2002 F250 diesel - discovery and build thread.

[Roert42]

It also says F-250 on the fender.

 

[ericbphoto]

It also says F-250 on the fender.

I finally saw that, too. The fender that the driver sees all the time says F350.

It's a Johnny Cash truck.

 

[PetroleumJunkie412]

Well, for better or for worse, I got the 2002, F350 Superdoody. Cosmetically, it's "not great". Mechanically, it seems to be pretty darn ok. Starts fine, idles nice. Pulls pretty good. If I don't look at the speedo, it feels like I'm going slow. But this thing actually gets up to speed pretty nicely for what it is. I had it up to 85 on the interstate a few times coming home and that was towing the Fun50 on the trailer. Steering feels almost better than any Ford truck I've ever driven. A/C needs something. The air seems to get cold. But it doesn't blow hard out the vents. I'll have to check the blower FAN resistor and take it from there. Might be trash blocking the fan or evaporator coil. Needs tires. 2 of them are home made racing slicks. The hole in the hitch receiver where you put the pin is wallowed out like a 90 yr old prosti... I better not finish that analogy. Small dents all over it. Holes in the interior bed walls. Ut no rust detected anywhere yet. NONE. Headliner needs replacing. Steering wheel needs replacing (left side cruise buttons gone and air bag cover loose). I need to replace/repair the trailer wiring harness. I drove almost 2 hours home with no trailer lights or trailer brakes. Oh. And the brakes are awesome. This thing stopped with the trailer better than the Fun50 does with trailer brakes on full boost.

But... no looseness in the driveline. Carrier bearing seems OK (10 miles of drive shaft under there) and no play in the pinion or u-joints. Didn't see any major leaks anywhere. Worst keak seems to be around some fuel system components near the front top of the engine. Coolant temperature and transmission temperature stayed in the middle all the way home. That was towing on interstate in upper 80 degree ambient.

It's what I would call a base utility model. Just perfect. Arm-power windows. Finger-power door locks. Basic am/fm radio. The fanciest luxury on this thing uis cruise control, which I didn't even try yet. No PATS, just one simple, old-fashioned no-chip key. It does have carpet. He swapped out the seats for front buckets with center seat/fold-down arm rest. The rear seat is pretty nice when you lift the bottom up, there is some kind of metal platform that folds out to cover the floor.

Oh yeah. He was asking $5200. I got him down to 4800. That's with salvage title.

So. It's ugly. I can live with that. At least Rusty can't give me a hard time. Better pictures later.

View attachment 93311

View attachment 93312

View attachment 93313

Welcome to the Doody party.

Theyre... "ehhhhhhhhh"

I've put too many miles on them to count at this point... current one is a fleet truck and I think my 4th or 5th one. Probably will be my last one, but that's another story for another time.

Truck looks good overall. You'll be surprised at how much of an absolute beating they can take.

 

[PetroleumJunkie412]

I finally saw that, too. The fender that the driver sees all the time says F350

Only difference between 250/350 is the rear springs and GVW on that year iirc.

I could be wrong.

I often am.

 

[ericbphoto]

Only difference between 250/350 is the rear springs and GVW on that year iirc.

I could be wrong.

I often am.

Overall, I'm satisfied with the price, it's not all rusted out and it runs and drives good. This is a much more suitable tow vehicle for me. Saw an old registration card. First owner was a landscaping company. That explains the cosmetic condition perfectly. I bet most of it's occupants spoke Spanish.

 

[PetroleumJunkie412]

Overall, I'm satisfied with the price, it's not all rusted out and it runs and drives good. This is a much more suitable tow vehicle for me. Saw an old registration card. First owner was a landscaping company. That explains the cosmetic condition perfectly. I bet most of it's occupants spoke Spanish.

Which engine and trans?

And im guessing 2wd?

 

[sgtsandman]

Only difference between 250/350 is the rear springs and GVW on that year iirc.

I could be wrong.

I often am.

I thought there was something different with the frame as well. As in heavier or more cross bracing. Something like that.

 

[scotts90ranger]

Didn't realize they made long bed crew cab F250's in that timeframe, on an OBS that put you into a F350 by defauilt...

The only real difference between F250's and SRW F350's is the rear leaf springs and front axles, don't think F250's came with overload leafs over the main leaf pack.

