Did I buy a lemon?

[gypsie83]

Purchased a '01 F250 7.3 4X4 little over a year ago. Was very clean, never wrecked and the seller had all the maintenance records. However, in the last 18 months I've had to replace the turbo, 1 injector and the fuel pump. I'm no mechanic so I had to pay for these repairs which ain't cheap.

Currently has 150k miles. I use (not abuse) the truck as a daily driver and pull a small horse trailer on the weekends. It's mostly stock except for CAI, exhaust and a TS 6-position chip. Keep it on the "80 HP Econo" position.

I love everything about the truck but cannot afford to keep dumping $$$ into this thing. Filling it up at the pump is scary enough.

Do this sound normal for a truck of this age and mileage? Are there any preventative measures I can take (other than the general maintenance things)? Or is this just the joys of owning a PSD?

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

PS - I must confess I have owned two other diesels (Dodge) and didn't have near the problems. I'm trying to convert to the Church of PSD but my thin wallet is not making it easy.

[rascal]

I don't think you bought a lemon at all. You may have had just a bit of bad luck.

My advice is to stick to your maintenance schedule and hopefully your luck will get better and she will run like a top.

Good luck!

[strokinpower]

No you bought a used 11 year old truck with 150k on it. You might have to fix some stuff. You have no idea how the previous owner treated the truck.

[Fantom]

Originally Posted by strokinpower

No you bought a used 11 year old truck with 150k on it. You might have to fix some stuff. You have no idea how the previous owner treated the truck.

That's it exactly. You never know how somebody else treats the truck, or how they maintain it, or if they do at all.

[rascal]

I would think that goes without saying. That being said...

He is having a bit of bad luck with his 11 year old truck.

I was lucky enough to find a truck with detailed maintenance records which is always nice.

[strokinpower]

Maintenance records are nice but still doesn't tell you the life the truck has had. I know people that beat the hell out of their trucks but still get service done like they are supposed to.

[gypsie83]

True. He could have driven the snot out of the truck for all I know.

Any "must address" tips you might suggest beyond the regularly scheduled maintenance?

[rascal]

You are right but I think you can always tell how a truck was used /treated. If it was garage kept or not and other things of that nature.

Of course it is a story that time will eventually tell. I will let you know if I have any major failures.

However, I am the type to do a lot of preventive maintenance. I am in the the middle of converting my unit bearing hubs to a fixed spindle. Preventive maintenance...

[strokinpower]

You can look at my brother in laws dually and thing that's a garage queen but it pulls a fully loaded 38' goose neck all over the united states running balls to the wall. Can't judge a book by its cover especially a vehicle

[rascal]

Another reason I bought a truck without a gooseneck hitch or 5th wheel set up.