Noob tow rig questions

[sixstringsteve]

I would if I could afford it. I'll bet it goes for over $16k.

 

[pELYgroso]

winning bid: $11,851.00 somebody got a great deal!

 

[sixstringsteve]

seriously. Wish it were me. That's a steal.

 

[sixstringsteve]

I got a trade offer on my taco for a well-used work truck. It's a 2000 F250 with the 7.3 diesel with the manual tranny. It's got 280k. He wants $2500 credit for it, but it needs tires and front end work. Am I crazy to get something with that many miles, or should I be good for another 100k miles? Anything to watch out on this particular year? It's an extended cab (the one with suicide doors in the rear). Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[jentzschman]

I got a trade offer on my taco for a well-used work truck. It's a 2000 F250 with the 7.3 diesel with the manual tranny. It's got 280k. He wants $2500 credit for it, but it needs tires and front end work. Am I crazy to get something that old, or is it good for another 100k miles? Anything to watch out on this particular year? It's an extended cab.

Whats it worth off KBB and Nada with that many miles?

Me personally I would not want a truck with that many miles.

 

[sixstringsteve]

kbb and nada don't really factor in mileage that well. KBB says high retail is $12k, even with 280k, so I don't trust them with trucks with that mileage.

Does anyone on here have any experience with these F250s with the 7.3 with high mileage?

 

[Rot Box]

My 7.3 has a 350k mile overhaul recommendation and I'm pretty sure that carried over to the 7.3 PSD. I know several people with well over 300K on stock engine, stock injectors, stock turbo etc in various years of Powerstroke Fords an they are still running strong--One friend has over 680K on his 96 F250 with the stock engine What does that mean? Absolutely nothing :-\

In my opinion a 7.3 is an easy 400k mile engine with proper maintenance but (and I do mean BUT!) you are looking at a truck that has been well used and that is still a lot of miles on the drive train and the rest of the truck. I would want to know a very detailed history of the truck. I would also want a compression test and a test for fuel pressure before I pulled the trigger. Some of the best trucks I've ever owned have had 200+k miles and the worst truck I ever owned had 35k on the clock--its a gamble.

 

[sixstringsteve]

Thanks Rot Box. I checked it out at lunch. When I got there, I saw it had 350k, so I don't know where he got his 250k number. It still ran strong though. It had been BEAT, but it was still going. Just a testament to the strength of those drivetrains. Needless to say, I won't be trading him for this one.

 

[yotis 4x4]

i get 17.5mpg in my 05 dodge with 37's towing my toyota to moab

 

[sixstringsteve]

Good to know. I'd love an '05. I'm thinking I'm going to be going with a gasser just because I'll be DD'ing it, and only towing once a month or so.

 

[Toad]

I got a trade offer on my taco for a well-used work truck. It's a 2000 F250 with the 7.3 diesel with the manual tranny. It's got 280k. He wants $2500 credit for it, but it needs tires and front end work. Am I crazy to get something with that many miles, or should I be good for another 100k miles? Anything to watch out on this particular year? It's an extended cab (the one with suicide doors in the rear). Any advice would be appreciated.

Yes crazy

 

[sixstringsteve]

What year did ford switch to the solid front axle in their f250s? I know for a while that they had the goofy TTB front susp that the OJ Broncos had. When did they do away with that?

I'm interested in this f250, but I want to make sure it has the solid front axle.

http://www.ksl.com/index.php?sid=0&nid=443&tab=list/view&ad=3176803

 

[Maverick]

They went to the solid front axle with the superduty. The one in the ad will still have the TTB.

 

[sixstringsteve]

sounds like 99 was when they started putting the solid axle on the f250s. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[Toad]

F-250 up to 1996 had the ttb. All of the super dutys have a solid axle. Super dutys were intruduced in 1998 as a 1999 model year. Most of the super dutys use a solid dana 50 up front. It looks identical to the dana 60 until you tear it down. All of the 1997 and older f-350's had a dana 60 in them.

 

[sixstringsteve]

I'm going to compile all the info I can from this thread and hopefully we can get it a sticky for Tow Rig info for noobs. I'm sure everyone else knows all this stuff, but it's pretty new to me.

Maybe that's a bit too ambitious, but I need to start writing all this stuff down. There's tons of great info in this thread.

 

[sixstringsteve]

Here's the start of my litttle wiki. It'll take a while to gather all the info, but I think it'll be helpful. I want to keep opinions out of that one. Feel free to quote it and PM me the additions in red text, then I'll edit the original post.

http://www.rockymountainextreme.com/showthread.php?p=720355#post720355

 

[Rot Box]

^ Toad is correct. Ford started to use the solid D60 again in 85.5 and ALL F350's used it up to 97. All F250's in the 90's used the TTB D50 and it is a very strong axle, but the problem lies in its design. If there is any misalignment tires will wear funny and there are many more components compared to the solid beam. I don't think the front end is a deal breaker by any means, but few shops know how to properly align one these days. Swapping in a D60 in these trucks is very easy if you find one from a 85.5-97 donor--the newer style that came in the Super Duty's are different.

 

[Rot Box]

I've been keeping my eyes open for a manual, diesel with a extra or crew cab for 10k or less and man its slim out there. Either its a total ran into the ground pile with a million miles or they want way too much or both! Judging by the selection I'm tempted to put my 91 up for 10k just to see what happens

If you did settle for a TTB Ford with a super cab there are lots to choose from, but I don't recommend settling for anything or you will never be totally happy with it :-\ Be patient something will come along that fits.

 

[sixstringsteve]

If it sold, then you'd be kicking yourself because it'd cost at least that much to replace it.