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One of the guys at work mentioned he might want to buy my current truck, so I started looking around to see what was out there. Stumbled upon a 1985 F250 with a 6.9L IDI about an hour from me.
Ad reads:
f-250 4x4 with 7.5' western plow. 6.9L diesel, automatic. Runs great. Plow works great. little rust around the edges, very solid for a '85. Was originally a southern truck. New glow plugs, recent starter and water pump. Good tires, comes with original set of wheels to. Has only 113,000 miles. Comes with extra parts, including new oil pan, almost new gas tank and straps and repair panels for above rear wheels. Great old truck. $1600 or b/o.
It looks decent from the pics, a little rust but not too bad. What are your opinions? I haven't gone to test drive it yet, still making up my mind if I want to get rid of my truck.
What should I look for specifically with it being a 6.9? I've heard GREAT things about the durability/longevity of the 6.9 IDI and I'm assuming it'd be a c6 it's mated to.
If it's factory, yes, it's a C6. Very durable, good longevity. Stock, they leave a bit (lot) to be desired in the speed department. I love mine, I don't expect it to go fast and both my dad and I knew that when we bought it.
Look for any water/coolant in the oil. Cavitation is not as prone on the 6.9 as it is on the 7.3, but still possible (cylinder walls eating away due to vacuum bubbles in coolant).
Never had mine naturally aspirated, it had the turbo when I got it, so I don't have any firsthand experience. My turbo is not exactly the best one you can get. I don't think it's doing much in town. It does spin up on the highway though.
Get ready, that thing is a rust bucket. I plow with mine and it's a battle with the rust because it runs in the salt all the time. I bet that's why it has a new oil pan that comes with it. The old oil pan has rusted and start to leak. Trucks with plows lead a hard life. The frontend is probably not in good shape either, hauling that plow around all the time.
Get ready, that thing is a rust bucket. I plow with mine and it's a battle with the rust because it runs in the salt all the time. I bet that's why it has a new oil pan that comes with it. The old oil pan has rusted and start to leak. Trucks with plows lead a hard life. The frontend is probably not in good shape either, hauling that plow around all the time.
Yeah I hope to go look at it tomorrow. I expect a little rust but we'll see. I'm not afraid to put a little $ into it but I won't be buying a junker either so if it's too bad it won't happen.
Exactly, since it is an F250 (TTB Dana 50) those axle pivot bushings and ball joints are probably toast.
Unless it was special ordered, it has a dana 44 ttb under it. All regular cab f250's had the dana 44ttb hd as standard. The extended cab f250's were the only ones that came standard with the dana 50.
I had another poster on another board take a picture of his door sticker, and that sealed the deal, you could special order a regular cab f250 with a dana 50 frontend, his sticker had the regular cab vin and had the front GAWR on the frontend of 4400lbs. Front GAWR of 3850 is the dana 44ttb hd, and front GAWR of a dana 50 is 4400lbs(or something close to 4400).
Here's a question for ya, Is there a such thing as a Light duty vs Heavy Duty f250 in these years? If so how would I tell them apart, just by GVWR?
Yes there were both. I ordered an '85 F-250HD new, and I know the standard F-250 was also available.
I don't know how consistent this was, but a lot of light duty F-250s got semi-floating rear axles while the HDs got full-floaters, so that's one clue (but maybe not definitive). I'm pretty sure that at least in '85 the diesels only came in the HD and the 302 (and maybe the 300) were only in the LD, with the 351 and 460 in either.
Unless it was special ordered, it has a dana 44 ttb under it. All regular cab f250's had the dana 44ttb hd as standard. The extended cab f250's were the only ones that came standard with the dana 50.
I had another poster on another board take a picture of his door sticker, and that sealed the deal, you could special order a regular cab f250 with a dana 50 frontend, his sticker had the regular cab vin and had the front GAWR on the frontend of 4400lbs. Front GAWR of 3850 is the dana 44ttb hd, and front GAWR of a dana 50 is 4400lbs(or something close to 4400).
44 or 50 it has a TTB axle, which has axle pivot bushings, regardless of which it is....with a plow it is still like holding a 12 lb sledge from the end of the handle straight out, unless replaced those bushings are toast, I have the 50 so I guess its special
Well from the pics it looks like it has a semi floater but idk. Supposed to look at it tomorrow am so we'll see.
Looks like I can see in the picture the hub sticking out of the center of the rear wheel. That would mean it's a HD and all diesels were HD's from the factory. The rearend is the easiest way to tell if it's a HD or not.
Looks like I can see in the picture the hub sticking out of the center of the rear wheel. That would mean it's a HD and all diesels were HD's from the factory. The rearend is the easiest way to tell if it's a HD or not.
Yeah I've got another picture of the back and I'm pretty sure that's a center cap. It's possible it's covering a full floater hub but I'll let you know when I get back from looking at it.
As far as the TTB axle bushings, It's a 30 year old truck anyway with a heavy motor to boot. I can't imagine them being in great shape even without a plow
All 460 and diesel trucks are HD's, all F250 ex cabs after 84 are as well. 83 is the weird year, there is a 2wd crew cab with a semi float rear in the brochure...
The 302 is the only engine that wasn't used over 8500 gvwr.
I see rust in the usual places, being a plow rig I would expect the worst, its hell on a truck.
