Hello. As the post says I am new to the forum as well as to ford diesel trucks. I am looking to purchase this one owner ’99 Ford F350 7.3l diesel auto 4x4 dually stake body dump bed truck with plow hitch & brake controller. It has 135,000 miles and the seller is asking $5,000. I will use this truck to pick up materials for my “farm”, haul mulch & debris, plow my long driveway, and tow a trailer a few times. I will be lucky to put on more than 3,000 road miles a year. Sorry I don’t have pics but here is the description.<O</O
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I only test drove it once but the truck appears to start, drive, shift and brake fine. The automatic steering column shifter will not go into park and the index is loose so you must start & stop it in neutral and you are guessing when that is but once you find N it is OK. The truck dump body was replaced and is in OK condition. The frame is rusty and appears solid but is starting “sheet rust”. The muffler is completely rusted and the rear shocks are rusted out – as are the supports that hold them. The leaf springs were replaced and appear to be OK. The center drive shaft support at the U joint is gone and the guy is holding it up with a nylon ratchet strap. The engine is dripping oil somewhere – I can’t tell if it is coming from the oil pan and/or somewhere on the engine. The cab is in OK condition with no noticeable rust except for the inside bottom of the doors (outside is OK but inside is rusting out). <O</O
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I took it to a ford dealer for a pre-purchase inspection. They said the engine and transmission are working fine, GPs are good and the tires and brakes are all good. They found the following in need of repair or replacement:<O</O
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1) Oil pan is rusting and needs to be replaced (They didn’t say if there is a hole in it though. I never knew it was so expensive to replace an oil pan – pull the engine!?)<O></O>
2) Batteries - one is shot and the other is at about half the amps.<O></O>
3) drive shaft center support bearing and mount are rotted away.<O></O>
4) Rear shocks and supports <O></O>
5) Muffler<O></O>
6) emergency parking brake assembly and plates rusting badly & MAY or MAY NOT pass inspection<O></O>
7) automatic shifting column was tightened but didn’t solve the problem so it needs to have repair or replacement<O></O>
8) dump frame sub cross members are rusted and should be replaced<O></O>
9) There was a code in the computer for the rear speed sensor.<O></O>
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For my needs I don’t need to do all of that right away as the truck drives. However, I know that I’m gambling with some of these things not to mention the other issues that will pop up along the way. They want $6700 to do all of the above repairs & replacements and that doesn’t include any welding. My budget is $7500 so with the price the seller wants and that leaves me with $2,000 (after taxes & registration) to do immediate repairs on this truck. I know dealers are sometimes funny with old trucks and see them as rolling problems. But I’ve been looking for awhile and in this price range any truck is going to have problems. I need a truck sooner than later as my 86 gas F350 is a bucket of problems and I can’t get it inspected without dumping a ton of money into it.<O</O
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My questions:<O</O
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*What do you guys think?<O</O
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*The dealer engaged the lockouts for the 4x4 but only drove it briefly on dry road. They suggested I take it on gravel or dirt to fully check out the 4wd. How should I test it?<O</O
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Sorry for the long post and THANK YOU!<O</O
Keith<O</O

 

First off, welcome to FTE. There is a ton of info here and alot of really good guys willing to help anytime you need it. As for the truck, its hard for me to say with the amount of rusted out parts listed. But with the quote from the stealership, you actually have some bargin room with the seller. have him come off some or fix a couple of the major things. just my .02

 

Welcome to FTE.

I would try to find a truck in better shape, if it was me. You said you are new to diesels, so you will have a lot to learn, or you sill spend a ton of money letting the dealer fix these thing. I bet that price from the dealer is not with pulling the engine to do the pan replacement the right way.

Good luck and keep us informed on what you do.

 

Levi - Thanks! I am only looking for opinions so all are welcome. Regarding the rust - it is rusty but it still has meat in the necessary areas. I've looked at much worse so maybe I'm seeing it better than it is. I realize you guys won't be able comment specifically on anything.

The seller has 2 offers of $4k but said he will keep it before he sells it for that. Even if I buy it for $4k it is still a lot of work. But, what choice do I have in my price range - there won't be a $4-$5k truck that doesn't need work. I could dump $5,000 into my '86 gas F350 but that is still 2wd, has a week engine and I have to have it inspected every year & it already failed emmissions last time. Bottom line is I hope to be owning a lesser piece of junk than I already have.

Miller- Thanks. I hear ya. Wish I had some more money. The dealer quote was $2100 & included pulling the engine. However, from what I've researched I will end up needing other things replaced just from pulling the engine on an older truck so that number is a startin price and can sometimes be $100s if not $1,000s more.

 

If its something that you think you can work on and fix little by little I would say its not all that bad. You have access to a ton of info and help right here. These trucks are easy to learn and easy to work on. My two cents.