So I've been in the market for an Ex for quite a while now and started a thread last year where many of you helped me answer a lot of questions. I've continued my search patiently waiting for something in my area for the right price and I think I've finally found it. In my price range, it's far from perfect but seems to be a great start. I replied to my original thread last night but with me leaving soon to go see, drive and possibly purchase this vehicle, I wanted to make one last effort to get any response to a couple of concerns for this particular vehicle. This Ex is a 1 owner, 2002 Limited, somewhat locally that has just under 200k miles. Judging by the pictures, it appears the body is in really good condition but the interior will need some TLC, i.e. driver's seat cover & arm rest, steering wheel and the turn signal is broken, all of which I am very comfortable with replacing assuming the drive train is good. I was fortunate enough to speak with the previous owner earlier today and he stated the mechanical condition is good. He said he only traded it in because of his need for a truck. I quizzed him on things like the transmission and he went on to say it has not been rebuilt and has never shown any signs of trouble. He said he did have it flushed last year. He also mentioned that the truck was re-wired about 5 years ago because of a common wire harness problem, that one I'm not familiar with. Where I'm going with this is my concern for the transmission because everything I have read leads me to believe it is a weak link in the drive train. With just under 200k miles but no previous trouble, is it possible the transmission could last many more miles as is or is it a ticking time bomb ready to go? He went on to say that he was very regular with oil changes every 5k miles and that he has not put a set of injectors in it. He thought this was surprising because these trucks are known to go through them. I thought the injector issue was in the 6.0 diesel engines and not he 7.3 that this is.
Lastly, I was told the 4wd doesn't work by the dealer but the previous owner sounded shocked by that statement. I read that this it would most likely be a vacuum issue which could be an easy repair???
So I am looking for feedback on the transmission, injectors, wiring harness and 4wd.
Thank you in advance.

 

Where are you located, with luck you will have a resident expert who would be willing to look at it with you.

NicMike an amazing guy from Texas did an inspection for me before I flew down to buy it. This is what he did

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...l#post12361139


It's impossible to guess when a transmission will fail some go 100k others 400k.

You can buzz test injectors to get a rough idea of their health with AE.

The wiring was probably the UVCH (Under Valve Cover Harness) they are know to fail search 50c, or 50 cent mod.

The 4x4 could just be a vacuum leak or it could be more try locking the hubs in manually and see if it engages.

Good luck with your purchase

 

Thank you very much jspence105, that was a very informative thread from NicMike and helped me review the Ex I went to test drive. The vehicle was in desperate need of a lot of things that I was not prepared to supply it with at the price they wanted for the vehicle. It was dripping what appeared to be a watered down oil from the oil pan that appeared to be coming from above it and the locking hubs would not move at all. When attempting to hold a steady idle as NicMike mentioned, it would fluctuate some. Driving it really wasn't bad other than the wonder from side to side. All in all, wasn't the vehicle for me so the search continues. Thanks again for the support.