The Dodge probably has the death wobble. Front end just needs some work especially at 162k miles. After looking at the carfax I would inspect everything. 4 owners isnt bad. Not great but not bad. I would raise questions since only one of the owners listed it for personal use. The others had it listed as commercial. Could of still been driven personally but just for the family business or could of been a used in fleet. Im not trying to scare you just giving the best advice I can with the info we have. Was there any other trucks at that lot that interested you? I saw another red 7.3 and a green one too. Im gonna look at their history too. But at the end of the day if the truck is what you want for the price and you feel comfortable with it, its your decision and your money. Buy whats best for you!

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I see three other Fords I would like at. All are 7.3 Autos, Crew cab, Longbeds. If its within the budget to look at one for $15K I would atleast look. Just my opinion though.

 

I put a Hell Bent Steel steering stabilizer kit on it helped a little was going to try adjusting the steering gear box to try to take up some of the slop. They do have a few others in my price range but this one is in the best shape. Before I drove this truck I drove some others they had a few Duramaxs, and another Ford and this one like I said felt the best. I might pick it up today but am going to take it for another drive and take out on the highway. Thanks for the input just the advice I was hoping to get.

 

Three things come to mind with a 4x4 7.3.

1) get there and listen to it start when it's bone cold. If it's already warm when you show up to test drive it, walk away. A lot of times they seem ok when they're warm, but when they get cold they're a nightmare to get started, then you're doing batteries, IDM, glow plugs etc... so see how it starts cold. Hopefully no smoke on start up.

2)check the oil pan. The oil pans on these notoriously rot off and the only way to safely replace it, is full engine removal. May or may not be a big deal to you.

3) When you test drive it, make sure the manual hubs in the front are placed to the free or auto position. If they're locked in 4x4, unlock them for the drive. When the bearings go bad there, you can lock the hubs and you'd never know the bearings are bad. Seen this trick pulled a few times when guys were trying to sell 7.3's. Unlock them and check the play there.

Other than that, check normal stuff. Check oil level, coolant level, all that good stuff, and the normal truck stuff.

To me, that seems like a lot of money, but the truck is really clean and probably still "worth" that amount. Aftermarket grill and clear corner headlights it appears too. I wonder what was mounted to the dash just to the left of the 12V plug...

 

When I drove it the other day it was cold and no smoke that I noticed. I did get down and look underneath oil pan and bottom of engine was dry. The only fluid I noticed was the steering gear box was wet. Yea would be nice to find one that meets my wants and needs but the cheaper ones I'm seeing are only extended cabs and with kids and car seats those suicide doors suck my Dodge has them and they can make it a pain getting kids in and out since my wife will be driving it once in a while. Didn't think to check the hubs will do that.