So i am currently a 77' F150 owner who is looking for a bigger truck to pull some of my toys... GTW stays under 10,000 but i want the ability to tow more if need be... I found this 2000 F350 Crew Cab Lariat LE with the PSD and automatic transmission, loaded, leather, quad captains chairs, B and W flip over gooseneck ball, 141,000 miles, new tires, new inspection, comes with a superchips programmer thats never been installed and has the FX4 package as well, truck in overall good condition with some minor scratches/chips, no rust on the body, frame has some light surface rust, drivers seat is wore with a rip in the side of the leather.... Drove the truck and aside from it wandering on the road i liked it pretty well the guy wants $12,500 for it.. can anyone tell me what i should look for, is it worth it?, what kinda of a difference is that programmer gonna make? mileage? anything that would be helpful to lemme learn some more with these trucks... thanks to all in advance.

 

Might want to try and post this in the 7.3 99-03 section... but at any rate, the FX4 package wasn't available until 03 MY trucks, so late 02 and up super duties. The previous owner must have added the sticker. Sounds like the steering box may need adjustment, or the tie rod ends are done for, or ball joints. Did it clunk on bumps, or do the front tires have a funny wear pattern? The fuel mileage all depends on the right foot, and as far as power enhancements, it seems the general consensus is DP-tuner, or PHP are the two better enhancers/chips out there. The price seems ok, but it is all subjective I guess.

If you can take the intermediate intake hose off and look at the turbo compressor side wheel and see if it is nicked at all. It should have sharp edges.

This may help too

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/5...questions.html

 

It *could* be.... let's start off easy:

Camodown has it on the wandering: could be ball joints, tie rods, or even the steering box (least likely but possible)

Ball joints: Shop = ~$1200; DIY = ~$350 + tool rental
Tie rods: Shop = ~$800; DIY = $300
Steering box: Shop: ~$600; DIY = $350

The above is ballparked; I've done the first two myself, in my driveway. You'll need an alignment afterwards no matter who does the work, so throw in another $80 - $100.

The link that Camodown provided is pretty much "required reading". I bought my 99 F250 3 years ago and love it. One of the best purchases ever. Remember, forewarned is fore-armed; go armed with knowledge. And if you can tell us where "Grove City" is exactly (doesn't ring a bell for me) then there just might be a member close enough to come have a look with you.

 

Well the seller who seems to be a very honest person, did say when it got inspected at the local ford garage that they said that the steering box needed adjusted as well as the parking brake. He also said they owned the truck for 4 years and. Used it to pull an aluminum horse trailer... Previous owner was a cousin and was very meticulous with maintenance...

 

Moved to the 7.3 forum

 

Brendan's got you covered on the wandering issues. Post up where you live and maybe someone here can come with you and look at the truck. I've looked at a couple with members here and it's fun to crawl over, under a potential purchase.

 

I would go over it very slowly and check everything, i turned down 8 trucks before i found one that i was good with, the others had some things that where iffy.
Matt

 

Well I'm sure by now you've done a little more research and found out that the LE stands for Limited Edition. There were not that many made, so the asking price of 12,500 is not that bad of a deal. I will caution you make sure you inspect around the visor area, and make sure you dont find any leaks.

For those that havent seen an LE here is a pic.

 

His is located in Grove City, Pa according to his profile..
Here is some info on buying a used PSD;
1999 - 2003 7.3L Power Stroke Diesel Used Truck Buyers Guide .: Articles

Also, check http://www.kbb.com/kbb/UsedCars/default.aspx for the valve.. for PA it shows around $15K

 

I looked at one when I was shopping for my truck. It had leather captain's chairs both front and back but it was a mess. Not well taken care of.

Interesting. Your pic shows a short bed duallie. Don't see too many of those.

 

I don't know what it is, but I just love the look of a shortbed dually.

 

Most all of the LEs that I have seen have been short duallies. We call em Short dogs down here in the south. I have never seen SRW LE.

 

I just bought an '01 SB DRW Lariat although not a LE and is plain white with only 105 000 miles. I do like this paint job.

Brandon - What causes the leaking issues that you mentioned to look for? Would it be from the visor on this truck? I don't have a visor, just orange lights across front of roof above windshield.

Dale

 

I really like the Looks of the LEs but I would never buy one their is one that is over in blaine I see it every day it looks neat. Brandon you want to see something odd see a F-350 dually Super cab short bed now thats odd looking.

Dale you don't have to worry about regular cab lights the big visors on the LEs can sometimes leak due to the stress that gets put on them when big gusts of wind hits them. Sometimes it happens around where they bolt up and man do they bolt up...

 

The truck that i'm looking at, is a long bed, but looks like that minus the maroon at the front between the black and tan... i suppose it coulda been painted but i asked the guy about it and he said that his cousin who was the previous owner had it removed...?? and the truck has clear headlights in the front with the clear t/s lenses below that take amber bulbs.. 02 mod?? I just know I fell in love with the truck and its super sharp looking... may be getting the loan tomorrow for it... I put a deposit on the truck on tuesday for him to hold it for me and told him I would let him know by friday... and as someone stated i live in grove city, pa which is about 50 miles north of pittsburgh, however truck is located in zielienople which is about 20 miles north of pittsburgh...