BUYING A 7.3 IDI

[CheckYourBuffer]

I ran across a truck on craigslist, its a 1990 f250 7.3 idi. He was asking 3000$ for it but hes letting me have it for 1500. It has like 186k on it. heres the ad:

CONS: Small oil leak, most diesels do.
Power steering leak, easy fix. Needs an O-ring seal.
Running with no front shocks, coil springs only.
Needs new glow plug wiring harness.
Will need tires soon
No turn signals
Very loud, running straight pipe ( never pulled over for it )

PROS: she starts right up
6 inch lift with 35's
Off road bumper set up, with brush guard.
NO SMOG NEEDED......EVER

its going to be my first vehicle. im 16 in hs.

 

[towcat]

sound like this truck is a ticket magnet. need to see some pics of the front end.

 

[franklin2]

Yes, how can it be a 1990 f250 4x4 with front coil springs? Unless it's been modified from original. I hope you like electrical problems, sounds like it has plenty of them.

 

[OLDBULL8]

its going to be my first vehicle. im 16 in hs.

Your just the guy he found to sell his junk to. Probably just another $3K to $4K would fix it up just fine.

Yeah, I'm sarcastic about it.

 

[pelky350]

If your high school has a auto shop buy the truck, spend as many class times as you can in the auto shop/lunch/befor school spend all your money on it while having a part time job and you'll end up with something to drive after high school if you don't blow it up between now and then lol my senior year I had only 4 of my 6 classes of the day were in auto shop could've graduated early but stayed for auto

 

[riotwarrior]

Asking 3 take 15...lmao probably w 750 then....sounds like sketched out pos...

Must see pics...

More info too 2x 4x what...5sp or 4sp auto

Me....I would probably low ball w 600 offer...

See if any members near u could come n looky see w u...give you a real educated idea on go or no go.

 

[CheckYourBuffer]

ill post some pics .

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[CheckYourBuffer]

If your high school has a auto shop buy the truck, spend as many class times as you can in the auto shop/lunch/befor school spend all your money on it while having a part time job and you'll end up with something to drive after high school if you don't blow it up between now and then lol my senior year I had only 4 of my 6 classes of the day were in auto shop could've graduated early but stayed for auto

Yea we have auto, going into it next year.

 

[CheckYourBuffer]

Sorry for the lack of info, its jnot a 4x4. its a 2wd automatic

 

[towcat]

Sorry for the lack of info, its jnot a 4x4. its a 2wd automatic

Save your money, hang out here and spend some time reading up on these motors, and save your money to buy a real 4x4 truck that has a better past history. you're buying someone else's butchered science experiment here. Motor that has been beat to death by a kid....check. unreliable transmission and very expensive to rebuild.....check. Poorly thought out and executed lift mod.....check.
lastly, a vehicle that on the radar for local law enforcement......check.
For the sake of keeping your hard earned driver's license and not getting onto assigned risk insurance in kali, don't buy this truck. You already demonstrate you are a smart guy looking into diesels, and you are practical by being open to an extended cab body, don't make a mistake in buying this one.

 

[CheckYourBuffer]

Save your money, hang out here and spend some time reading up on these motors, and save your money to buy a real 4x4 truck that has a better past history. you're buying someone else's butchered science experiment here. Motor that has been beat to death by a kid....check. unreliable transmission and very expensive to rebuild.....check. Poorly thought out and executed lift mod.....check.
lastly, a vehicle that on the radar for local law enforcement......check.
For the sake of keeping your hard earned driver's license and not getting onto assigned risk insurance in kali, don't buy this truck. You already demonstrate you are a smart guy looking into diesels, and you are practical by being open to an extended cab body, don't make a mistake in buying this one.

If i may ask, what makes you say the motor has been beat to death and what would make you say the lift mod is poor. Im not trying to be rude, trying to learn more about it!

 

[CheckYourBuffer]

If i may ask, what makes you say the motor has been beat to death and what would make you say the lift mod is poor. Im not trying to be rude, trying to learn more about it!

And yea the loudness from it could be a easy fix, just could use time. Ive always wanted a truck to work on

 

[Fordfan90]

Like towcat said keep your money and keep looking. if it was me I would keep looking. It's sounds like a project truck that needs work and it could have more problems down the road that show up. Then it starts costing a lot of money to fix it. But it's your choice.

 

[CheckYourBuffer]

Like towcat said keep your money and keep looking. if it was me I would keep looking. It's sounds like a project truck that needs work and it could have more problems down the road that show up. Then it starts costing a lot of money to fix it. But it's your choice.

What do you guys think is wrong with it, besides the whole shock thing, i looked into that and shocks are pretty cheap. He told me the guy he bought it from broke them before giving it to him.

 

[towcat]

If i may ask, what makes you say the motor has been beat to death and what would make you say the lift mod is poor. Im not trying to be rude, trying to learn more about it!

correct me if I'm wrong. This truck is currently owned by a teenager.
I was a teenager once. I knew what I did to motors with my throttle foot and it wasn't nice. These motors are not "REV" motors. they are built for low to mid rpm work. There is a huge difference when you are revving a motor with no load against it versus revving a motor with a load thrown against it. The poor choice of mods done to the truck tells me a kid armed with his dad's credit card was the builder.
To date, there is no lift made for Ford IFS 2wd. Why? it's an accident waiting to happen. The suspension geometry is all off when pushed to the extremes to get the lift done. Ask yourself, why something as critical as a shock asorber has been deleted? What happens the wheel tire combo starts to gyrate uncontrollably?