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View Full Version : high mile diesels...



Cole
07-06-2004, 01:49 PM
I will be in the market for a diesel F-250 and find a lot of
1999-2002 f-250 diesels with 100-175k miles on them....usually with 5th wheel tow packages installed, which leads me to believe they were probably used for towing ie:(snow birds, delivery of rv's, traveling,etc) Should i stay away from these kind of high mile trucks or like every sales man tells me ...."they are just getting broken in".....They are reasonbly priced, thats why i am asking...$15,000-20,000K for a Crew cab, leather, all the bells and whistles. I dont think most of the dealers will have the service records available...so i wont be able to check the consistant oil changes, tire rotating, etc, etc!!
Whats your thoughts?
Cole

HavasuDreamin'
07-07-2004, 08:11 AM
Well I have no experience with diesels, but for me the risk of getting burned is to great. I would opt for something with a lot less miles and pay more. Just my $.02

Lightning
07-07-2004, 09:11 AM
If you drive a lot and if you plan on holding on to the truck for a while I would not buy one with over 100k. Don't forget that the tranny in those older ford diesels are not the best and often times need to be rebuilt.

syke-o
07-07-2004, 01:34 PM
are the 99-02 models now considered old?? i was thinkin along the same lines as cole.. i have an 01 f250 v8 now and was thinking of getting a used f250 diesel in the same year range... are they really that bad??:confused:

Lightning
07-07-2004, 02:20 PM
I would not say they are old, however the technology in those trucks was pretty much the same since 1997. When i said old tranny - I was referring to the fact that they have a totally new and different tranny that they use now.

Woodster
07-07-2004, 10:30 PM
I have a 2000 f250 supercab with 165,000 miles on it..Zero problems with the engine.The tranny had to be rebuilt around 120,000 miles and has been great ever since.I tow a trailer with it as well as our boat and its been a great truck so far..Im thinking ill prob drive it till it turns 200k or so and buy a new one....With the 80HP programmer on it I can tow my boat doing 90mph up the grade no probs..If u plan on keeping the truck for a while, I would look around for one with maybe 50-75k miles on it.also remember that the oil changes usually run around 75 bucks or so at the local jiffy lubes because they hold 12 quarts of oil.Changing the oil your self on a diesel sucks! :yuk: :)

riverbound
07-08-2004, 09:41 AM
I have a 99 f-350 diesel w/ 92000 miles on it I have had no problems with this truck and drive it very hard. The tranny is the weak link in these trucks.
http://www.***boat.com/image_center/data/500/681f-350-med.jpg

Cole
07-09-2004, 08:47 AM
I saw a ford dually crew this morning on the 91 fwy, it was lifted with HUGH ASS mud terrain tires.....looked very cool and different.
What do think you would loose in gas milage with
lifted dually vs non lifted dually??

HammerDown
07-09-2004, 01:48 PM
Cole, I am the original owner of a 1988 250 SuperCab Lariat 4x4 7.3 with a c6 trany. 160,000 miles original tranny and the engine sounds and runs just as good if not better than when I 1'st bought it. (my truck looks showroom)
Diesels were made for towing and grunt work, true the oed4 (?) tranny was so-so at best. If you can fine one from a orginal owner and it was maintained like mine...it will serve you well. 300 plus is not un common at all in a good diesel.

Lightning
07-09-2004, 02:30 PM
Originally posted by HammerDown
Cole, I am the original owner of a 1988 250 SuperCab Lariat 4x4 7.3 with a c6 trany. 160,000 miles original tranny and the engine sounds and runs just as good if not better than when I 1'st bought it. (my truck looks showroom)
Diesels were made for towing and grunt work, true the oed4 (?) tranny was so-so at best. If you can fine one from a orginal owner and it was maintained like mine...it will serve you well. 300 plus is not un common at all in a good diesel.
That's pretty low miles for an almost 20 year old truck.

Flying Tiger
07-19-2004, 07:09 PM
I've looked at it from the angle if you can buy a high mileage tow vehicle for a killer price,, and don't mind the increased probability of perhaps being towed,, then maybe it's ok.
Towing from Cottonwood Cove to a Las Vegas Ford dealer was $660 with AAA discount.
Dumont Dunes to LV about the same.
My Fords have all had trans reliability/accessory drive problems.
Friends Dodges have had trans problems too but found the HD rebuilt trans to be pretty good, or at least better than stock..

fourspeednup
07-20-2004, 10:09 PM
Buy a dodge...better motor and you can get a manual trans which is just about bulletproof up to about 500hp and 800+ft/lbs with a clutch upgrade.
If it has been maintained you'll get a practically guaranteed 300K out of it.
Heard the 97-99 Ford PSD had some issues. Check out diesel forums (http://forums.thedieselstop.com/ubbthreads/)

Fiat48
07-26-2004, 07:11 PM
You want to know the following on a Ford:
1. Has it had any injectors replaced?
2. When did it get a transmission?
3. Service records make all the difference.
My 99 has 230,000 and never been worked on. But it's a freak deal. Most get trannys at 100,000 and an injector or injector O rings usually by 150,000.
I know lots of them with 300,000 and only the above problems or no problems. Depends on the care the 1st owner gave it and luck enters also.
I like the Cummins but it comes in a Dodge. Cummins in a Chevy would be nice or even the Ford. I'm just not a Dodge fan.

