Awesome. I really appreciate all of the input. It's good to know it's been on sale for a while. I asked him why the last buyer fell through and he said it was financing.

 

Jeff, good for you! You posted at Sportsmobile!

I just had a dealer send me video via phone "starting it cold showing the exhaust pipe and revving the engine. And a video of the oil cap on the oil tube but not screwed in at all with the engine idling then revved."

These will show "Blow by" which IMHO is the sin qua non* test of the health of a 7.3L PSD engine. Especially in a van which is known for having an absolutely poor air filter housing which lets dirty air into the engine. BTW, did you notice that the seller lists that he installed a "Custom Cold Air Intake"? In Alaska he doesn't need cold air, but he needs clean air. The Custom Cold Air Intake is good. The question is did he install it after he "dusted" the turbo wheel and the engine's valves (like I did), or was he smarter than me and did it before?

You won't know without the blow by test. And you won't know how to interpret the blow by test videos. But the guys on this forum will know. And they will help you. If you do your part by obtaining and posting up the videos. (For a quick read about a 2002 7.3 van which did not make it past 166,000 miles due to my poor maintenance see my thread at:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...2#post18760102

Please do yourself and your marriage a $10,000-$15,000 favor and do not buy it until you get those videos and post them up here...

It may be the perfect van to buy! But you simply don't know enough about the health of the engine yet.

As my now second favorite in-my-lifetime President said in a similarly risky situation: "Trust but Verify..."

Another approach would be to find a 2000-2003 7.3 Sportsmobile with a blown motor and have it rebuild for $15,000 like @FordTruckNoob did:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...-advice-2.html

I have absolutely no problem with that approach as long as the seller takes $20K off the asking price.

* something absolutely indispensable or essential


Added: I was going to send this in a PM to Jeff, because I wanted to explain that I don't want to rain on his parade. I want him to have a great parade. So, I decided to just post it up publicly instead.

Why am I so direct? I don't mean to offend. I mean to help. I love my Sportsmobile type van. I see your vision. Because I share your vision.

I bought my van new for $40K. I spent another $15K on converting mine to 4x4. I love it and will spend another $15K on another 7.3 engine if need be to get it going again.

Just the ability to leave the passenger seat to go back to the toilet while driving makes my wife happy and, thus, makes the camper van far superior to the camper over truck arrangement.

So I get you. I get your dream. It is a good dream. We have driven ours all over the Western States.

But buying a 20 year old vehicle must be done with eyes wide open because a 7.3 is both the best diesel engine that Ford ever made AND a worn out money suck depending how it was maintained.

A friend of mine just purchased a completely outfitted brand new Mercedes-Benz 4x4 diesel "Revel" for $130K. She loves it. For $65K you may want to consider at least the base version:

https://winnebagoind.com/products/cl...revel/overview

But I doubt it will tow a boat as well as my 2002 E350 7.3 PSD.

So, regardless of cost, I will keep, maintain and drive my van.

Get the videos and these guys here will help educate you as to whether or not it is your perfect van.

@patineto Can you help Jeff with his decision?

 

Thanks Tim, extremely insightful about the possible purchase and no offense taken at all. I appreciate candidness.

 

TIm,

The revel is awesome, but the kids need somewhere to sit (according to my wife haha)