Found it on craigslist, I needed something to tow my Toyota FJ40 to and from the trails. 1991 Ford F-250 ex cab V8 auto 4x4


It drove straight, and the steering was not loose. It also seemed to have plenty of power left in it. But I knew I was going to be putting a lot of work into it, before I could use it. So I made a offer of $400, and found my self with a new title in hand

The bad
-Rear main seal leaks
-Front end needs new ball joints, going to replace the u-joints at the same time. Previous owner told me someone else who looked at buying it put it in 4wd and it made some noise. I haven't tried my self yet, but I will go through everything and see what happens.
-Windshield is cracked
-Turn signal switch is broken, a replacement was included.
-Rear brake line rusted out, PO plugged the rear lines at the master.
-Discovered it has a battery drain today, when I tried to start it back up after work. I noticed it had a battery disconnect when I bought it, but never questioned why.
-Rear view mirror needs to be glued back to the windshield.
-Tires are shot, need to be replaced.

The good
-Front clip has glossy paint, from the doors back it is faded
-Engine still feels strong
-Its a XLT Lariat edition
-Rust is not bad for a '91 in the rust belt.
-The price was right


I am going to try some Sta-bil no oil leak treatment to see if it helps the main seal. If it doesn't slow it down enough, or stop it then I will replace the main seal this winter. This is on the top of the priority list right now. And I will be bending up a rear brake line this week, or weekend. If anything else with the rear brakes needs to be replaced, I will take care of that as well. I'll be looking into the battery drain this week as well, from searching on the forum I've read that the voltage regulator could be the culpritt here.

Once the main seal leak is fixed, I'll take care of the ball joints up front, along with the u-joints. After thats finished, I am hoping it will be a reliable truck thats worthy of new tires. But tires are near the end of the list, as I do not want to invest to much money into it, just in case it has more problems then I am aware of.



I'll snap some pictures of the truck tomorrow, I forgot to bring my camera with me to work today. I have to keep it parked at work as I have no space for it at home

Here is a picture of my FJ40 I will be pulling behind the Ford

 

Congrats on the "new" truck. Once you get er goin you'll have a good tow vehicle, and winter truck.

 

Was going to drive it home today and work on the rear brake lines, but the weather said otherwise. Been snowing, raining, and sleeting all day. After work I popped the hood and checked the battery with the volt meter. It was sitting around 3 volts So I hooked up the jumpers and fired it up. I let it run for awhile and took a few pictures.





That purple window tint on the drivers side wing window is going to drive me crazy Once I start driving it a bit, I'll have to scrap that crap off.



Rear bumper is a little tweaked, might try to bend it back with the Hi-lift jack. The drop hitch is coming off as soon as I buy a receiver hitch for it.



The interior is actually pretty clean for being a farm truck.

 

That's a nice cruiser. I see quite a few of them out & about around here on the roads.

The truck sounds like it's a project, but it doesn't sound like it has any uncommon problems for a neglected Ford truck. The rear axle should be a sterling 10.25", not a Dana 60 as the owner says. Since it's an extended cab, the front is a Dana 50, not a Dana 44 as the owner says. The GVWR is 8800, not 18k-something as the owner... you get the idea.

 

For the price, I couldn't pass it up.

Thanks for the info, the previous owner did not seem very bright. I did my research before buying it, and found the GVWR to be 8800 like you have posted. He also put 245/75/16's on it thinking they were bigger then stock

 

I buffed out the paint over the weekend with results better then I expected The pictures I posted before don't really show how dull the old paint was, since it was raining out. But the craigslist ad will give you a good idea.



I've also fixed the exhaust leak, and turn signal switch. Put a new battery in it, as the old one was to small. But I still think there is a battery drain.

Going to try and do the ball joints this weekend, then shop around for tires.