Hey guys,
I've been looking to get out of my current truck, a 2001 F350 RWD Dually for awhile now. I finally found a truck that has what I'm looking for at a price I'm willing to pay. The truck in question is a 2002 F350 Lariat CC SRW 4X4. Truck has 197940 miles. Couple nice options, dual power and heated seats, power pedals, park assist. Asking price is $13999. Have a good offer on trade of my truck. The truck is a couple hours away, so I've been working with the dealer to confirm the condition of the basic checklist items before I invest any time and fuel to go look it over. What I've been able to confirm so far is...

-Exterior condition is fantastic- no dents, rust, or major scratches, verified by photos
-Interior condition is good- Carpet in good shape, leather interior in good shape, only some light to moderate "wrinkling" not cracked on front seats, rear is mint. Verified with detailed photos. Only issue in interior I see is steering wheel wrap, not big deal.
- Oil filler cap/smoke test, Had sales kid perform over the phone, only very light oil vapor/smoke from filler spout with no pressure, cap only vibrates when placed upside down on spout.
-Valley is dry, verbal confirmation only as sales kid was having issues getting good pictures due to bad weather.
- No smoke from tailpipe.

Items they will be checking and providing photos for confirmation, where applicable, tomorrow with their mechanic,
-Turbo compressor dusting/wheel condition..."crisp/sharp" edges, no side to side play, minimal in/out
-Detailed engine compartment photos, to include valley and turbo pedestal
-Underbody photos to confirm no rust and rust free oil pan
-Front Auto/Man 4X4 selector moves freely
-Front axel U joints move freely without play
-Jack up front end and do "tire pull" test to confirm front hub bearing are good
-Test ESOF switch reliably engages/disengages front hubs

Have I missed anything? About the only thing I can see not getting done is a compression test, but my suspicion is, with very light vapor from oil filler spout its probably good. I will be personally confirming all items myself. Not that I don't think they'd lie to me, but, "trust but verify". I've been there done that. Went to go look at a different truck last week, and when I checked U joints and Hub bearings, they were toast. If all checked out, would you pull the trigger? If it weren't for FTE I wouldn't know what to look for, much less what I was looking at! Any input or advice is greatly appreciated.

 

From what you are saying it sounds like a pretty reasonable deal to me. That is around what i paid for my 2001 F250 last year. I whittled them down a bit but the blue book was almost 18K so I was pretty comfortable. Diesel's are really in demand here, lots of farming and construction workers snapping them up.
I guess the only other thing I would check is the brakes, you can wrap up a ton of cash in brakes on these things and if they are borderline you can either use it as leverage to bargin with or have them fix them to start with. That is one thing I have seen dealers fudge on. They know they are getting close to the replace point but they try to pass the expense off on the buyer instead of just doing it before selling the vehicle.
Good luck. sounds like a nice truck.

 

Seattle area? If so, that's on the low side of par for a Lariat. That's par in the sagebrush side of the state, though. Tri Cities? Spokane?

Look at the coolant bottle. Black haze or a coating in the coolant bottle means work needs to be done right away. Smell the coolant for fuel and look for the rainbow effect on the surface of the coolant. Injectors can hammer when the truck is fully warmed up. About 20 minutes of driving (or find a good steep hill) to really warm things up and listen for injector knock on either side. It's a good thing you have one of these engines... you're already familiar with its music.

 

Looking closely at fluids would be the only thing I'd add. If you want bargaining, make sure the hub lock vacuum system works. If not, either drop the price or have them fix it. Of course there's always slide pins to worry about, but not as easy to check at a dealership. Good luck.

 

Sounds like a fair deal. If you go for a test drive, like Tugly said, get her nice and warm and then try the oil cap on the filler neck again. When nice and hot you may see more blow by than cold if its real bad. Do you know anyone with AE? Bring AE with if you can and check things out. Otherwise it sounds like you have it all thought out pretty good. Good luck.

 

2000ca250 is near you, but not the truck. I'm scheduled to be on the wet side this weekend to help a BWST with injector cups. This is yet another example of a scan tool being an ounce of prevention.

 

Please tell me y'all are using the gooey gunk retaining compound this time... Or gorilla glue, maybe? Those cups have got to hold sooner or later.

 

I am unsure what's been happening, but I know what's gunna happen. If this loser of a wrench-turner (me) can get all 8 cups to seal the first time, I'm not changing my procedure. Now... if I can find a fool-proof method to keep injector hold-down bolts to stay put, without making them impossible to remove 200K miles from now....

 

Sorry to add to the hijack - It may not happen this weekend. Depends on when the parts arrive. I appreciate the offer Tugly. I'd like Ken (woodinthings) to be around as well, but he's out this weekend.

When we do get to it - the 620 snot will be used.

That truck sure sounds like a good deal - interested to see which side of the state it's at.

 

Got some confirmations today....
Underbody and oil pan look good, amazing actually, clean and dry
Front hubs, ESOF check out..verbal only
Turbo looks good, nice crisp edges, no play in shaft
Coolant bottle looks clean and clear
Didnt get pics of valley or pedastal, but engine compart pics I did get lead me beleave it ok...no gunky residue anywhere I can see

Think we have a winner! Of course all has to be verified by me, but looks real good!

For the inquiring minds...truck is in Puyalup and I've placed a deposit on it lock it up and it won't get sold out from under me!

 

Oh, BTW, i dont have an AE, and havent used one, so borrowing one might be a lesson in futility! But if someone who has one is nearby my location perhaps we could get together and see what is really going on...that's assuming everything checks out and I bring the truck home.

 

Well, pulled the trigger on this one. Overall the motor is in sound shape from what I've been able to figure out, which is the basics really...I am far from being an expert on these rigs. But runs good, no smoke of any kind from the tail pipe or oil fill spout at WOT. No fuel/oil in degas bottle, dry valley, some crud in the usual spots, but at 198k miles, she's not gonna be perfectly clean. Think I've got a hub issue to sort out. Passenger side didn't want to disengage. Got it home, removed tire, operated Man/Auto switch on hub, rotated forward and backward by hand and hub finally disengaged...PHEW!! Looks like Guzzles hub service is on the short list of to-do's along with complete fluids flush. Overall pretty nice truck, interior was a bit rougher than stated by dealer, but that's not the end of the world and was able to use that along with the stuck hub to chew the dealer down a bit on price. Now the fun begins, turning this run of the mill stocker into a solid and sound mildly modded truck that'll last and last and look good doin it!

 

pics ... when you get a chance. and congrats.

 

Congrats, neighbor! I'm in da big dubya, one hour N. I'm wrenching today, but if I get a three-hour window in my day, maybe we can arrange an impromptu visit.

 

Yeah that sounds cool. Work takes me to the "natch all the time, even the though I wouldn't have my rig we could still shake hands!