So my coworker has a truck for sale...

[Matt Campbell]

1997 Ford F-350 Crew Cab Long Bed

158,000 miles
7.3L Turbo Diesel
4WD
Automatic

Power everything
Cruise control
CD player
Towing Pkg.
AC
Optional fuel tank

KBB says $9,805. <-----That's as far as the owner and I have discussed the price though I'm pretty sure he'd drop a little at least.

Edmunds says $6,600. I just now found that. What a difference.


Does anyone have experience with this kind of truck? What do you think?

[Stephen Beckham]

Matt,

What's the make? I ask because I'm not a 'name-that-engine' type. But we had two of the Ford vehicles with the 7.3 liter Power Stroke. First was an Econoline E-350. Loved it, but it outgrew us...

The second is my E-350 Mini-bus I bought from the City of Louisville.


So - my understanding is - that engine is a 500,000 mile expectancy with no problems. Both we owned were great runners. They did have a slight problem with stalls. Funny thing - they would never fix it because it wasn't a problem. Google 7.3 liter powerstroke and recalls... It just came out that there is a sensor that they found causes stalls... Damndest thing while pulling out in traffic. If you get this truck - be patient and don't try to beat an on coming vehicle.

Also - this engine has great tune up chips available on the after market. I was getting upwards of 26 MPG in the van and the bus get's between 15-18 (great for a 14 passenger bus IMHO).

I didn't like the way it does everything off of oil pressure. Not really anything that you would notice, but a PITA when it's cold out. Makes you realize why they have two huge batteries in parallel to give you the cranking juice. Smoked one (rotten eggs) when trying to jump it once. I don't use the bus much anymore - and don't even try to start it in the winter. They do come with heater blankets for the engine to help keep the oil warm-er than the air.

Hope that helps! Oh yea - one other thing - my other understanding is that the 7.3 PS goes for a couple grand up to $4K for rebuilts. If the engine is worth that much alone - the truck can only add value to it...

Steve

[Matt Campbell]

Steve,

Someone must have edited my first post because I would never forget to include such important information. :rolleyes::D But I uhhhh "re-edited" to include that it's a 1997 Ford F-350 Crew Cab Long Bed.

Everything exterior is in great condition. I didn't look very hard, but I didn't notice one scratch. Tomorrow I'll actually have time to see the interior.

[Stephen Beckham]

Cool - I would definately research the stalling thing. That is the right timeframe for the recalls I believe. It's supposed to be a free fix.

Otherwise - you'll get pretty good gas mileage. If not - I'd take it to a diesel shop (not the Ford Dealer). The diesel shop will be able to pull up the diags on the system and tell you if there are any issues. They would also be able to tell you if they could 'upgrade' your chips to improve the engine performance.

Make sure it's not the 7.2L. Second hand understandings again, but apparently there was a 7.2L that they stop making because it had too many issues. I believe it was the early 90's that Ford started using the 7.3L so you should be fine.

Of course with all that said - 6.4, 6.9, 7.2 and 7.3 all mean the same thing to me. You put diesel in and turn the key and they run... Did I mention I'm an engraver? Seriously - the 7.3 is supposed to be pretty good one!

[Jason Roehl]

The stalling problem is due to a poorly-designed Crankshaft Position Sensor (CPS). I've heard that many 7.3L PowerStroke owners keep a spare in the glovebox, as it's an easy, roadside replacement (you probably need a wrench or two).

The 7.3L is a fairly reliable engine, and 300,000 miles (not 500,000) is the expected overhaul timeframe, though many have certainly made it longer. 300K is the "rating" loaded down and working like it was designed--pulling a skidsteer around to jobsites.

My guess is that at 158k miles, the truck is beginning to show its age unless those are all highway miles in the deep, saltless South. Look at the frame underneath, is it clean, covered in surface rust, or is there thick, rusty scaling? How does it ride? It's a one-ton truck, so it'll be a stiff ride, but I'm betting that the squeaks, shakes and rattles are starting to rear their ugly heads. What about leaks? The engine may be strong, but there will be lots of other little things that start to fall apart--suspension, brakes (beyond pads, rotors, shoes and drums), axles, 4WD components, HVAC parts, etc.

Here's the problem with a 10-year-old truck that costs $7-10k: they're fine if you already own them, but they're hard to get a loan on, and if you can afford to pay cash, you can probably afford a similar 3-year-old truck that costs $25k and has far fewer miles on it (and will presumably need less work in the near future).

