About 6 months ago my wife and I decided that we needed a diesel truck in order to pull the 30 ft travel trailer we were looking to purchase. This truck would replace our 1992 4.9 6 cylinder F-150 that was a beast its its own way but just could not handle the heavy towing load. We searched high and low for a decent deal on either a 12v Cummins or a 00-03 7.3 PSD. We found the truck we now own on Ebay being listed by a small auto lot of which only had about 6 vehicles and was 600 miles away. I called and spoke to the owner of the lot about the truck and told him we would be there tomorrow around noon. I put in for leave for the following day, headed home where my wife was packing overnight bags and getting the dogs ready for an adventure.

Now, keeping in mind this is a 14 year old truck, I knew there would be some surprises and things in need of repair. Also, she had 228,000 miles on her, so she was no spring chicken. When I test drove it I could tell she still had a lot of life left and a good amount of fight in her too. We bought the truck for $9000 and drove it 600 miles home. We knew the deal was not great, but it was a good deal and it was exactly what we were looking for. The color is even an exact match for the 2008 Subaru Tribeca we have, so it must have been meant to be.

Since buying the truck, I have been working on it cosmetically, mechanically and spiritually to make it our own. You can see from the list below that we have gone through great strides to make it a one of a kind truck. There may be many trucks out there like ours, but not identical and that is what we were looking to do. I have learned a lot about diesel engines over the past 6 months, especially since this was our first.

Below is the list of items I have replaced and/or repaired to make the truck run like a beast and instill confidence in us.

Enjoy the pictures and know that this truly is a great truck/engine that we have fallen in love with. Despite it not having 800+ ft lbs of torque like the 2015's, I would be hard pressed to trade it in for a new one. I may just keep this thing until the world ends...

Front sway bar end links
Chrome door handle covers
Chrome tailgate handle cover
Re-enforced intake intercooler boots
Re-enforced plenum boots
T-clamps for all 6 intake/intercooler boots
Billet plenum inserts
Ford cold air intake (AIS)
Clear lens headlight housings
Headlight bulbs
Turn signal housings
Chrome/amber turn signal bulbs
Custom T-handle (Hurst style) shift handle
Custom F-250 Powerstroke International badges (side panels)
Custom International Harvestor badges (front and rear)
Amsoil synthetic ATF power steering fluid
Dot 3/4 brake fluid
Dot 3/4 clutch fluid
Amsoil Synthetic front differential fluid
Amsoil Synthetic rear differential fluid
Amsoil Synthetic transfer case fluid
Amsoil Synthetic transmission fluid
Rotella synthetic T6 engine oil
Fuel filter
Cross drilled/slotted front rotors
Hawk LTS front brake pads
Air intake heater plug
Cooper ST Maxx tires
20% Tinted windows all the way around
Custom painted grill
05+ Updated Cup holder
Greased/packed 4x4 locking hubs
205 degree thermostat
Billet thermostat housing
International T444E cast iron water pump with built in filter
Lower radiator hose
Upper radiator hose (dual alternator application)
IH water pump hardened bolts
Heater hose
Driver door lock actuator
Passenger door lock actuator
Ceramic coated intercooler hot/cold tubes
Caterpillar EC-1 extended life coolant
Turbo outlet o-ring
5x New amber cab clearance light housings
2x License plate light housings
Rear door cables repaired
7/4 way trailer plug
Chair armrest covers

 

Nice looking truck. Not a bad price for one that clean. Good luck with it.
Jim.

 

Great Job....Truck looks great....Like the badge also did you do it yourself or have it custom made?

 

Very NICE! You'll love it for years.

 

Thats a clean truck and one hell of a beautiful engine bay!!! Nice job and enjoy.

The only issue I see is the two different batteries which means if one is better than the other it could draw from the good battery to the other which could cause premature failure, just a heads up but that engine bay... WOW!

 

Need more info on that IH grille badge.

 

Sous I like your added touch! I also have a Harvest Gold F250.

What is the rear decal on the bed?? Cant make it out.

I think spoke with same ebay sellar a few yrs ago. Its a retired couple specializing in diesel pickups.

Enjoy and remember to also do nice things for the wife. LOL

 

Thank you for the compliments. We are very proud of what the truck has become.

I had not even thought about the batteries drawing from each other. I guess I will add 2 batters to my Christmas wish list for Santa to choose from.

 

We knew we were going to buy the truck the moment we saw it online, just didn't know for sure what condition it was in. We could not believe the color is a dead match, same paint code and everything as our 2008 Tribeca. Guess it was meant to be.

The decal is a Molan Labe (Come and Take Them) spartan helmet with the American flag filling it in. I support the 2nd amendment and don't mind showing others that I do.

Here is a closer look at the decal, it replaced the 4x4 sticker which I removed.

 

If you start to notice hard starts I would have the batteries tested but until then no need to change them if everything is fine. I was just throwing that out to be the first thing to check if you start noticing slow or hard starts.

 

I got the decal from a seller on Ebay. Both the front and rear came as a kit. There are several pieces and have to be applied in order to make it look right and good. I thought it was a little pricey, but adds a very nice touch the truck and matches the color/wheels very well instead of the typical blue oval.

 

Agreed, thanks for the advice. Again, this is the first time I have dealt with a diesel and certainly a dual battery setup. Neither of the batteries have the date indicators on them marked, so it is purely a guess as to when they were installed. I will keep close tabs on the starting process and look to the batteries first when I do notice hard starting. Luckily I am in GA, so the cold is not a big factor when dealing with deep cold starting.

 

Very nice looking truck! I think you've done well.

 

Good looking truck, and nice work establishing a solid baseline for maintenance. Seems like you got most of it covered and should be good to go for quite a while.

 

Ok Saus next question. What and how did you get those wheels so polished?

I appreciate the bed decal by the way.

Search gpr led. Quick and simple mod to know if glow plugs are energized.
I have my led just laying on my brake controller til I add a guage pod.