2002 F250 diesel - discovery and build thread.

[scotts90ranger]

Mine's salvage title, my '98 Explorer has been totaled at least twice .

There for a while it didn't take much to total out a 10 year old rig... on my F350 it's pretty obvious what made it totaled, they had a ladder rack and a gooseneck trailer came unhitched and the ladder rack hit the cab denting it behind the rear drivers side door and some other mild cosmetic stuff that doesn't bother me... of course the slight crabwalk it does isn't ideal but the '90 Ranger does that too...

For the right price I don't think I'd worry too much about the salvage title, all it really means if it is in good shape otherwise is it's worth less, like said maybe verify his story with the carfax and maybe pull back the carpet some somewhere...

A plus with a '99 plus is it's intercooled and already has like 30hp more than the OBS 7.3L's. If auto trans the 4R100 or 5R110 or whatever apparently isn't too bad of a trans but maybe at least ask about it's maintenance or rebuild history and would look at and smell the trans fluid... If ZF6 then I don't know, test drive should tell enough about that...

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Mine's salvage title, my '98 Explorer has been totaled at least twice .

There for a while it didn't take much to total out a 10 year old rig... on my F350 it's pretty obvious what made it totaled, they had a ladder rack and a gooseneck trailer came unhitched and the ladder rack hit the cab denting it behind the rear drivers side door and some other mild cosmetic stuff that doesn't bother me... of course the slight crabwalk it does isn't ideal but the '90 Ranger does that too...

For the right price I don't think I'd worry too much about the salvage title, all it really means if it is in good shape otherwise is it's worth less, like said maybe verify his story with the carfax and maybe pull back the carpet some somewhere...

A plus with a '99 plus is it's intercooled and already has like 30hp more than the OBS 7.3L's. If auto trans the 4R100 or 5R110 or whatever apparently isn't too bad of a trans but maybe at least ask about it's maintenance or rebuild history and would look at and smell the trans fluid... If ZF6 then I don't know, test drive should tell enough about that...

The 4R100 is basically just an updated E4OD and from what ive read its just as prone to death by abuse as its older brother.

@ericbphoto how dead set are you on a diesel? You can usually get a pretty nice 460 truck (or even a 351 if all youre towing is your ranger) for quite a bit cheaper then a comparable PSD. Plus they are cheaper to fix. Same for a 5.4/6.8SD, espicially if youre open to a 2wd.

Just the other day i found a super nice 90 (maybe older then you want, i dont know) with a 460/E4OD, reg cab, 2wd long bed 3/4ton for 2500 bucks. Old man owned and very clean

 

[Robertmangrum.rm]

I don't know if its the same in every state or even still this way in TN, but several years back I wrecked my 93 Cougar. It was totaled but with just some light front end damage. I bought it back from the insurance company and got a donor car and fixed it. A few years later decided to trade it in on a 98 Ranger and the lot said they couldn't legally sell a car with a rebuilt title. Long story short I had to sell it myself and use the cash as a down payment. The lot was going to give me 5k for it till they found out it was rebuilt. I was only able to get 2500 with the rebuilt title.

 

[Curious Hound]

Mine's salvage title, my '98 Explorer has been totaled at least twice .

There for a while it didn't take much to total out a 10 year old rig... on my F350 it's pretty obvious what made it totaled, they had a ladder rack and a gooseneck trailer came unhitched and the ladder rack hit the cab denting it behind the rear drivers side door and some other mild cosmetic stuff that doesn't bother me... of course the slight crabwalk it does isn't ideal but the '90 Ranger does that too...

For the right price I don't think I'd worry too much about the salvage title, all it really means if it is in good shape otherwise is it's worth less, like said maybe verify his story with the carfax and maybe pull back the carpet some somewhere...

A plus with a '99 plus is it's intercooled and already has like 30hp more than the OBS 7.3L's. If auto trans the 4R100 or 5R110 or whatever apparently isn't too bad of a trans but maybe at least ask about it's maintenance or rebuild history and would look at and smell the trans fluid... If ZF6 then I don't know, test drive should tell enough about that...

I did finally notice the tailgate says Superduty. No reason to think it has been replaced. Don’t know if that makes a determination of which transmission it has. It is an auto.

 

[Curious Hound]

The 4R100 is basically just an updated E4OD and from what ive read its just as prone to death by abuse as its older brother.

@ericbphoto how dead set are you on a diesel? You can usually get a pretty nice 460 truck (or even a 351 if all youre towing is your ranger) for quite a bit cheaper then a comparable PSD. Plus they are cheaper to fix. Same for a 5.4/6.8SD, espicially if youre open to a 2wd.

Just the other day i found a super nice 90 (maybe older then you want, i dont know) with a 460/E4OD, reg cab, 2wd long bed 3/4ton for 2500 bucks. Old man owned and very clean

I know you speak well of the 460. I just feel like the diesel would be better suited to towing in the mountains around here. But I can’t say I have any real facts to go on. I wonder how fuel mileage compares. I know the 1990 7.3l I had years ago got decent mileage and it never seemed to change much with load or terrain. On the other hand, my parents had an OBS F350 crew cab 4x4 that they towed a 5th wheel camper with. Dad liked that truck. Mom even drove it, towing, forward only.

