I'm giving some thought to buying a 92 F250 7.5 with under 40,000 and am wondering what the differences would be compared to the 97 7.3 that I recently sold. My main concern would be the transmission due to loosing my last one, but other items would also be nice to know.

Am I looking at a down graded older model of the same transmission or something else?

Can I identify the transmission from the door tag?

 

the engine mostly of course.the 460 will get approx half the economy your 7.3l did
(if you do a fair full 10 back to back fillup for a good average comparison.)
if it has the auto trans with OD,then the only option is the E40D in either truck.
the rear axle was updated in '93.so your slightly downgrading to the older 1st gen sterling.
you may or may not get the 3g alt on the 460.im not sure how that works,but mid year of '92 on the diesels,the serpentine belt with 3g alt was introduced.
in '95 the E40D went through some major upgrades.mid year '97 some more.the '92 is however a much stronger version than the first few years when it was introduced.
you'll miss your '97,mainly due to the engine downgrade.
auto trans door tag for the E40D = E.

 

Assuming it's an E4OD, there were several upgrades that Ford did in, I believe, in '95. Any Ford rebuilt E4OD after that time got the upgrades, but if it isn't rebuilt, or rebuilt by other than Ford rebuilders, it probably doesn't have the upgrades...

 

I'm not real excited about 10 mpg. I'm really trying to hold out for a 5.8 manual transmission but that seems like a pretty rare combo. I'll only be driving it 3K or so a year and pulling a little 16' trailer so I can live with the mileage I guess.

Right now the main stumbling block is someone cut the catalytic converter out and the check engine light is on. If I can get the truck for the right price and put $600 or so in to it I should come out ok, but the engine light is a concern. Any links on how to diagnose a check engine light?

 

Fuel Injection Technical Library » How To Run a Self-Test

Fuel Injection Technical Library » 3 Digit Self-test Codes 111-171

 

3k miles per year,id of just gotten the 460 truck instead too.driving so little,the FE difference don't mean much.wouldn't even be worth the extra maintenance expensive of the diesel.you'll be happy.so you hardly have a need for concern with the 40k mile E40D in there.by the time you even reach 100k the truck will be long sold,or rusted out.

 

A manual trans with the 351 may be ok, but it may be a dog when pulling anything.

I have a 97 250HD with the 460 and E4OD, and I pulled a 22' gooseneck loaded with equipment from minnesota to colorado and back and averaged 10.2MPG.
You'll be able to pass everything but a gas station!

The CEL is on for another reason. cutting out the cat will not trip a code, because the O2 sensor is mounted before it. Check the EGR, air pump, and those sensitive sensors and vac lines.

 

Well I guess this is good news at this point and I hope the new owner has taken that into consideration. As I was on my way to meet at our agreed upon time I called to let him know I was getting close and he told me "someone showed up unexpectedly and bought it"

I have about two more months to find a truck before camping season and I'm beginning to worry about finding a good one.