Looking at a 97 PSD

[Dozerpilot]

New guy here, doing some homework before I pull the trigger on a "new" truck. I'm in the Air Force stationed at Ellsworth. A friend is selling a 97 Crew Cab, Short Box, F250 4x. It's a Powerstroke 5 speed truck with about 185000 miles on it. She bought it mostly to pull a horse trailer she never got, so I don't know how much she may know about what has been done to it. Asking price is 5k. It seems clean from what I've seen so far, but I haven't popped the hood or driven it yet. Not trying to get all worked up about it before I learned some. I thought I should see what I may be getting myself into as far as possible repairs and maint. in the near future. I know that diesel rigs get spendy real quick, and it could easily turn into much more expensive truck. So far the information I've found on this site has been really helpful and informative. Thanks for the great resource.

J

[Hank]

This site is great isn't it?

Oh and welcome to the org.!

[SAR Pirate]

Welcome aboard

You'll find a lot of what you need here.

5k sounds good.

Good luck with it.

[cndrm]

Welcome to the .org. I agree, 5K sounds like a pretty decent price.

Obviously, you'll want to pop the hood, see what's underneath. Maybe even post some pics here, to see if anyone else see's something you might overlook. You'll want to test drive the truck, and make sure everything "feels" right.

I do know that the F250's have a different front end than the F350's do, and iirc, they can be rough on ball joints. (though I'm not absolutely certain of why)

Find out what you can about the maintenance that's been done to the truck. How often was the oil changed? (what oil & filters used) When was the last time the fuel filter was changed? Was it changed regularly? Make sure the truck doesn't "consume" anything. (like oil, coolant, tranny fluid)

Find out how often 4X4 was "USED". When I bought my truck, the previous owners hadn't used 4 wheel drive. I used it immediately. Well, the seals had gotten old and hard, and I started losing tranny fluid. Not good. Just ask so you don't get blind sided.

Ask and see if any mods have been done. You'll probably want to do a couple mods, to increase the efficiency and performance of the motor.

That's what comes to mind right now. Good luck.

mike

[Dozerpilot]

Thank you guys. It's going to be great to have an idea about what to look for when I actually go to look at the truck. I just happened to see it when I was picking up a washing machine, and it was dark out. It hasn't been advertised as being for sale, so I get first shot at it.

[tftimm]

Sounds like a good deal to me. I just got a 97 Crew cab, short bed, but 2WD for $6300. It in in very good condition, especially mechanically.

If things check out and everything looks good, I'd say go for it.

[cndrm]

Nothin wrong with getting the first shot at something. Price is pretty darn good. Hopefully everything underhood and tire is sound and in good shape. Would make it that much sweeter.

mike

[mudrunninpig]

welcome to the org

[Dozerpilot]

Thanks everyone. No news yet, I haven't secured the sale of my current truck. I have someone intersted, but we haven't negotiated a price on it yet. Once the Chevy is gone, hello Ford.

[colin@greenoil]

Welcome to the .org, it sounds like a sweet deal if its a clean truck and runs good i say go for it.

Green Oil