2003 Ford 4x4

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

I've never owned a diesel truck in my life. Been looking at them though.

Is this a lot of miles for a Ford Diesel? He's asking $17,000

03 ford f350 odometer: 90700 paint color : blue size : full-size type : truck, 4 door, leather interior : 4wd fuel : diesel : transmission, automatic title status : lien cylinders : 8 cylinders

[DR Buck]

I just sold my 2003 F350 SRW 7.3 diesel as a private sale for $12,000.   If it's a 6.0 diesel, walk away.   2003 was the first year for that engine and it is the worst diesel ever made.

[Autocar]

No I don't think it has to many miles only question I would ask is what size engine . The 7.3's are good engines but I heard the 6's wasn't. Four doors fetch a little more money 17 seems like a fair price. I am sure other guys will chime in and we will see what there two cents is  ;).

[goose63]

Mine is 94 F250 7.3 turbo 264000 still running strong but that DanG  diesel here is $445. a gallon  gona fix my old G M C gas is $273.

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Here is the info I read and got off the phone with him about an hour ago.
After reading Dr. Bucks advice......I've heard enough. Thanks Buck, I appreciate it. I did not know that.

Ad:

I have a 2003 ford f350 diesel 4x4 long bed. It has 90, 700 original miles. Its mint, not a thing wrong with it. its the Lariat edition, with all leather and heated seats. No oil leaks, its spotless under the truck and no rust at all. It does have the 6.0 diesel motor, it has had aftermarket head bolts in it, have also added the coolant filter kit. oil gets changed every 4000 miles and my last oil change had both fuel filters replaced. Runs strong and has never been chipped. 17000 firm or it is financed through Wells Fargo, so we can go there and u can take the payments over. call Jimmy at 555-555-5555.

[r.man]

I don't understand why diesel ever costs more than gasoline. Until a few years ago it was always cheaper, wasn't it?

[r.man]

Gas here is 4.54 an american gallon, diesel is about the same price.

[JB Griffin]

Run goat run!!!!!! 6.0=headache. Some people have good luck with them but I would hate to chance it. No.1 reason it has a EGR and they give trouble. No.2 reason not as much power as a 7.3. No.3 they are known to give head gasket trouble and head trouble due to the strech to yield head bolts. No.4 and the main reason, I don't like um.

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Enough said JB...... :D :D :D

[customsawyer]

I made them lemon law one if that tells you anything. ;)

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

I made them lemon law one if that tells you anything. ;)

Its getting worse.......tough crowd tonight!  :D

[Peter Drouin]

Sometimes a deal is not a deal :D

[JB Griffin]

Sometimes a deal is not a deal :D

X2

[red oaks lumber]

goat
the truck you were driving when you ran over jake is more dependable than that ford.you know thats bad coming from a ford man. :D

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Sometimes a deal is not a deal :D

You're right Pete!

[kiko]

Guess I was one of those with the good luck my 2003 has over 300k on it.  Egr delete and head studs and your good to go. My 2003 250 will pull circles around my 1999  250 with 7.3. 

[redprospector]

I'd say keep looking.
Get a 7.3, or you could get a Cummins and have a real diesel. Too bad they don't put them in Fords.  :D

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

I'd say keep looking.
Get a 7.3, or you could get a Cummins and have a real diesel. Too bad they don't put them in Fords.  :D

I've NEVER owned a Ford....just thought this was a good deal. I'll keep looking.

[brendonv]

Junk.

Look for one early 2003 to 1996. Bomber engines. Ive owned two, still own one. Dont do a darned thing to it and my other one is still kicking with no engine breakdowns.

My brand new ford diesel is kicking butt too. They are making a great name for themselves.

[redprospector]

I'd say keep looking.
Get a 7.3, or you could get a Cummins and have a real diesel. Too bad they don't put them in Fords.  :D

I've NEVER owned a Ford....just thought this was a good deal. I'll keep looking.

I actually like Ford trucks, I just never had much luck with the diesels they put in them. I wish it was like buying a big truck...I want this engine, and this transmission, and this differential. Kinda makes me sad...I'm stuck driving a Dodge to get the Cummins.  :D

[scleigh]

Some of the 6.0 engines get 9 to 10 miles per gallon weather towing or empty

[ohiowoodchuck]

Get a 12v cummins, it will run circles around my 7.3 powerstroke. My next truck will be a 3/4 ton gas motor. Everything for a diesel cost about 4x more. I wouldn't sell my 96 dodge 3500 for anything. My powerstroke has lost a engine, leaks oil everywhere, fuel lines keep getting holes in them. Wheel bearings keep going out and the bolts on the exhaust up pipes keep rusting in too. The last time I worked on dodge was three years ago to put a clutch in it. Just my opinion I have been messing with them for the last 14 years.

