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Used 97-02 SuperDuty, how long do they last roughly and acceptable mileage?

2K views 48 replies 19 participants last post by  ckbed 
#1 ·
So I'm gonna sell my V6, 1/2 ton, worthless 05 Ram.

I'm looking for a 250 or 350 SuperDuty, diesel, regular or extended cab. My price limit is about 11,000.

I have found quite a few used that are $10,000 and hovering around 90-100K miles.

What can/should I expect from these after 100k miles? Anything to look for like the bad trannies in 94-01 Dodges?

How long should a diesel last me if serviced and taken care of well? Thanks.
 
#2 ·
Just my .02........

5.4 will get about 13-14 mpg city and will drop a lot while towing. The V-10 will get around 11-12 mpg city and won't drop as much while towing. The 7.3 will get around 14-15 city and 12 towing. These are realistic numbers, not inflated.

The Superduty came out in 99 so no 97 or 98 (might have been some late 98's). If you get an 02 or up you get a D60 front axle. I would opt for one with manual hubs to avoid the unit bearings ($$$ to replace).

The diesel will last a long time but will have regular maintenance (injectors, glow plugs, ect.). $11,000 seems very cheap for a 7.3 Superduty with 100K. I nice one will book around $15,000 or more with that mileage. If you do get the diesel, try and find one with the 6-speed manual.
 
#3 ·
The Superduty came out in 99 so no 97 or 98 (might have been some late 98's). If you get an 02 or up you get a D60 front axle. I would opt for one with manual hubs to avoid the unit bearings ($$$ to replace).
So what did the early body style (pre-97) and the 97-01 come with for an axle up front for the 350? I was under the impression if it was a 350, it had the 1-ton D60?
 
#7 ·
I personally love the 7.3L. I have over 200,000 on mine and its only been in the shop once (front right unit bearing went out...had the clutch done at the same time) but thats it. I personally changed the glow plugs once, alternator once, starter once, and batteries twice (dont buy autolites from kragen...), front brakes once (stock rears still...), but thats it. I think that is pretty reasonable wear and tear for a truck that size. It doesnt burn oil and gets a solid 16 miles a gallon drivin 30% town 50% highway and turning 35s with 3.73 gears. The other 20% is off-road or townin where I havent seen my mileage drop below 12.5 I love the truck and finally put a bully dog 6 position chip in it. WOW! intake and exhaust are comin REAL soon.

I have been around 7.3L IDIs, 7.3L DIs, 6.0Ls and even the new 6.4Ls (wouldnt mind dropin 50K on one of them!), but the 7.3s are truely a work horse. Extremely reliable and great power. The 6.0Ls have great power numbers, but had some problems early on. For what you are looking for, if you find a late 98 (99 model) to 02 powerstroke with decent miles on it, buy it! It is not uncommon to hear of these trucks with over 400,000 miles on them. Plus you can pump em up to 1300ft lbs of torque without blowin the heads of em like the 6.0Ls. The 7.3L block is dam near bullet proof.

As for drive terrain, I am a manual guy and love the 6 speed. The autos probably need rebuilt after 100,000 or so depending on the driver and what it was used for. The shift on the fly 4 wheel drive is awesome and if the hubs dont lock up, you can still get out and turn them manually. I wouldnt worry about the front axle. I have the dana 50 and havent heard of a single person having a problem with it. If you do, you can buy the kit to upgrade it to a 60.
 
#10 ·
I have a 97 Pre-Superduty I bought it new and beat it to death ( I run a small construction Co.) Towed 7000k lbs. everyday sometimes more. Did 4 Marathon runs (never stopped except for fuel) coast to coast towing a 12,000 lbs. Toy hauler. Put on a Banks Powerpack at 100k wasted 2 auto transmissions (Hey its wear and tear) never left me stranded though.

You couldn't pay me enough to get rid of it. Love the truck, everything still works, It's got over 200k miles starts, runs, pulls whatever you hook to it. Even looks good.

And it does have a d60 in it.
 
#11 · (Edited)
If it was well serviced, taken care of, and maintained, you could go 400k+.

After 100k, on any 7.3L you'll be almost guaranteed to replace a Cam Position sensor (20 bucks-ish now) and a water pump. Also some Under Valve wiring harness, some have the injector O-rings go to shit.

Manuals have that shitty dual mass flywheel. When it blows, switch to single mass.

1300ft lbs or torque would mean your at about 750Hp. Which Im not gonna say is impossible with a stroker, but VERY VERY HARD, and VERY VERY EXPENSIVE. And without studs, gaskets, and shit, you WOULD blow your heads off, send rods through your heads, and generally blow everything to hell in a handbasket.

Theres nothing wrong with the 4R100 auto. Its a good tranny and one of the best when built.

For 11,000. Your probably looking at a Pre-Sooperdooty. They're good pickups too. Don't have Intercooler, have smaller injectors, smaller turbo, generally less everything, but still good trucks.
 
#12 · (Edited)
1300ft lbs or torque would mean your at about 750Hp. Which Im not gonna say is impossible with a stroker, but VERY VERY HARD, and VERY VERY EXPENSIVE. And without studs, gaskets, and shit, you WOULD blow your heads off, send rods through your heads, and generally blow everything to hell in a handbasket.
yeah you don't just "pump up" a 7.3 into a high hp monster easily... it's like 20 grand worth of 7.3 just to have it built enough so you can spray it that far. To the best of my knowledge low 600's is about all that's been squeezed out of a 7.3 and the heui fuel system on #2.... and those motors are FAR from stock :laughing:
 
#13 · (Edited)
I'm not sure. But its a long list to get them that high. The highest I've seen one dyno in person is 430ish.

HPOS, Injectors (which are WAY more expensive in the Pstroke then Dirty and Cummins), Fuel, Tunes, Intake, Exhaust, Engine work, studs, Turbo, yada yada yada.

Like I said, VERY VERY HARD, VERY VERY EXPENSIVE. I'd be more worried about blowing your flywheel out or having your glow plugs wear out at your stock "275hp":rolleyes: then getting it to 1300ftlbs.
 
#15 ·
97's are the most expensive of the OBS Strokers. They changed a little that year. Around here, on a truck with about 130k, they are about 8k-15k just depending on the seller. I payed 9,200 for my 96 Ext Cab with 150k.
 
#17 ·
yeah I really want the 97' Body style 4-door long bed preferably manual. My buddy bruce has my dream truck. I would prolly pay up to $11000 with around 130000 on the clock
 
#21 ·
You'd be lucky to find a low mileage 97. I loved my 97 F250 and once i got rid of the TTB and put a D60 with an RSK and superduty springs that truck rode like a cadillac. Would still have it if a family friend didnt sell me his 03 cheap.

The 97 CA trucks have bigger injectors and can get some more HP when chipped versus the or 48 state models.
 
#25 · (Edited)
If your asking what year was the first turbo, Danger?

The first year of the Turbo was 94. The first year of the Powerstroke was 94.5. Pre that it was just a 7.3L IDI, and before that, the beloved:rolleyes: 6.9

If your asking what was the first year of the Turbo danger?

I have no fucking clue what that means. The 6.oh, has an Veriable Geometry Turbo, which theoretically :)shaking:) means it acts like a little turbo at first (quick spool up) and acts like a big turbo once it gets rolling (big boost). If you'd ever driven one you'd notice the massive turbo lag. Shits broke, it don't work.

Crew Cab, quad cabs are a joke. Just sit, think, and ask yourself why Dodge had to make a Mega Cab? Answer. The Quad Cab is shit for anyone bigger than 4'10.
 
#26 ·
Try to stay away from the early '99's There went thru 3 different configrations in the PSD's. They finally got it right by the end but the early ones are a little goofy. We had one of the first F-350 CC 4wd Duelly SD's and we never could get a chip to run in it right, even on the lowest setting:shaking: Still a great truck though
 
#27 ·
Ok, now I'm real confused. D50 v. D60. 7.3 v. 6.0. New body style v. Old...

This will be used for commuting, hauling a 6x14 dump trailor loaded with 6 tons...and some light wheeling until I get a second truck.

Any help? Obviously as with anybody, it needs to be reliable and not have to worry about it leaving me stranded.
 
#29 · (Edited)
here:

94.5-97 commonly called the OBS (original body style) 7.3 psd, f250 will have a d50 ttb, f350 will be sas d60. (there was some exception on the 250's where they got a sas 60... but I've never seen one) *edit* and IIRC you could get a 94 with either the 7.3 idi or the psd... or maybe that was 93? who knows... it's ford and they are notorious for mixin and matching left over parts :flipoff2: )

99-03 the first gen "superduty" body style 7.3 psd, srw 250's & 350's are sas d50, drw 350's got the sas d60. (I forget when... 03? all superduty's got the sas 60...)

03.5-06 superduty 6.0 psd should have sas 60's and suck or kickass depending who you ask... probably out of your price range anyhow.
 
#31 · (Edited)
Just guessing here :confused: I'm pretty sure he was asking Danger Ranger the turbo question :shaking: I've been a Ford tech for almost 20 years and I even own a 05' 6.0L crew cab dually. I would have jumped at the chgance to buy a nice used 7.3L but here in Farmington NM almost every truck you see has been out in the oil field and used/beaten to death in two years!
 
#33 ·
Danger ranger, I have heard of them too but have yet to see one factory. Most ones you see (OBS f250 with a D60) have been put in later. If you find one like that it makes the 250's alot more desirable to someone whos knows about them.
 
#35 ·
Here I go to make myself look like an ass. I fucking hope Im right on this

ttb 50 is IFS, the dana 60 is straight axle.

The early 99's have a different turbo, different injectors, different compy then the later SDs. They good trucks, just not as well like or quite as powerful as the later PSDs.

In my opinion, your best bet would be to try and find a 94.5-97 F-350 ( so you can get the 60). Crew Cab, stick, thats up to you. You can get more power out of it then you will ever want, its a HELL of a motor, and they're substantially cheaper than the SD's.
 
#41 · (Edited)
Shoot boy I aint even 20 years old. TTB isnt IFs, but its close enough they are all shit. The dana 50 in the earlier superduties really isnt that bad... I wouldnt not buy a truck because of the front axle, they arent great to begin with because they are ball joint unit bearing axles, which I have already had to change a unit bearing on my truck (its easy but fawkin expensive) Its a fawkin tow rig though and unless your danger ranger you probly wont break it. The motors are bad ass I dont know what else to say...
 
#47 · (Edited)
We have a 96 and a 99, Both are 7.3's on the 96 with 280k the only engine work done to it have been replacing injectors, We had one go bad twice but the last one went bad the better half of 100k ago. The auto tranny has never had an single issue. It also gets 20mpg empty and very good mileage with a bobcat on the back.

On the 99 the throttle has been replaced 3 times, it doesnt seem to make nearly the power of the 96 and has half of the miles. It also has a 6-speed that is a bitch to shift and is going to be rebuilt along with a new clutch starting friday. It gets 16mpg or so.

For our expeirience the older 1996 is a much better truck than the newer 99, this is probly some of the problems these other guys were talking about with the 99's. I would get an auto for sure.
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#49 ·
I don't know what the problems that everyone seems to think the early 99's had are. They're perfectly fine, they're just a little less powerful in stock form than the later 7.3's and harder to mod because of the different turbo, inectors, pcm, etc etc.
 
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