Really wanting to get into an 8th/9th gen F250 or F350. Preferred diesel 6.0/7.3 not all sure what engines they came with, 4WD non-dually, crew cab or at least ext cab are all necessities. Not sure what kinds of things to stay away from and look for when shopping for these as well as what kinds of prices I should be dealing with.


Do yall think it would be worth it to get into a broken down truck "not running" truck and pay the cheap price for it and fix it myself? I will have a second vehicle so getting a busted one would be ok with me, especially if the price is right and its the exact truck I'm looking for.


The square body style has always been a favorite and working on diesels I've always wanted one and never broke down to try and get one. I will be trying to find one in the future and need some help. I'll be researching as much as I can but would like to use this thread as a reference and source of info for myself. Thanks!




-Alex

 

The 6.0L diesel didn't come out until about '05 or so (10th gen?). So in an 8th gen ('87 - '91) or 9th gen ('92 - '97) you won't find that. Early in the 8th gens you'll find a 6.9L IDI (non-turbo). I don't know the year, but that changed to the 7.3L IDI (non-turbo) at some point. In '94 (I think) you could get it with a factory turbo, and then later in '94 (I think) it switched to the 7.3L PowerStroke turbo (a completely different engine from the 7.3L IDI).

What to stay away from? Depends on what you want to deal with. Rust would be one thing obviously. That's a big range of years, and the earlier ones would have non-overdrive trannies (T-19 (usually, or T18 or NP435) 4 speed manual or C6 3 speed auto). You probably want to stay away from them if a lot of highway driving is in the plans, but they are solid trannies. Later trucks would have the ZF-5 manual or the E4OD 4 speed auto. People who are scared of electronics don't like the E4OD (or the PowerStroke for that matter), but it's a solid trans too (although I guess the earlier ones could use some upgrades that came later in the run).

Otherwise it's the typical stuff to look for in 20+ year old trucks.

Should you get a broken down one and fix it up? Again, it depends on what you want to deal with. The engines are known for longevity, so if you find a "broken down" on it's likely because it's rusted out or was in a wreck. But if you find a cheap one that just wasn't maintained well you might do well with just needing to do typical maintenance things (unless poor cooling system maintenance led to cavitation and the IDI block is junk).

You won't find a (stock) F-350 SuperCab (Ford-speak for what GM calls extended cab) other than (I think) dually 2WD. And 4WD F-350 crew cabs will all be long box SRW. You will find 4WD F-250 SuperCabs in short and long boxes (mostly long) and with crew cabs with short boxes, again all SRW.

4WD F-250s will have the TTB front drive axle (almost all Dana 50s, possibly some Dana 44HD in Super- and crew cabs). Most people find it acceptable, but almost no one really likes it. Although it does give a lower ride height than the solid Dana 60 front axle that will be under the F-350s.

 

I'd look at 95 and up trucks. All of the upgraded parts will be standard. Be weary of buying a junker. I spent $650 on my truck, but I've since had to replace the bald tires, the entire cooling system, the brakes, the starter, battery, and install a new E4OD. I've spent about 7000 since I bought it. The bed is still shot, and the interior needs to be replaced. It was only a good deal for me because I could still limp it around town while I replaced things as I could afford them.

 

I would say to get a F350 so you have the Dana 60 front axle and then a zf5 trans. Put a 12v Cummins in it and you'll have the best Ford out there.

 

Thanks to all for the replies.


I have found some within a 200 mile radius of home that are around the $10K mark with 200k+ miles on them. I don't expect them to have low miles by any means but for $10K they better have taken care of it and done some good maintenance or replacement parts on them. I will for sure be going through these trucks with a creeper and flashlight before I make a deal, especially if I'm going to be throwing around $10K for it.


The more I read into these things the more I'm looking at staying away from the older models w/o the PowerStrokes. So I am thinking that the later 9th gen will be my area or even move on up to the 10th gens. I love that square body but I have also come to like the 10th gens.


side story: I had a 00' V10 Excursion and it grew on me. Had to get rid of it due to engine complications and being in the military and on a secluded island I did not have the time nor the funds to rebuild the engine. I think back and feel that I could have really babied it and limped it home once I leave this island in a a few months but in all I think I made the right choice to cut my losses. If it did die on me there would be no way for me to get it home. They will not ship vehicles that do not run.



As for the front axles, I have seen some people throw some solid front axles underneath these to give them some lift and also to get rid of that TTB. I had a bronco with the TTB and wanted to replace with solid as well, I don't mind riding a little rougher. The solid fronts look meaner and require less maintenance.


Also just curious but do banks even finance trucks that are older than 00'. Last truck I bought they first told me that I could not further back than 12 years. But then after I qualified she was like now that you have qualified you can buy w/e year you want as long as it runs blah blah. I was just thinking, what bs are they trying to pull? Either way I wouldn't have finance anything under $10K but if for some reason I look at getting something in the $15K mark I may have to.

Thanks again, all this info is great and helps a lot.

- Alex

 

USAA gave me a loan on my old '69 F250 a couple of years ago. I think I then had it refinanced at BECU for a better rate.

 

$10K for 200K miles sounds ridiculous. About 5 years ago I paid $4k for my F-250 with 161K miles. Granted, you're looking at diesels (which generally seem to have RIDICULOUSLY good resale value according to on-line pricing), and in Texas (if that's where you're looking) you probably are looking at trucks with less rust than I got, but still, that seems about double what the price ought to be to me.