27 replies to this topic

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Ted, from a financial perspective, I totally agree.  Having lost the camping/wandering use of my truck for nearly 8 months, I came close to buying a new and less complicated vehicle.

 

It seemed like a damned if you do, damned if you don’t situation.

[Foy]

I'm wrestling with "what to do" with my 2002 F350 diesel in terms of driving it, or not, on next year's NV-ID-MT trip.  We have my daily driver as an alternate of sorts, so a new (or even a newer) truck is not going to happen.  Either truck will  require either some long-term maintenance (the old diesel) or some suspension and cargo bed modifications (the F150 daily driver) in order to be ready for a 7,000 mile run towing a 3,000 lb popup camper.  Such a trip is exactly why I've held on to the old diesel for the 3.5 years I've had the F150, but the old girl has nearly 300,000 miles on the original engine and drivetrain, so there's some hesitation to drive her to the Rockies from NC for what would be the 6th time since 2010. On the other hand, I can probably get many more years of good service out of the 2015 F150 if I don't abuse her.

I've got to make a decision in short order, and I'm leaning towards to running the old truck  out there "just one more time".

 

First-world problem?  Yep.

 

Foy

[Vic Harder]

Foy, I was looking at that generation of Fords with the 7.3L diesel, and even high mileage examples were commanding very high prices... like $20K - or more - Canuck money.  If it isn't rusting out, I'd have it thoroughly checked over and keep using it forever.  

[Swaff1]

Every time I even look at used truck prices.... I run back to my truck and dump a little money into it!!

290,000 and just did about 3000 mile trip this fall without a hiccup.

 

The other thing I worry about, is you can dump some serious money into the newer DEF systems...

 

I say keep the old one.

[goinoregon]

i think u did the right thing with the 2015.  less worries, better systems, brakes, everything.  i happen to have a 2015, and it drives like a very nice sedan.  and if we ended up in a bad accident, i think it would be much safer than a 400k truck.  i think safety needs to be factored into these decisions a bit more than maintenance costs.  and if u took a loan on it, now is the very best time for that.

for those that like to get out to the boonies with a +300k truck, good for you.  you just have to have a large tool box, among many other things.  i lean toward newer trucks, with less bells and whistles (no sunroof, etc.) is the way to go

[craig333]

Finally got my truck back and it feels much better with new ball joints. Took longer and cost more than I anticipated. Now to make the tire decision. I was happy with the Coopers but I have this habit of always wanting to try another brand. Grass is greener sort of thing

[ntsqd]

I've always mentally framed the maintenance bills as vehicle payments. I got in on a low down payment and I'm making random payments on the vehicle. A big part of not having to do that on the road is staying on top of the regular maintenance because it is usually during those times when I spot something starting to wear or about to give trouble.

 

Recently couldn't get replacement Yoko A/T-S II's for my DD and had to go with Yoko X-A/T's in the same size. They're a bit more aggressive tread and as such they make a bit more noise. It's noticeable, but not objectionable. I ran the old tires so long that they actually made more noise than these new tires do by quite a bit.

[Foy]

Foy, I was looking at that generation of Fords with the 7.3L diesel, and even high mileage examples were commanding very high prices... like $20K - or more - Canuck money.  If it isn't rusting out, I'd have it thoroughly checked over and keep using it forever.  

 

Having not had the old 7.3 liter diesel out on the highway for more than a few miles at a time since August 2020's 6,700 mile Montana trip, I decided to run her to Virginia Beach and back Friday-Saturday on an emergency plumbing repair job on our 70 year old beach cottage (seeing any patterns here?).  Conditions were optimal in each direction of the 420 mile round trip--A/C not needed, flat as a pancake topography, no headwinds, off-Interstate routing most of the way leading to 62-68 mph cruising speed range.  Odometer-corrected pencil and paper MPG was 16.8 and that is within 0.5 MPG of what the onboard system says. The interval included around 25 miles of stop and go in town plus a half-dozen small towns' stop and go each way, otherwise for pure highway use I'd have seen 18-18.5 MPG or so I believe. And she purred like a (rather loud) kitten the whole time.

 

In the next couple of weeks I'm going to change the ATF and its inline filter, motor oil and filter, and send samples to Blackstone Labs per normal.  If I get good numbers back like I have several times previously over the last 17 years, the decision will be made.

 

With that, I'll install a new cooling system overflow tank, upper and lower hoses, fresh coolant and needed anti-cavitation additive, thermostat, serpentine belt, change the rear diff fluid, whatever else seems wise at the time, throw a new fuel filter and a CPS sensor in the truck toolbox, and by late Spring have her ready to roll.

 

She won't quite reach 300,000 miles by the time we return, but she won't be far off.  There's always Big Bend country late next year to reach that milestone............

 

Foy

[Vic Harder]

Foy, that sounds like great prep for a longer trip.  I'm jealous that the only spares you need are a fuel filter and CPS, AND that both of those bits are easily field replaceable.  

[Foy]

Foy, that sounds like great prep for a longer trip.  I'm jealous that the only spares you need are a fuel filter and CPS, AND that both of those bits are easily field replaceable.  

 

Well, we'll see if a fuel filter and a CPS are the only spares needed.  Sure hope so.

 

Aftermarket alternators seem to be of dubious quality and short lifespan these days, and if not for the high cost of a no-core exchange spare, I'd be tempted to take one. I had to replace one in Broken Bow, Nebraska in 2020. But there seems to be a relative abundance of old 7.3 trucks in the Midwest and Mountain West, so a replacement may not be too hard to find.

 

The coolant tank has a small crack and is weeping just a bit when at high temp and high strain, and it's the OEM so it needs to go.  Upper and lower hoses and serpentine belts are all 8 years old so they'll become spares.

 

Front wheel bearing assemblies are 5 years old with < 20,000 miles on them, pretty much all highway, so I'm not too concerned about them.

 

It'll be interesting to see what Mr. Blackstone has to say about the oil and ATF tests!

 

Foy