Duck Hunting Forum banner

Diesel Question

2K views 19 replies 8 participants last post by  supr87gt 
#1 ·
It is late here on the East Coast. I first posted this on the Florida forum and then remembered...hey this would go really good on the vehicle forum...duh.

Anyway

Looking to replace my SUV that got totaled last year. (Ran off the road by a big truck and rolled)
Thinking about a diesel. I don't have a lot of background with diesels.

Here are a few questions I have for those of you that know more than I do.

1) When would you shy away from a diesel because of high mileage?

2) Is there a diesel you would stay away from?

3) Is there a year you would stay away from?

Don't have the change to go new!! Will have to buy an older one. Early to mid 2000's.

I have looked at a couple. One is the f350 7.3 International motor Crew Cab. I am hearing confusing info. Everyone says it is a good motor, the confusion comes on what the normal mileage is when they have to be overhauled.
Some say 300,000. Some say 400,000. And yet others say 700,000 to 1,000,000.
There is a 2002 7.3 that is for sale for 10,000. It has 369,000 on it. Everything else has been replaced, tranny at 248,000, ball joints at 300,000, pitman at 300,000, Fly Wheel, Tie (sp) rods, radiator at 248,000, etc. It was a company truck for a well company. They did very good maintenance and kept close records, so it is easy to see the history.

Do you think that is a good buy, or is it like I feel, a bit risky? Wouldn't feel as shaky about it if I knew the average on the motor was 700,00 or up. I drove it, and at this time sounds and feels just fine. Plenty of power.

Another for sale for 13,500. It is a 2000 f250 7.3 Crew Cab. One owner and very well taken care of. Almost looks new. 126,000 miles on it and never had anything replaced. VERY strong motor. Puts your head back against the seat on take off if you aren't careful. They say it is chipped and getting 26 on the open road.

Any thoughts are welcome.
 
See less See more
#2 ·
Went ahead and bit the bullet. I got the 2000 ford for 13,000. I went to an unusual auto dealer in the area. The salesman was unbelievably honest. They only sell trucks. I saw what they had and test drove a couple. But they really couldn't get within my price range. When I told him about the 2000, his eyes got wide and he looked around. Then really quietly he said, "buy it today! He said if they had that truck on their lot, it would be selling for around 20,000. Said the motor can't be beat and it will still be worth the same money in several years because I bought it below blue book.

This truck has the K & N air on it. (believe that is what he called it...I don't really know what I'm talking about here.) They say it helps the intake of air to the motor and makes it run more efficiently and thus gets better gas mileage. He also said the sound system in it was a 1500.00 sound system put in 4 years ago. He also has 315BF Goodrich m/t's on it. Very rough sounding, but high end. (I'm told to run that size, he has to have a lift kit on it?)

Has a power chip in it. Again, I don't know much about it, but he says it has 3 phases. Low for hauling heavy loads, middle for hauling medium loads, and high for running down the road without a load. He says (I miss quoted this in the original post) it gets him 21 on the road.

Don't have it in the driveway yet, but will asap!!
 
#3 ·
that a very good deal on the 2000 350 with very low miles. 2000 is a good year for 7.3 litter they did a lot of upgrades just before than . don't get 6.0 litter. high millage would be 250- 300thounsand I would say time for overhaul. the chip is bad for transmission and might shift harder your probley need to get gauges to monitor the tranny temp, boost, ecc so you can keep a eye on transmission if you tow a lot your going to need a 6.0 litter cooler. the chip will helps on gas miles and towing so keep it on. do you now what kind of chip it is?
 
#4 ·
The only thing I know about the chip at this point is what I said in the earlier post, and he said it was a chip that you didn't have to get a cooler for the trans. with. Said he could have gotten another that would have delivered a bit more power and mileage, but it would have taken a cooler.
 
#5 ·
You can't go wrong with the old 7.3. As CONG said before stay away from the 6.0, untill at least 2006.and GAUGES ARE A MUST!! with any diesel you'll want to get a pyro(egt), boost and tranny temp gauge asap. A fuel pressure gauge would also be a good edition. Sounds like you got a decent price on the truck.

The power chip shouldn't be detrimental to the truck because most of them aren't to aggressive.

Be careful with the K&N filter... Be sure not to over oil it after cleaning, if you do it will gum up your turbo.
 
#7 ·
Sounds like we're in the same boat. I bought an 01 F250 diesel on tuesday. Mine has 134k and drives great. My grandpa had a 99 and a 2002 both with the 7.3 and never had any problems, Ford/International never should have stopped using them!
 
#8 ·
Just got back from a quick trip to Missouri. When I bought the truck, I wanted to get the fluids changed and basically have it serviced New of a few things it needed, like two tires. Wanted it ready for the trip that I just took. The mec's looked it over good and got it road ready. They said they thought I had gotten a good truck at a good price. Seemed very solid to them. Went to Missouri one day after getting it back from them. Did great. No problems at all. Was not especially happy with the mileage as is was 15 miles to the gallon. Of course, that was traveling about 75 miles per hour and pulling some fairly hefty grades...8% was the worst I can remember on 24 by Chattanooga. Am hoping for a bit better here in the flats. As soon as possible I will try to size the tires down a bit. They are 315's and I think really bring the mileage down. Other than that, great truck that I am really happy with!
 
#9 ·
I had a 99 F-250 powerstroke. One thing that is a huge flaw with these trucks is the transmission. They put the same E40D trans behind the old 300 straight 6. I put a chip, exhaust, and intake on mine and fried the trans in under 15k. Like everyone else said you need gauges. If you tow alot you might think about swapping your trans cooler with one outa the newer f-250's.
 
