101 - Diesel Ownership Needed

[JebNY]

If you read my into you will know I'm going to pick up my new to me 2000 F250, 7.3L, 6 speed manual, 2WD, regular cab 8 foot box, no known mods, in about a week.

It is suppose to be serviced and been a checked over for a 1400+ mile trip.

What should I check before handing over the money?

I have never owned a Diesel, anything I should know about operating it and driving it that is different from a gas truck and common sense?

What else do I need to know before starting my trip home?

I'll get into the hard questions after I'm home with my new wheels.

Jeb

[keystone crawler]

you should crawl under the truck and check for a rusty oil pan . see if can get copy of what was service what filters and fuilds where changed . i'd grabe a spare CPS just in case

[Super Kaz]

I just bought mine a few weeks ago, so alot is new to me. Check for oil leaks, under the intake is a commin thing I was told. Oil pan for rust like was stated above. And a spare cps is a good idea to. What to look for when buying a USED 99-03 PSD

[JSTA281]

Ditto on the oil leak, When I bought mine it had a leak, it was one of the seals on the high pressure oil pump, not to bad to fix but i should have checked first. I would also bring a test lamp and see if the trailor hook ups work, mine did not. Check the CD changer, mine and my brother in laws did not work. Ask if they have more then one key. If not you have to go to the dealer to get a second key and that cost me 77 bucks with out the remote. If you have 2 keys already you can program your own extra keys. That is all the nick nack stuff I can think of right now.

[Logan]

Looks like these guys got you going pretty good for now. If you run across anything else, let us know.

[worx]

If its "dealer prepped" then its probibly been steam cleaned and will look pretty good so a short test drive should flush out the big leaks... With the older trucks, I would not be worried about extra keys- mine is a simple one without the chip inside, so look at the key first before heading to Ford... if its a "fat head" one, it may have the security chip, if its a stamped steel one or one with a thinner black Ford or aftermaket head, gamble a $1.50 at Wal*Mart or Home Depot and try to drive it with that- it probibly will work for you- and the remotes are plentiful on eBay- mine came with the wrong remote, so the right ones came the next week, after I found out mine was junk...
And they mentioned the oil pan- defenitly check that- I have heard that many places too, especially with it ending up as a "northern" truck...
Trailer plugs too are often not working because of missing fuses (previous owner never towed) and also a set of relays that were installed once you started to tow... $15 for a fuse assortment and $10 each on relays and your in business most fo the time... plus fuses are good to have on hand... they are those stupid micro blade ones, so grab an assortment...
Good luck with it! Enjoy the ride! Also, if it gets cooler at night coming home, grab a fuel conditioner and anti-gel as you move north...

[JebNY]

I am getting it from a dealer so it is probably cleaned up and any obvious problems covered up or fixed. Lots of good info so far.

It has supposedly been serviced, what if corners were cut and regular oil was used. I will be driving empty and not pushing the speed limit much, any problems?

Was figuring on picking up some gas additive first chance I get, I assume if I add additive and it already has some it will not be a problem?

By the way the truck has around 70,000 miles.

Jeb

[driximus]

Originally Posted by JSTA281

Ditto on the oil leak, When I bought mine it had a leak, it was one of the seals on the high pressure oil pump, not to bad to fix but i should have checked first. I would also bring a test lamp and see if the trailor hook ups work, mine did not. Check the CD changer, mine and my brother in laws did not work. Ask if they have more then one key. If not you have to go to the dealer to get a second key and that cost me 77 bucks with out the remote. If you have 2 keys already you can program your own extra keys. That is all the nick nack stuff I can think of right now.

The stock 6 Disk CD changer sucks Im on my third in 2 years when i get back im gonna find an aftermarket one.

[JSTA281]

Originally Posted by driximus

The stock 6 Disk CD changer sucks Im on my third in 2 years when i get back im gonna find an aftermarket one.

The after market ones are getting even more difficult to locate, alpine makes a nice one but the part that allows them to interface is hard to come buy, I had to with a weird brand name, I don't recall it now.

[JebNY]

No CD changer to worry about in this truck. I may want to swap out the stock Radio/CD player for one that will play MP3 CDs. Gives me more capacity without a changer. I understand around 2006-2007 Ford started putting MP3 capable CD players in their trucks. Any chance they are interchagable with 2000?

Jeb