Im looking at buying my first diesel. I would like to buy used.
What year would you all suggest?
How many miles is too many on a used one?
Anything to look out for?

Thanks

There are many things to look for when purchasing a used Powerstroke. The Diesel Stop is a board that has a lot of information concerning this. I have two Powerstrokes, a '96 and an '02.. Both have been good trucks but the problems start to mount at about 175,000 miles, so I personally would not buy a used one with more than half that mileage - with care, and maintenance, the Navistar engine in the Powerstroke truck can keep going for 400,000 miles, but you need to know ALL of the history of the engine, to be able to benifit from that longevity. Used vehicles have too much that could be wrong to want to go that route with one having over 100K on it. The engine is warrantied for 100k so look for one with about 75 -80 K on it - that way you still have a warranty to cover potentially expensive repairs. Check out ' http://www.thedieselstop.com ' and try to look critically at any truck you want to buy - it is all too easy to see a nice truck, and not see the dying injectors, or whatever lurking under the shiny paint.

Mylash

thanks for the info.

What would everybody prefer.....the 7.3 or the 6.0 diesel?

I would stay away from all 03 6.0's and all early built 04 6.0's. The late 04's and most all 05 6.0's should finally be trouble free.

175K miles on a 7.3 PSD is nothing. My uncles 97 has over 300K miles on it and it's only seen one engine problem a CPS. Between my two 7.3's there are 300K miles on them and I've put $190 into the engines.

Between my dad and I we own three PSD's
95 PSD with 440K miles and still going strong.
95 PSD with 250K miles and still going strong.
99 PSD with 165K miles and still going strong.

If you plan on modifying your truck stick with a 99. They have forged rods that can handle the power. If you are going to keep is stock or only add 75 HP or so all the 7.3 PSD from 99 to 03 are good trucks. The later models are insulated better so they are quieter on the inside then the 99 and 00 trucks.

Good luck with you search.

We have 4 powerstrokes on the farm......The forged rod motors go up to around 10/13/00.....Anything made after that had PM rods......PM rods are ok if your only going to do minor stuff like a chip, intake, and exhaust.....If you plan on going radical like with big injectors, big turbos, NOS, or Propane......then they won't last with PM rods. Small injectors or a ball bearing turbo can be used on a PM rod motor, but your pushing it.....Like was said above check out the
www.thedieselstop.com (http://www.thedieselstop.com/) or
www.oilburners.net (http://www.oilburners.net) for more info......):h