Cheap Super Duty

[LumberZach]

Hey guys,

I respect the collective opinion of this forum more than most others I see, so I wanted to put this here. Hopefully I won't get booted for this lol.

So a local landscape company is selling ~2002(not sure on exact year yet) F-350 with a gas v8 with a snow plow for $500. The truck has 121,000 miles on it. It's best up on the body, but everything seems to work. Is it a good buy? It won't be a daily driver, but just a cheap truck to plow the driveway or run around in. I'm thinking if it all looks good a cheap lift might be in order for a fun mud truck. I'm not sure if it's worth putting money into a $500 truck though. It's hard to say no to a cheap working pickup though.

What do you guys think?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[OffroadTreks]

Which engine is in it, besides "V8" a couple of the older Ford motors aren't worth the trouble if not bulletproofed.

[TwinStick]

If it is the 5.4L gas v-8, be aware, they had issues with the spark plugs breaking off in the threads and/or pulling the threads out when removing them. It was the dissimilar metal thing-aluminum block & threads , steel plug threads.

If it is a 7.3L diesel, they run forever but you probably will need to put some money into it. Nothing serious though.

http://www.thedieselgarage.com/forums/2 ... -100k.html

[LumberZach]

5.4 triton. I've heard decent things on the engine. It's been DOT inspected for its entire life and the company has fixed everything that's come up as it does.

I also checked underneath and it's a solid front axel which I like. Plenty of rust, but that's expected in Minnesota.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[OffroadTreks]

I have a friend in Sandpoint, Idaho, his realtor when he bought his property suggested buying a beater and not registering it, just to plow his drive way. He thought he'd try it with a blower. But broke down and bought a beater to plow because the blower sucked with all the snow they get up there.

Seems like a solid deal if everything is ok with it if you're just using it as a beater work truck. I mean, $500 bucks is $500. I wouldn't be expecting much more than a beater mobile.

[DamageWagon]

Sounds like a sweet deal. If the engine grenades on the way home you can sell off parts and have made a profit. A snow plow alone is worth more than $500. I'd do it!

[RustyPW]

It's a snow plow, so it has been beat on. Plowing snow is hard on the tranny and transfer case. Check those two out. Along with inspecting the plow frame and where it mounts to the truck frame. Look for cracks and weld repairs. When I worked at the power plant. We had the same truck. The more drivers it had behind the wheel. The more it got abused. I repaired both the frames on the truck. Broken plow frame and cracks in the truck frame. The tranny was rebuilt once. Transfer case was leaking when I left.

[DamageWagon]

Steering components are where the greatest wear happens on plow trucks. Again though, it's $500. Expect that there is a handful of reasons for the almost free price and just go in knowing that you might be able to turn left but not right, it only has two working wheel bearings, 5 of the 8 cylinders have Pistons in them, the air conditioning blows hot, the heater core is in the passenger seat, and the driveshaft is made of box tubing.

[LumberZach]

Thanks guys, this is very encouraging. Like it's been said, I suspect even if it's not that great I can still get some money out of it. I'll check all I can. This decision is a lot easier not needing it as a daily driver ha. I will see if I can Check on those parts later.

Do you guys think it'd be worth putting any money into, or where that line should be drawn? Just because I'm only paying $500 doesn't necessarily mean it's only worth that.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[TwinStick]

IMHO, anything that is drive-able & able to legally pass inspection, is worth $2500 all day long. So @ $500, it is a steal. Just sold our 2004 Corolla w/191,000 for $1500.

[Colibri]

I'll second that ^^^^

[LumberZach]

Deal, I'll post pictures once I get it. Thanks guys!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[RustyPW]

For $500. If it's legal. Get it and drive it into the dirt. You can part it out and get your money back with the plow.

[TwinStick]

Maybe.............If they used Fluid Film.

[LumberZach]

New conundrum. I've been looking and cannot seem to find an answer. I live in Minnesota btw.

If I don't plan on registering the truck, do I need any insurance in it? It will live the rest of its life on private property. I wouldn't think so, but I seem to find some conflicting info online.

Also with that, when I buy it can I just drive it home? I was planning on trying to trailer it, but I keep getting told it'll be fine. It's registered for another year, but insurance is what concerns me.
Anybody know, or know where I can find this info?

Thanks all!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[OffroadTreks]

New conundrum. I've been looking and cannot seem to find an answer. I live in Minnesota btw.

If I don't plan on registering the truck, do I need any insurance in it? It will live the rest of its life on private property. I wouldn't think so, but I seem to find some conflicting info online.

Also with that, when I buy it can I just drive it home? I was planning on trying to trailer it, but I keep getting told it'll be fine. It's registered for another year, but insurance is what concerns me.
Anybody know, or know where I can find this info?

Thanks all!

If your state requires all vehicles to have insurance, then NO you can't just drive it home. On the registration front, yes, you should be able to drive it home with valid proof of purchase. bill of sale and title. But you'll need to have it insurance also to legally drive it on state roads if the state requires that.

Past two states I lived in, insurance was mandatory if operated on a state road. And if caught $500 fine and impoundment.

As far as it being a farm truck that stays on your property. Once there, no insurance or registration needed. Just remember state roads make you subject to the states rules.

[TwinStick]

I am required to have insurance on any motorized vehicle on my property. Trucks, cars, atv's, dirt bikes, motorcycles, side by sides. Riding Lawn mowers do not, however, if you even drive down the side of the road to mow a 95yo's neighbors lawn & get caught, you WILL get ticketed for multiple violations & breathalized !!! It has happened 3x in my town since i have lived here (since 1992). Same with atv's with a snowplow/blower on the front.

[OffroadTreks]

That's how awful VA was. FL wasn't as bad. But VA even if you had a lapse in insurance coverage, you automatically owed the state $500. I hate the commonwealth. I'll never return!

[LumberZach]

Turns out these fords don't make it very far in the mud. Sure was fun to play with though haha





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[LumberZach]

Turns out these fords don't make it very far in the mud. Sure was fun to play with though haha





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[DamageWagon]

Thad a pretty serious snow plow mount!

[RustyPW]

Looks like the company truck I used to drive. But mine was white.

[LumberZach]

Thad a pretty serious snow plow mount!

It most definitely is. Didn't help any going through the muddy field. Should stand up to a bit more abuse though.

This thing is in a bit better shape than I was even expecting. 120k miles all the lights and everything work fine. It's not really worth licensing, but I wouldn't think twice about using it as a daily driver if I didn't have my pw.

Right now I'm thinking I better buy a trailer so I can haul it up to the cabin this winter and clear the trails. That may be an expensive thought though.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[LumberZach]

Quick update on the truck. Put 3 months insurance on it and I've been daily driving it for about a week. Runs surprisingly well. So far I have:
1 removed the company lettering
2 power washed the whole thing
3 cleaned the headlights and replaced the bulbs
4 I blew a fuse playing with the over drive button so I replaced that.
5 aired up all the tires. 3 tires are 265x75x16 and take 80 lbs. these 3 are all the same firestone tires, but vary a year or two in the date on the tire. The 4th tire is another brand and clearly was the spare at one point.
Next up will be changing all the spark plugs and oil change. Oil looks decent, but worth changing to be safe.

There are some fairly serious holes in the floor of the body. I will attempt fixing those soon. That may be a while before I get to that though.
Finally, there is a pretty big leak in the headers. Finally figured out why: the bolt where I suspected the leak to be broke off. I'm guessing that will give a lot of trouble getting out. I already shot some wd-40 in there. If I could put a new bolt in I would think the leak would be fixed.

I'll keep you guys updated. I appreciate the help!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk