I'm looking to buy a 95-97 with around 100,000-140,000 miles. What do I need to be wary of? Do auto tranny's last a while(I prefer a manual but they are hard to come by)? Are they very expensive to replace? What do I need to look for other than hard starts and fluid leaks? How long do glow plugs last? Thanks for helping a diesel truck newbie

 

Try this site. Go to tricks and tips, and go down until you see buying a used PSD.

http://pages.prodigy.net/stevebaz/_i...az/index3.html

A trans can cost 3k or more for a good one. But they should last. Glow plugs will last if they are motorcraft/beru. The others are junk. What are you going to use the truck for? What is it?

 

I'm looking at a 95 4x4f250 or a 974x4 f250. Both auto. It will be used as a daily driver and farm use . How long do the factory glow plugs last?

 

I second the Steve Baz site. Lots of good info to be had there.

Have a real good look at the condition of the oil pan too. If it's heavily corroded, it will eventually need replacing. To be done properly, the engine has to be removed and turned over for the new sealant to cure properly. The oil pan will not clear the cross piece under the engine, although a couple of folks have said they found a way to do it. ?????

Parts are cheap, but labor will be relatively costly, if you can't do the work yourself.

I did the glowplugs in my 95 shortly after i bought it nearly 3 years ago. I believe they were original, but only had 90k miles on them. 1/2 of them were not working. I replaced them all anyway.

Might also want to determine what the gearing in the axles are. If you are using it on the farm for towing and such, 4.10's would be better, IMO.
Look on the door placard for the axle code and check with this site to crosss reference it.
http://www.drivetrain.com/Fordtrkratio_posidata.html

Good luck with whatever you pick out.
Ken