well to give a idea as to the current condition of the enigine before buying hook up a vacuum gauge a good engine will pull 18 to 23 in vacuum a worn engine will pull less than 18. or take a oil sample and do a 20.00 uoa they will tell you about any abnormal wear.

 

My 79 460 said 140,000.Compression was around 110-120 and #3 cyl. top ring was broke in half,also a slight groove on the rear main bearing.Kind on odd,no up and down marks on the cyl wall and didn't jack up the crank.

 

My brother has one in an old service truck with over 300K. It "runs" but only in the most basic sense. Some of the cylinders fire most of the time and what little compression it still has is the result of running 50w oil, which it burns, blows out, and leaks at a frightening rate (moved it a mile down the road to another barn last year and it was 3 quarts low). It's so loose you could spin it over with a gerbil fart and max oil pressure hovers somewhere in the 10 psi range. Better yet it has a hole in the block covered with a piece of barn tin and some JB Weld (we removed what was left of the rod and pulled the rockers off that cylinder).We really just use it as a (slightly) moveable fuel stand. Chances are we will junk it this winter.

Brad

 

Well, my 460 had 240000 on it when I pulled it for a rebuild. It leaked a quart every 300 miles, but it never smoked and it ran great until a rocker arm bolt loosened up and the rocker fell off. Still had some ***** on 7 cylinders too. No damage was done. I colud have just bolted it back on, but I figured it was time to re-seal it. And, while I had it out of the truck, why not re-build it completely. And, since I'm doing that, add a cam, intake, headers, etc right Why not!

 

That really depends if you just drive it or tow something heavy with it.

 

You most likely can expect 200,000 miles, but like mentioned above you might not get a block with it. You need to drive it if your not a mechanic maybe have one look at it. ck compression. look at oil, etc.

 

I've got a '97 F-250 4X4 460 auto with 143000 miles, great power and uses no oil. Depends on how you take care of it.



2001 F250 4X4 7.3 PSD 6 Speed
1997 F250 4X4 7.5 auto.

 

How hot an engine runs makes a difference too. Contrary to popular belief, the hotter the better (within reason). My 84 and 86 2.8/2.9's always had hot t-stats in them and both had almost 200k on them when sold. A '97 460 with 180k on it, still had EVERYTHING original on the motor (o2's might have been changed) never smoked or used a drop of oil. Always ran in the upper range on the stat. Regular oil changes and filters only. Still going strong, see it from time to time kick my own butt everytime. Cool temps on intake air, hot everywhere else. Just my own opinion of course.

KO

 

my truck is a 1994 f-250with the 460 it has about 200000 mi on it ive been pulling a 32ft trailer loaded with about 15000lbson it im grossing 28000lbsand it is running better than anything i have and it will out pull my dads stroker but ive upped the power with banks ram air,banks power pack,shift kit, msd ignition,35x12.5 mudders,and hooker headers and mud bog whenit rains and i end up pulling all the other trucks out

 

My 460 has 150000 miles on it and runs great, it wont hesitate to melt 38s off my truck. My dad had a wrecker that was a rollback with a 460 and he sold it to my cousin, my cousin sold it at 300,000 miles to someone else, it may still be going. This truck was taken really good care of though.

 

How long will it last? Well, I have a 76 F250 trailer special with the original motor and tranny (c-6), and it still doesn't leak oil (it didn't until I put some slick 50 in it last week, then it started, the biyatch). its got 58K on the odometer, which means 158, or 258 - not sure- I live in Arizona, so the body is strong, no rust, but I'd say its at least 158K, and it does not miss a beat, rods don't knock, valves don't tap, it runs like a raped ape

 

My 460 truck has just over 135,000 miles on it. It still runs well and pulls strong, but a UOA shows high levels of trace metals (Blackstone's assessment is bearing wear). It's always had good maintenance and we've treated it well, but worked it hard. If it weren't for the UOA, I would never guess there's real wear on the motor other than needing a quart of oil by the end of a 3,000 mile OCI.

 

I bought new an '87 460 F250 4x4 with 4.10 gears and 4 speed manual. Running strong at 222k when I sold it with original clutch, trans and drivetrain. My present F250 will last me until I'm dead and gone.

 

I am on my third 460 in my truck.
Original 460 - 165,000 miles before replacement.
Rebuilt long-block 460 - 195,000 miles before replacement.
Stroked to 557 c.i. 460 - 75,000 miles still going extremely strong.
All of them worked hard over the years towing up to 12,000 lbs of grading tractors and trailers day in and day out.

 

A 460 will last way past what anyone here ever thinks it will do, I have ran them up to 5k rpms on no coolant and an overall hard beating. All of My and My team demolition derby cars get early to mid 70's 460's that are stripped down and dry blocked for the derby. They run WOT in 2 feet of mud and are run hard. My current motor is out of a 71 Lincoln mk3 that had 35,000 miles on it. After 3 years of dry block derby's its still going strong. You should be fine!