Either Thursday or Friday I am going to look at the 02 F350 4x4 7.3L/auto with 73,000 miles that I have been dealing on. One of my buddys who owns a body shop is going with to see what if anything has to be done with that. Also I am going to take a look at the oil pan for rust, the tierod ends, sway arm bushings.

What else should I be looking for?
How long do the ball joints typically last? I ask this because my father just had the ball joints replaced in his 02 F350 4X4 7.3L yesterday, and his truck only has 56,000 miles.

 

Check the front end for wear and tear (ball joints, wheel bearings, etc), make sure the 4x4 works, and normal stuff (leaks, noises, etc). If possible, let it sit out in the cold for a few days and see how it starts.

Ball joints really depend on how the truck was used. My stock ones lasted about 110K, replaced them around 115K. But, we had a 2003 F-350 2wd 7.3 service truck at work that went through a set in like 40K miles. Rough roads and the truck is always loaded pretty good.

 

wow only 73k, thats really good. around here you cant find them under 100k.

 

Thanks Zman!! I will do some checking when I go to look at it again.


The truck isn't the exact configuration that we are looking for, we were/are looking for a crew cab. But with only 73000 miles and the fact that I know the original/current owner it is going to be very hard to past up. Unless there is alot of rust the F350 will more than likely be sitting on my garage in a couple weeks.