Just Tool'n
07-26-2004, 09:09 PM
If you could get that cummins in a chevy, with the allison behind it, what an awesome pulling machine it would be.
I wonder if Catapillar is ever going to get in on the game?
Are we going to see mercedes diesels in the dodges in the near future.
Look at freightliners, no more cummins in them. All mercedes powered. Freightliner is owned by Daimler-Chryl.

Jordy
07-27-2004, 07:26 AM
Originally posted by Just Tool'n
I wonder if Catapillar is ever going to get in on the game?
There has been talk for the last 10+ years, but they don't have anything that would drop directly in and wouldn't be too heavy from the get go. That means that they would have to go through and design something new, and that would put them out of the ball park on price range.
Are we going to see mercedes diesels in the dodges in the near future.
Look at freightliners, no more cummins in them. All mercedes powered. Freightliner is owned by Daimler-Chryl.
More than half of the Freightliners get Detroit Series 60's in them. The MBE is just starting to show up now.
And yes, there has been talk of a Benz in the Dodge. Something along the lines of an MBE 400 (I believe) only smaller and lighter.

djdtpr
08-03-2004, 01:06 PM
Originally posted by fourspeednup
Buy a dodge...better motor and you can get a manual trans which is just about bulletproof up to about 500hp and 800+ft/lbs with a clutch upgrade.
If it has been maintained you'll get a practically guaranteed 300K out of it.
Heard the 97-99 Ford PSD had some issues. Check out diesel forums (http://forums.thedieselstop.com/ubbthreads/)
The Dodge's are a great truck but when you put the chip in them and they say do not go past the # 2 on the selecter switch with an auto trans DONT DO IT! 65,000 miles and the trans feels like it is going to fall out the bottom of the truck.

Lightning
08-03-2004, 01:33 PM
Originally posted by Just Tool'n
I wonder if Catapillar is ever going to get in on the game?
powered. Freightliner is owned by Daimler-Chryl.
Cat builds, or at least they used to build the bottom half of the powerstoke motors (7.3 liter).

Jordy
08-03-2004, 03:34 PM
Originally posted by Lightning
Cat builds, or at least they used to build the bottom half of the powerstoke motors (7.3 liter).
That's the first I've heard of that. International has built and still builds the Powerstroke line for Ford. ;)

PHX ATC
08-03-2004, 03:53 PM
Originally posted by djdplacecraft
The Dodge's are a great truck but when you put the chip in them and they say do not go past the # 2 on the selecter switch with an auto trans DONT DO IT! 65,000 miles and the trans feels like it is going to fall out the bottom of the truck.
Shoulda bought a 6 speed.:D
If you keep your foot out of it and don't beat it up, the newer trannies (48RE) will do much better than the old 47RE.
It still doesn't stand a candle of a chance like an Ally does!! But, I guess it'll do until it breaks.;)

djdtpr
08-03-2004, 08:33 PM
Originally posted by PHX ATC
Shoulda bought a 6 speed.:D
If you keep your foot out of it and don't beat it up, the newer trannies (48RE) will do much better than the old 47RE.
It still doesn't stand a candle of a chance like an Ally does!! But, I guess it'll do until it breaks.;)
I could not find a six speed in Ca. when i bought mine.I learned to take it off # 4 when hauling a heavy load.But man that thing runns when turned all the way up!Even with the accasional tranny problem it is still better than all the fuel problems my buddys having with his duracrap.

PHX ATC
08-03-2004, 09:10 PM
Originally posted by djdplacecraft
I could not find a six speed in Ca. when i bought mine.I learned to take it off # 4 when hauling a heavy load.But man that thing runns when turned all the way up!Even with the accasional tranny problem it is still better than all the fuel problems my buddys having with his duracrap.
I forgot, Cali smog dogs and 6 speeds didn't mix until the middle of this year.:( I keep my wife's 04 at the #2 setting...she doesn't need any more arm twisting to be hot rodding around town.:D My buddy's Powerstroke just ate his Bank's computer chip for the second time. It's not to say that Dodge's don't have their problems too...but I like em enough.
As long as it's a diesel, they're all better off.:)

PHX ATC
08-03-2004, 09:11 PM
Originally posted by jordanpaulk
That's the first I've heard of that. International has built and still builds the Powerstroke line for Ford. ;)
Jordy's right.
Again.:eek: :D

N2Lake
08-05-2004, 04:02 AM
Jordy's right.
Again.:eek: :D
Lets not get that started again!!!

Evin Rude
08-05-2004, 08:00 AM
I have a '99 F250 CC that I bought new. It has 177,000 miles on the clock. No motor or transmission problems other than what I list below.
As soon as I got it, I put a Banks "Power Pack" kit on it ($4800.00 installed). I drive the truck pretty hard, BUT I do the service as required by the FoMoCo book.
This truck has been almost trouble free. Parts replaced to date are alternator ($140.00) and waterpump ($450.00). I have also went thru 3 sets of tires and one set of brake pads, anything will need those.
Its my first Ford and my first diesel. I have no regrets and would buy it all over again knowing what I know now.
ER :)