Pretty sure he said 7.3L and auto so a decent setup.

If it's leaking fuel at the front of the engine that pretty much just leaves the drain hose for the fuel bowl, most fuel leaks leak into the valley that drains down the back of the engine... There's some fuel bowl reseal kits out there that aren't a bad idea

 

[racsan]

Idk about your state but in ohio going from a 3/4 ton to a 1 ton automatically nets you a commercial registration, so instead of a non-com truck plate ($45) its around $100. So if I ever truly needed a dually I would get a 3/4 ton and change the axle & bed.
But I dont ever see that happening. I am however on the hunt for a 93-96 F150, preferably a V8 but just finding one of that generation that aint rusted out junk is challenging.

 

[sgtsandman]

Idk about your state but in ohio going from a 3/4 ton to a 1 ton automatically nets you a commercial registration, so instead of a non-com truck plate ($45) its around $100. So if I ever truly needed a dually I would get a 3/4 ton and change the axle & bed.
But I dont ever see that happening. I am however on the hunt for a 93-96 F150, preferably a V8 but just finding one of that generation that aint rusted out junk is challenging.

PA has the registration fees broken up into weight classes. Both of my Ranger are rated class 2. So we get to pay about $80 for a plate registration. The fee goes up for each weight class.

 

[ericbphoto]

Didn't realize they made long bed crew cab F250's in that timeframe, on an OBS that put you into a F350 by defauilt...

The only real difference between F250's and SRW F350's is the rear leaf springs and front axles, don't think F250's came with overload leafs over the main leaf pack.

Pretty sure he said 7.3L and auto so a decent setup.

If it's leaking fuel at the front of the engine that pretty much just leaves the drain hose for the fuel bowl, most fuel leaks leak into the valley that drains down the back of the engine... There's some fuel bowl reseal kits out there that aren't a bad idea

There is definitely a helper leaf in the rear spring packs. Front axle is TIB. I'll spend some time looking it over closer tomorrow. I may need to look up the Vin somehow and get the real story. The hood, front bumper, driver side light assembly and driver side front fender have all been replaced.

Yes. It's 7.3l with auto transmission. Trans doesn't shift very hard. But it doesntseem to be screwing up any shifts.

Thanks for the info about the drain bowl. I need to spray some decreased up around that area and watch to see where the leak originates from. But a reseal kit for the bowl would be good proactive maintenance anyway, along with fuel filter, air filter and fluid changes. I also want to pull at least 2 wheels and check brake pads.

 

[00t444e]

Only difference between 250/350 is the rear springs and GVW on that year iirc.

I could be wrong.

I often am.

Only phisical differnece is an F250 has a 2" block in the rear suspension and the F350 SRW has a 4" block.

 

[00t444e]

Idk about your state but in ohio going from a 3/4 ton to a 1 ton automatically nets you a commercial registration, so instead of a non-com truck plate ($45) its around $100. So if I ever truly needed a dually I would get a 3/4 ton and change the axle & bed.
But I dont ever see that happening. I am however on the hunt for a 93-96 F150, preferably a V8 but just finding one of that generation that aint rusted out junk is challenging.

Not sure what you are talking about, registration fees are higher for a 1 ton but you certainly don't have to get a commerical registration.

 

[scotts90ranger]

I forgot about the 2" vs 4" block, that's how I lowered the back of my F350 by 2" (one of the previous owners put in a 4" lift kit, pulling the overload off the front axle only dropped that about an inch so it sits goofy but it drives fine... With the camper I wanted to lower the COG and to just fit 35" tires it didn't really need any lift... for whatever reason it had like 6" longer sway bar end links in the rear so I replaced those with factory length last year... wish it had a front sway bar...

The bowl reseal is pretty much just two short hoses between the bowl and the fuel pump and a few O rings if memory serves... I think I got the kit from riffraff or something...

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Its definitely a Heinz 57.

Amber front signals are 99-01
Only 4wd's had the front foglights
Tail lamps and tailgate are off a newer truck.
The sharper edges above the wheel arches make me think the bed may off a newer truck (but with white it is hard to tell)
DS fender and I assume hood are off a later truck as well (judging by the badge)

So he had at least two donors involved.

White will be easy to match, some puff can action and it will look much less ugly really quick.