I am looking at picking up a 97 F250 with just over 200k.

What are some common problems going to be, and what should I look out for?

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Oh yeah, it's an extended cab and has 4wd

 

e40d trans, if yours has this, then don't upgrade anything in till you upgrade your trans, i do belive in the 97 they used the r trans, the camshaft sensors love to go out, the vacuum pumps go out a lot, the valve cover gaskets have the plug wires going threw it, they also go bad from time to time, if you upgrade injectors you usually have to upgrade oil pump, they are not cheap, and the 7.3's are really hard on battery's

the engine is by far the best engine that navistar put out, but i sold mine because when you upgrade these engines they start giving you trouble, well at least in my case.

 

i would be worried about the tranns, maybe glowplugs, turbos have been known to go with high miles, brakes, injectors may need to be cleaned, if your gunna keep her stock everything should be ok but if your gunna mod it you may run into some problems.

 

Such as?

My plans are
-Gauges
-Intake
-Exhaust
-Built Trans
-Injectors
-Turbo

 

as long as you build up your tranny you should have no problems at all, but with injectors watch your EGTs you may need a intercooler.

 

there is a guy by the name of bryan, he builds really good transmission, he also warranty's the things the life of the truck.

if it were my truck, this is how i would do it

transmission first
guages
tymar intake
tony wildman chip
turbo
big oil (pump)
injectors
turbo

should put you at 400 hp or above.

good luck

 

It will be a good truck. If it has the stock airbox check the hold down bolts. They were warrentied due to leaking. Do ehaust first then do intake so you have a little left over 4" pipe to put in the filter.
Make sure and get the pre-filter sock it looks cool and keeps the big things out.
I got a Mbrp 4" alum kit shipped to my door for 300.

 

wow man thats a sweet deal!!

 

helps to look around and price others. Plus a mechanic in my shop has a dealer license...

 

Those are all good points, the other big thing to look out for is the TTB front end, those things have all kinds of issues, mine has had countless problems, which is why Im ripping it out and putting in a solid dana 60 from a 350