I believe book time is 16-20 hours. So if labor rates are around $100hr it's going to be $2k in labor.

 

In here, the first post mentions his mechanic says about $2500.
http://www.powerstroke.org/forum/99-03-7-3-motor-problems/1043209-looking-good-advice-oil-pan.html

 

Oh man.....yeah, thought that it would be somewhere in the 1400-2k territory depending on the shop.

Hmmmmm.....well, the price is really good - 6995.00 for a 149k '02. It's minimally rusted, good interior, long box, good tranny and turbo. I think I should at least check it out.

So - part two of the question: How much of a leak can it tolerate before the repair really MUST be done? I once drove an '86 F250 w/6.9L cross-country with a huge leak at the pump. We went through almost 2 gal of oil in 7 days of driving! Made it just fine. Ha. Not that I want to do that again, but if it leaks only a half a quart every 6 weeks, then I might buy it and save up to do the repair this summer.

Crazy? Stupid? Or still a good deal?

 

Oh, also....should I take it to my local Ford dealer, or an independent shop that specializes in Powerstrokes?

No doubt Ford can do it with their eyes closed, but it'll probably cost a fortune. Any suggestions?

Thanks, guys. Love this forum!

 

So the issue might be,,, that in a Dealership they'll do it right (pull & invert the engine) and independents, especially if shopping for the best price, would short-cut Fords procedure and attempt to do it in the truck. Or what's Worse, hack the crossmember as others have had done to them.

Have you seen this? I don't know if it works as it should, never had anybody say they've had it done, but it's an Interesting approach...

And yea,,,, it's not really something you can just "live with", it's gotta be fixed