In case you guys don't remember, I'll jog your memory quickly:
97 F350 crew 4x4 PSD, 80K miles, rebuilt title for $7K. I went and looked at it over the holidays (just got back today) and it wasn't quite what I was expecting, mostly for one huge reason (see below). Truck looks to have been repaired correctly, no evidence of the cab having been changed, frame was visually checked by a shop and looked good (I peeked at it also, no measurements taken though). I first looked at the truck at night in the dark, drove it, and was pretty pleased with it. I actualy wrote the guy a check for it, on the condition that I'd check it over good again the next morning in the light, and if I wasn't happy I'd bring it back to him, if not I'd just call and have him send the title.
The next morning I went out and got to looking things over in the light, and for whatever reason I decided first thing to stick my head under the front end of the truck... WTF is this? TTB axle??!? Yuck. So I called the guy and told him that the truck was supposed to have a straight axle up front, and for whatever reason whoever rebuilt it shoved a 3/4 ton TTB under there. He came back (about 1/2 hour drive) gave me my check and took the truck.
Long story short now- I asked the guy if he'd consider lowering the price further to compensate for the cost of replacing the front TTB with a D60 like it should have, he said to figure out the cost and let him know. That said, I have a few other questions for you experts out here. Here goes:

1. Diesel smell in cab while driving- I remember reading this was caused by a leaky gasket in the up pipes, correct? How hard to fix, and what would the cost be?

2. Oily residue on pass. side frame rail under hood. Likely cause? Potential fix and cost?

3. ABS light flashing, no brake lights- cause and cost to repair?

4. Water in rear fuel tank, how hard to drain the water out?


Lastly, the truck has a Garrett turbo, as I understand this is an aftermarket turbo? How much does this affect value?
Looks like I can get a 4.10 ratio solid front axle, springs, etc. for right around $2K. I'm thinking offer the guy $4K and see what he says- the extra $1K should cover all the other necessary repairs. So to beat this dead horse one last time, if the guy would accept the $4K offer would it be worth it or not?

 

for 4 or 5k heck yeah! even the 7g he wants is a good deal. the abs light is hard to say without pulling codes, usually a rabs sensor but if its flashing it may be a busted wire or a bad module, either way the rear abs system on these trucks is very simple and basic.

garret turbos are stock for the truck.

the exhaust smell is probably as yuo stated, a good days work to fix.

oily residue? no clue without pics. could be left over from something else or a spilled qt of oil from a oil change? blown out shock? hard to say.

water in tank, how do you know its only in the rear? if you are sure then you can pop the line off the selector valve and hook an electric fuel pump up to suck it out.

 

Fuel smell in cab ... mine was lift pump and couple hoses, unless you already verified valley is dry. Cost, about $100 if you do it yourself.

 

Good to know, my buddy who owns an 00 PSD said it was aftermarket (I'll have to kick him in the ***** for that one )

Just to clarify, it's a diesel smell, not exhaust. Any idea what parts I'd need?

The best I can describe it is an oily, diesel fuel-ish residue on the pass side frame rail below and part of the engine. It's been 2 weeks since I looked at it so I'm a tad foggy.

Rear only because he had the fuel selector switch taped off and told me do not switch tanks, the rear tank has some water in it. Truck ran fine on the front tank, fuel filter was recently replaced as well.

 

I didn't check the valley because I didn't know exactly where I should be checking. Once I saw the TTB front axle I kind of quit worrying too much about the other stuff.
Was it a fairly easy job to do, or a real pain in the arsenal typical Ford job to do?

 

ok, diesel fuel smell, thats different, fuel pump as hussler said but look in the valley to verify. the fuel pump is really easy to see. the oil residue sounds like where the fuel filter housing is drained. look for a small 1\4 inch diameter pipe running down the front of the engine, odds are that is the source of the leak. its probably normal but they do leak occasionally. if its not leaking then all i did on mine was add a piece of rubber hose so i could drain it intoa bucket instead of all over my frame and axle.

the biggest thing at this point that worries me is the rear tank. if its taped off then it must be a TON of water to be that bad to tape it off or he is hiding something else. whether its a hole in the tank or a bad selector valve or just a bad guage sending unit. that just sounds fishy to me.

 

PIA first time as with anything on lift pump. Now that I know exactly what to do not a big deal. Lots of write ups here on procedure. Just jump up in valley and you will probably see fuel. Clean it out the best you can with paper towels and fire the beast up and try to find the leak.

 

With key on but not start you can see if rear tank guage sending unit works or not. Humm, is there a low pressure electric lift pump in the fuel tanks like gassers? If so maybe not a good idea.

 

There was a thread awhile back discussing a 97 350 on ebay that had a TTB front axle. From the auction it was a one owner truck and the VIN cleared as a 350. Some say there were a few 1 tons with TTB axles.

Is this truck a long bed or short bed?

 

Long bed, 4 doors. I've never seen another 1 ton with a TTB anywhere, but I just can't imagine why anyone would swap out to a TTB from a straight axle. My thought was the original axle was bent in the wreck probably and whoever rebuilt got the TTB on the cheap.
The water in the tank thing had me wondering too. Despite the guys warning, I did flip the switch for a short time and the gauge dropped like crazy as it would with an empty tank, so I stabbed it back over to the front tank quickly. It just didn't make sense to me that the rear tank would collect any amount of water without there being a problem somewhere. And who knows, maybe the owner is just paranoid but I didn't want to find out the hard way.
Not that I don't trust CHJ, but can anyone else verify that these trucks came stock with a Garrett turbo?

 

yes all the 7.3 powerstrokes came with a garrett turbocharger.

 

Is this another double post? this is the second one today.

Was the truck ever submerged? Katrina?? look for rust under the carpet under the seat that will tell if it was submerged and explain the water in the tank.

 

Yes this was double posted, the server was wacko last night. I read your response in the other post, and since this is a crew cab long box, the frame can't be from a 3/4T since Ford didn't make a 3/4T long box in 97. I don't think this is a Katrina truck, being in OR I don't think anyone would bother to bring one this far from the gulf area. It could still have been submerged though. I'm still debating whether or not it's worth my time to buy the truck and convert it over to a D60 front... I've located a few axles just not sure if it's worth the hassle or not with all the other issues this truck has.

 

as said before, water in tank is always there. Diesel fuel isnt quite what it used to be. that s a easy fix no matter what it is. Hole in tank? They sell repair kits for that cheap that work GREAT. We have used em in derby cars. Selector switch and valve is kind of a PINA, but still only a days work. The straight axle was std. I have looked into this, and its like an albino alligator. the TTB was around, and I believe you COULD get it int he 350, but at this point am only about 70 percent sure on that. VERY RARE, kinda like the truck my uncle told me he ordered. 1 ton dually with 3.43 rear end. Some people do weird things, who knows, you buy that truck, it might end up on BARRETT JACKSON in 20 more years....LOL

 

I think I'll send the guy a lowball offer and see what he does...worst he can do is say no way.