Hi Everyone,

Looking for advice as I may be purchasing my brother's 2003 CCSB as he says he is thru with it and will be taking our Dad's 2009 Chevy 1/2 ton 2wd truck with 44000 miles as Dad has lost his licence due to his dementia getting progressively worse.

History of the 2003 CCSB:

Brother is the original owner, 266,000 miles.
All engine vitals on TorquePro appear good but ECT/EOT differental at 15 degrees, original oil cooler. FICM voltage good
HPOP, ICP, IPR and nipple cups changed 3 years ago, new radiator, rear leaf springs, radiator and AC compressor this year.
Coolant changed every 60,000 miles but Ford gold coolant
Tranny fluid/filter changed every 50,000 miles-truck has done very little towing
New tranny lines last year
Frame/body in overall good shape but needs fenders.
6.0 has never been chipped or modified
Water pump and windshield are two years old
Coolant pressure is low/good
EGR is still on it.
Original injectors
Currently has a topper as well.

The bad:
Batteries are 5 years old
Fenders need replacing
Currently has the following codes P603, P700 and P2700
Currently blows fuse #45, possible wire shorting from the shifter column? I did have it apart the other day and see the small two chaffed slightly.
Has had tranny shifting issues recently on occasion.
Idler/tensioner bearing very noisy
4WD not operational-needs ESOF seals and front driveshaft U joints

My thoughts are that this is still a potentially good truck with a little care and maintenance.
If I did purchase this I would replace a lot of items which are known to leave you stranded on the roadside such as all brake and fuel lines, brake pads/rotors, all fluids, batteries,filters, glow plugs, blue fuel spring etc. and add a coolant pressure and fuel pressure gage.
Should the EGR be deleted?
Should the coolant be completely flushed and replaced with ELC?

Of course this is all dependent on what his selling price will be.

Looking forward to everyone's advice/opinions.

Thank you, Rob

 

You'd think he'd give it to you since he's getting y'all's dad's truck. Different mothers?

 

Hi Ron,

I should have included more info but felt that my post would be even longer and no one would read/reply.
No-Same Mom & Dad. They have been in that house on 2 acres since 1977 and was originally in the country on the edge of town. Fast forward to now and they are surrounded by houses and have sold most of the property to developers. My brother is getting Dad's truck while I am ending up with the 22 hp diesel Kubota riding lawn mower as I have two properties which are close but a total of 1.5 acres of grass.I am sure that if one of these two is valued way higher one if us will end up with a cheque in the end. At the end of the day it does not matter to me as I am sitting comfortable in life with a great wife and four adult kids.

I guess I should have been more specific as to what should be done with the truck in maintenance/repairs etc to keep it going reliably as I will most likely end up with the truck. Do I tear into it, flush the coolant to ELC, replace the oil cooler and delete the EGR? These are the areas I am looking for opinions on. Overall this truck has had a good run so far.

Just as an FYI my wife thinks I am nuts to even consider the truck( you know it is 18 years old she keeps telling me) so I do not want to hear "I told you so" if it keeps breaking down. Things happen obviously with a vehicle of this age but there are a lot of things you can do ehead of time.

Rob

 

The only thing I would be concerned about is the cam/lifters at that age with some oil cooler clogging. But it does not sound as bad as many I've read about. With the coolant flips, it may have not ever got real bad. Before I would do chemical flushes, I'd sacrifice the heater core, change it out and cut it apart to see how much silicate has grabbed onto surfaces. If not bad, I'm not sure I'd do chemical. If chemical, for me it would be Restore, Restore+, then Cascade. A few people have said Cascade removes the silicate gel better, I'm not sure as I never used it. But I do know that the Restore's heavily used to not fully remove the gel.

 

Oil cooler is next. I would not delete the EGR. Plus you're in the range where heavy engine related work is becoming a possibility along with known maintenance timing on age/heat damaged seals (rear main, bed plate, etc). Not sure what, if any, blowby it has (most do with those miles), but that's a consideration as well.

Tranny's also going to need a going thru as well -- things just wear down.

 

Thanks guys,

Jack- Thanks, I did not even consider the lifters/cam issue.

F350 1990- Just out of curiosity why would you not delete the EGR?

The other main reason I am even considering the truck is that I have a 2005 parts truck with a good motor /transmission with only 165,000 miles on it. The truck was parked as the frame was bad/body rust issues.

Rob

 

You're in good shape then.

 

If you have a good spare powertrain, I'd do the bare minimum on the engine (maybe oil cooler & coolant flush?) & spend most of you time/$$$ on the body & drive train. In the meantime, build the spare motor as time and money allow, & you'd be all set when something happens. Most likely scenario - you build the spare motor & never need it.

 

The only thing that would concern me is the transmission shifting issue.