For a forum about Ford trucks, you can go to ford dash trucks dot com, AKA "Ford Truck Enthusiasts". I'm a member there because I'm on my second Ford truck from the '87-'96/'97 era (the F250HDs and F350s carried into '97 with the same body style when the F150 got the ugly update). My '93 F250HD (just a 351 V8, though) just rolled 160k a couple days ago, and it shows, but hey, it's a work truck, and I work it, too.

P.S. Ford never had a 7.2L diesel in recent years. There was a 6.9L naturally-aspirated diesel until the late '80s, then the 7.3L IDI (indirect injection) came around until '94.5, when the PowerStroke made its debut (a 7.3L direct-injection turbodiesel). I think there was even a non-turbo, 7.3 DI for a couple years. The 7.3L PS was replaced in about '02 by the 6.0L PowerStroke, whose problems caused Ford to dump its long relationship with International/Navistar and build the 6.4L twin-turbo DI diesel in-house starting in '07, I think it was, soon to be replaced by an as-yet unnamed, out-sourced engine, last I heard, possibly Cummins or Cat (which, ironically, have been options in some of the medium-duty Ford trucks for years).

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

The stalling problem is due to a poorly-designed Crankshaft Position Sensor (CPS). I've heard that many 7.3L PowerStroke owners keep a spare in the glovebox, as it's an easy, roadside replacement (you probably need a wrench or two).

They want you to pony up $50,000 for a truck and ALSO expect that you will anticipate being on the side of the road under the hood with a cheap roadside replacement going on?

And people wonder why I don't buy American.

[Stephen Beckham]

P.S. Ford never had a 7.2L diesel in recent years. There was a 6.9L naturally-aspirated diesel until the late '80s, then the 7.3L IDI (indirect injection) came around until '94.5, when the PowerStroke made its debut (a 7.3L direct-injection turbodiesel). I think there was even a non-turbo, 7.3 DI for a couple years. The 7.3L PS was replaced in about '02 by the 6.0L PowerStroke, whose problems caused Ford to dump its long relationship with International/Navistar and build the 6.4L twin-turbo DI diesel in-house starting in '07, I think it was, soon to be replaced by an as-yet unnamed, out-sourced engine, last I heard, possibly Cummins or Cat (which, ironically, have been options in some of the medium-duty Ford trucks for years).

See.... That's a person that can talk engines... Now that it's mentioned, it was the 6.9L that I was warned about because of all the failures... Well - off to engraving some more Christmas Ornaments...

[Tim Morton]

10 year old ford with 158k....for close to 10 grand....PASS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:eek:

You can't be seriously considering this are you?

[Matt Meiser]

Considering a comparable new truck is $50K+?

[Paul Greathouse]

Actually the price isn't that bad. Last year I traded our 1999 Ford F-350 in on a 2003 GMC Yukon. My youngest son had finished high school rodeoing and we didn't need or want the 4 door, long bed diesel truck anymore. Besides, I drive a GMC 3/4 ton and can pull most anything I still need to pull with it.

The Yukon was sticker priced at $16,500 and they took my truck and $3000 cash in trade. So that would put the value of my truck at $13,500. It had 180,000 miles on it. I know the salesman that eventually sold my truck and he said he got $14,500 for it. It still ran good but was showing signs of getting weaker. It had pulled a 35' gooseneck 4 horse trailer for quite a few of the 180,000 miles that it had on it.

One thing to watch out for with the Ford diesels is the automatic transmissions. The powerstroke engines are strong but the automatic transmissions aren't built quite as tough. I had to change the soleniod pack on it first and the torque converter later on. The transmission shop guy is sort of a friend (I pay him money, so I get to call him my friend) He recommended not putting the aftermarket control chips in the powerstroke engines. He said they are definate auto trans killers for someone with a heavy foot.

I also had a 1993 Ford with the non-turbo 7.3 diesel but it had a standard transmission. It did good on its on but was a serious dog with a trailer hooked to it. Thats why I got rid of it and bought the 1999 model.

Both trucks got around 15-16 mpg unloaded on the highway. You have to go with the Dodge Cummins diesel if you want to get close to 20mpg. My son and alot of his friends have the Dodges and like them.

[Chuck Saunders]

Well I have had problems and I have been pleased. My 95 F-350 crewcab has ~370,000 miles on it and still gets around 20 mpg. Probably not worth all that much, it is not in "Pristine" condition. I hang out at thedieselstop forum, all powerstroke all the time.