BajaNomad

Ford f250 diesel 1995

deportes - 11-6-2013 at 07:06 PM

Hello Baja nomads, just biting my time before I can take a trip down from the SFCO Bay area. My next door neighbor has decided to sell his 1995 Ford truck. Diesel 7.3 turbo. extended cab 4x4
Is that truck any good for Baja. I don't have the money to buy a Toyota, kids in college!!! so I could use a well maintained original owner truck. any info regarding the Ford ...Thanks.

willardguy - 11-6-2013 at 07:11 PM

if the price is right, BUY IT!

J.P. - 11-6-2013 at 07:14 PM

It's about as close to Bulletproof as anything ford ever made.:yes:

redmesa - 11-6-2013 at 07:17 PM

We had a 93. A real work horse but noisy and required costly maintenance.

Bob and Susan - 11-6-2013 at 07:27 PM

its 20years old...it will break

monoloco - 11-6-2013 at 07:27 PM

Those are good trucks but the automatic transmissions were a little weak.

dont buy it !!

captkw - 11-6-2013 at 07:32 PM

deportes - 11-6-2013 at 08:00 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by monoloco
Those are good trucks but the automatic transmissions were a little weak.


The tranny was rebuilt last year, so it's about 2k miles. Ford dealer charged him 4500.00 way too much, It has about 100k miles and it has very little off road, the owner is 83 years old.

liknbaja127 - 11-6-2013 at 08:24 PM

I have a 99 with 150,00 + miles, lots of Baja time on the 7.3, its going back down tomorrow, for about another 600+. and It got new seats:tumble:

Mula - 11-7-2013 at 06:12 AM

I've got and '86 and just did this trip in it.

http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=70218

I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

DaliDali - 11-7-2013 at 06:28 AM

Buy it if your going to be towing anything.....

$5000 would be a good price.

Diesel fuel is MORE $$ than regular.

That truck should get <14> MPG. 4.56 rear end gear ratio, oversize tires.

I had a 97, same set up.....sold it for $6500 in May last year.

Solid everything.....A nice truck but BIG, and rode a bit harsh.

Russ - 11-7-2013 at 06:29 AM

I have a '96. No troubles with the trans but blew 5 front hubs until Ford got the fix. All under warranty. Of course I've been through shock and tires. I don't drive it much because it is a beast in town. It does get better mileage than the ford Explorer on trips with the BCS fuel but looses about 10% with ultra low fuel up north.

Hook - 11-7-2013 at 07:11 AM

See if you can find out if they replaced the torque converter during the rebuild. THAT was the culprit for the bad rap that the E4OD trannies got. The old single disc TCs would slip and generate a lot of heat under load and take out the tranny with the heat.

Ford went to triple disc TCs in the mid 2000s that can be swapped out with the old ones and they work well. I did this on my 2000 F350, at about 70k, because of what I read on Ford diesel sites. I now have 210k on this tranny and have pulled some heavy things for thousands of miles in high heat conditions.

Oh, and definitely switch to synthetic tranny fluid. #1 most important thing.

chuckie - 11-7-2013 at 07:16 AM

Buy it, if it has been well maintained...We had one at the ranch....bulletproof....lotsa power.....

DavidE - 11-7-2013 at 10:27 AM

Whewee! Good tip Hook!

See if the gentleman kept maintenance records. Review them.

Batteries, main cables and terminals are a big issue with older diesels. If they seem to be badly corroded you will have to most likely replace them.

Go to AUTO ZONE and purchase a spare set of GLOW PLUGS. Make sure they are AC DELCO brand.

PaulW - 11-7-2013 at 10:37 AM

With a new tranny and such low miles it would be a good truck. Tranny will need a large cooler to survive. They were pretty underpowered, but fuel economy is quite good for a big truck. Expect mileage in the high teens, which is great for a truck with such capabilities.
Expect a truck life in the 300K mile range with little issues. With regular use the engine should be bullet proof.
Let the price be the determiner.
Paul

redmesa - 11-7-2013 at 10:55 AM

The diesel international 7.3 L motor in our 250 was a monster meant to last but too heavy for a pickup truck. Glow plugs needed replacing, front end was a problem, recall on the transmission, and brakes were always an issue. We used it on our property for a lot of work but I would not have driven it to Baja after 100,00 miles.

aguachico - 11-7-2013 at 01:04 PM

Kick ass truck, tranny issues though. Go online to the diesel forums. If your not towing anything, 1/2ton gas dodge are really nice. My ex-wife has a 94 toyota, that's in mint condition. It's bound to get stolen.. by another chick

monoloco - 11-7-2013 at 03:41 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by DavidE
Whewee! Good tip Hook!

See if the gentleman kept maintenance records. Review them.

Batteries, main cables and terminals are a big issue with older diesels. If they seem to be badly corroded you will have to most likely replace them.

Go to AUTO ZONE and purchase a spare set of GLOW PLUGS. Make sure they are AC DELCO brand.
When did AC Delco start making Ford parts? If the truck is in Baja, it's warm enough to start with no glow plugs.

deportes - 11-7-2013 at 04:38 PM

Thanks for all the replies, I will be looking for a 5th wheel if I can agree on the price of the truck! 26foot 5th wheel should be fun to go boondocking!

Gracias and stay safe!

Timo1 - 11-7-2013 at 06:04 PM

My old 1990 250 with a 7.3 has cost me 2 sets of glow plugs . a couple starters and a complete brake job

It has 280000 km on it and burns 0 oil

You'll never use the power and the heavier the load , the more it seems to like it

chuckie - 11-7-2013 at 06:06 PM

Correcto......

bajageoduck - 11-7-2013 at 06:18 PM

:bounce:

ditto

Lengua - 11-8-2013 at 11:07 AM

We have a 2003 and its bullet proof . Best Diesel engine Ford built and they sold millions of 7.3 turbo Diesels. We were fortunate to purchase a mid year model because Ford Changed the engine in JUly 2003 and experienced lots of problems with the new diesel engines.

Talk to the guys that own these trucks with this engine and they'll tell you that there good for 400,000K miles.