I am looking at buying another truck, I found a 2001 F250 7.3L for sale and the price is where I need it to be. The only issue I have found so far is the truck has 320000 miles. I have never owned a diesel my self I do work on them here at work (oil changes, glow plugs, etc.) and some of them have high mileage and seem to run fine. Should I walk away from this truck, or should I buy it, what should I look for under the hood? I am going at lunch to look/possibly buy it so any help would help me make an informed decision. I did ask why the high miles and was told they have oil leases in Midland, TX and Brecken Ridge and drove between them constantly.

 

That's a lot of miles.
That doesn't mean it's a bad thing, but you need to check the general health of everything.
The engine might still run good, but how about the wheel bearings?
What are your plans for the truck?
Transmission?
Driveline?
Do all the accessories work?
Do all the windows roll up and down?
Body rust?
Brakes?
Ball joints?
Spring shackles?

 

Check it out good.Those ranches out there are plenty rough driving from well to well if thats what it was used for.Check the ball joints,knuckles,put it in 4x4 and turn it side to side.Listen for pops and unusual noises.Engine wise,remove the intake and look to see what shape the turbo wheel is in.If it is dusted you might want to keep looking.Yes,the turbo can be fixed but think about what got sucked into the motor....Good luck

 

That is a lot of miles. Get ready to spend some money of things that will be going out. Not saying things will go out, but if you don't have a maintenance record on this truck, look very close. Good luck.

 

Thanks for the replies, I will be using this truck to replace my 2000 F250 5.4. Basically daily driver, back and forth to work, and pulling 28' fifth wheel ocassionaly on the weekends.

 

If it's going to be a daily driver, keep the 5.4 for a while as a backup until you are certain that the PSD is going to hold up.
320,000 is a lot of miles and by this time, anything could be wrong.
One thing, when you hook up that trailer and start out, you'll be floored at how much better that diesel tows compared to that little 5.4.

 

Where are you located?? Maybe someone could meet up with you that has a scanner (AE) that could run a couple of tests on the truck to see how the health of the truce is

 

He lives in Texas according to his profile.

 

I really don't know what to do, I need to get another truck as my 5.4l it dying a slow death, but I don't want a money pit, I am trying to decide between the 2001 7.3 4x4 SC LB 320000miles for around $5000 or a 2003 v10 SC LB 4x4 240000miles for around $4000 what do you guys think?

 

cworley250sd,

If you are going to be towing a 5th wheeler. It is not cheep to pay a tow bill for a truck and a camper. I would suggest you need to purchase a good road service plan. I have Good Sams, they will pay towing on truck and camper.

 

I would keep looking around. Both of those trucks have a lot of miles and probably will need some things repaired right away. I would spend a little more and try and get something with less miles. Unless you can get the service records for a high mileage truck, I would keep looking for something 100k-150k miles. How many miles on your 5.4?

Good luck,

 

Ford F-350 Crew Cab

Call me when you need to be picked up from the airport??