Issues come in bunches

Greenie

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The fuel selector valve went bad so I farmed out the repair to a good shop. Replacing the fuel tank valve weakened the fuel lines where they attach to the top of the tank. A new sender, some fuel line repairs and the truck had air in fuel symptoms. The shop stood by their work and made it right with no charge for labor and just a modest charge for parts. The truck came home. Next morning the batteries were dead - last changed in 2017, Five years is about normal now. I replaced the batteries, $300 plus. Next issue was hard starting. New glow plug controller - $90. All is copacetic for now - the truck starts easily and runs well.
Drove the truck 60 miles to pick up a Christmas tree. The older gentleman with the trees comments on my truck saying that it was old enough to still be reliable. He was a diesel fan and tried newer Fords and GMC diesels before returning to gasoline engines. He says the newer diesel engines are too complex and unreliable.
I've spent around $1,800 fixing this truck up and don't regret doing it. I could have plunked down $70K and bought a new diesel pickup but it wouldn't be reliable as what I have now, nor could I work on it as easily as I do with this one.
Point is that troubles come in bunches and it's easy to get discouraged. A new truck would most likely cost $500 a month in payments. I can buy a lot of parts for a lot less than that.
 

Brian VT

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That was my same thinking when I bought this '87 recently. Although it's not as turn-key as I was hoping, and I have been a bit discouraged at times, I feel better about putting time and $ into this than into the over-complicated, over-priced, electronic, greenie-mandated crap they're making these days.
Once I get this truck ship-shape I'll be selling my Explorer, with it's damned tire pressure monitors and all that emissions crap, and I'll just have this '87 truck and my '85 (grey market) Benz. :cool
 

franklin2

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You would have less than that in it if you did all your own work. It's risky to have a older vehicle and have to pay for repairs, labor is high. And the simplicity of the truck lends itself to you working on it. But everyone is in a different situation and some people can't do their own work, but like I said owning a older vehicle and paying to have it worked on can lead to big repair bills.
 

Big Bart

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Agree that these trucks can have several repairs come up in a short time. That a repair like a water Pump can end up in a new fan, new hoses, and perhaps a new PS hose from moving around in the front of the engine. You have to be patient and in it for the long haul.

Agree the big value is in the ease of repairs. These trucks are very capable but are tired so thus need semi-constant repairs. I am a fan of these trucks. I do not feel newer diesels like the 6.7 PS are unreliable. (6.0 PS, yes many issues making it less reliable than the 7.3.). Just very expensive to own and maintain.

Things to consider
1) Cost more than gassers. (If you keep for 100,000 miles probably make up the difference in fuel savings.)
2) Depreciation. Your new diesel truck will not be worth $70,000 three years later.(Arguably hold its value better than a gasser.)
3) Repairs will take longer and parts will cost more. I was at a Ford dealer visiting my cousin who is a service writer there. We go for a tour, a dually has the whole cab off, no damage to the cab. I ask what’s wrong. He said the truck developed an oil leak at 80,000 miles. That it was faster to gain access to the part by lifting off the cab than removing parts off the engine. I asked how much to repair, he said $6,000. I said is Ford going to help pay, he said no.
4) As greenie mentions, you will be limited to what you can fix (Or want to fix.) So you will pay to have some issues fixed for many reasons.
5) Let’s face the music The 7.3 IDI and PS set the bar for diesel performance and reliability. Proved diesel is the only way to go when towing. But the 6.0 and especially the 6.4 PS were an embarrassment within the diesel community. These engines often meant big repairs, bullet proofing (Should of called it Ford or IH proofing.), having to rebuild for 10k, or walking away from the truck. Ford lost a lot of diesel customers over blown engines under 250,000 miles, failed emmisions systems, and problematic injectors. While Dodge/Cummins and GM continued to have success in the diesel market. (Many Oil Burner members scooped up 6.0 and 6.4 PS‘s and rebuilt them. So maybe it was not all bad.)
6) Now the 6.7l PS seems to be solid and has Ford looking reliable again. So let’s hope in 12-15 years we can scoop these up as our IDI’s either have 500,000 miles and are worn out or parts become problematic to find forcing us to upgrade. That these 6.7l trucks, parts, and tools come down in price or inflation makes them look affordable. That the membership has some Ford techs to help us learn how to keep these modern day computer led trucks running for a fraction of buying the latest and greatest. Or forcing us to go electric if we want a néw tow vehicle.

Now to also keep this response informative, we have to discuss some other factors.

