04 F250 gas = tow pig?

I found a challenge priced F250 just now I'm going to go look at in the morning. 200k miles on the 5.4, 4wd automatic, body is pretty clean.

Aside from making sure the 4x4 works and the tranny doesn't slip, is there anything else to really check on these at this age?

Would it be a decent tow pig or just a hog?

I had no intentions of looking at a truck tomorrow, was just browsing under challenge budget and there it was, almost too good to be true. And someone volunteered to cut me a check on the promise I get rid of the 08 Vic, so I feel like I at least have to go test drive it. At this price I know it won't last long, but my experience with f250s is the 90s models so I'm a little out of the loop.

Ninja edit: it looks clean in pictures, he said it's going to need a tailgate, that isn't pictured. Also mentioned rocker rust, but bondo or cab corners can fix that.

5.4 in a much worse equipped 08 Expedition EL did ok as my dad's occasional use two pig for a while. I'd imagine the f250 would do fine other than the applicable spark plug concerns (can't remember when the 3 valve started or if they even did that in the f250)

If it's anything like the same year f150 we had with the same powertain, you'll get about 15mpg towing a car.

Thats about 60 gallons to the challenge and another 60 gallons back, if I had the trailer to tow with... not out of the question or much more than just driving the vic down.

I expect bad MPG, but honestly that's still better than my Jeep gets. I can't figure out why that little V6 gets 12.5mpg combined average. This will pretty much be a tow pig when I get a trailer, and a lumber fetcher, otherwise I've got the vic(26mpg) and miata(20mpg) for daily driving.

Not like I need yet another vehicle, it's just hard not to look at this price point and being 15 minutes from home.

Are these the ones with cam phaser issues?

Run_Away wrote: Are these the ones with cam phaser issues?

I've not found a definitive yes or no on this, but I have found that the spark plugs have a tendency to snap, requiring a special tool from Lisle or worst case, pulling the head.

Most of the information I can find is about diesels or the motor feeling rather anemic in the 250 and 350s. Lots of people completely contradicting each other on forums, and wiki doesn't have much specific on the motor body style combo.

Think I'm going to pass on this one.

Other than being a bit anemic in the larger chassis, i see no real reason not to. I'm fairly convinced I want an excursion with the v10.

I have a 2004 F350 V10 truck and the short list at this mileage and price point is RUST, rust, and more rust. After that that it seems to come down to maintenance.

Rust: Check the front spring perch (form above and below)as it might be missing a large chunk. Next up is watch the bed as the cross supports will fail and pinch the fuel filler hose either letting very little or no fuel into the tank . Also check the rear spring mount and bolt, never seen one fail but I have seen some VERY nasty looking bolts come out.

Maintenance: Spark plugs can either break in the head or get pushed out of the head, replaced mine after buying the truck and all seems to be good. Exhaust manifold bolts tend to break in the head.

The good thing is parts are cheap on Amazon if you have the part number (O.E an after market) and are willing to wait.

Paul B

If it is a base model work truck (which it looks like it could be an XL), I guarantee the interior had a hard life and expect it to fall apart if it already hasn't. For some reason this era of Super Duty had really cheap door panels on the XL that had a tendency of breaking. Also, sloppy column shifters are a common in this mileage bracket.

Front wheel bearings can be an issue with these. The '99-'04 models don't let you replace bearings... requires a complete hub assembly. IIRC, they changed that in 2005, but I'm not sure.

mndsm wrote: Other than being a bit anemic in the larger chassis, i see no real reason not to. I'm fairly convinced I want an excursion with the v10.

Get familiar with every gas station in the area. A friend of ours had a standard-cab, long-bed V10 F-250 and even unloaded it got about 8mpg.

The mod motor Ford trucks have never really blown me away. The small displacement engines don't make much in the way of power, plus because you're always working them kinda hard they seem to get poor fuel mileage for the engine size. My friend's 5.4L F-150 got 15mpg on a good day.

By the time the rockers rust, the cab laterals are usually completely gone.

3 valve engines (scalloped valve covers) have the no-come-out plugs, 2 valve engines (straight-flanged valve covers) have the no-stay-in plugs. Either way, I wouldn't worry about it too much. If this has the vacuum operated auto locking hubs, THAT is the pain in the butt... You can convert them to manual, at least, but you still have to mess with it every time you replace axle U-joints. (Every weekend, right?) The inner hub seal is a really, really complicated dual-surface rotating $60 assembly that is a pain to install and every hub removal requires a new seal.

