Going to look at this truck on Saturday. What do you guys think

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10-31-2013, 02:30 PM

Daveyj

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Going to look at this truck on Saturday. What do you guys think

Going to check out this truck on Saturday. I know it's not perfect. Has some rust on wheel wells, and probably elsewhere. Dealer claims that the wheel wells are the only place it's rusted. Take a look at the ad and tell me what you think. I live four hours away, but don't mind making the drive. Plus if I buy it I'll get a good idea of highway fuel mileage for it.

opinions appreciated.

Ford F-250 | ksl.com

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10-31-2013, 02:40 PM

DIYMechanic

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Daveyj

Looks decent enough. Mileage is up there kinda high and I'm wondering why the bed was all patched up with diamond plate. That's a little suspicious to me. I think the fact that it doesn't have a tailgate would be a negative to me too. I can guarantee that if the wheel wells are rusted through that is not the only rust on the truck. Look at the core support especially. I bet it's all rotted out where it bolts to the frame.

All in all it looks like it is in decent shape and the price isn't bad. CC trucks are in high demand and they're getting hard to find in good shape. Ask about the transmission too. If it hasn't been rebuilt lately it's probably on borrowed time at that mileage.

There is a big list of things to look at floating around here somewhere. I can post it up if you want it. Do your homework, but I drove a lot farther than that recently for the truck I wanted and it was in worse shape cosmetically than that. It was a southern truck and a CCLB F-350 with a 5 speed though and that's what I wanted.

If you like it and it drives good, buy it! We will help you build it into the truck of your dreams, provided you have deep enough pockets!

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10-31-2013, 03:43 PM

ReBilld

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Doesn't seem like too bad of a price for a CCSB.

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10-31-2013, 08:52 PM

fordman67

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Its a g less than I gave with 50k less mi..if its solid its a good enough deal.

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10-31-2013, 08:53 PM

madpogue

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Quote:

Originally Posted by DIYMechanic

and I'm wondering why the bed was all patched up with diamond plate. That's a little suspicious to me. I think the fact that it doesn't have a tailgate would be a negative to me too. I can guarantee that if the wheel wells are rusted through that is not the only rust on the truck. Look at the core support especially. I bet it's all rotted out where it bolts to the frame.

Diamond-plate's pretty obvious - there's been a LOT more rust than just the wheel wells. Tailgate probably got too rusty to keep. +1 on the core support, plus the hangers, etc. under the truck.

A little high for a 3/4 ton automatic with those miles. If they take $4500 or even $5K, I'd say you did okay.

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10-31-2013, 08:55 PM

Daveyj

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Well I had my brother who lives in the area go look at it today. Only rust he could find was the rear wheel wells. All windows rolled up and down, although the rear ones were slow. No blow by. I listened on the phone while the dealer started it. It took three or four tries to start. Probably cranked for ten seconds each time. White smoke out tail pipe while cranking. Is the smoke normal? The Diamond p plate is welded to the bed floor. Looking from under truck bed is not rusted. I think I'll make the trip to go look at it. Core support was solid.

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10-31-2013, 09:11 PM

martin72

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If you go look at it open the doors and look to see if they have any rust started in the bottom of them. One of the first places it starts.

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10-31-2013, 09:12 PM

Daveyj

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Oh I forgot. He said the drivers seat was harder than a board. Like someone injected the foam with epoxy. Not that they actually did that. The seat was just really hard in the but area.

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11-01-2013, 06:02 AM

427 fordman

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Smoke while cranking is normal. Means it took so long to start you should have more bargaining chips there.

It probably needs glowplugs and/or a relay.

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11-01-2013, 06:41 AM

DIYMechanic

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^^ 2X

Long crank times while starting and lots of white smoke means the glow plug system isn't working. Could be a bad relay (about $40 and a 10 minute job) or it could need glow plugs (about $100 and will probably take you an afternoon if you're fairly handy).

Look it over carefully and if you like it, try to talk them down using the long crank times as a bargaining tool. I would look closely for any abnormal wear in the front tires as well. The Dana 50 TTB axle used in the F-250's is hard to keep aligned and there are a lot of ball joints and bushings to maintain. If they're worn, it will be a pretty decent sized job to get them replaced. Not a deal breaker, but it could be another tool to use to get the price down.

Here is the list of things to look at in depth, if you want to get that involved.
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w

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ontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/> <w

ontFlipMirrorIndents/> <w:OverrideTableStyleHps/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]-->Buying Used Power Stroke Diesels
Things To Look For When Buying A Used Power Stroke Diesel

Turbo:

You might take the air tube off the back of the air filter and look inside of it. If there is dirt build up, that is a very bad sign, so are the turbo fins looking sand blasted or bent. A little oily film is normal since the valve cover breather exits inside the tube.

Airbox:

Check the two bolts holding down the airbox lid. If they are plastic with a square recess, it is a recalled part. The recall is expired, but without the updated lid the risk of dirt infiltration is greater, the lid was updated with more supports and the updated bolts are metal with a straight slot. If it is the old style, you spend around $80 to update it.

Tranny:

If you buy a truck with an auto tranny, finding out if it's been maintained is essential, as the E4OD is an expensive transmission. Also, (if auto) seeing if the truck has an auxiliary transmission cooler would be worthwhile. For sticks, listen for clunking when shutting off or small vibration while operating. It could be an indication of a dual mass flywheel going out. Many have replaced them with single mass units.

Rear Gear Ratio:

4:10 will pull better, get slightly lower mpg’s and run a higher RPM compared to 3:55.
Coolant:

Ask the previous owner about the coolant - have they been adding FW16 or DCA4 to keep a proper SCA level? It is very important for stopping cavitation. You can get test strips to check the SCA level from NAPA, International, or Ford. I would test the current condition while looking over the truck, the SCA level should be between 1.5 and 3.0. Also, see if it has a block heater (it was an option on 97's).

Front end:

Check the front end for wear, or have an alignment shop check out the ball joints and steering linkage (tie rod ends). If they are shot, it is spendy (all four tie rods are around $400 just for parts, ball joint labor is also very spendy)
Oil:

The questions to ask are how often the oil was changed (at least every 5,000) and what kind of oil they used (diesel rated)? An oil analysis could tell you if there might be an engine problem or not.

Aftermarket stuff:

Seeing if the truck has got an aftermarket downpipe would be nice, a chip, or gauges (pyrometer, trans temp, etc.). Ask about any added items and who installed them.

Glow Plugs/Relay:

Find out if the glow plugs are in good working condition as well as the relay. Ask if either has been changed and when. You can check the glow plug resistance through the valve cover connector if needed (http://forums.ford-diesel.com/cgi-bi...&f=21&t=005210), and the relay should have power to both large terminals on top when the key is turned on, and one of the terminals should go out before ~2 minutes.

Injector o-rings:

The injector O-rings have been known to be a problem. The new o-ring sets have a pink middle seal. If the truck has an o-ring problem, one of the signs can be a discoloration of the fuel in the filter bowl. There is a drain on the passenger side front of the filter bowl for draining water (the filter is also the water separator) and you can catch some of the drained fuel in a jar – it should be dingy yellow and not blue or dark.

Leaks and Drips:

You can check the valley between the heads of the V8 for moisture and/or fluid. It should be dry not wet. Most leaks will run through this valley and down the back of the motor dripping off by the tranny/engine coupling.
VIN number:

If you take the VIN to any dealer, they can tell you when it was built, when it went into service, and some of the work that might have been done on it. You can also run prospective VIN's through Carfax.com to see the title history.

Good luck!<!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority

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