumbs Up
I'm a happy guy.......


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## IPLOWSNO

BUFF;1775603 said:


> I held out to 34yrs old before getting married to a 20yrs old lady.Thumbs Up
> I'm a happy guy.......


Dam I tell my wife I'm trading her in for two twenty year olds all the time!!! She says you know they'd kill you, of course I know they'd kill me but I'd die a happy man!!


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## BUFF

IPLOWSNO;1775613 said:


> Dam I tell my wife I'm trading her in for two twenty year olds all the time!!! She says you know they'd kill you, of course I know they'd kill me but I'd die a happy man!!


I say the same thing, on her 36th b-day I told her she was out and 18yr old twins were in.


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## jomofo

Let me advise you against trying to pull double time making your plow truck your second vehicle. We did that for two seasons, and it's an incredible pain in the ass. Constantly trying to figure out whether to have the plow on or off, wear and tear on the connectors being attached and detached 50 times a season, playing chase the plow when the 1"-2" forecast suddenly turns into 8"-12"... All dirt roads up here, and when the spring comes, Mother Nature likes to let the ground get soft and then drop 20" on it. Makes putting hte plow on a hassle. Then factor in putting chains on and taking them off... Now, I have my plow truck sitting, chained up, plow on, ready to go... If I need to push I just go out and do it. Let the truck warm up for 10 mins while I'm sitting inside and then go do it. Those in-between pushes only take 20 mins... So much easier than reassembling the whole rig before I can even get started. If the push starts with putting on the plow, and finishes with taking it off, it's at least an hour by the time it's all said and done.


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## Sigma.40

Big-Foot;1775043 said:


> So how did the truck look Sigma?


Ok, here's the story. Its a 93 F250 7.3L diesel. It looked pretty good, but ran and drove REALLY good. Got it for $1800. It drove the 90 miles back to my home town just fine, UNTIL I got back to my city. Then it decided to lose 90% of its braking power. I topped off the brake fluid and went home. As soon as I got home, I did manage to plow the rest of my driveway. In the morning, I went to start it and it wouldn't start. Had the batteries tested and they were bad. Bought 2 Brand new 900 CCA batteries ($200 after a $100 discount coupon for Advanced Auto online) and installed them. Drove it for a day or 2 until it decided to refuse to turn on. Did a bunch of testing and found out it was the starter. I also discovered that my Brake master cylinder was leaking (hence the weak brakes). I bought a new starter and master cylinder and installed them in 12F weather ($130).

The truck is now running great again. I have had alot of fun driving it. I got a little frusterated by all the immediate repairs needed, but with an $1800 truck, it was to be expected. I've spent $2130 and have a great truck with a new starter and master cylinder (both lifetime warranties) and 2 brand new batteries.



jomofo;1777062 said:


> Constantly trying to figure out whether to have the plow on or off, wear and tear on the connectors being attached and detached 50 times a season,


Not 50 times...2 times. I'll attach it at the end of fall and detach it in the spring. The truck has averaged 18-19mpg with the plow on so I don't really have any reason to remove it.


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## IPLOWSNO

Pics or it didn't happen !!!


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## Sigma.40

It apparently won't let me upload pics.


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## Sigma.40

IPLOWSNO;1782808 said:


> Pics or it didn't happen !!!


Nevermind, I got it. Here is the pic from the Craigslist ad. Its too dark to take a pic right now. The worst of the rust is on the fenders. The underside is actually fairly clean. I found new fenders for $120/pair, so that will probably be something I look into later this year.


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## IPLOWSNO

Good deal, I'm sure you will have a build up thread soon!!


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## Sigma.40

IPLOWSNO;1782827 said:


> Good deal, I'm sure you will have a build up thread soon!!


Maybe. There is still a few little things I want to do to it. Ultimately, I'd like to add a Banks or ATS turbo to it, but that is probably just a pipe dream. The most important thing I need to do is get those plow marker sticks. I drive all around and have no idea where my plow is. I'll get those this week and go from there. Not quite enough for a build thread, though .

A funny thing is, this is only the 2nd 4x4 that I have ever owned. The first one was a Range Rover and had auto hubs. I had to get the previous owner to give me a detailed description on how I went about using manual locking hubs and what they were for


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## IPLOWSNO

Haha I grew up with them lol, make sure you turn them in the summer too!!

If you go weeks without snow pull the plow, it's just wear and tear!!


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## Sigma.40

IPLOWSNO;1782862 said:


> If you go weeks without snow pull the plow, it's just wear and tear!!


Wear and tear on the plow?


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## Big-Foot

Glad things worked out for you Sigma... Yeah those Diesel trucks.. I've had some challenges with them myself. How it normally goes is like this:
1 battery goes weak or bad
Starter begins drawing more amperage because of the reduced voltage
2nd battery finally gives up trying to pull most or all the load by himself
Replace both batteries and the starter is now weak because the brushes and commutator are half smoked from the high current draw..

Rule of thumb with diesel trucks for me is - replace both batteries at the same time with the exact same specs.

Those 7.3 Powerstrokes are strong and will live darned near forever with the right care..

Make sure you use a good algaecide with your fuel - especially if it sits parked for any period of time. Those injectors and pump are not cheap.. You should also have a water separator that you'll need to drain or replace periocially..


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## IPLOWSNO

No the truck carrying the 800# plow, shocks leafs ball joints etc

Keep it lubed up it comes off fast enough to throw on when needed!


