Which one should I buy?

NCJeepin

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 23, 2005
Location
Conway, SC
So I'm going to replace the expedition as a D/D within the next 30 days i would assume.



I've decided on getting another ford.



I'm just torn as to what to buy.



here are my choices..



04 or newer F150 4 door 4wd 5.4 triton about 40Kish miles



03 or older, F250 7.3 Diesel 4 door 4wd anywhere from 40K to 80K miles



04 or oder F250 6.0 Diesel 4 door 4wd anywhere from 40-80K miles





Here are my issues...



I like the gas prices and maintence of the F150, its a power train setup that I'm use to and I know its reliable. Its a smaller truck which makes it an easy DD and it has great fuel economy for what it is.



The 03 or older F250 has the 7.3 which is a great engine.. Is the "greatness" of the engine worth getting an older vehicle?



The 04 or newer is the easiest to find, they have some updated features, updated design, but has the 6.0 Diesel which I've heard good and bad things about.. And with both diesels theres an added running cost to having a diesel, and i honestly know nothing about them.





What am I using the truck for? Work, mostly, road miles that I may or may not have to work out of construction wise or other, and I tow my jeep (when its together) maybe 4 times out of the year, I have a 18' boat and a jetski that i would tow as well.. With the F250 though, i'd get a 2 car trailer and tow more then 1 vehicle at times.



So I'm asking the folks who know fords.. what would you do?
 
7.3 all the way,but it will be hard to find one with that lo-mileage.Why is that a requirement??? My 7.3 has 372K on it.
 
Because I've put 100K on my current DD in 3 years, I want something that has some room for me to drive it before it gets too far up there in mileage. I've found a 7.3 250 crew cab with 43K miles. They want 23K for it, which is fair considering the life it has ahead of it.


I've not done all my research here..

I just have read the 7.3 is better then the 6.0

Can anyone give me the cliffs notes version why?
 
LEAVE IT STOCK! If you don't then get ready for a ton of problems......turbo trouble, EGR issues, Head gaskets (and/or heads)
 
i have had no problem with my 05 f350 6.0. Just rolled 165k. Like stated leave it stock or you will be having head bold problems....
 
I wouldnt touch even a stock 03 or 04 6.0 with a 10' pole...
My 03 had was lemon lawed....with ~20k on the odo
 
just got done helping a buddy put a high pressure oil pump on a 2004 6.0. 800 bucks for that joker.

That being said, i have another friend that loves his. His sits for most of the time though, its an 04 with 40k on it. He has had egr problems and he has added a tuner and exhaust. It pulls like a beast.
 
If you go with the 6.0, stay 05 and newer. I've heard less worries out of the newer ones. I had an 05 6.0 and really liked it. Had great power, great fuel economy, etc. I had some head problems and turbo problems, but it was caught before warranty went out.

Honestly, I'd go with the later model 7.3 just for peace of mind. However, if you find an 05 or newer with low mileage and the right price, I'd jump on that too, especially if its still under warranty.

Keep in mind, the body and interior is the same from the 7.3 to the 6.0 up to 2004 and in 2005 they updated the interior of the super duty trucks.


Like what was mentioned before, leave the 6.0 stock without any mods. Mine did well stock and a friend had one and pulled all of the time and his was stock and never had any problems. However, I've seen some that are really bad...
 
my Buddie has a 6.0 and he replaced the head bolts with arp and has not had a problem. Chip exhaust and has towed a ton of stuff.
 
zuksammy said:
my Buddie has a 6.0 and he replaced the head bolts with arp and has not had a problem. Chip exhaust and has towed a ton of stuff.
Click to expand...
Yeah but your talkin a $800 set of bolts IIRC.Plus you'll have to replace the head gaskets when you replace the bolts.


EDIT-My bad they are $500.
 
NCJeepin said:
Can anyone give me the cliffs notes version why?
Click to expand...

The 6.0L was such a POS and had so many problems at launch that Ford and Navistar sued one another, spent years arguing over whose fault it was, finally had a big falling out, and Ford went and designed their own light truck diesel motor.

The F150 was supposed to get a little Navistar diesel in 05 or 06, but it never happened because of all the problems with the 6.0L.
 
i use my dads 2000 model F250 to tow my jeep. Its got the 7.3L and its sitting somewhere around 260k miles. He also has an 06 250 with the 6.0L but he hasn't had it long enought to know if there will be any problems. I've heard the EGR delete kit is a good route to go on those.

I'm looking for a tow rig too but won't have as much to spend on one as you do. If i had more of a budget i'd look for a 7.3L I've found some with around 100k miles on them for around 10,000 or less.
 
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