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99 vs 02

5K views 34 replies 15 participants last post by  Billy231 
#1 ·
What are the differences?

I'm shopping hard and wondering if there is some reason I would take an '02 with slightly higher miles over a '99 with slightly lower miles.

Thanks!
 
#6 ·
There is a huge difference actually.... Many 99's mine included the mirrors are permanently extended. I believe for towing packages. I also upgraded to the 2008 mirrors. It is model specific, some 99's have the dinky paddle mirrors, some are stuck out for towing from the factory etc.

To the OP the 99's can be a hassle if you google late 99 vs early 99 pray the 1999 your looking at is a late build otherwise finding a lift kit can be kind of a PITA... The early build 99's have different front u bolts, different steering box, drag link, track bar, different front rotors, hub bearing assembly units, different turbo exhaust wheel, different hpop, different fuel injectors etc.

The late build 1999's is going to be almost identical for the whole 1999-2003 7.3ls. its the early 1999's that I would avoid not because of any reliability issues, just a hassle with the suspension if you want to lift. I have a truck with late build 1999 engine and early build 1999 suspension. I had to order leaf springs from one company, track bar, u bolts from another company etc...
 
#4 ·
I hear that I'm from Michigan and mine has the typical Michigan rot, cab corners... rockers and the bed. But for what I paid for it I'm not complaining..... $2,500 for a '99 f250 super duty crew cab short box. I put 2010 super duty towing mirrors on it. They haven't changed the mirror mount since 99 lol


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#5 ·
The 99 has forged steel connecting rods and the 02 will have the weaker PMR rods. Also is it an early or late 99? There are quite a few differences between the two.
 
#7 · (Edited)
Biggest thing is the 99 more then likely has forged rods and '02 has Powered Metal Rods (PMR) rods. They switched around 2001 and some guys have even stated they have the forged rods in their '01 even though they should have PMRs. The forged rods can handle more horsepower. PMRs are only good to around 400 hp. The forged rods can handle around 500hp.


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#9 ·
My bad. My comparison was between my 02 and my dad's 99.5. While the towing mirrors on the 99.5 weren't extendable, I did notice that they were about as long as my 02 if the 02 were extended about half way. About where the little red arrow was on the mirror arms of the 02 was the length of my dad's 99.5.

As for the forged rods, I had a mild chip in mine and complete banks stinger+ kit, which put me at right about 300 hp. 246k miles and never a problem.

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#11 ·
Thanks guys!

Is there a way to tell at a glance whether a truck in an early 99 or late 99? I'm not talking about something I can crawl under there and figure out, but something that I can see from looking at ad photos online.

Obviously I will crawl under the truck and check everything thoroughly before I buy it, but it would be nice to know what I'm dealing with before I drive hours away to look at a truck.
 
#22 ·
From an Autotrader Ad the only tip off will be if it has the Powerstroke badges on the door where you normally see them, or if it has the old "Triton V8" style small badges on the front fender near the headlamps, but I've heard this is not ironclad either. They mixed a lot of parts on these trucks that could throw you off.
 
#12 ·
Check the door jamb sticker for manufacture date, that will tell you weather or not it is early or late, I believe if it has a date of 4/99 or later it is late, and 3/99 or earlier it is a early 99.
 
#13 ·
Thanks for the info on the dates.

However, most folks don't post a picture of the door jamb sticker in their craigslist ads. Is there some other way to tell by just looking at the truck? I'm talking about things like mirror differences, grill difference, body molding, decals, etc.
 
#17 ·
check the build date there is a different cut off for early 99 engines and early 99 suspensions.

My truck has the late build engine but the early build suspension. Also if the truck was late the badges are not a full proof. Just trying to be thourough so you know exactly what to look for. Are there any pics of the front? the early 99 has square u bolts while the late build and up has more semi round etc.

there is a huge difference in price for the parts. Late build 99 hub bearing assembly units and rotors are cheaper then early build stuff.
 
#18 ·
Look under the hood, an e99 will have a smaller turbo and no intake heater. The late 99 will have an intake heater, bigger turbo, and bigger intercooler pipes.
 
#23 · (Edited)
My truck is a late 99 with a 1/99 build date. I've heard the cutoff between late and early is 12/98 according to the door jamb sticker.

Then you can look for the sticker on the valve cover of the engine itself and it will tell you the exact date the engine was built and the engine #. This detail is important in determining whether it was okay to use ELC coolant or if you had to stick with the green stuff. There are some trucks that are late 99 that still have to use the green coolant. Unfortunately I have one of them. It was only around 40,000 or so engines that fell into that little valley. Most late 99's can use red ELC coolant that meets specification for CAT/Cummins/Detroit/Navistar/etc but you have to verify the engine #.
 
#30 ·
Back to the original question... How many more miles does the 02 have over the 99? Are they similarly equipped? Similarly priced? Do we know maintenance history on either or both? Has one been babied and the other chipped? If chipped, race tunes or something mild? I think history and price would weigh more on my decision than 99 vs 02, those things considered.

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#32 · (Edited)
pmrs and a digital odometer.... that's about it the 02 got a updated canbus so the gauge cluster communicates with the Engine ECU (like the 03-04 6.0 trucks)


same change ford did on the f150s the 97-98s got the mechanical, then in 99 they got the digital. the super-duty was just late at following.
 
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