Some questions about a possible new truck...

[My9373]

Ok, so I'm talking to a guy right now about a '92 F350 7.3L Turbo, Crew Cab Dually, automatic. So far, I have not seen any pictures just yet so I can only go by what he tells me. He claims it has a spotless interior, all power windows, locks, etc, he says the body is in great shape, no major dents or anything and no rust (my only major concern). He says it reallys needs nothing BUT the transmission needs a rebuild. I'm waiting on the details on just how serious it is, hopefully still at least driveable, because I have NO means of towing a cc dually f350 around, especially not with my poor little '98 grand cherokee 4.0l, so hopefully it can make it home. The only details he forgot to disclose (i've only gotten one brief email so far, still waiting for a response) is the mileage (which isn't much of a concern with an idi to me) and if there are any other major/minor ticks and issues with it. His asking price is $1500, which is pretty decent IMHO, but what do you guys think? So that's where my questions come in,

1st, is $1500 "reasonably" fair for what i've described so far? Nothing is set in stone until I see pics, and eventually see and hear it run, and learn more details of course, I just mean for starters.

2nd, considering this truck is an E4OD, what should I expect to be looking at for rebuild costs? Unfortunately, I really have no hook ups in the transmission business, so i'm going to have to shop around a while for good prices and a reputable shop in my area, but I'm just looking for a rough estimate. And if the thing is so shot it's not rebuildable, what do good E4OD's run for in price at junkyards and such? For a rebuild, I can probably really only afford to build to stock specs, as much as I would LOVE to have this thing BUILT, funds do not allow, unless someone has some suprising prices plus this truck is not going to be a pull truck, and will not tow anything very heavy and will NEVER see a gooseneck in my ownership, nothing bigger than a landscaping trailer really. Some may say why would I need a truck this big or even want one, but honestly it's just me. I've always loved OBS Ford trucks since being a little kid, and my dream body style has always been a crew cab dually, and even though I would MUCH rather have a 4wd, after owning an IDI and hearing the powerstroke horror storries, I'd rather stick with the IDI.

3rd, Given this truck is a '92, I believe my readings tell me these years never came with factory 4x4, and although he never said, my assumption is this truck is a 2wd truck. This is the only thing I really care about, transmissions can be fixed, but I live in CT which is not the snow capitol, but last year alone we had record-breaking snowstorms dropping snow by the feet, and I've never owned anything but a 4WD vehicle living here. With the weight and power of the cc dually, will this thing still handle well in snowy conditions? I would never expect to be doing any mudding or offroading with it's size, so the drivetrain is really not a concern for that, my only thing is the snow.

Lastly, do these type of trucks make good plow trucks? It's just a thought, but if I could find a good deal on a plow, I would certainly put one on and make some money this year, maybe make up the cost of the plow or truck! I've never really heard many members talk about plowing much so idk if these trucks are a good candidate or not for such work.

Any helps is much appreciated, and i'll supply more details and pics as they come. Thanks,

Derek

 

[My9373]

Maybe im losing my mind, but I got an email since im subscribed to this saying I had a post from Danielle and she said she had some friends inCT and could help haul this thing if I need it.... yet when I check the thread on my comp and DROIDX no posts show.... soooo... Danielle if you really posted that thank you the offer is greatly appreciated and I will definitely let you know if I need to get this baby towed cuz my poor jeep is definitely not up to the task! If you didn't post that...then mabye I imagined it. Technology... ehh.

 

[gunz]

Unless the interior is immaculate, I think the price is a little high from the trucks I have been looking at.

the e4OD can be built reasonably strong for a resonable price. Just depends on how bulletproof you want to build it.

 

[gonecrazyi]

Seems a little high. I bought a 92 cc flatbed dually with an ats 093 turbo for less and drove it 100 miles home.

 

[gunz]

I just bought a 91 crew cab SRW ( I dont need a dually) for about that and drove it home.. No issues except the A.C needs recharged and now the passenger window wont go up.

 

[subway]

i doubt it is 4x4 but that price seems reasonable if what he said is true. you can usually always get a deal if you look long enough but i dont think the price is bad. you need to see it though to get really good feel for it. sellers are doing just that, trying to sell you something, check it out yourself. it is getting hard to find these trucks rust free, i really doubt it is but it could be in nice shape. if you scroll up to the top of this forum you can read through the tech section and get allot to look for as far as what you should be checking over before you buy.

you really want to get a chance to fire up the engine from a cold start. that can tell you allot about the starting system and how the glow plugs are working and if it has some air leaks in the system. after you do that you should get it up to operating temp and shut it down. wait a few minutes and see if it fires up clean again, if it does not you could be looking at an injection pump in the very near future.

cant tell you much about the automatics besides to keep them cool to get them to last, i only mess with handshakers.

as far as a plow truck unless you are doing allot of straight driving in an open area a crewcab daully will be a terrible plow truck. i have a crew cab and it does not turn tight at all for menuvering and you have the extra wide hips of the dually sticking out. the truck itself can take it fine you will just be pulling your hair out with menuvering.

icanfixall, Gary has wrote about building a bulletproof auto if you want to read up on it, you have to pay to play on that level. might be worth reading about though.

 

[flareside_thun]

Without pics it's really hard to tell...I can tell you one thing though...to rebuild that trans, expect to double your investment.

 

[wmoguy]

My personal opinion on Dually's is they are fantastic for pulling big loads where the extra stability is a plus. As for driving them in the snow and ice, thats a whole different ball of wax. I've owned Duallys and plowed with Duallys (in Colorado and NE) and for that type of work I'd much prefer a SRW pickup. Unless you plan on loading up the bed with a ton of sand or (gulp) salt, the traction of the dually will be pretty weak.

As for $1500, doesn't seem like too bad of price to me if the rest is good and it's not a rust bucket. Sometimes people do get in a tight money spot and can't fix things like a Trans. More so I've found people that have an issue like that, and say "thats all it needs" but once you fix the trans, and try and drive it you find something else that needs "fixed"

FWIW, my 94 in my sig I paid $3k for and it has ZERO rust on it and was a runner when I bought it.