Okay, I've been shopping around for a used F250/350 CC 4x4 in the $15k or less price range. That pretty much puts me at 05 & older. There are lots of 5.4L's around, but the reviews on those are disgustingly poor (weak) to say the least. I had the 5.4 in my '04 F150 back in the day, and it was a DAWG.

Anyhow, if I find the right 6.0 PSD that feels right and hasn't been mod'd I might go for it, but what I would really like is a V10, based on the reviews from what I can gather online.

My question is, what are the OBVIOUS things I should look for when shopping? There are a few near me with 120k-160k miles on them priced accordingly. Besides the obvious car-stuff like looking for leaks, what are the problem areas I should be looking for?

If there is ANYTHING you would try to roll into the purchase price (or get the dealer to cover) ... what would you have done at purchase? New Plugs? New Manifold bolts? Tune-up? Fluid flush? etc???? I understand from my research that the 04 & older V10's were 2V mated to a 4 spd Auto tranny, and the 05+ models were 3V mated to a 5-spd Torq-Shift tranny. Should I skip the 04 & older and try to find something newer?

I regularly pull my tractor which weighs in at at-least 7k lbs dry, but I may have to load pallets of whatever, or other implements with it, which will bring me near 10K lbs.

I'm hoping to look at trucks in the next few days, so please answer ASAP. Thanks in advance. Looking forward to joining the site.

 

I would check all the exhaust studs to see if they have been done or maybe are broken, it's quite common apparently, although my '04 has 113K on it with all it's studs intact (thankfully). I'd also check the maintenance records for a plug change. Don't believe anyone who tells you the later ones don't pop out, my '04 did, but it cost less than $200 to get it fixed, plus $40 for a new coil pack. I'd also make very sure the 4x4 system is working. Just because the lights all come on in the dash, doesn't mean the hubs are engaging. Again, very common and very embarrassing when your new 4x4 gets stuck on flat ground in your yard just backing in to unload some firewood. Simple enough fix, but check before you buy, not after like I did. Other than that, not much to say, I'd had mine for 4 years and love it, not great mileage and I wish it had lower gears (mine has 3.73's and I wish it had 4.30's) but it does everything I ask and always runs. I know full well diesel trucks can work better for heavy towing, and get a couple mpg's better mileage but after reading some of the threads like the guy who recently found out his babied 6.4 PSD was gonna need an $18K crate engine (plus labor) I don't mind feeding my V10 at all. Good luck!

 

I shopped online for months before I bought 2001 F250 V10 crew cab. I was thinking for a while I might go the 6.0 route since low mileage 7.3s are getting tough to find. In the end I couldn't take that chance. Instead I went with my third V10. I knew what to expect and knew it would be reliable. Been really happy with it so far. Paid $11,500 for a 2001 with 90,000 miles. Really clean. Made the dealer fix the power door locks, detail, and tank of gas too.

 

im selling mine...

 

The manifold studs are the biggest thing for me, so much so, I bought headers and paid a shop to install them.

Eyeball the shop workers, if you trust them to do plugs for you, try to get that done, and anything else you see that might need attention. 4:30s are good, and a spendy upgrade aftwards. Sounds like you have a good list going already, good luck.

 

here is a great thread that should help you while you shop around!

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/8...-used-v10.html