Ford 7.3, 20 year old tow vehicle

[gregghealy]

The plan was to sell our trailer and buy a small truck to replace my total loss F250... So Im poking around looking for cheap small trucks and come across this '89 F250 with the 7.3, 4X4 and a manual tranny.

Would I be crazy in thinking that this could be a solid tow vehicle that can be kept running relatively inexpensively for quite a while? Worste case a re manufactured 7.3 is $5k, would parts be available for this thing at junk yards?

[07 crf230f]

I would be very weary of buying a truck that is 20 years old but then trying to tow with it will just add to the possibility for problems.

[kawirider15]

Yes,I'm pretty sure you can still get parts for them at junkyards.In 2005 my dad,uncles and I, rebuilt an '85 dodge power ram.Put Spalding shocks on it,Borla exhaust,rims,tires,its no 7.3 but gets the job done.Btw the stock 318 is still running today.

[Fracture]

They want too much for it in my opinion. That's the 7.3 IDI non-turbo in there. It will pull, but you won't win races and she's a noisy beast.

[Chickenhauler]

They want too much for it in my opinion. That's the 7.3 IDI non-turbo in there. It will pull, but you won't win races and she's a noisy beast.

He never stated a price, just what a reman engine would cost.

Greg-those were good trucks, with solid engines, but they were slow. The upside of that is, they weren't highly technical engines with lots of computers, so they're very user serviceable. Very easy to work on.

That should have the 4spd, trans-bombproof if you keep fluid in it.

Parts are easy to come by and inexpensive. But most parts you're not going to want to go to the boneyard for (ball joints, seals, bearings, etc).

I'm towing with a 95 F350, and it needed a little TLC and catch-up on maintenance, but it's a solid tow rig.

What are they asking for it? How many miles?

[brad the best]

just for a good baseline for you . i bought a 2000 7.3 with 180,000 kms on it 4 door long box in good shape with a 6 speed and 4x4 for 5 grand .

personally i think mine is slow . those old idi non turbo'd engines were slugs

if your looking at an older diesel get an older dodge with a p pump and a 5 speed stick. spend about 500$ to get a little power out of it . you will enjoy it more .

i wouldn't pay over 2500 $ for the truck . it does look nice , but its a single cab and its pretty old . a 351 will be putting down more power then that 7.3L

[brad the best]

He never stated a price, just what a reman engine would cost.

Greg-those were good trucks, with solid engines, but they were slow. The upside of that is, they weren't highly technical engines with lots of computers, so they're very user serviceable. Very easy to work on.

That should have the 4spd, trans-bombproof if you keep fluid in it.

Parts are easy to come by and inexpensive. But most parts you're not going to want to go to the boneyard for (ball joints, seals, bearings, etc).

I'm towing with a 95 F350, and it needed a little TLC and catch-up on maintenance, but it's a solid tow rig.

What are they asking for it? How many miles?

the price looks like its 4000 $ in the add

[Chickenhauler]

the price looks like its 4000 $ in the add

Now I notice the link to the add amongst the other dozen highlighted words in the post.

I wouldn't be scared even at 4 grand considering that it's not going to be a rot buggy like most of us northern guys are accustomed to seeing in this vintage.

I would try to talk him down to 3 or so, and that's only if the thing doesn't have massive miles on it, but it's hard to say on that vintage, as the odometer only reads 5 digits.

[gregghealy]

I wasnt even thinking of mileage as long as it runs and all the major mechanicals work. Im gonna go check it out and look for rust... I want something I can work on myself, with parts available that can handle a trailer. I think they will take much less than they have marked in that add., nobody buys stick shift anything down here...except sports cars. Ill bet they have been sitting on it for a while.

Ill check out some older Dodges too, thanks for the input.

[damac]

Are you talking about a daily driver or just a truck to tow your stuff?

We got an old clunker just because they are cheaper and it is way more cost effective to find wrecks and buy the big $$ parts off of another vehicle vs. new. Bust an axle, find another easy with lower miles for cheap. Blow an engine, and you can find them for sub $1,000 that are runners.

