Hey guys. I found a 2008 F-350 6.4L Lariat for sale on craigslist. The truck has 192,XXX miles on it with a blown head gasket. It does run currently just not well. It comes with a reese hitch and a gooseneck so I am guessing it was towed with a lot. If I was to buy it I would obviously fix the headgaskets and install head studs, and I would also do an egr delete and dpf delete. What do you guys think about this purchase? What would you pay for a truck like this? When going to look at it what things should I look for and what questions should I ask? I currently drive a 97 F-350 7.3L so I am familiar with diesels just not the newer ones as much. Thanks for the help!

Oh and p.s. my friend runs a diesel shop that specializes in bulletproofing 6.0L and 6.4L powerstrokes so I would have help in getting it running.

p.p.s. my boss has the exact same truck and I convinced him to do the egr/ dpf/ and spartan tuning and he loves the truck now

 

It all depends on what your going to pay for it. You don't need studs on a 6.4 and you will have to pull the motor to do gaskets so you might look at a used low mileage motor to replace the one in there.

 

I really would rather just keep the original engine in there if possible. My friend has the lifts and apparatus do pull the can and he does it regularly to work on both 6.4 and 6.0 liters because it's that much easier to work on them that way. Anybody have experience with high mileage 6.4s? I would be keeping the 97 as a work truck so this one would only probably get 10k miles on it a year. When bulletproofed are these things good for 300k miles? What about the turbo system on these trucks, how long are they usually good for?

Thanks,
Chris

 

There were one F350 with 297K miles on craigslist for $8K and yes it was running and driveable. Need 4 tires. It was 4wd reg cab with XL trim.


I would say it would last 400-500K miles no problem after you fix all issues.

 

Ok sounds good. As this would be used more as a daily driver, highway, towing truck it would probably last awhile then. Any idea on what would be a fair price? I'm thinking with all the work I'm going to have to do to it and probably a new set of tires for 20" rims I cant' offer him very much.

 

Can u ask ur dealer to do an Oasis report on it?

Does he have maintenance records?

How's the Degas bottle look? Does it have residue or look like its "puked" or maybe had oil in it?

Is the exhaust tip black or clean?

Can you see any rust or residue throughout the engine compartment that would suggest a leaking coolant system?

Look at the exhaust system, is there anything to suggest it was tuned previously? Tool marks, non OEM bolts/hangers? The EGT sensors have tool marks?

Have your buddy give it a real good look over. If he's fluent in 6.4's, I'm sure he can look at all the troubled systems and give you a great recommendation.

 

Not sure what its worth/asking price but seeing as you have the resources to do a semi-rebuild id go for it! If the price is right of course, and Id also go ahead and do head studs as well, esp if you're gonna dpf delete/tune. And considering you're doing head gaskets anyways it would be silly NOT to do studs!!

 

If you get it and fix the issues...do follow the severe maint schedule. More than likely it was well taken care of to get as many miles on it.

 

Does anyone have a price in their head that they would feel is fair? If you don't feel comfortable posting here you can PM me if you want. I feel his asking price is high but feel awkward posting it here.

 

Kelly Blue Book says $20,625, for 'fair' condition.. my guess is you have $5k worth of repairs (one side), I think Cab off to get the head off, certainly to put it back on with studs. u gonna do both sides? if one is leaking... I would..gaskets are cheap compared to taking off the cab again.. so that might be more.. head studs are $500 for the parts., head gaskets are $300.. almost a grand and no work done yet..

also, I'd check the fuel system.. a replacement might cost 10k..

so, I'm guessing $10k would be a starting offer.

sam

 

I'd say around 8-10K depending on stuff like brakes and tire wear...broken glass or inoperative things like AC or headlights horn type stuff.

Go with your gut.

If you drove it..does the tranny seem ok?

 

Still need to check it out in person but if I was to get it I would do head gaskets and studs on both sides, no need to half *** it since I plan on owning it for a long time. The fuel system on these trucks does worry me and would definately be one of my bargaining points. He claims it has brand new tires on it but that doesn't mean the brakes and suspension are in great shape. I was thinking I would start at $8k and work possibly up to about $10k depending on how good it actually is in person. Problem is he is asking $15k

 

not worth 15K by a long shot.

 

That's what I'm thinking. This truck is a crewcab short bed and I would really prefer a supercab long bed. I can buy a '05 6.0L lariat supercab longbed with 122k miles for $14k right now and after bulletproofing it I'd into it for right around $16k so unless the price is right and I can get an '08 bulletproofed for less than the price of an '05 it's not worth it to me. How are these transmissions in terms of reliability with high miles? I managed to make the dreaded E4OD in my '97 last 140k miles before rebuilding it.

 

My f450 has 160,000. How that rank?