Okay guys, I'm new here to this forum and I am looking at buying an 88 F250 7.3 for $1500. I don't know that much about these trucks because honestly, I'm buying it as a hunting truck but it will be my first diesel truck. I want to know of any problems that I should look for when I go to look at and test drive this truck on Friday and any problems that I should look forward to! Any responses would be greatly appreciated!
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Two months late but...
First thing is to tell the guy to not start it before you get there. You want to witness a true cold start with the truck sitting at least 24 hours. This will show the the glow plug system is working, and if the fuel injection system is up to par.
Check for smoke when idling and driving. White smoke, blue smoke, black smoke, each one tells you something a little different.
Get some SCA test strips and test the coolant. Since its a 88 it should have a 7.3 (someone could have put a 6.9 in there). Without the proper SCA's in the coolant, it risks cavitation (small holes in the cylinders, burns coolant), which is no good. If it doesnt have SCA's in it, I would factor that in to cost (aka talk him down some).
Other than that, just give the truck a good look over.