general advice on a purchase (tommorrow)

[Colt044]

I am looking at buying a 99 f-350 dually 4wd. It has the 7.3 powerstroke turbo diesel, it has 109,000 on it. This truck is very clean inside and out. I am having the dealer remove the bed and put a new flatbed on it, due to it being a work truck for my tree service. I am a bit concerned though because I took the oil filler cap off and there is a little smoke coming out, I have a dt360 in my bucket truck and it has done that since i bought with no problems at all though. I did put my hand over it and there was no pressure, is this something to be concerned about or not ? thanks

[mschn99]

if it is a small amount of smoke.....its nothing at all to be worried about...especially if it had not been run very often or long lately......

most likely it was condensations...and the hand trick is a great trick....blowby will generally increase crankcase pressure which should be at least slightly nociable doing what you did.....

i dont think you have anything to worry bout with what you posted.....Marc

[Colt044]

thanks marc. It is just a little smoke and no pressure on my hand. this truck ran out on the road awesome, I just bought a 97 f-250 4wd with the 7.3 in it, I dont believe the 97 was taken care of nearly as good as this one I am looking at, but i do like the old body style. what does cause the smoke, though?

[mschn99]

Originally Posted by Colt044

thanks marc. It is just a little smoke and no pressure on my hand. this truck ran out on the road awesome, I just bought a 97 f-250 4wd with the 7.3 in it, I dont believe the 97 was taken care of nearly as good as this one I am looking at, but i do like the old body style. what does cause the smoke, though?

usually its just condensation in the motor....you see it a lot in motors that dont get run for very long...or that sit for long periods of time........and also in colder weather......it is actually just water evaproating out of the system that has accumulated for whatever reason.....

course the other cause is blow by....but unless the truck you were looking at was very badly taken care of......and also it should have crankcase pressure (the hand trick)....this is doubtfull........Marc

[Colt044]

Im new to PSDs so what should i do to keep these motors running for a long time? other than oil change evry ? miles. I have a 460 in my 94 f-250 and i always tried to change the oil every 3000k. I have a shop service my big trucks, but i would like to do these. thanks again

[mschn99]

Originally Posted by Colt044

Im new to PSDs so what should i do to keep these motors running for a long time? other than oil change evry ? miles. I have a 460 in my 94 f-250 and i always tried to change the oil every 3000k. I have a shop service my big trucks, but i would like to do these. thanks again

the biggest thing is 3-5000 mile oil changes...i reccomend setting the sticker at 3000-3500...that way if you hit my reccomended interval of 4000 your already overdue by the stickers number.....

other than that...do you fuel filter every 15k........service your tranny every 25-30k.....see this thread.....

http://www.powerstrokeforum.com/foru...ead.php?t=1304

follow this and you will keep the whole truck in the best possible shape.......Marc

[Colt044]

thanks again, I will print that out and use it as i should. Ill be back probly gonna want to get some info on upgrade filter kits and chips to keep these babys runnin smooth as possible.

[mschn99]

there is a lot of knoledge here....you can get any info you need......come on back any time you want....the more the better.....and welcome to the powerstroke family

[Colt044]

this truck i am looking at is a supercab, i was just wondering if the doors on these get weak, due to there being no support in the middle?

[mschn99]

its not a GM.....the doors ae not too heavy for the hinges...lol...so the answer to your question is....no, its rare to have hinge problems on a newer ford.....ive only seen it on a rare few trucks......Marc