I'm looking at purchasing a 2002 F-250 Lariat 7.3L crew cab and hoping to get some advice on value and potential things to look for. I'm new to PSD's and diesel in general, but I have some friends and relatives with diesel pickups and I've done some research. Basically it seems there were a number of issues with the 6.0L PSD but the 7.3L if well maintained was pretty much indestructible. I'm looking at getting this truck, but want to avoid any major issues or pitfalls that I'm not experienced enough to look for. The truck is a crew cab 4x4 with 260k miles, completely rust free and interior is in excellent shape, they're asking $9500 for the truck. From the research I've done it seems like the 7.3L can go a lot more miles if maintained, but 'm a little concerned about the miles in regards to the transmission, etc. Anything in particular with this engine or transmission that was a common problem I should check for? btw, I have a lot of experience with gas engines, I do nearly all my own maintenance and repairs, I've done rebuilds and swaps, rebuilt a 4l60E valve body with a trans-go kit, etc. I'm not shy about getting some diesel experience, but I don't want to drop money on the truck just to have something major go wrong, I need a truck that will just work and not be in the shop all the time and want to do my due diligence. Thanks for the help!

 

The trucks do still hold their value and that price is not too bad for anywhere in the country if it is in decent condition. One easy and important thing to do is remove the oil cap and place it upside down on the spout with the truck running. If it just sits there and shakes that's good, if blowby blows it off of there end it right there. Check the tranny fluid. If red and clean that about the best you can do there outside of a test drive for functionality. Ask about it, tranny may have been rebuilt and could be ready to go if not done already. I think there's something in the tech folder up top on buying one but I'm not sure, if I find it I'll link it but look at tech folders up top for good information.

Edit: Here it is.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/5...questions.html

 

260k is nothing on these and that's about a fair price depending on location. The engine is tried and true to last but being 16 years old, everything else around it will need attention - sounds like you've got the know-how for this or at least the will to find out when something comes up.

There are some notorious oil leak locations to be on the look out for - the oil pan flange/adapter is one of them. EBPV, turbo pedistal, and HPOP are also areas to inspect in the engine.

As far as the transmission, the automatic 4r100 can be a weak point. A built one from John Wood (California), BTS (Arkansas), or Sam Wyse (Ohio) have a good reputation for being near indestructible if you can put aside the cost for one in case you ever come to that point.

 

Fantastic info, thanks for the tips! The sticky thread on what to look for was also an excellent read, I'm making a checklist and taking that with me! If this truck is mechanically sound it's going to be hard to say no to it. I also have on my radar a 2000 F-250 7.3 with 190k miles for $9200, also pretty clean but not the Lariat trim level so the interior is pretty basic, I'm not a huge fan of that if it's something I'm going to hold on to for a long time.

 

Wife drives the Excursion Limited with leather seats, and my F350 XLT is cloth seats. I have replaced the leather on the seat bottoms on the Excursion and the cloth in mine are still in good shape. Also replaced the steering wheel in the Excursion because of wear several years back.

 

Not to hijack, but where did you get the leather seats upholstered? Did you just buy a replacement or have it redone by a local shop?

 

I had a side panel done years ago by a local shop and the leather didn't last maybe a year! Decided to do total replacements myself as it's really not that hard to do. Did the front seats 2-3 years ago...been holding up really well...and just did the back middle seats this month. They are man made leather from a company out of Dallas, Tx. and they match great!

 

Good point on the leather, our Ford Freestar has the leather seats and the driver's seat is starting to wear, maybe cloth is not so bad... I've been doing some more searching and found a couple more options that are looking pretty good, thank you all again for the very good tips, this will be immensely helpful when I go to check these out!

 

I looked at another 2002 F250, 166k miles, checked everything out based on the tips you all pointed out here. Took off the oil filler cap, it was blowing some smoke, not enough to blow the cap off when I set it on, I but I’m guessing any smoke out of oil filler is bad and due to some amount of blow-by?

 

The only truck I ever had with smoke puffing out of the oil filler never showed any blowby to knock the cap off, but had three busted cylinders.

 

make sure and use CarFax

 

Driving the truck down the road, it felt prettty underpowered too, I also noticed some fresh oil at the back of the engine by the oil pan, could have been a rear main seal, all the helpful info from you guys here saved me from a major headache, thank you!

 

It's very rare to have a rear main seal leak on these. Anything that leaks atop the engine bay will fill the valley and run down the pan making it look like a rear main.

Some smoke out the filler tube is normal.

It requires more patience than ever to find a good and reasonably priced 7.3 as they get even older. Your patience will pay off sevenfold in the end.

 

All 7.3s are going to have some white smoke coming out of the oil filler spout.

What you are looking for is a steady stream coming out. If it is coming out in an uneven puff or has any pressure coming out is where you have to start worrying.

The exhaust can also be a good indicator of compression issues. Some white smoke on a real cold startup is somewhat normal, eapecially for higher mile engines. What isn't normal is white smoke that doesn't clear up when warm. Also, the exhaust stream should feel steady when you put your hand or a piece of paper up to it.

Another way to check relative compression is to listen for it to crank evenly when starting. If it has a low or dead cylinder, it will crank faster for a split second when it passes that cylinder. If you look up "powerstrokehelp" on youtube, he has a couple good videos describing this. I think one video is called "death of a 7.3." I know many here don't like him, but this is one of his good videos.

Edit: found the video

 

Leather seats look nice, at least when in good condition, but are really cold to sit on (if you live in the northern states) and you tend to slide on them going around winding roads. Cloth is not a bad thing.