86 f350 diesel 4x4

86f350diesel4x4 · #1 (**permalink**) 01-27-2003, 12:15 AM

hi i am thinking of buying a 86 f350 diesel 4x4 regular cab long bed the person selling it is asking 3500 for it. The truck is in great shape with 162000 miles i think could be 262 because the odometer only goes to 100000. The only problem with the truck is the fuel guage doesnt work. It has dual tanks but in not sure if its the guage or the senders. Can anyone tell me the pro's and con's of this truck. If its a good deal or not. And how hard would the fuel guage be to fix.

argve · #2 (**permalink**) 02-01-2003, 11:37 PM

Judging from it's age, I would guess that it's an 6.9. These had a common problem of bad head gaskets, other than that the 6.9 is good engine. It also experiences cavitation but at a lesser rate than the 7.3's do. But I would still test for coolant additive. You can pickup test strips from a local diesel shop, they can instruct you on the proper use of the strips. If the coolant shows no use of DCA (Diesel Coolant Additive) or commonly referred to as SCA's (Supplemental Coolant Additve) then walk away. The risk is too high, as these engines are expensive to have sleeved. If it shows use of SCA's then I say go for it.

wolfmanagh · #3 (**permalink**) 02-02-2003, 08:58 AM

I had one for years, that the head gasket held up until around 200,000 miles. At the time I just did the one side and went for another 40,000 miles. Then the trannsmision went out again so we retired it, deeming it wasn't worth the $$$ to replace due to exsesive body rust. The motor held up great and was still going strong but we did strip some of the goodies off it before sending down the road. Oh yeah, it had no cavitation.