1999 powerstroke 7.3 6900$

[bearcreek paul]

Just found a1999 powerstroke 7.3 with 194,000 mi.Auto 4x4 utility body bench seat for 6900.00.
My question is it worth the price,I did a quick check today and it didn't look bad.Tomorrow after work will be a test drive.From everything I have read on this forum it sounds good.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Just found a1999 powerstroke 7.3 with 194,000 mi.Auto 4x4 utility body bench seat for 6900.00.
My question is it worth the price,I did a quick check today and it didn't look bad.Tomorrow after work will be a test drive.From everything I have read on this forum it sounds good.

Seems like a lot of miles to me. While the 7.3 is a legendary engine and I had a 99 F-350 and loved it the truck is going to cost you a lot in up keep more than likely. I could see you dumping $1000's into suspension parts, tranny rebuild, and then motor rebuild.

My gut says to save some more money and get something with 1/2 the miles. I think you will be money ahead in the long run.

Chris

 

[56FordGuy]

What model is it? F-250, 350? Single wheel or dually?

The miles don't scare me, but be prepared to do some repairs. I've owned 3 7.3 trucks, one has 314,000, the next had 168,000, and the last has 194,000. Check the front end out well, tie rod ends and ball joints will probably need to be replaced. Try to start the truck cold, at that mileage you may begin to have injector oil flow problems. I replaced all 8 injectors in my '01 at about 193,000. These engines run hundreds of thousands of miles in International light and medium duty trucks, they're tough. I would be surprised if there are any major issues deep in the engine. Check the oil pan carefully for rust. To remove the oil pan, you have to pull the engine. Expect some oil leaks, most likely from the turbo pedestal. There are 4 O rings where the turbo meets the mount that leak. Crawl up on top of the engine and look at the back of the heads, you'll see two pipes leading to the turbo from the exhaust manifolds. Check where they meet the turbo for exhaust leaks. It's not an expensive fix, if you can do the work yourself.

I can't comment on the transmission. I sold my automatic 7.3 when it had 168,000 miles for other reasons. Transmission seemed alright, though.

If it has the electronic shift 4x4, make sure the automatic hubs work. They probably won't. They operate on vacuum, and there's an O ring seal on the back side of each hub that goes bad and causes them to not work in automatic mode. You should be able to lock them by hand, though. Replacing the O rings is easy if you're mechanically inclined, lots of write ups online to walk you through it.

The price doesn't sound bad at all, if it's in fair condition. Do you want the utility body? The truck frame is slightly different from a pickup bed truck, so you won't be able to swap it for one without some serious work.

 

[bearcreek paul]

It is a f 250 single wheel.The utility body is fine.I will call the previous owner and see what he can tell me.The painted over sign on door was from a heating contractor located 70 mi from me.It would be used as a 2nd truck for towing.I will check it out tomorrow.Thankyou.

 

[Diamondpilot]

A F-250 with a utility body is not a good match for towing. These trucks weigh in at about 7,200# with a regular bed. I am assuming its a long bed regular cab since you said it belonged to a heating and cooling company. The utility bed will add quite a bit of weight to that, maybe as much as 800# or more. That puts you in the 8,000# range empty with no tools in it. That vintage F-250 had a low GVWR, something like 8,800#. With that combo you would be limited to a 7,000# trailer while keeping the tongue weight in check at 10% or so.

Just not a good setup for towing. The low GVWR was always a week point of most 3/4 tons, especially trucks of that era. Put a utility bed on them and forget about it. A good 1/2 ton gasser would legally handle more trailer on "paper" than that setup.

Chris

 

[Wolfy]

Are you sure Diamond? I have a 2000 F250, yes it's 8,800 GVW but that is the loaded truck only. Those numbers have nothing to do with towing, since mine is a 5.4L. From what my Ford flyers say, the OP's truck in question should be able to tow 9,000 - 10,000 lbs.

 

[Soundguy]

i'd hold out for a dually f350

I have been looking at f350's for 3 weeks now as a replacement for my aging dodge.

I'm looking at 99-2003 models, 7.3, auto, drw.

some are 4x4, some crew cab.. some extended cab.. some standard. bench and bucket.

I can find them in the 100kto 170k mile range with those options in the 8000-13000$ range with the average being 10.5K

I just missed 2 cherry 2003's wth 99kmiles, auto, 4x4, immaculate in the 10.5-10.6k$ range.. brake controllers and gooseneck pop up balls on one and 5th wheel rails on the other.. good tires.. etc.

somebody bought each of them before I could drive there both times.

hold out for a f350. if you want a flatbed.. that will save you a couple thou.

i could by 2wd all day long.. but want a 4x4. cab don't matter to me.. my old dodge is single cab.. have seen plenty of extended cab and crew. almost got a crew 4x4 with bench seats yesterday.. but again.. as soon as it was listed.. it sold before I could drive across town..

soundguy

 

[Diamondpilot]

Are you sure Diamond? I have a 2000 F250, yes it's 8,800 GVW but that is the loaded truck only. Those numbers have nothing to do with towing, since mine is a 5.4L. From what my Ford flyers say, the OP's truck in question should be able to tow 9,000 - 10,000 lbs.

GVWR= weight the truck can have on its suspension/wheels

GCWR= weight that can be on the trucks suspension/wheels and the trailers suspension/wheels.

That F-250 he is looking at is about 8,000# empty and with a 8,800# GVWR it only leaves him 800# for payload/tongue weight. Figuring 10% tongue weight he would left with 600# or so with a 200# driver in the truck. Just the way the math works out on a 3/4 ton truck, especially with a utility bed. I have had two 3/4 ton trucks and this was the issue with both. I will now only buy 1 ton F-350 SRW trucks with 11,500# GVWR packages. They weigh about the same but have nearly 2,700# more payload/pin capacity.