1) 2021 Ford diesels (If I read it right.) have a bumper to bumper 3yr/36,000 mile warranty. A 5yr/100,000 engine warranty. I am sure for +/-$2,000 you can get a extended warranty for most bumper to bumper stuff to 100,000mi. Most of us members can handle oil changes, tires, brakes, and fluid changes. But suggest having Ford do these under warranty, it makes participation in repairs outside of the warranty (Like the oil leak above or a tranny failure say at 65,000mi.) a much more likely outcome. So for 5 years your looking at only paying for brakes, regular service, oil changes, and fluid changes. Just don’t be surprised if your 60k service is something stupid like $900 plus say $900 more for a water pump they say is weeping. (Just a guess, no facts backing that up.) Or they want $1,000 to the front brakes including their low priced $350 ea low priced rotors.
2) You will likely for 10 years spend more time enjoying your hobbies, not wrenching on your new/newer truck all day Saturday.
3) Your truck will haul butt and pull harder. There is something to be said for being able to go 75mph when posted at say 2,000rpm.
4) If like me and you have a 4.10 rear end, benefit from say 15-18mpg vs the 12mph I get today. Yesterday I paid 4.73 at shell for Diesel. Getting say 30% further on a tank of gas would not suck at those prices. (Which historically come back down to sub $4.)
5) For 10 years pretty much have trouble free A to B vacations and travel. VS loading your truck with tools and parts expecting to have some 30 year old part finally give up the ghost.

Lastly if members buy a semi-decent IDI (Not a hacked up basket case.) on the cheap, you can afford to fix it up. Or search for a nice low milage one and pay a little more for it. (We have seen these on this site.) As Franklin points out, do the work yourself and save 50% or more. Do the common issue things and have a pretty reliable truck. (These are +/-30 years old.)

To me the big trick is not be $15,000 into a truck worth say $7,000. You can say well I will never sell it, so I am good being 2x what is worth. But we don’t really know what the future holds. (Work, needs, health, etc.) I have seen folks many times go deep into a vehicle to sell it 1-2 years later for a big loss, to buy something new/newer and more reliable.
 
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lotzagoodstuff

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Here's the math that you have to use when throwing some "monthly money" at your old IDI:

- IF you could buy a new 3/4 or 1 ton diesel for $60,000, the sales tax on it in the state I live in is 6.8%, so you would be looking at another $4080, making the theoretical price approximately $64,000.

- IF you had a 20% down payment of $12,816 you would be financing $51,264.

- IF you could get a zero APR loan for 5 years, you would have 60 payments of $854.40 from now until December 2026.

- IF you had this new truck and were making payments, you would need full coverage insurance. IF you are an old guy (or gal) with a clean driving record, I'm guessing this would be $900 per year.

IF you could do any of the above, and I think it's a very conservative list, you're monthly payments before fuel and any normal wear and tear would be $1004.40. In my opinion, it is pretty easy to throw money at your old IDI for a couple months in a row using the above for justification.

Just my .02 worth.
 

Greenie

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Insurance is the big negative. One minor accident would total the truck and I would get a check for $2,000. It wouldn't work for daily drivers but would antique car insurance be an option for me who puts less than 2,000 miles a year on this truck? Some antique car owners drive all over the US to attend meets and rallies - their vehicles must be fully insured.
 

lotzagoodstuff

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Insurance is the big negative. One minor accident would total the truck and I would get a check for $2,000. It wouldn't work for daily drivers but would antique car insurance be an option for me who puts less than 2,000 miles a year on this truck? Some antique car owners drive all over the US to attend meets and rallies - their vehicles must be fully insured.
Two things: "Who puts less than 2000 miles a year on this truck?" I bought my PSD in 2014 with 90K on it, and 7 years later it has 116K. I have a company car, and my wife has a Focus that I drive whenever I don't need a truck because it gets 30+ MPG and it's easier to park than the dually. Even with two other daily driver options, I still manage to put 200-250 miles a month on my truck, so your point on mileage is well stated.

In regards to insurance, I think you have to investigate stated value classic insurance, how many miles you actually put on your truck, the cost of full coverage, and temper all this with rolling the dice with just liability. I say this all the time: here in Washington, full coverage is really only worth it if the true value of your car is north of $10K. Why? Simply put, in my experience, full coverage is typically $100/month more than liability. After four years you've paid almost $5000 in coverage and most likely have not had any claims. If somebody hits you and manages to total your diesel truck, you had a really bad day as totaling one of these rigs is pretty tough to do, although it certainly can be done.

If you have anything short of a total, you are going to get it fixed. Why? Because you love the truck and the replacement value is of course much higher. So in the mean time, why not just bank that $100/month and roll the dice?

Again, these are opinions and should be treated as such. If you tow something really expensive, if you cannot live a day without a truck, if you like the security of knowing that if your truck gets totaled you will get a check, these are all good reasons to say "thanks but I'll keep my full coverage". By the way, my wife has full coverage on her 2012 Ford Focus because in the case of that vehicle (49K miles, super clean, still probably worth $7K) she believes it pencils out, and as I like to say: it's her money. I have never had any coverage on any of my personal trucks. As much as I like them, I'm not married to them and they could leave me at any moment :joker:

BTW, if you live in Washington state and you have a different full coverage pricing opinion, I'd love to be wrong and find out who/how/what coverage you are buying as my $100/month is a dated estimation.
 

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