Looking at 2 high mileage trucks, # 1 a 2001 f 150 4 wd, 5.4 triton, overall pretty good shape. Downsides right now no heat, and a leaking heater coolant line. Has alum heads and apparently one spark plug came out but heli coil repaired, now good. Decent interior for over 270 K miles. if someone does not grab before me, should be able to get for 1200

# 2 F350 2005 - overall body pretty good shape, rust starting but underneath not bad at all. 6.0 turbo diesel. Having issues running dependably. Mechanic is questioning oil pump, and I saw some threads on computer possible culprit .. may be able to get for 1500 to 2000 supposedly a lot of work already done, injectors, head bolts replaced, supports under bed, etc. Not sure which rear end ratio. Work truck has rack still.

Maybe not enough info but suggestions on a choice for above possible choices ?

 

Wrong forum. For both trucks.

But - For the 2001, if the helicoil was properly done it can last for quite a while. Leaking coolant line isn't a big deal, the real question is why is there no heat. Could be due to low coolant levels, due to the leak. Could be the heater core, which (I'm not sure on this gen of truck) could be as expensive as the truck is worth. If the mechanics are solid, 1200 is not a bad deal.

For the F-350 - the 6.0 is a flat out nightmare for a lot of people. A good friend had an Excursion with the 6.0 and he had to rebuilt that motor twice. First time it was smoking due to a failed injector o-ring. He decided to do the bullet proofing and once he got it all together it lasted less than a month before the injectors failed again and filled the motor with diesel, trashing it again. He had over $10k in that motor and after the 2nd rebuild it finally ran right. He sold it immediately after that, taking a hell of a loss.

Go with the 7.3...

 

Thanks forgot to mention that the 2nd vehicle was 2005 so that is probably why I chose this one. In any case good info there, seller of the diesel indicated that they have spent around $ 8 K in the past couple of years and bought a new one, and their desire to get out of pouring $$ into this older truck .... thanks TLtucker ....

 

Not a problem. I was just mentioning it because you'll get much more/better info posting in the right forum. Even though the F-350 is a 2005, it's still not an F-150, lol. There's also a 6.0 Diesel specific forum that'll have loads more info, check it out.

 

An F150 is not comparable to an F350 with a diesel. Is this a daily driver ? Do you haul a 10K trailer ? There is a reason they have spent $8K this year on the diesel.... cost to repair and maintain are HIGH.

The F150 if half way decent shape is a better buy.

 

heli coil repaired not a good fix for heads . an insert is the gold standard.

 

Why can't he just enjoy driving a heavy duty diesel truck?

 

I had a 98 f150 with the 4.6. no heat. In VT, in winter. After trying anything simple, it came down to the reality that it likely needed a head gasket or head. Kept getting air in the coolant system. At the time I didn't have a garage to work in, and the head removal is pretty time consuming on this vintage of truck, I sold it. Overhead cams mean you have to take front of engine all apart, plus exhaust manifold bolts are prone to breaking, they are no fun to access. Engine is rammed back against the firewall and thus makes working on it tough as well. This gen truck is nice to drive but major engine work isn't fun!
as for the 6.0, I own one now. A 2006. They ate a good engine but you have to be watching them all the time. Fuel pressure gets low, can cost you injectors. Oil side of fuel system is usually having issues due to people not using motorcraft oil filter. Sounds dumb I know, but the motorcraft filter is patented for this engine and it's critical to use it. Early years, 03-05 had more issues. Injector o-rings fail, and are finicky to install correctly. Most 2nd time failures are from improper install. These 6.0's aren't for the faint of heart! They are better to drive than a 7.3, more power better throttle response, better fuel economy, but they can be a really expensive headache too. These engines can run 400k miles but you need to take really good care of them. Egr coolers fail, oil coolers clog up, HP oil pumps go out causing no starts. They aren't bad but you'd be best to learn a lot about one before buying one. A true bullet proof costs $8000 or more. Properly done, you will get 250k trouble free in many cases. But a backyard bulletproof, Id stay away from. People that think they are engine techs cause themselves a lot of issues. And then they sell them....good luck!

 

I'd avoid the 6.0... Too many issues. But I'd also do my due diligence with the F-150. Get it checked out for possible head gasket issues. Or keep shopping. Plenty of trucks in the sea, err, on the road.