Diesel Lifespan?
Freshman User
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 42
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From: Philly Area, PA
Diesel Lifespan?
I'm always looking to get back into an F-series again and I was wondering what a reasonable lifespan would be for a stock, well-maintained 6.9L. Any descriptions of what to look for when checking out a truck would be appreciated as well.
Posting Guru
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 1,785
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From: Paola, KS
Diesel Lifespan?
>No one has any idea how long I could expect a late 80s,
>early 90s 'Ford diesel' to last?
I would say it is pretty much a guess. My dad bought his new in 85 it blew up after 130K he was very good at keeping the maintence up on it. I had a friend that had a 84 and they got 350K out of theres before it went.
>early 90s 'Ford diesel' to last?
I would say it is pretty much a guess. My dad bought his new in 85 it blew up after 130K he was very good at keeping the maintence up on it. I had a friend that had a 84 and they got 350K out of theres before it went.
Postmaster
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 3,628
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From: Baileyton, TN
Diesel Lifespan?
If a diesel is properly maintained, instead of just changing the oil when it gets thin, it is possible to get many hundreds of thousands of miles out of it. However, not babying the engine, and keeping levels constant and fresh will cause excessive wear on the engine, and significantly shorten it's life.
The powerstroke could be expected to run for 400K miles, if treated well. There are plenty out there that did not get much past the 200K mark,because of lack of proper maintenance. I had an old perkins engined truck with 500K on it, when I sold it - still running strong.
Wm
'02 F250 4x4 Crew Cab Lariot; white with leather - 3.73 gears. Not yet modified but the accessories are looking good.
'96 F450 4x4 Crew Cab XLT; White with Grey interior. Banks Turbo, Intercooler and Exhaust,
Power pack Chip, shift kit, Auxiliary transmission, electronic enhanced transmission control,
16 forward and 4 reverse ratios. 340hp 660ft lb, 4.10 gears, 12,ooo# winch
The powerstroke could be expected to run for 400K miles, if treated well. There are plenty out there that did not get much past the 200K mark,because of lack of proper maintenance. I had an old perkins engined truck with 500K on it, when I sold it - still running strong.
Wm
'02 F250 4x4 Crew Cab Lariot; white with leather - 3.73 gears. Not yet modified but the accessories are looking good.
'96 F450 4x4 Crew Cab XLT; White with Grey interior. Banks Turbo, Intercooler and Exhaust,
Power pack Chip, shift kit, Auxiliary transmission, electronic enhanced transmission control,
16 forward and 4 reverse ratios. 340hp 660ft lb, 4.10 gears, 12,ooo# winch
Freshman User
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 38
Likes: 0
From: usa
Diesel Lifespan?
i have two 1986 F250s with 6.9s. one is 4x4 with 200,000 and one 4x2 with 450,000. both just had head gaskets changed for preventive maintance and water pumps and are still giong strong.the 4x2 is my daily runer and my trip truck is goon 700 mile round trips all the time. good luck
Posting Guru
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,129
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From: Twin Cities, MN
Diesel Lifespan?
we sent a 6.9 to the bone yard with only 240,000 on it. Not because of the motor. We sent it down cause we lost another tranny and the van had a realy bad case of ford cancer on the body. (some nice holes in the floor were good for fresh air) Anyways we took of the one good head and injector pump for spare parts for another 6.9 we still have.
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New User
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 7
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From: san antoio
Diesel Lifespan?
i have an 84 ford f250 6.9. i have about 530k on right now. i use about 2 qts of oil per 3000 miles. the only thing that has been done on it is new crank shaft rods mains oil pump and head. it is still running good. i have a small rear main oil leak but thats it
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