Remember, part of towing is tongue weight/pin weight which is carried by the truck (GVWR). Also, every pound that is added to the truck takes away from the GCWR and therefor the tow rating. The GCWR is a number set forth by the manufacture. Say its 18,000# and truck A is 7,000# empty and truck B is 8,000# empty it gives up 1,000# of towing capacity.

Chris

 

[Wolfy]

I have to agree, the F350 is much more truck. As Soundguy said, the dual wheels are much better for serious towing. I remember when the 99's came out, can't believe how much the trucks have changed since then.

 

[wrenchturner]

I think I would pass on this one. Being used in the heating and air business probably means it had lots of stop and go miles. Also, it was always towing that heavy service bed and probably full of tools and maybe pulling equipment too. Another reason I would not buy is my experience with a 97 PS with 172,000 miles. That truck had been used in the construction business with a service bed. Anyway, I rebuilt the engine due to low compression on one cylinder causing a misfire at lower engine RPM'S. It had a broken compression ring, the cylinders had at Least .006 wear and EVERY valve seat was extremely recessed. The heads had to have all seats and valve guides. On the other hand, the crank and cam looked like the just came out of the box. Just my experience.

 

[sandman2234]

I have two sheets of paper copied straight from Ford's manual, listing the gvwr and gcvwr of each truck with which motor. There is a footnote (*) for all trucks saying "Fifth wheel trailer weights shown. For conventional towing trailer weights should not exceed 10,000 pounds. Just thought I would toss this in for those that have bumper pull trailers. (like me, lol). So pretty much the F-250 will pull 10k and that's it, legally, since that is what Ford has them rated at. Go over that, and have an accident and a good (is there such a thing?) attorney will own the rest of your life.
Soundguy,
You have lots of competition on that truck, in case you haven't noticed. I have been watching them for a while, in case the one I have lined up falls thru (and it really might just fall thru) and they aren't as easy to find as the later diesels that nobody wants anyway. I just need something to haul my tractor, and don't mind waiting for a reasonable deal.
David from jax

 

[trailbuilder]

I am going to chime in...wait for the dually if you are towing!

 

[Turbys_1700]

i'd hold out for a dually f350

I have been looking at f350's for 3 weeks now as a replacement for my aging dodge.

I'm looking at 99-2003 models, 7.3, auto, drw.

some are 4x4, some crew cab.. some extended cab.. some standard. bench and bucket.

I can find them in the 100kto 170k mile range with those options in the 8000-13000$ range with the average being 10.5K

I just missed 2 cherry 2003's wth 99kmiles, auto, 4x4, immaculate in the 10.5-10.6k$ range.. brake controllers and gooseneck pop up balls on one and 5th wheel rails on the other.. good tires.. etc.

somebody bought each of them before I could drive there both times.

hold out for a f350. if you want a flatbed.. that will save you a couple thou.

i could by 2wd all day long.. but want a 4x4. cab don't matter to me.. my old dodge is single cab.. have seen plenty of extended cab and crew. almost got a crew 4x4 with bench seats yesterday.. but again.. as soon as it was listed.. it sold before I could drive across town..

soundguy

That was a really good price...
I was offered 15K for my 03 last week...
It has 96K miles and very clean...
I told the guy I was not interested...
My truck is paid for...
That's worth a lot to me...
Pricing a new F350 4x4 dually crew is not for the faint of heart...

 

[Soundguy]

i heard that on the new prices.

besides.. i want another 7.3 psd.

I will eventually catch one of the good deals. they just pop up and disappear fast.. got to be ready to jump when they pop up.

soundguy

 

[powerstroke444e]

Sounds like a good price and a hard to find truck. If its in fair or better shape you better not post were it is or you will not be 1st guy in line looking for it.

 

[Chef Pa]

Good luck either way. I went through this about a year ago and gave up on used. Not a lot of spare time and the search was exhausting. Bought a 250 gas and it's ok but really wish I hadn't given up on a used 350 drw. The 250 was a deal new but I'm always counting lbs and wondering how it will handle hills, etc.

 

[2458n]

The F350 has a better front 4x4 axle. Very expensive to rebuild. Look for local goverment auctions alot of townships and small city departments or schools still have these come up for sale. Dually for work like towing. Had one at work with over 300,000 miles on it. Everything was worn out on it. Door hinges, locks ,steering, brakes,vent windows,and glove box.

 

[Soundguy]

yep.. might as well go all the way for the .3 and better axle capacity.

soundguy

 

[bearcreek paul]

Looked at the truck today.It needs new tires front end work exhaust and has rust underneath and that was just a quick look.On the bright side the motor seemed strong and the transmission was ok.
I think I'll take Chris's advise and look for one with less miles and less work needed and move up to the one ton.
Thankyou for all the advise.

 

[Skyco]

The biggest thing to watch out for on a high mileage Powerstroke is- verify the coolant additive was used religously. If it wasn't I'd run not walk away.
Got a guy at work that won't listen about the additive, some day he'll be complaining loudly about the crap engine that pinholed a cylinder...he'll fail to mention though he did not use the anticavitation additive that is required.

I'm getting close to 200k on my 96, wouldn't take three times the book value for it

I also will discount the dually receommendation, I've tried both ways and hated a dually, towed no better, hauled a 3000 lb slide in camper no better, IMO, and with a dually you are limited for parking spaces and can forget many drive through windows. The ONLY advantage I see is you have a built in spare with a top heavy load if a rear tire blows.