If you have the tools to do everything including dropping an engine, than I kind of like the oldschool trucks. Straightforward when replacing parts and you can still get the basic parts like water pumps, etc. from your local kragen.

You would then be paying $$ for a nice shell if that is something that matters to you, that seems to be a big difference in craigslist prices. I think that truck is too much as listed.

The biggest thing with those older motors though is making sure the glowplug system is working and the tips aren't snapped off in the truck.(try and start it when cold). DON'T put autolite glowplugs in, just stick with namebrand motocraft.

Then another big problem is I think technically the 6.9 is a better engine to take a chance with due to being less likely to have cavitation issues, which is something I believe they didn't know about during those 80's models. You can get a nice one like we did, but allot of people probably dumped the wrong coolant in it. It needs to be kept up with certain levels of additive to help with cavitation.

The other models like that one has less cylinder wall material, thus more likely chance of eroding away.

Otherwise I believe the oil cooler is a ticking timebomb as far as when the original orings go out, thus mixing oil and coolant. It happened to ours and it took me a couple days work to jack the engine, clean everything up and reinstall. Mine is an 85 so the orings were cracked and fused in place. That project only cost around $60 in parts.

If you are wondering how they drive, ours does not have a turbo and has a c6 auto tranny. Takes time to get up to speed on level ground but holds it great with a big load @55mph and gets good mileage. Truck just purs along

We carry a 24 ft. travel trailer loaded, 1000+ pounds in the bed, and 6 adults in the cab and the truck rides level with stock suspension.

Going up nasty hills, the truck will scream in 1st gear with 3.55 gears(we are changing soon actually). Some ligther runs it will cruise a bit more in 2nd gear but doesn't pull hard.

If you wanted more meat to off the line power you could move to 4.11 gears like we have and also add a turbo and go with a different tranny setup.

[condor74]

I have a 90 F250 7.3 idi diesel. I had the same idea except I did run into a problem with mine. The motor is strong and bullet proof. The transmission is not if you get an automatic...with the stick it should be strong also...after 20 years it may need a clutch but not that big of a deal. I never found my all that slow...It ran good ...It was not fast but it pulled highway speeds with no problem..I pass cars on the freeway with no problem...You can also retrofit a turbo from a 95ish 7.3 very easily.

The only problem I have heard on these trucks is to make sure it doesnt blow its coolant out. Engines with very high compression ratios have a cavitation problem there is alot of vacume when the piston is at bottom dead center on the intake stroke. If the coolant has been allowed to rust it can actually pull the coolant through rust pores into the cylinder and then you need a new motor...wasnt as much an issue on the old 6.9s...Ford makes a coolant additive to help prevent this also.

[Chickenhauler]

Good points on the coolant additive (I forgot all about that). DEFINITELY test the coolant and keep the anti-cavitation additive package up to snuff on them.

A few tire kicking/price negotiators on these trucks.

Inspect the front spring shackle bushings, look closely at the rubbers for shrinking or cracks. This will cause a wander in the front end.

Same goes for the Twin I-beam pivot bushings, check them for the same.

Inspect the axle joints for play or binding, and ball joints while you're at it.

Bring a crescent wrench with and check the front diff fluid, they're a PITA to change, and many just neglect servicing them. BOLO for milky or stinking to high heaven.

If the glow plug relay craps out, put a GM glow plug relay in as a replacement from a 6.2L. Much heavier duty unit than the Ford/Navistar ones.

For cheaper parts, instead of going to Ford, go to an IH dealer on these. Just have your engine serial number ready (that's how they look up parts).

[ricky_h]

The plan was to sell our trailer and buy a small truck to replace my total loss F250... So Im poking around looking for cheap small trucks and come across this '89 F250 with the 7.3, 4X4 and a manual tranny.

Would I be crazy in thinking that this could be a solid tow vehicle that can be kept running relatively inexpensively for quite a while? Worste case a re manufactured 7.3 is $5k, would parts be available for this thing at junk yards?

Check this out man, the new-generation Ford Ranger 3.2 litre diesel ?