Hi I have been offered a 92 FORD F-250 four wheel drive pick up to replace my ageing 85 GMC 6.2 deisel, the truck has 42,000 miles and is in much better condition than My GMC, engine is a 351, price is 2500. I am interested in hearing your comments and opinions on this particular year pick up, The truck has been used to plow snow, should this be a cause for concern with the motor or trasmission, What do you know about these trucks good bad and ugly? Thanks Vince

 

Pretty solid truck and a pretty good deal with those miles. Not sure where you're from... East coast? If so, watch for rust. Common places: cab corners, wheel wells, leaf spring shackles, other places that I'm not sure of since I live in rust free California

The 351 is a pretty solid motor, but I'm not sure which transmission you have, there were several offered that year. Can you get the TRANS code on the door tag and post it for us?

Being a plow I would be a bit weary of buying this truck though... Plows present a lot more stress on the drivetrain, as you would expect, as well as a lot of stress on your electrical system, namely your alternator and battery, but those are relatively cheap and easy replacements if they have gone bad.

Get a good look under the truck and watcher for ANYTHING WET. Fluid leaks are good indicators of the general operation of the truck. If you're out in rust country, get a good look at the oil pan, those are prone having holes rotting all the way through. Another commonly leaky spot is the rear main seal between the engine and the transmission, check there too. A rear main seal that drips a few drops a day is generally nothing more than a nuisance to your driveway.

Run the truck in 4wd and make sure the front driveshaft and axle shafts spin nice and freely without hanging up or rubbing. Does it have automatic locking hubs or manuals with the dials? Manual is the way to go, I would imagine or a plow rig that the guy would be smart enough to run manual hubs, and that the 4wd is operating correctly. But then again, maybe that's why he's selling it cheap

Find out what the transmission and gear ratio is from the door tag and post back here, those two items could make or break this deal. A high gear ratio like 3.55s or higher is going to create a lot more stress on the drivetrain for plowing, but they are probably 4.10s on an F250. Good luck and Welcome to FTE!

 

Being a plow in the past isn't a issue really. A truck can be mis-treated doing many things. I plow with mine (2 miles of private road and driveway) but I also maintain it. Get a look at the front ends of the frame to see if any obvious damage was done.

Skandocious has a good point about checking the drivesaft and UJs. Get a good look at the transfer case too (yoke, signs of UJ failure/stress, etc) (I typically don't need 4-low to plow.) Definitely run the truck in all modes though. Check condition of ball joint boots, tie rod boots and both for excessive play.

The PO of my truck thought he kept up on the maintenance but since I knew what to look for (and find) I was able to talk him down quite a bit on the price. He said "yeah, it leaks but not very bad" Ha! The oil sending unit was leaking, the lower intake was leaking, the rear seal was leaking, etc.

As with any Truck purchase, ask to see the maintenance log and see if it 'makes sense'. (i.e milage for oil changes, logical chain of events, etc. logs can be made to look good and can sometimes be exagerrated)

Welcome to Ford! You won't regret it!

 

it's probably similar to my 90 F250.. 351W, E4OD trans...don't know the gears though.. may be 4.10?
had been a very reliable truck until recently.. the pump for the front fuel tank went out about 2 weeks ago.. so I was running with the rear tank in the meantime.. then the day before yesterday, the rear pump went out right at the pump at the gas station..(didn't put any fuel in.. my ATM was denied.. I blame Bank of America!) it still had fuel in it.. about 1/8th of a tank..then about a month before the pumps, the alternator went out..thinking of selling my truck.. I want one with a Diesel..

 

There were several transmissions offered in 92 so you cannot deduce what the trans or gears are without looking at the door tag or the tranny pan bolt pattern. Find out and get back to us buddy

Mebe, don't give up on your truck! You know what the problem is so just fix it and you're ready to go! Fuel pumps are prone to going out after so many years of use anyway, especially on these trucks. I wouldn't use that as an indicator of the general condition of your truck, wouldn't be very accurate.

 

oh, no.. i'm not going to sell it just because of these simple problems.. I wanted a Diesel when I got this truck.. and just couldn't find one that was in my price range.. now that i've had the truck for like 9 months, i'm seeing Diesel's all over the place.. I also need a truck with a larger back seat.. i just have the supercab.. and the back seat is too small..other than that I love the truck and have taken good care of it.

 

Yep take it for a ride and put through its paces . Lock in 4x4 any do some tight turns (on dirt ) is there is a u-jiont issue this will show it.

I put about 100 miles on every snow plowing . not including clean up. I never had problems other then normal up keep .And as for stress on the trans it could be a C6 3 speed good trans , a e4od overdrive (these can go at 50000 in a street truck not hauling ) as well as others.

It all depends on how plow was used . If it looks nice (body condition ) It probably taken care of . But its 15 yr sold and lots of problems can happen on a normal truck ..

Good luck

 

Being a 250 with a plow, you just have to worry about the TTB susspension in the front.

2500 for the miles is great price!
Take it for a spin, and check out the front susspension throughly.
That plow might have worn down the front springs if he didnt' add a leaf or 2.

 

I believe an F250 with a 351 should be the light duty and have coil springs in the front, not leafs. Thats what worries me about the plow. The light duty front suspension could have taken a beating, yet again my boss plows with a F150 302 and doesnt have any problems. Its all a matter of upkeep really. You can tell alot by looking underneath at the frame and suspension and taking it for a drive. Check every part of the suspension visually, then inspect it with your hands. If you can get alot of play out of front suspension components by moving it with your hands, then that could be a sign of a worn out component. If everything seems ok, drive it and take it over some bumps and through some tight turns. Listen for excessive sqeaking or creaking and feel for vibrations, thumps, bumps, bangs, pops ect.

 

my 91 f250 has leaf springs in the front i also have a plow if you plan to keep the plow i recomend putting airbags under the front it makes a nicer ride

 

150's are coils. 250's are leafs.

 

All F250s? Wow I was under the impression that that was part of the HD package for the 460s and diesels. My bad.