 

[Roert42]

Don’t rule out a V10. I hear the modular v10 with the right gears does well under load.
I also hear great things about the dodge v10.

 

[PetroleumJunkie412]

Just gonna leave this here....

You wont regret it.

I dont know much about the autos they put behind them. I did watch whatever they put in a 2018-ish 6.7l auto die a hilarious death in a 4500 with 15k miles on it. So probably avoid whatever that... was.

The NV5600 is awesome, albeit a bit tractor-trailer esque. 1st gear is useless unless you have 60 tons on a gooseneck and are facing a 91° uphill slope.

 

[Curious Hound]

Just gonna leave this here....


View attachment 93238


You wont regret it.

I dont know much about the autos they put behind them. I did watch whatever they put in a 2018-ish 6.7l auto die a hilarious death in a 4500 with 15k miles on it. So probably avoid whatever that... was.

The NV5600 is awesome, albeit a bit tractor-trailer esque. 1st gear is useless unless you have 60 tons on a gooseneck and are facing a 91° uphill slope.

All the Dodges I’m seeing are very pricey. Plus, I don’t know which models to look for and which to avoid.

I did follow that “Fummins” link earlier in this thread. Very interesting idea. Very appealing.

 

[Curious Hound]

I did see a cool truck in Marketplace a few weeks ago. Seems to be gone now. It was a Ford/International. Bigger body size similar to an F600 or something. I think it was a late 70’s model. Crew cab with a pickup style bed. Had a Detroit in it. I think it was something like a 471T. Would have been entertaining. They wanted $23k. It appeared to be in great shape.

found it “pending”

 

[rusty ol ranger]

I know you speak well of the 460. I just feel like the diesel would be better suited to towing in the mountains around here. But I can’t say I have any real facts to go on. I wonder how fuel mileage compares. I know the 1990 7.3l I had years ago got decent mileage and it never seemed to change much with load or terrain. On the other hand, my parents had an OBS F350 crew cab 4x4 that they towed a 5th wheel camper with. Dad liked that truck. Mom even drove it, towing, forward only.

I forgot youre in the mountains...

But it depends on what youre towing. Ive towed 5 or 6k with mine through kentucky and i didnt really notice any loss of power. Out in the rockys would be a different story though.

If you dont see yourself ever loading up over say...8500lbs....i wouldnt rule out a 460. The diesel would do better at high elevations assuming its turbo. I should add the 460 would drag 10 or 11k thru mountains...but over 8500 or so i think the diesel would start to shine. On flat ground/small hills i doubt youd notice any difference in power between the two

The 460 and PSD Obs Trucks were rated exactly the same weights for towing.

I get 12-13mpg empty and around 9-10 towing. The PSD will do somewhat better then that...but the 460 will be better empty and pretty equal powerwise when towing compared to a early PSD...atleast in normalish terrain.

But also remember...you can rebuild a 460 for what injectors or a turbo will cost on a 7.3...plus diesel is more expensive, as are general maintence.

The V10 *needs* 4.30 gears to get the full affect. The couple V10s ive driven havent really impressed me...they felt alot mushyier off the line then my 460 but up top a bit stronger.

 

[Uncle Gump]

Put a flat bed on that to haul the G-Unit...

 

[rusty ol ranger]

View attachment 93242

Put a flat bed on that to haul the G-Unit...

Man i love S series IH's

 

[PetroleumJunkie412]

All the Dodges I’m seeing are very pricey. Plus, I don’t know which models to look for and which to avoid.

I did follow that “Fummins” link earlier in this thread. Very interesting idea. Very appealing.

The price is because of the 5.9/6.7 tbh. That, and they are an awesome drivetrain.

Rust is the big one with Dodge. Tubular frames, at least on the ones I've had. Shouldn't be too awful in your latitude though.

Other than that, the 24 valve can wind up with a pusher pump issue that ruins the injection pump. Not a big deal nowadays as most of them have been fixes at this point. If a truck has aftermarket gages on it, usually a sign that the pump issue was fixed.

If it's a 12 valve, just buy it and drive it like you stole it.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

The price is because of the 5.9/6.7 tbh. That, and they are an awesome drivetrain.

Rust is the big one with Dodge. Tubular frames, at least on the ones I've had. Shouldn't be too awful in your latitude though.

Other than that, the 24 valve can wind up with a pusher pump issue that ruins the injection pump. Not a big deal nowadays as most of them have been fixes at this point. If a truck has aftermarket gages on it, usually a sign that the pump issue was fixed.

If it's a 12 valve, just buy it and drive it like you stole it.

Honestly....the 8.0L is nothing to scoff at either if you decide to go dodge lol.

 

[Roert42]

The V10 *needs* 4.30 gears to get the full affect. The couple V10s ive driven havent really impressed me...they felt alot mushyier off the line then my 460 but up top a bit stronger.

Yeah, the for V10 is small for a V10. They like to spin to get the power, hence the short gears.