Ok I know this is the area for f150 trucks, but thought I would try this here. I'm looking to buy a 98 f250 with the 5.4. It has 212k miles, truck is really clean but we are suspecting that the oil cooler is letting oil into the coolant. It's 4x4 and from what I can tell is otherwise a good truck. The guy is asking $1700 for it so my real question is should I be excited or just forget it? Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

 

I have a '98 f250 standard cab 2-wheel drive with only 42,000 miles on it.
Good truck, same as F150 but with a slightly beefed up transmission and rear end, & also 7 lug rim only used on it and the large passenger/cargo e250 vans.
Gas mileage 17-19 hwy, 13-15 city.

Here are the isssues that have came up with mine:
-RUSTED REAR BRAKE LINES (replaced mine with stainless steel),
-fuel tank straps lightly rusted and covered by recall),
-A/C clutch gap adjusted (stopped putting out cold air if you stepped on gas hard...easy to fix following a post on this site),
-If it is spudering at 45-65 mph, it may be a bad 'coil on plug' aka C.O.P. or worn out plugs (the computer constantly resets when it reads too much unburned oxygen in the exhaust when it swaps to a more efficient fuel mixture.) ASK when the plugs were last changed and COPs! See if he has proof. Plugs should be replaced every 100,000 miles or so. The COPs when they start to go bad. They a a bit of a pain to replace and just unbolting and popping the fuel rail HELPS. Just make sure the o-rings stay on and reseat when you put the rail back on. Also have a few socket extentions and read the COP replacement thread on here!
-Check to see if the antifreeze is fresh, 5 years/100,000 miles life.
-The transmission might be near the last stage of its life (depends on maintenance and how it was driven); Engine the same, though many report 300k - 500k on their 5.4L.
-Just replaced the factory speakers. The paper ones were in peices around the cones.
-Replaced my shocks due to the age last year. 2 had little rebound, 2 were good.


See if he will fix the 'oil in the coolant' issue. This is a RED flag for me. If the engine's oil is cloudy or appears milky on the dip stick, it is a sign that you need to do a complete engine rebuild or swap. If it is oil or transmission fluid in an aftermarket cooler, you can remove it and return the fluid's hoses to the original state.

If the truck was pampered, it is an decent price; check Kelly's Blue Book kbb.com . If it hasn't been properly maintenaned, you might end up dropping another $2000 - $3000 in bringing it back to life. Before you buy, see if he will take it to a mechanic and have them run through a check list. It may cost $50 to $100 dollars, but it helps prevent any major headaches in unknown repair costs. Remember the truck is approaching its twilight years in mileage. The stearing/suspension might be worn. See if he has records or a log of repairs. It helps you see what has been addressed, and what is due.

I baby my vehicle and keep a log of every cent I put in it. The Cargly website & app helps. I track gas mileage, maitenance, repairs, and even insurance & inspection stickers.

 

Do you mean the tranny cooler in the radiator? How can an auxiliary oil cooler pump oil into the coolant system?