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Get a 12v cummins, it will run circles around my 7.3 powerstroke. My next truck will be a 3/4 ton gas motor. Everything for a diesel cost about 4x more. I wouldn't sell my 96 dodge 3500 for anything. My powerstroke has lost a engine, leaks oil everywhere, fuel lines keep getting holes in them. Wheel bearings keep going out and the bolts on the exhaust up pipes keep rusting in too. The last time I worked on dodge was three years ago to put a clutch in it. Just my opinion I have been messing with them for the last 14 years.

After reading this, I may just get a Bicycle.  :D

[customsawyer]

Are you going to start doing 100 mile bike rides with Lorraine?

[DR Buck]

Ford stopped making the 7.3 mid year 2003.  I think it was EPA rules that killed it.   The newer 6.7 is now Ford's top line diesel.  It took them a while to get over the 6.0 fiasco.     Mu new 2014 F450 has the 6.7.  400 HP and 880 ftlb torque.    It's a beast, but I like it.   Down side is 14 MPG unloaded.   Haven't had a full load on it yet.   My 2003 F350 got 13 mpg unloaded and about 9-10 towing the 11k 5th wheel.

[coxy]

 yes MR goat please stay far far far away from the 6.0   they also have injector trouble I have a 96 7.3 with a little over 400 thousand burns no oil gets changed every 10,000 miles  and yes the 6.7 is a beast I think they will be as good or better then the 7.3 it has more gitty up go then the 7.3 

[scsmith42]

My take is a little bit different than the others.  I've owned three 6.0 Ford diesels ("03 Excursion, '03 F350, and '05 F350) and I have not had any major engine failures with any of them.  We still own the '03 Excursion, and it now has 175K miles on it and I intend to keep it until at least 250 if not 300K.  It had the ERG cooler replaced around 95K miles, and then I removed it around 125K miles.  We had to replace the high pressure oil pump around 125K miles (removed the EGR cooler at that time), and we've recently replaced the electronic control for the injectors.  We get 20mpg out of it on the highway at 65mph, not bad for a 7000 lb 4wd truck!

Most of it's life is spent pulling a horse trailer, and it averages around 14mpg doing so. 

The relatively small amount of maintenance that we've had to do on it is still much cheaper than a payment on a new truck.

The two F350's were sold with around 50K miles on them and no major problems. 

Yes, the 6.0's had some problems, but they are well known and solutions exist.  Stay away from add-on tuners - many of the problems that people experienced with the 6.0's came from pumping up the power beyond what the engine was designed to handle.

From your description of the phone call with the truck's owner, he's done everything right (add head bolts and get rid of the ERG cooler), and it sounds like a nice truck.  Personally I would not be afraid of it, but I would try to get it for less than 17K.

Yes, the 7.3's are more bombproof, but they are pretty expensive, and they usually don't get the fuel mileage of the 6.0's.  A friend of mine recently bought a cherry 2003 F250 crew cab 4wd with a 7.3 and he paid 23K for it.

I sold the '05 F350 when I bought an '08 F450 with the 6.4.  It's an incredibly strong towing truck.  The 6.7's have an outstanding reputation too.

[LeeB]

You can get the same year model Dodge with the 5.9 Cummins for that or less. 18 - 20 MPG. I have twoof them now and about to buy a third. Have had 6 so far. The first one was a 92.

[snowstorm]

unless used trucks bring big money in the south its way over priced. the 6.0 is by far not the worst diesel ever made. some would say that would be the 5.7 6.2 and 6.5 gm. the 6.0 was the first year under 04 emissions rules thats why it had cooled egr. i have a 6.0 in a f550. deleted the egr cooler . runs good pulls good. also had one in a f250 never really had much trouble with it out of warranty. often times the head gasket issue is caused by a leaking egr cooler. engine tries burning the antifreeze dosent compress well bye bye head gasket. international built all of the ford diesel until the 6.7 came out. hp rating depends on what its in my f250 is rated at 400hp 800tq 2015 is higher. in a f450 f550 its cut back to 300hp 660tq 

[ohiowoodchuck]

I wouldn't pay more than 10k for the 03 6.0, if it was a 03 7.3 i could see a price of 17k but it's just not worth it. The 7.3 powerstrokes I have had ate injectors like candy. When I bought my 3rd one and the engine went south, I asked myself the same question again, Why did I buy another one? I was looking for a regular cab dodge and my wife said look honey it will be so much easier to get our child in and out of the truck, being a crew cab, plus much safer. I was just caught in the moment!!!!! If you want a diesel stick with a cummins, I don't know of them having major trouble besides rebuilding a front end when they get to 100k.

[Kipper]

Cummins only.. I have two of the 6.7 I6 and they are great. The dodge truck, well its a dodge truck.... :-\