Found new truck ,.... maybe.

[Skipper]

Well, I found another truck in town that would make me a nice welding rig. I just wanted to get yall's opinion of it. Here it is.

1988 ford f-450 dually ( body in good shape) ( runs good) ( Needs glow plugs and cntroller)
( the truck come from a tire dealership who has closed down)
New tires all around
60 k miles on 7 liter deisel motor
straight drive
pto driven two stage air compressor (also w/ spare compressor)
The bed is flat with a cage going around it to hold tires on truck.
tommy lift on back ( hopefully swap it with a crane if I get it)
Tools come with truck including hammers, prybars, 3 air over hydraulic bottle jacks,
bunch of air tools including a 1' ingersol rand impact 9 (almost new)
Two boxes of hand tools
Also has three toolboxes mounted under the bed.

Now the guy wants 6500 for the whole deal and he's pretty solid w/ the price. If I could get 500 knocked off do you think it would worth it? Thanks.

[84ZMike]

The 7.3 lt. is a work horse.......the only thing I'd be worried about is how hard were those 60 K miles?.........I wouldn't think the truck would have been loaded very heavy all the time.....If it's within your budget I'd go for it.
Good luck,
Mike

[crehberg]

Sounds good to me. I say go for it!

[Skipper]

The truck was a tire service truck and I dont think the used for pick up and delivery so more than likely it was just a truck tire or two on it at any one time. Thanks for the replies.

[coalsmoke]

how many miles on the drivetrain and chassis? Thazt's where it can make or break you if you are not prepared to fix those items.

[Skipper]

nor really sure, the odometer says 66, I guess it would be 166k other than that i dont know. The place who has it fixed tires and also worked on cars. I also heard that the guy who drove the truck got mad if anyone else got in it. Makes me feel he didnt dog it to bad and he was an older fella also. Hopefully they kept the truck up.

[arcdawg]

is it the 6.9 or the 7.3 ? and how much rust does it have ?

Id say 5500.00

[Skipper]

no rust at all on the body. the flatbed has a few places on it but the truck was parked inside everynight at the end of the day.

[Derailed]

$6000 wont buy you much in the way of a dually these days so it sounds like a nice truck to me for the price. The 7.3 is a good motor. 88 was the first year for it. I think that is one of the nicest body styles of the fords as well.

[Skipper]

Well, I got the truck tues. Gonna post some pics as soon as I can. I have one question for you diesel guys. When I turn the key you can see the glow plug relay kick in by looking at the volt meter in the truck. It stays on maybe a second and then kicks back out. You have to do this several to ten times to get the plugs to heat up hot enough for the motor to crank. What direction should I go in as far as troubleshooting this problem? Thanks.

[J Hall]

Check your glow plugs with a test light. The easiest way to do this is,
1- disconnect all the glow plugs
2- Take a 12volt test light and hook the clip to the positive battery terminal.
3- touch the probe to the tips of the glow plugs
Any that don't light you test light are bad
Don't buy them from Ford $$$$
If most of the glow plugs are OK, replace the glow plug relay.
Don't buy it from Ford $$$$$$$
These years of 7.3 engines ate lots of relays I put 5 in my '91 F450 and 2 in a '93
Get them from International, and get the Bosch glow plugs

Hope this helps,
Jeff

PS, F450 diesels are hard to come by

[Skipper]

I understand the reasoning behind that. I ll give it shot when I go home in the morning.

[coalsmoke]

Well, I got the truck tues. Gonna post some pics as soon as I can. I have one question for you diesel guys. When I turn the key you can see the glow plug relay kick in by looking at the volt meter in the truck. It stays on maybe a second and then kicks back out. You have to do this several to ten times to get the plugs to heat up hot enough for the motor to crank. What direction should I go in as far as troubleshooting this problem? Thanks.

hot enough to crank or hot enough to start?

[Skipper]

hahaha...... Hot enough to start.

[coalsmoke]

hahaha...... Hot enough to start.

ok good, just checking