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## Sigma.40

Big-Foot;1782868 said:


> will live darned near forever with the right care..
> 
> Make sure you use a good algaecide with your fuel - especially if it sits parked for any period of time. Those injectors and pump are not cheap.. You should also have a water separator that you'll need to drain or replace periocially..


Its the International not the Powerstroke. Parts are ALOT cheaper. Injectors are $50 each as opposed to the $250 that each of the Powerstroke's are. Also I don't have to dig into the engine to replace them, like you do with the Powerstroke. One of the first things I researched on the truck before I bought it.



IPLOWSNO;1782874 said:


> No the truck carrying the 800# plow, shocks leafs ball joints etc
> Keep it lubed up it comes off fast enough to throw on when needed!


Oh, yeah...I'm tired. I'll take it off during any large breaks in the weather. I live in northern Michigan, though. There aren't too many of those.


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## Big-Foot

Sigma.40;1782886 said:


> Its the International not the Powerstroke. Parts are ALOT cheaper. Injectors are $50 each as opposed to the $250 that each of the Powerstroke's are. Also I don't have to dig into the engine to replace them, like you do with the Powerstroke. One of the first things I researched on the truck before I bought it.
> 
> Oh, yeah...I'm tired. I'll take it off during any large breaks in the weather. I live in northern Michigan, though. There aren't too many of those.


I sit corrected as the Powerstroke 7.3 (Still International Harvester / Navistar based) was released in 94. 
What you said is correct about the injectors for the older engine being cheaper - however - you have a mechanical injection pump which is not only a little expensive, but "junk the truck" expensive to have replaced. The last one I had of this series was a 1984 F250 with the 6.9. All I can tell you is don't get that engine wet while it's warm / hot. 
Still - it's as I pointed out earlier, those IHI/Navistar engines were great engines and will run forever if taken care of. 
The torque they produce is more than sufficient for plowing and most trailer pulling duty. I pulled a 10k trailer with the 6.9 (naturally aspirated) and while it would not break any speed records, it yanked that load down the road without drama. 
Enjoy your truck!


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## White Gardens

Big-Foot;1782990 said:


> I sit corrected as the Powerstroke 7.3 (Still International Harvester / Navistar based) was released in 94.
> What you said is correct about the injectors for the older engine being cheaper - however - you have a mechanical injection pump which is not only a little expensive, but "junk the truck" expensive to have replaced. The last one I had of this series was a 1984 F250 with the 6.9. All I can tell you is don't get that engine wet while it's warm / hot.
> Still - it's as I pointed out earlier, those IHI/Navistar engines were great engines and will run forever if taken care of.
> The torque they produce is more than sufficient for plowing and most trailer pulling duty. I pulled a 10k trailer with the 6.9 (naturally aspirated) and while it would not break any speed records, it yanked that load down the road without drama.
> Enjoy your truck!


Luckily the 7.3 had some mods done to it so that it was a better engine than the 6.9 (though identical blocks). Better heads and studs to take a turbo, better glow plug system, etc....

The mechanical injection pumps aren't that bad now for pricing, especially if you take it to a reputable shop to have it re-built.

But, the one thing about a 7.3 you should look into is the SCA levels in the coolant. The 7.3's are prone to cavitation due to the thinner cylinder walls to get the extra .4 liters over the 6.9. As long as the SCA levels are in line, it minimizes the cavitation.

Also, just as the 6.9, always use motorcraft glow plugs. Though the 6.9 was more notorious for swelling glow plugs due to the temp sensor in the block sticking open, it is still a potential problem on the 7.3 if the glow plugs cycle too long with the solid state system, which is rare. If you take the glow plugs out for some reason, you need to take your time as to not break the tips. Otherwise you'll have to either pull an injector and try to vacuum it out before it leaves the pre-chamber, or pull the head to get it out. Aftermarket plugs are known to fail under normal conditions.

Can't remember the OHM spec for the glow plugs, but if you start getting a "hard start" issue in all weather, then you can ohm them out and find the bad ones.

.....


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## Sigma.40

I threw a bit of the SCA in anyway just in case it didn't have any, but I'll probably just do a complete flush in the next couple of weeks. As for the injection pump, I'm not too worried about it. In a very quick internet search I found them for $500, which I don't think is TOO bad for a part that probably doesn't go very often.


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## Big-Foot

Sigma.40;1783336 said:


> I threw a bit of the SCA in anyway just in case it didn't have any, but I'll probably just do a complete flush in the next couple of weeks. As for the injection pump, I'm not too worried about it. In a very quick internet search I found them for $500, which I don't think is TOO bad for a part that probably doesn't go very often.


Don't get it wet when the engine is hot.. They don't really have much in the line of O-rings and seals internally and rely on what's called Lapped Surfaces with tolerances held to within a couple ten thousandths of an inch. Get the whole assembly up to 250 degrees, you're fine. Chill that housing and the pump immediately starts to destroy itself. When it happened to me the new pump was $2500. That hurt, plus the cost to install and time it was another $500 as it also had to have a full service for oil and fuel filters and strainer.

Just sayin... Watch out for the big puddles! I was pulling a heavy load in a driving rainstorm and drove through a low spot in the road that was about 30' long and 2.5 to 3 feet deep. Could not tell I was about to drive through a pool like that because the rain had it full and everything was soaked... The truck continued to run but went way down on power. Then the return line started plugging up and it went way rich.. I barely made it to the dealer..


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## Sigma.40

Good to know. Thanks, I'll watch out for them.


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