I’m considering buying a Ford E 350 van. It is a 2002 with 120K miles on a 7.3 L diesel engine. It seems to be in pretty good shape other than the high mileage and a few dings. I’m leary of the mileage, but at just over 11 grand it’s cheaper than new unless it starts nickel and diming me with repairs. Also the price of diesel is 50 to 60 cents higher. Iv’e never owned a diesel so any input would be helpful. Thanks.
Constructing in metric…
every inch of the way.
Replies
groan...
for that engine the mileage is high...
and you wish it wa nickle and dimes..
simple parts for major money..
over 500$ to re-glow plug...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
Ive had a 1999 with extended wheel base for about 5 months. Its noisy! but runs great. 145k miles and doesn't use a drop of oil. 12-14 MPG. Bed of van is 10'. Beware....it holds 16qts of oil.
You get out of life what you put into it......minus taxes.
Marv
I drive a "95 E350 gashog 460 V-8. 173,300 miles uses no oil. 9-15 mpg Paid $3500 for it 2 years ago with 147,000 miles on it. Love it for the size. 10 foot bed, 12 foot at an angle, 14 foot between the seats on dash.
I've got a '95 E-250 with 195K on it, drives the same as 40K ago. I'd go for a diesel anyday. Can't put grease or biodiesel in a gashog, and they'll go longer with better mileage.
How much better mileage will a diesel get? Is it worth the extra 50 to 60 cents per gallon?Constructing in metric...
every inch of the way.
Talkin' about mileage only, not cost-per-mile, which is higher with a diesel:
assume 2000 miles per month, gas vehicle @ 15 miles per gallon, gas @ 2.50.
2000/15 = 133 gallons
133 X 2.50 = $332.50
332.50/3.00 per gal = 110.83 gallons
2000/110.83 = 18.05 miles per gallon.
So, if the diesel gets 3 more mpg, you come out even.
But it still makes you mad that diesel costs more than gasoline._______________________________________________________________
anyone seen my tagline?
But it still makes you mad that diesel costs more than gasoline.
_______________________________________________________________
Yeah, diesel was always cheaper than gasoline. What's up with that?Constructing in metric...
every inch of the way.
Yeah, diesel was always cheaper than gasoline. What's up with that?
Greed...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!<!----><!---->
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
IMERC's grouchy. Mountain air and all. If you're going to have an International engine, you'd want the 7.3. That 6.0 started bad and keeps going south.
Diesel engines typically will last longer and pull more, but the top end is limited just by the design and the fuel - your rpms will never break 5K and probably shouldnt break 3500, and your speed wont break the low 100's. Thats probably not really an issue.
The thing I wish I'd known going in to the diesel world is costs. And Marty is right there. Your first $100 oil change is an eye opener. And diesel engines can weigh 2-3 times their gasoline counterparts for the same hp range. So parts, if you ever need to replace them, are larger, heavier, sturdier . . . and cost a lot more.
Things I'd check on the 7.3 IDI. Check the oil, look, feel, smell. That will tell some. Transmission. The manuals are great. The automatics are great until you tow with them. That 4R100 doesnt like the heavy loads so much. You can nickle and dime youself to death on a tranny or you can splurge once and get one made for that - NADP, BTS, ATS . . . several outfits make them. And if you don't tow a lot dont worry about it.
Pull the air tube off the turbo and look at the fan. If it's dusted, a stock turbo is about 800 bucks. An aftermarket starts at 1500. It should freewheel and not be full of carbon deposits. At over 100K for miles, I'd expect to see some sooting, but it should still freewheel. If it looks good, thats a decent indicator of the level of care the motor has had.
The 7.3 doesnt have an injector pump. The injectors are the pump. Its whats called a HEUI setup - hydraulically actuated injectors. And the hydraulic comes from engine oil thats compressed to 3000psi, fed into the upper galleries, electronically, and makes the injector fire. In a split shot, actually. Theres up and down sides to either design. A common rail like the Cummins, the high pressure is all on the fuel. On the 7.3, its on the oil, and the oil pressure coming off the HPOP is great enough if you ever have to replace the HPOP or an injector, yow. I think stock injectors are about 300 a piece. Fortunately, neither of those are real common issues. If anything goes, it's usually the o rings on the pump.
Overall, its a good engine. If you get it, never run anything other than synthetic oil in it. Hubub anymore has a lot of grapevine guessing going on about the new ULSD fuel and how thats going to play in older engines. I don't have the answers there. On one hand, the fuel manufacturers, i.e. Chevron, say no worries, new ASTM lubricants etc. On the other, removing the sulfur DOES remove lubricants, and the 08 Ford has completely redesigned pumps. All the brass parts are now stainless . . . higher heat tolerance.
Real trucks dont have sparkplugs
Grouchy ya say..
when it comes to Ford diesels it is more like rabid....
Got sick to eyeballs of repairing my diesel and everybody's that I know..... serious good money in large quanities after bad...
it had to stop..
glow plug shorts out.. 11$
melts the connectors on the harness at the rocker cover gasket..
takes the leads out on the 2 injector sensors wired in at that point.....
