1999 7.3 Test Drive

[Bennie]

Hey Guys. This afternoon I went and test drove a late 1999 f250 with 197,000 miles on it. I liked it, and if I end up buying it, it will be my first powerstroke. I researched on here and other forums about major stuff to look for, but didn't find any common bad problems that people said to look for.

I did find a couple of things that I thought I would get some opinions on.

One thing I noticed was that it seemed as though the overdrive selector switch was not functioning and it would not switch out of overdrive when the switch was depressed. Could it be something electrical like the switch itself, maybe a fuse, or a kinked wire? It shifted nice and firm other than that...a lot firmer than my '01 F150 with 98K miles.

The other was that the steering felt a little loose. Is this common, or does something need to be replaced?

Thanks in advance.

[B4SouthernMiss22]

steering is about right... but i would put in the deal to fix the od off problem before a buy. Because I went to the ford dealership to buy my 3rd 7.3.. i pull alot so i hit the od off button (is something i use almost daily pulling equipment) and something happened and i had no acc pettel and i idled back to the dealership. my fella i buy from was so embarrased because of this he did not even try to make the sell. he said he would call me on the next 7.3 he had come in. (Note this make sure its not electrical in the truck!)

[ridiculously_necessary]

i do know the wires in that shifter have a tendancy to rub, the usualy blow fuses when they rub through. a flashing OD light i know could be a sign of tranny trouble. so be sure they fix the problem.

no common problems with these, a quirky CPS, bit of a small tranny cooler are about it. auto tranny is the weak leak, its not a bad component, just keep it cool and dont used canned tunes.

good luck and