I am considering the purchase of a 95-97 PSD truck. I am looking at a few F-250's Here are some questions. I live in northwestern PA, We see some good snow and cold spells in the winter. I would like a 4x4 but have found alot of nice 4x2's. I plan to use th truck to haul wood, and mainly my 20' car hauling trailer with trucks, light equipment etc.
Other option is I travel to the midwest for work and would like to drive over fly sometimes.

What are the average MPG's.
What should I look for in the motor, I seen exhaust manifold warning, and turbos

I have a friend who builds automatics tran's for a living but which is more reliable Auto or 5 spd.

I guess what are some thoughts on 4x4 vs 4x2
I am lookin for an extended or crew cab truck

 

We've had quite a few recent threads of potential buyers.

Most have a good list of what to look for.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/9...b-xlt-4x4.html has a good list midway, and discusses auto vs manual a little.

I had a 4x2 truck once, when I lived in suburbia as a kid. Then moved to the mountains and 4x4 was necessary to get home sometimes. I recently moved to where there are real winters. I know I would freak not having either/or both 4x4 / limited slip in the back. If you are used to your rear wheel drive with relatively no weight in the back you might be ok...

With some easy intake/exhaust mods, a light foot on the throttle and generally in good shape engine, you can probably see 17-20 mpg without a load. I was getting close to 19 hwy, but my commute also involved going from sea level to 2300' in 8 miles. The 4 miles of switchbacks pretty much killed fuel economy of every vehicle I've ever driven, including the psd.

Under load, like with a big travel trailer, you an also expect it to drop. Going cross country with a trailer I was getting around 12 mpg.

 

I am just torn what to do. I handled several winters with a 95 E-350 and 800 pounds at the back door, but when some deep drifts came it was tricky. I recently purchased a 96 F-250 ext cab 4x4 Offroad with 5.8 and an auto. LOVED IT. Sadly last friday it was totaled when I let a good friend use it to go to work. I have wanted to upgrade to a PSD for along time. Since 97, never had the chance or money. I am seeing alot of trucks with 170,000 and over on them, some even into the 280,000 mark. I Dont expect miracle mileage, but I dont want to invest big money for no reason. I LOVE THE 5.8L motors, I can't begin to tell what I have done with them. I am lookin for a PSD to improve mileage, and towing when needed.

I am worried about pluggin in, and cold starts. I am a vol. Firefighter and lord knows when it's cold and in the middle of the night and blowing snow the runs come.

 

Average MPGs are going to depend on many factors. As far as a total average on a stock or lightly modded truck on the highway you could expect to see anywhere form 15-20+ mpg. That is dependant on: auto vs 5 speed-although the 5 speed is a more efficient power dellivery, the auto has a better final drive gear=lower rpms=better mpg. Gearsets-obviously the 4.10s are going to get worse than 3.55s. An auto with 4.10s can get up to like 20+ mpg. 5 speed with 4.10s more like 15. Both of these numbers will be increased with a 3.55 gearset. Some of the guys with autos and 3.55s get well over 20 mpg!
As far as what to look for, someone on here has a GREAT list of checkoffs for buying a used PSD. I imagine it will show up in a bit.
It is pretty nice to have an auto in these trucks but not so much the stock unit. And if you plan to keep the stock auto as is then you need a better tranny cooler at the very least. The E4OD is notorious for failure. When working they are super stout. There are a few companies that build them with such high quality that you supposedly never have to worry about it failing again but they are pricey(BTS, JW, RacerX). If you don't have that kind of $$ then there are more standard rebuilds you can do with smaller upgrades in the tranny that will make huges differences ex: shift kit, upgraded torque converter, upgraded valve bodies, etc.
As far as reliability only, you can't beat a manual(only exceptions being one of the few autos listed above). The ZF 5s in these trucks are really strong but they have their downsides too. It is a LONG, SLOW shift. Some guys have a short throw shift kit which they all seem to love but I don't think you can currently get one still. The clutch pedal is HEAVY. There are plastic bushings in the pedalbox and clutch master cyliner pushrod that cause trouble. Although cheap, it gets old addressing those. There is a permanent fix for the master cyl though for $40 on ebay. And the final drive gear is different enough from the auto to cause a noticeable difference in mileage.
4wd vs 2wd-What do you want? That's what I'd base that one on.
If you are looking at F 250s in extended and crew cab then you have these options: Extended cab short bed, extended cab long bed, and crew cab short bed. In a F 350 the crew cab is long bed and I don't know if there's a short bed 350 at all. There is substantially more room in the crew cab but the super cab isn't too bad.

 

I can start mine with just glow plugs, no plug in, down to -10 C / 14 F. There were a bunch of nice cold start vids in a thread from last year https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/9...eo-thread.html .

Seems pretty general, if the truck was running within 12 hours, it will start fine without a plug in.

 

WE have a '95 F350 PSD and have had the usual problems with it. The IVS on the accelerator pedal was sticking but WD-40 solved it; the valve cover harness and connectors needed replacing; tranny over heated and puked fluid until a larger tranny cooler solved the problem (4EOD tranny). But other than that, runs great. On the highway get 20 - 22 mpg and 18 around town. Towing a 12K goose neck trailer, 12- 13 mpg. Also been running it on bio-diesel this summer and runs great on B100. Did see about a 10% drop in fuel milage but very acceptable with the difference in price of bio vs dino fuel. In Massachusetts and haven't had to plug it in yet during the winter. Not a 4 wheel drive but that's never been an issue. Only time that was a problem was in a muddy field with the trailer and even our other truck with 4 WD used to stuck in there sometimes.

So, I guess its a matter of preference for you, but I'm really happy with mine and wouldn't hesitate to do it again. With proper maintenance it will go for a long time.