#10 ·
Yellowdog said:
Just got back from a quick trip to Missouri. When I bought the truck, I wanted to get the fluids changed and basically have it serviced New of a few things it needed, like two tires. Wanted it ready for the trip that I just took. The mec's looked it over good and got it road ready. They said they thought I had gotten a good truck at a good price. Seemed very solid to them. Went to Missouri one day after getting it back from them. Did great. No problems at all. Was not especially happy with the mileage as is was 15 miles to the gallon. Of course, that was traveling about 75 miles per hour and pulling some fairly hefty grades...8% was the worst I can remember on 24 by Chattanooga. Am hoping for a bit better here in the flats. As soon as possible I will try to size the tires down a bit. They are 315's and I think really bring the mileage down. Other than that, great truck that I am really happy with!
Yeah coming up monteagle mt on 24 is about as steep a grade as you'll find, but it's fun coming back down! I'd say you found a pretty good one for a good price. I sold my 05 F150 about a month ago and have been looking like crazy for a 250 and everyone wants the 7.3s. I had 3 sold out from under me! Tuesday I took off work and drove down to Tunica, MS to look at one and didn't really like it so i came back and then went and looked at one 5 miles down the road from my house and ended up buying it.
 
#12 ·
supr87gt said:
TNmatt83 said:
Ford/International never should have stopped using them!
...except for the fact that you could hook up a chipped 7.3 to a stock 6.4 and get owned by it...or outrun severly down the 1/4 mile. And yes, there's ways around the bad fuel mileage on the new dpf equipped trucks :thumbsup:

Good buy however for the original poster.
Hmmm... Or you could buy a 7.3 that will pull anything a 6.4 will and do it for $20K less. I'll take no debt any day of the week as opposed to being able to go a little faster at the 1/4 mile.
 
#14 ·
I have a 2000 f-250 7.3 L with 240,000 miles and it has been awesome. My Dad bought it new and I bought it from him when he was going to get a new truck. He got the King Ranch 6.4L 2008? F-250 brand new last year and he called me last week and said he will trade me for my 7.3L. He always tows trailers and said the 6.4 does not compare to the 7.3, and he wants it back.

To the original poster-

My 2000 is a 4x4 and I can fit 285/75, I think that is roughly 31in with no lift. I am pretty sure I could have put bigger tires with no lift but I tow trailers too much and need a higher rating.
 
#15 ·
lameduck said:
To the original poster-

My 2000 is a 4x4 and I can fit 285/75, I think that is roughly 31in with no lift. I am pretty sure I could have put bigger tires with no lift but I tow trailers too much and need a higher rating.
285/75/16 is a 33" tall tire. I know people who have run 315/75/16s on a super-duty which is a 35" tall tire.
 
#17 ·
lameduck said:
I have a 2000 f-250 7.3 L with 240,000 miles and it has been awesome. My Dad bought it new and I bought it from him when he was going to get a new truck. He got the King Ranch 6.4L 2008? F-250 brand new last year and he called me last week and said he will trade me for my 7.3L. He always tows trailers and said the 6.4 does not compare to the 7.3, and he wants it back.

To the original poster-

My 2000 is a 4x4 and I can fit 285/75, I think that is roughly 31in with no lift. I am pretty sure I could have put bigger tires with no lift but I tow trailers too much and need a higher rating.
To each their own I suppose. I pull 70k+ lb grain wagons and I dont see a stock 7.3 comparing to the stock 6.4L.
 
#18 ·
I would agree off the line, but at around 70mph up hill the 6.4 does not compare to the 7.3. If you were in stop and go traffic I would pick the 6.4 but if you are above 30mph I would pick the 7.3 all day. Add a programmer to the 7.3 and it is hands down 7.3 in any situation. When my Dad got his truck we "raced" off a stop light and with the programmer I was about 2 1/2 car lengths ahead of him. Without the programmer I bet he would have beat me but the 7.3 really pulls away when the tranny shifts to 3rd. Our race did top out at 60mph which was the speed limit.

I will say that the 6.4 has a MUCH tighter turning radius, which comes in very handy.
 
#19 ·
I love both trucks and i've spent alot of time pulling and driving both. The 6.4 is hands down better for everyday driving in my opinion. If I had a ton of money i'd trade in my 7.3 in a second! but i don't and the 7.3 pulls and drives great and with some minor upgrades and tunes it'll pull like a train and still be WAY less $ than a 6.4.
 
#20 ·
lameduck said:
I would agree off the line, but at around 70mph up hill the 6.4 does not compare to the 7.3. If you were in stop and go traffic I would pick the 6.4 but if you are above 30mph I would pick the 7.3 all day. Add a programmer to the 7.3 and it is hands down 7.3 in any situation. When my Dad got his truck we "raced" off a stop light and with the programmer I was about 2 1/2 car lengths ahead of him. Without the programmer I bet he would have beat me but the 7.3 really pulls away when the tranny shifts to 3rd. Our race did top out at 60mph which was the speed limit.

I will say that the 6.4 has a MUCH tighter turning radius, which comes in very handy.
Just playing devil's advocate and getting off topic a bit, if you want to compare a tuner truck to a tuner truck,,,the 6.4 STILL takes the cake. Spartan tuners and river city diesel both have tuners out that'll get a 6.4 into the 13 sec. range with a tuner alone.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0egrwY99 ... re=related
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top