Hello all. We just (2 days ago) impulsively purchased a pimpy black 2002 LT 2500hd turbo diesel (4x4, Allison) short bed 4 door truck w/ 66,000 miles. Prior to this truck we've had nothing but F-150s for 8+ years. It seems to be pretty stock except there is a nice (stainless) exhaust system & Micky Thompson wheels. (We did some searches...but as we've never had anything but gas Fords the results are overwhelming.)
So far this truck is absolute bliss!:D

Questions though...
What are the "weak" spots on the truck? What do we need to keep an eye on maintenance wise that typically "fails" or is "problematic" on these?

Anyone from the Knoxville, TN area that can point us towards a good shop? (We do as much as we can ourselves, but for some things rather have a "pro" as "truck in the shop"= no income for that day :( we have never owned a diesel either.)

The truck will be driven 60,000+ miles a year (work & mostly highway.) But we do tow- some construction equipment for work & then trailer/racecar/gear to the tracks (all over East Coast at least monthly.)

It seems that a 2nd fuel filter is a good idea? comments? suggestions? brands etc?

Thanks in advance for assistance...sorry to be a noob....but we'll try to learn quickly!:rolleyes:

Most guys will disagree with me on this but I change my oil every 3000 miles and the fuel filter every other oil change. You can do it how ever you want, but I figure oil (dino) and filters are cheap maintenance. The only thing that seems to be problematic, and this is debatable, are the injectors. Some guys have injector failures at low miles, like 90,000 and lower. And some guys go over 200,000 with no troubles. The biggest thing to having a well running truck is maintenance, maintenance, and maintenance.

Well said aprr454, although I change my oil every 6000 miles or 6 months, which ever comes first. My fuel is changed every year since I only put on about 6000 miles a year.
Holy crap. That is a lot of miles in one year of driving.
When checking your oil do a smell check to see if there is any traces of diesel in the crank case. This, oil pressure, and white smoke is a good sign of injector failure.
When changing the oil grease the 11 zirts (spelling) on the steering system. There is a topic on greasing them with pictures of where they are.
As far as that, those are really the only three things that need close attention other than the normal care of any vehicle.
Good luck on your new purchase and if you can get someone on here to do a Vin check to see what has been done to your vehicle.

I take that back. I did not notice you already asked for a Vin check.

Definitely get a 2 micron primary fuel filter. There are many good kits available, or you rig one up yourself like I did under the hood like Frank Blum and shuffman. You can do searches to see their setups.

Lots of us use additives when we fill up. There are many choices and opinions of course. I went with stanadyne as both my dealer and local independent injector shop recomended it. In any case and I'm not trying to sell you anything but this site has both excellent vendors and techs to get both products and support from. Good luck on your 02.....Bill

Holy crap. That is a lot of miles in one year of driving.


yeah...that is the #1 reason why we wanted a diesel (beyond towing) & why we want to make sure we maintain it right...know what to look for.

When we traded in our 2003 truck 3 days ago (bought new aug '03) it had 120,000 miles on....dealer couldn't believe it...we've gone years this way...this was the "earliest" we've ever traded in usually we wait until 220k (usually 3 1/2 yrs) which is the highest average mileage we've been able to get out of our f150s....but we really liked the Chevy ;) & hope we can own it longer (meaning it'll hold up) more than 3 years!

thanks for the responses!

Welcome aboard...and, I gotta say.I've never heard someone describe their truck as "pimpy" ):h

Hope you enjoy the new ride man...

Towing is one of the big pluses with the diesel. This is my first also. I had a ford w the 7.5l and my mileage was 8-10 towing. I don't know how much weight you carry but my mileage has gone up to the mid teens with my diesel.....Bill

Welcome aboard...and, I gotta say.I've never heard someone describe their truck as "pimpy" ):h

Hope you enjoy the new ride man...

Nothing like an "impulse buy"!!! :lol:

Scott, they were driving Fords before...compared to a normally-outfitted F150, our trucks are :pimp: trucks. I like mine that way.

Welcome to the Place!


As for the new '02:

There are issues with the fuel injectors, but you are covered until 200,000 miles on those if you should EVER have a problem. Engine has 100,000 mile warranty. Trans had warranty to 36,000. Trans is not a problem area though.

Oil change intervals are completely up to you. Most here run around 7000 miles between changes. If you get your oil analyzed and everything checks out ok, you can run more miles than that....

Changing the fuel filter every 10,000 miles has proven to be a good idea. Diesel fuel quality in the U.S. is not the greatest. Try too use higher-volume places to fuel up. Always carry a spare filter in case you get a bad tank of fuel.

Trans has 2 filters. One internal screen and an outside spin-on. Change the spin-on every 2nd oil change. Don't forget to replace the magnet.

The stock shocks are not the greatest. Changing them out to Rancho or Bilstein is a good idea...esp with the miles you'll be driving.


Enjoy your new truck.

Oil change intervals are completely up to you. Most here run around 7000 miles between changes. If you get your oil analyzed and everything checks out ok, you can run more miles than that....

Enjoy your new truck.

What type of oil is best? In our gas vehicles (prior truck as well as racecars) we've been 100% synthetic (Mobil 1 or Amsoil).
How about for diesel...same hold true? brands? etc?

You've got Delvac, Delo, Rotella, Amsoil, etc...

synthetic or dino, its up to you. Just make sure it's CI-4 diesel rated.

If you search around the site, there's so much info here.....

Congrats on the new truck. I like Mobil for oil and what the other guys suggested on maintainence is right on the money. I personally change my oil every 5k miles. You should have no problem getting more than 3.5 years out of that truck. I did a thread on highmileage dmaxs and had several guys respond with over 200k miles and one fella with over 400kmiles!

flyin:welcome to the site! ford to a chevy is a step up!