Hello everyone, i was wondering if anyone knows if there have been any known problems(or from experience) with the 1999 f-250 4X4 7.3L diesel with 180,000 miles. i am a certified mechanic but am looking for a heads up from guys/gals who actually own them. i know of one guy i used to work with has one and says its the best vehicle he has ever owned. thanks for the info and advice everyone.

 

99' to 03' are the best trucks ever made on earth.


That should tell you something. lol

 

straight to the point, gotta love it.

 

No real major mechanical problems with the 7.3 PSD. now that being said, there are the little things that pop up every now and then.

Cam position sensor, glow plug relay, etc.... you know normal wear items.

I am at 251K miles and have owned my truck since it had 10K miles on it and have spent less than $1500 in repairs(under the hood)
#7 injector $400, CPS $125(now they are $25), various orings, alternator,waterpump, AC compressor(but I dont count that against the engine). Thats it under the hood, still on my factory stock tranny(rattling torque converter and all)

Absolutely the best vehicle I have ever owned.
Are you looking at a early 99 or late(is the build date before 12-13-98(early 99) or after (99.5) look on the door pillar build sticker to determine.
Early 99's had some different parts than the later 99's
early 99 had a smaller turbo, injectors, HPOP, different front brakes, ETC... Look here for the up dates http://www.forddoctorsdts.com/articl...icle-06-08.php scroll down to the 99.5 engine update and click.

Now the bad news.
PMS(Powerstroke Mod Syndrome) will just eat you up. you can drop well over $10K and still have more things that you can throw at it. the engine will take it. thousands of school buses, and garbage trucks can't be wrong.

 

thank you very much.

 

I agree with Brandon above but i will add two items to watch for.. that is under the valve cover wiring harness and connector.. The wires on the harness sometimes rubs on the moving parts and the connector's locking plastic tabs warp and allow the connnector to separate until you start having problems with your injectors and glow plugs not working.. That has been the only problem I have had on my 99.

 

Yep, forgot about those UVCHs, I did mine when I replaced the injector, and didn't even think about that being a seperate issue.

 

thanks guys appreciate the info. if i get outta work early enough i might go look at the truck today but most likely saturday. thanks again.

 

I have an early 99 with 240,000 miles. I have had no motor or tranny problems yet.m Just the usaul alternator, waterpump, belt tensioner and pulleys. It has been a very good truck for me. Good luck

 

thank you. i am going to look at it today as soon as i get off work. hope its as clean as he says. and again thank you everyone for all the info and advice. im kinda new to diesels, worked on some but never owned one.

 

Once you get one and drive it a while and get used to it, you will never go back to a gasser for a truck.
It IS a diesel thing, and soon you will understand.

 

yea i actually went and drove it today. its got a 6" lift and 35" tires. there are some things wrong but they are minor, and its from a wholesaler and i can buy a warranty for it so thats nice. cracked passanger side mirror, 1 cargo bulb, needs an alignment, im gonna put a new grille on it, slight trans pan leak, oil leak from either rear main or pan, couldnt tell(forgot my flashlight, ahhh). but other than that it ran nice.so im thinkin of getting it and finalizing everything tomorrow(well try and finalize). again thanks for all of the input and advice it really helped out.

 

Rear mains are not known to be leakers on the 7.3. Most likely it is an o-ring on one of the HP oil lines, and if you crawl(read: get a ladder) up on top of the motor and look in the valley you will probably see a pool of oil. No biggie, it happens to most of them. thirty minute fix.
Good luck on negotiations. Use the points above as tools to help you , the wholesaler may not know a lot about diesels, and if you show him a valley full of oil and explain you'll have to fix it, it may knock the price down some.

 

Make sure that pan is not leaking and rusted out. You gotta pull the engine to replace the pan if it cannot be fixed in the truck. This is no small task, well for most, some have become quite adept at it here.

 

Follow the advice that the others have suggested. If it still looks good, grab it. Around my area, the 7.3's are getting harder to find.