Hi,

New to the forum obviously and after doing some searching about I can't seem to find what I'm looking for so I'll guess I'll post.

What I'm needing is some opinions (good or bad) on a purchase I'm about to make.

I am in the final stages of buying a delivery business and I am in need of a cube van. The one that I have my eye on is a used U-Haul truck. It's a 17ft. 88-89 E-350 Econoline, 460ci/V-8/gas/F.I. It has a C-6 autotrans, and approx 150,000 miles on it. They are starting out at about $3500. I of course would like a newer model but the biz itself has pretty much tapped out our budget, so I am thinking about getting one of these.

I believe they are fairly regular about servicing them, (at least the guy selling them says every 5000 miles) but who knows for sure. Theres' not a spot of rust on them and no big body dings either.

So do any of you think that I should try one? Has anybody had any experience with these? I'll have a few to choose from, and a week too 10 days to make my decision. Please let me know!

Thanks.

 

Uhaul should have the records for every truck in its fleet oil changes etc.

I have been to fleet auctions and the buyers had access to the work records.
Far as condition of their fleet I have never seen worse kept up equipment.
Not to say there is some decent ones in Uhauls fleet. Its a gamble like anything else that has high milage.

 

Also if this not Uhaul selling these trucks direct then this seller may not have records to show you. Good luck in your choice of trucks

 

It is Uhaul that is selling them, right off of their lot. And yes they do have the records. But I do agree with you in that these aren't the best kept up, therefore the cheaper price I expect. On the other hand I don't think I'm taking any bigger risk than I would be if I went to a Cube van "dealer". Any that I have found in those lots with the same year & mileage have been 3 TIMES as expensive.

What would you all do with it in terms of maintenance right away? Who's to say how accurate the log books are. What do you recommended?

 

first thing I would do is change oil+filter Tranny fluid change can create some problems.I was told by a tranny tec on high milage trucks or cars doing a total fluid change could wash down some grit and plug up things. If anyone can add to this I would like your input.

As far as buying this Uhaul truck the price sounds okay.
Will you be loading and unloading from freight docs the reason I ask is all the Uhaul trucks I'm familar with are to low to match up with the loading docs.

These trucks are rated for certain weight most on the lite side so you have to figure what your heaviest weight would be other than that maybe you could pay a local mechanic to go with you to check it out. Good luck in your new business venture

 

Thanks for the replies. I'll be hauling snack crackers (Pepp Farm Goldfish ) mostly, so weight won't be a problem.

As for loading docks there are a couple but mostly I'll have to park out of the way of the "big boys" so actually lower to the ground is better. Less stepping up.

I've heard that about the tranny fluid thing also. Dad had an old '76 F150 that did that exact thing to him or so he was told. Better left alone I guess ?!?!?!

Are there any other high mileage tune-ups that should be done? (the thought being the log books are inaccurate)

 

It is true about the dirt in the trans, but look at it this way, it's a closed system. There really isn't any way for dirt to get into the system, and all the clutch/gear material falls into the pan. So I think it's just the tranny shops way of scaring you into paying them to do it.... Change the filter and fluid, then do it a gain within 500 miles to make sure all the old fluid is out... That will probably help any shifting problems.

 

The new way of just flushing transmissions does infact dislodge clutch materials and such and deposits them in the pan, but that's a good thing! What's not getting done is the actual filter change. I still prefer doing it the old way and pulling the pan changing the filter. That's one of many reasons I love my Ford. They give you a drain plug on the torque converter so you can drain out 90% of the fluid out. Not just a few quarts that come out when you drop the pan. If you do it this way you can also see what shape the tranny is in by actually seeing the deposits in the pan. Black filmy=normal, Black goopy=excessive wear, Black goopy with metalic flakes=tranny overhaul soon. Although, I have seen C6's in pretty tough shape keep on going for surpisingly long times. 460's are pretty tough engines too but the oil needs to be kept changed. The oiling system in these big boys is not quite up to par (in my opinion anyway). I've seen sludge build up and plug oil passages on neglected engines. A 460 with a C6 behind it is still one of the toughest setups outt there and if taken care of can see upwards of 200,000 miles before needing any major work. Good Luck in your endevres!

 

Thanks, hopefully I'll have a few to choose from. I saw one yesterday at my local Uhaul place that when started smoked like crazy. Made me kinda nervous.

 

At the very least, do a compression test on all of the cylinders to see what kind of shape there in. Hang on to your wallet, with the gas prices and the 460's gas guzzling habits.......

Good luck!

 

I'd love to do the compression test but I'm 60 miles from the dealer, so thats out. And I guess I'l just have to budget for the high gas prices. Any other tips?

 

You might want to budget $3000 to replace the motor or other parts since you won't know what kind of shape the motor is in. (What will the down time be worth to you per day while the truck gets a new motor.) Options for the compression test: 1.) Ask the dealer to do it and offer to pay for it. 2.)Obtain the compression test kit and do it yourself. The money spent on one of these two options will pay for itself in the long run. just pulling the plugs and inspecting them can tell you a lot about the condition of the motor.

Good luck!

 

Heck, for $3000 I can go and buy another one. No down time either. Is that really what a motor and trans would cost to replace?

Also, lets assume for a minute that I'm not all that good of a mechanic. What would the plugs look like for you too consider the motor bad? What if it smokes a little on start up but not after its warm? The guy fired one up the other day and I repeated to him that I was only interested in a gas truck. He stated that this "was a gas truck". Don't know what that knockin' was but I turned it off right away!

I get the feeling tho that I'm just gonna have to pick one and hope for the best. I'll probably be posting here in this forum again in a few months looking for help

 

Yep, $3,000 is actually a very lowball figure for both engine and tranny. And yes definetly stay away from the one that sounded like a diesal! More than likely it has a rod knocking. Not good! A little bit of smoke at startup isn't all that serious if the engine runs good and has no knocks.Probably just valve seals but it should be just a small puff and then clear up. Sparkplugs should not have any deposits on them and should have a very light tan color to them. Black sparkplugs or excessive deposits means it's burning oil or running way too rich and white, oddly burnt tips means that the engine is running lean.

 

Yes, I was refering to replacement cost or repair to the motor. The transmission is a whole nuther story. Budget price would depend on which trans you have etc.....

Good luck!