1400$ to fix that without labor...
don't catch the injector in time doing a fuel let because of this burned wire deal and trash that cyclinder(s)... 4500$...
or if it is not fuelling on that cyclinder... 4500 is just to open with...
wait there's more... so the burned harnes starts to send crap signals to the central processor.. toast that CP... that doesn't work above 7500'...
and a host of several hundred gotta have dollar parts with it..
parts that belly up on a regular basis and cost hundreds... leave ya dead in the water and dianogstics is a biltch.. even if ya been there...
then there is the factory turbo seals...
and that kinked up flatten piece of exhaust pipe the holds higher outlet pressures.. can we say valves here...
have yur own reader??? get all the help ya can...
what I have found is that on the average it breaks down at schedualed intervals.. the reoccurances have been too similar even on other trucks of the same ilk..
that's why I say over 100k and yur on borrowed time...
look into Ford.. after the 100K mile mark they haven't much value... and the dive gets progressively steeper every 10,000 miles...
somebody knows something...
so tear out that IH and put in a Cummins...
mine is in progress..
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!<!----><!---->
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
RW, Thanks for the great info!
IMERC, Thanks for scaring the cr#p out of me.
I think I'll buy a new truck. The 100K 6yr. warranty looks really good right now.
Constructing in metric...
every inch of the way.
glad I could help....
don't get me wrong Ford builds a half way decent truck... they just dropped the ball with their version of a drive line...
I'll never own Ford again...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!<!----><!---->
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
No prob. I guess I just think it doesnt matter if you're a blue oval guy or a ram or a rock. Maintenance is there. And diesel maintenance costs. One line you might have a tranny thats the achilles heel, somebody else's its a bearing or a gasket . . . choose your medicine. They'll all kill you eventually.
Marty drove down here last night and sabotaged me for trying to encourage you. Its pure spite I tell ya. Rear main leak. How glad I am for that aftermarket warranty right now.
Real trucks dont have sparkplugs
"They'll all kill you eventually. "
I just spent two grand on my 1999 F-150's tranny. It's now on life support, just doesn't run like it used to.
I wouldn't own another Dodge until wrapping piano wire around the service manager's neck becomes legal. ;-)
Maybe it's time for a Chevy, I can't by a rice burner although the wife's Honda CRV is awesome and the Japs don't make large vans... yet.Constructing in metric...
every inch of the way.
I also needed a newer vehicle to replace a '98 3500 GMC crew cab with 8' bed.
I couldn't find a decent crew cab 4x4 long bed in the state-a few years old.
Wound up buying a new '05 holdover Chevy 2500 HD crew with 8' and 4x4.A lot more than I wanted to spend but it's got an extended warranty-so I've got my fingers crossed. It's a gas job 6.0
was that all ya found...
check the turbo seal...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!<!----><!---->
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
1986 Ford F350-aka "trusty rusty" 6.9 Diesel 350,000 miles
2 qts. oil per week.- 2 cans either per month paid 2500.00
3yrs. ago still wheezing along - tires Bills auto salvage150.00
for 6-good deal 90% good tread.
Has put on the table 3 deer, numoorus rabbits--I gave the cats &
dogs to the local chinease restarant- clipped a bear but it got away!
10' flat bed work desk/camping platform/romantic 2a.m getaway
for me and the missus" just got to swweep off rock chips first"
was thinking of parting her out-till the 2a.m. thing- but it would
be like givin away a member of the family. {ohhyech the truck that is $:o}
oh did I mention I am coming down to charleston this evening
got a wedding at the gazebo saturday afternoon on the batterery,
my family----ex.inlaws----ex wife ohhhh what joy, gonna be interesting
Edited 10/4/2006 10:51 am ET by dedubya
I spent some time on a truckers forum.
They just keep saying its a bad deal right now to own one. It used to be cheaper but not no more dude.
Tim
Memphest 2006
November 18th
FWIW; I've been looking at 05 and 06 GMC 2500's with less or about 10 k on them (gas) for around $15-16,000
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Buy new and you will actually save money in the long run.
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I haven't read all the replies, so forgive me if I'm repeating what someone else has said.
I don't know about the specifics of the E350, but my family has driven diesel cars since the mid- 60's.
Knowing what type of miles is important. Diesel engines need to be run at highway speeds for about an hour a week to get them hot enough to burn off the carbon. Carbon build up is a major cause of glow plugs going bad. The cost to replace glowplugs depends on how difficult they are to get at.
Well cared for, you should be able to get 200k out of that engine.
Diesel fuel generally costs more in the winter months when it is in competition with heating oil at the refinery. We don't see the 50c to 60c here. About 25c or so. Didn't use to be this way, it used to be cheaper than regular gas. Don't know what the problem is now.
Electronics are a big issue on vehicles now adays. I just had a $3500 transmission job because of soda pop spilled in the console, which ran down to the shifter, which screwed up the electronic sensor, which caused to transmission to attempt things it shouldn't have...
But I don't know how you can check out the electronics.