I don't mind problems that require tools, but problems that require parts annoy me. You can use tools more than once.

alfadriver wrote: If it's anything like the same year f150 we had with the same powertain, you'll get about 15mpg towing a car.

I don't see how. Our 2000 expedition for 14 empty at the best of times.

If you have need for a truck, I can't imagine doing much better at this price point. Assuming most of the truck still works. Gas trucks get crappy MPG. That's a given. Diesels will obviously do better, but you need to use the truck a lot for the price difference to be worth it.

singleslammer wrote:

alfadriver wrote: If it's anything like the same year f150 we had with the same powertain, you'll get about 15mpg towing a car.

I don't see how. Our 2000 expedition for 14 empty at the best of times.

All I can say is that it did. Relative to the Rangers we had leased prior- the 5.4 F150 was worse just being driven (17 vs. 19), but slightly better towing- 15.5 to 15. Since all we did was pull a GTV around with it, it was an overall cheaper vehicle as the insurance was cheaper as well as the lease we had.

A buddy of mine has very nearly this same truck (cleaner and with lower miles) and it is an absolute workhorse. I think he paid the shop to do the spark plugs at 100K and that means it just isn't a problem. His wife tows a gooseneck horse trailer all over the eastern half of the U.S. and has no problems.

I even borrowed it a couple years ago and drove up to Minnesota to help a cousin move, returning pulling a 30' gooseneck trailer absolutely LOADED to the max. I didn't set any speed records but pulling a load like that you shouldn't be driving like your hair is on fire anyway. Got 9.5 MPG loaded down all the way back (800 miles). IMHO Ford did a good job on these, it's a truck that does truck stuff in a trucky way.

i have a 2000 f250 ext. cab long bed 2wd with a 5.4 and 5 speed manual, it gets 15 mpg empty on the highway, 10-12 in town depending on how much i want to hear the exhaust noise that day. I havent towed anything significant over a long enough distance to say what kinda mpg it gets loaded. Unloaded it is pretty damn slow even with the 4.10 gears, and obviously loaded it would be even slower but it will still get the job done.

with that one being an 04 im pretty sure it's the 3 valve which has a decent power bump over the 2 valves, nothing to write home about but it should help some. I would try to find out if the cam phaser's have been done yet on it, im guessing with 200,000 they probably have been.

It's sold. 19 hours on CL. Phone rang even before i had the kid out of bed. Good for him I guess.but truly, nice if him to let me know.

My biggest holdout was that if I'm going to owe anyone money now, I want it to be for a concrete work surface. Although yes, tales of $500 plug changes are a pretty scary prospect for a $2k vehicle.

The 2v 3v thing is strange to me. Sources say and agree that they started putting them in the f series in 04. It seems it depends on which "certified Ford mechanic" you believe as to whether the 250 and 350s got them then or later.

NickD wrote:

mndsm wrote: Other than being a bit anemic in the larger chassis, i see no real reason not to. I'm fairly convinced I want an excursion with the v10.

Get familiar with every gas station in the area. A friend of ours had a standard-cab, long-bed V10 F-250 and even unloaded it got about 8mpg. The mod motor Ford trucks have never really blown me away. The small displacement engines don't make much in the way of power, plus because you're always working them kinda hard they seem to get poor fuel mileage for the engine size. My friend's 5.4L F-150 got 15mpg on a good day.

I have a CCSB 4x4 with the v10. I normally get around 10 empty in town, a little better going down the highway, and 8-9 pulling a trailer. However I love the pickup and would buy it again in a heartbeat.

Why all the talk? If this runs and drives and the 4x4 works, it's cheap. Really cheap! I don’t see any massive holes or leaks.

I agree with most of the info on here. These seem to rust alot faster underneath than on the surface, so by the time you see it on the body it may be shot underneath.

The front wheel bearings and ball joints seem to not last very long, and are one of least favorite jobs to do. They arent that complicated, its just a day of sweating, swearing, and sledge hammering.

Rotted exhaust manifold studs are common, but are no worse to access than any other manifold bolts.

And the spark plug thing.

But if you fix those items and rust isnt at fatal levels it should give you several years of good towing.