what year s of f-250 are most reliable?

[MissionMan]

Hey folks, I'm looking to get a budget f-250 for under $10k. what years are generally regarded as "good" years to own and what engine/trans combos are the best?i wouldnt mind a manual trans either. i havent made up my mind on gas or diesel, i tow a travel trailer in the summer but other than that, no major towing. just typical truck crap.

 

[Rainmaker]

Hey folks, I'm looking to get a budget f-250 for under $10k. what years are generally regarded as "good" years to own and what engine/trans combos are the best?i wouldnt mind a manual trans either. i havent made up my mind on gas or diesel, i tow a travel trailer in the summer but other than that, no major towing. just typical truck crap.

Get an older 7.3. They are legendary for reliability. I believe Ford stopped building the 7.3 in 2003 or 2004

 

[Camaro_94]

Get an older 7.3. They are legendary for reliability. I believe Ford stopped building the 7.3 in 2003 or 2004

This

 

[wvragtop]

yes the international 7.3 was definitly tried and true for many years .very well know for the powerstroke that came out in the late 90's .its the years right after ford started making there own diesl that they had problems .6. something liter .it took a couple years before they nailed it thereself.i would say that theres not many 7.3's out there without a million miles on them though so good luck.

 

[silver03svt]

6.0 PSD are crap unless they have had the head studs replaced and the EGR system deleted. If those 2 items have been done, they are just a reliable and bulletproof as the 7.3.

Personally, I'd look for the 7.3 BEFORE considering the 6.0.

 

[Rainmaker]

6.0 PSD are crap unless they have had the head studs replaced and the EGR system deleted. If those 2 items have been done, they are just a reliable and bulletproof as the 7.3.

Personally, I'd look for the 7.3 BEFORE considering the 6.0.

What are your thoughts on the 6.4?

 

[Thump_rrr]

For a gasser 2008 or later with the 5.4 and upgraded sparkplugs (mid year update)
If it has brown COP's it has the updated plugs.
If it has black COP's it has the HT plugs which can get stuck in the heads.

The whole broken plug fiasco can be avoided if the shields are coated with nickel anti-seize compound and removed yearly for cleaning and more anti-seize.

I have these plugs in my 05 GT and with yearly maintenance it is a non issue.

 

[silver03svt]

What are your thoughts on the 6.4?

No experience with them. But for his price range (under 10K), I doubt he finds something that new.

 

[YJSONLY]

What are your thoughts on the 6.4?

There is a lot of opinions on the 6.4. Most are they are junk. Unless you can do a delete ,tuner, etc. At stick form they are trouble some and terrible on mpg.

 

[Gravik]

My parents had a 2002 F250. 5.4 2v. Bought it brand new and put 120k on it. Had a couple electrical gremlins around 100k. But other than a clutch replacement at 100k, the truck was solid as a rock and never had any issues. Gas mileage was meh and it was pretty slow, but other than that a great truck.

 

[rotor_powerd]

yes the international 7.3 was definitly tried and true for many years .very well know for the powerstroke that came out in the late 90's .its the years right after ford started making there own diesl that they had problems .6. something liter .it took a couple years before they nailed it thereself.i would say that theres not many 7.3's out there without a million miles on them though so good luck.

7.3, 6.0, and 6.4 are all International/Navistar engines. The 6.7 is the first diesel made by Ford.

6.0's and 6.4's are as reliable as anything else once the headstuds are addressed and emissions systems removed.

 

[MissionMan]

not sure im down with the 5.4, i have a 2011 5.0 that i tow with and cant imagine the 5.4 performing well in a heavier chassis + trailer in tow. how are the v10's aside form being bad on gas?

 

[SID297]

Find a good 3v V10 and you'll never have an issue.

 

[lowflyn]

V10 is your best bet on a budget. Low Mileage 7.3's (under 200k) are still bringing close to $20k. Otherwise I would definitely suggest a 7.3 truck. My work truck is a 2001 7.3, 211k and I never have less than a ton in the bed and regularly tow a tractor or skid steer. MPG is meh at 12 normally and 8 towing but it'll run forever. We have 3 other 7.3's ranging from 120k to 375k and never have an issue with them. All three of our 6.0's have been studded and deleted but we still have the occasional injector issue ($250-800 a pop) and FICM issue. I recently installed aux coolant filters on all 3, hoping to catch some problems before they occur. We had 1 6.4 and ditched it at 100k because of the turbo eating itself. Our 1 6.7 has been pretty good so far but with only 40k on it only time will tell.

We also have 1 5.4 250 and it is plagued by issues at 150k. Between plugs, cops, and wiring gremlins I'm ready for it to go. I think the guy driving it would rather be in the 97 351 backup truck. At least it goes everytime you want it to.

 

[mrlrd1]

yes the international 7.3 was definitly tried and true for many years .very well know for the powerstroke that came out in the late 90's .its the years right after ford started making there own diesl that they had problems .6. something liter .it took a couple years before they nailed it thereself.i would say that theres not many 7.3's out there without a million miles on them though so good luck.

Ford didn't make the 6.0 or 6.4. They're both Navistar engines, built with some input from Ford, mainly with the emissions. And they NEVER got those engines right.

6.0 PSD are crap unless they have had the head studs replaced and the EGR system deleted. If those 2 items have been done, they are just a reliable and bulletproof as the 7.3.

No.

What are your thoughts on the 6.4?

Junk.

For a gasser 2008 or later with the 5.4 and upgraded sparkplugs (mid year update)
If it has brown COP's it has the updated plugs.
If it has black COP's it has the HT plugs which can get stuck in the heads.

The whole broken plug fiasco can be avoided if the shields are coated with nickel anti-seize compound and removed yearly for cleaning and more anti-seize.

I have these plugs in my 05 GT and with yearly maintenance it is a non issue.

Updated plugs? Different color coils? :lol: They updated the CYLINDER HEADS. The coils remained the same color: black.

6.0's and 6.4's are as reliable as anything else once the headstuds are addressed and emissions systems removed.

No.

 

[4a7191a]

7.3 all the way. Get ahold of Paul , he makes punisher valve body's for f250's as well. Huge improvement.

I may not be a fan of the v10's. But my neighbor has one with 246k miles on it and besides leaking everything , the motor still sounds rather solid.

 

[MissionMan]

I'm leaning heavily towards the v10. What should I be looking for year wise? Are there better transmissions some years? The manual bulletproof? I guess I need to hit up a good super duty forum

 

[rotor_powerd]

Junk.


No.

OK. :bored:

 

[Zemedici]

Again with this thread

Ok here goes

Stop listening to HEARSAY (oh my buddy knew a guy that once knew a guy) - I have tons of firsthand experience (work for ford) and there's a good bit of guys that have the trucks, they would be the people I listen to.

As sid said, a 3v v 10 will be your best bet. It is not as sturdy towing as a diesel, but you won't be able to find a running diesel for 10k. Not a chance, 7.3s with 200k miles still sell for 15, 6.0s more


A v 10 should be more than adequate

 

[MissionMan]

3v starts at 2005?