gunna go look at an f-250 help!

[wr250rdr]

so the time has come that i have outgrown my ranger

I was searching craigslist and found a 1992 f-250 extended cab, long bed, 4x4, 5speed, 460 big block, power doors, dual tank, 6inch lift, and clean interior for ~3k

First i do realise it is a 21 year old truck, and im not expecting a like new truck but i am a sucker for this body style of ford.

Here is where i need you guys help,

Are there any pecific things i should look at with these trucks out side of the norm? Anything with the 460? Any of you SAS guys got tips for the axles and hubs? I know these trucks were pretty bullit proof but i dont want to pay 3k and end up dumping 6 in it to make it road worthy.

He is about 400 miles away so ill hop a one way flight and go look at the truck with the hopes of driving it home.

 

[country0001]

It'll have a dana 50 TTB, it'll get crappy mileage, but it should be a good truck

 

[PanamaExpat]

+5 on the crappy mileage

 

[hank857]

supposedly they have problems with the ehaust manifold bolts breaking and exhaust leaks? I am not an expert on this but this is what I saw on a Motor home forum recently when same question asked.

 

[shane96ranger]

I know 3 guys that have a 95, 96, and 98. All of them absolutely love them. But they are not daily drivers. All three of the guys I know use them strictly for hauling and recreational use only. They get roughly 9-10mpg.

The truck is a work horse though.

Sent from my Quad Core Acer A210

 

[straycat]

You gonna drive it everyday? I doubt it after you see the gas hog it is. I have friends who have them 96-99) and they hate them for a daily driver. Hauling large stuff...YES!!! Don't waist your money on that. Find a good clean newer F150 and drive it everyday and enjoy it.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

The 6" lift is counterproductive for a work truck.

The other day I was cussing the 4" my Ranger has as I was wrangling tree branches into the back...

 

[wizkid00104]

I'd keep the Ranger for the econo vehicle. I venture to say insurance on both of those vehicles would be very cheap. You could also look for a small block F250 if you don't need earth turning power.

 

[Jim Henderson]

F-250

Try to find one of these. View attachment 10450

View attachment 10451
Once I finish up with my Ranger , I'll give this the full attention it deserves ,,, gonna be a full ground up resto .
1995 F-250 D. I Diesel , already lifted 4 inch , but we gonna go higher to fit in the 40's ,,, just been biding my time , but should be able to start it by July.
Get's great mileage , even with the 35's I was getting about 18mpg loaded or empty.

 

[wr250rdr]

Well i agree with you all that a ranger as a dd would be better but, lately i have been towing a 14ft box trailer for work.

that trailer empty really isnt a big problem for my 2.3 2wd its when its loaded that im pushing it in all of its capasity, passenger, tongue weight and total weight and the boss is looking at gitting a bigger trailer. The trailer gets filled with audio, lighting, and video stuff for various events.

so the bigger truck is the option im gunna take, and before the arguemets about the boss buying his own truck come up, he pays me milage and gas to tote all the shit around and its under the table for transport stuff so the truck will make me money in 6 to 8 months assuming i dont dump alot of cash into it.
and the milage wont kill me the theatre i work at is 15 miles away so 30 a day on the freeway i dont think will kill me, the po says he can get 15 on the freeway which is still better then the s10 i drove in high school, it got a spectacular 11 backed by a 5speed

But as an update im flying to sac saturday to give it a once over and complete my purchase.

and i would love to do the diesel route but all i can find for sale within my budget is the idi non-turbo auto trucks in a single cab. and the 93-97 power strokes are going for 8-10k out here now that they have started diesel smog in CA

 

[tmcalavy]

Don't want to rain on your parade, but you'll never see 15 mpg out of a 460 of that vintage...8-10 is more likely if it's in real good shape. Check with your boss first, make sure the cost of using the F250 or you could wind up stuck with a gas pig that is hard to sell. Even an F150 with 302 or 351 would be a better deal than that F250 with a 460. Go look at it, but don't fall in love with it or buy it until you really do the math on the cost of ownership and daily use. If has dual tanks, ask the guy if he's changed both the fuel pumps...if not, you will be doing that to fix the faulty pumps they used stock back then. I had to change pumps twice on my 90 F150...a valve in the pumps fail and when that happens gas returning from the engine goes into the wrong tank and you wind up going down the road with people honking at you...then you look in your side mirror and discover that gas is overflowing out of one of your tanks...not much fun when you're on the road and miles from home.

 

[bigtruck94]

The 460 motor is a beast. It gets crappy mpg, but they are like a diesel, they could haul a lot! My boss use to have one and he hauled about 10 tons of hay with no problem. The only you would need to look at is the leaf springs and shocks. They were completely rusted out and broke. It wasn't a pretty site, especially when there was a trailer hooked up to it.

 

[wr250rdr]

Ya the boss is cool with it. I drove my dads 04 powerstroke for a while and understand the gas hog nature of the beast. with the price of CA diesel it was expensive to say the least.

And with the 460 Im sure it will be no better.

@tmcalavy I have heard of the pump problems, he said that he has replaced both along with the selector switch.

@ bigtruck94 The truck is a life time CA truck so i dont anticipate alot of rust, hopefully none but i wouldnt be surprised to find some surface rust in the bed and on a few parts.
the lift is also only a year old so hopefully they wont be blown out. But a mod in planning is a dual shock set up for the front and possibly airbags in the tail end.