seriously liking the sound of this 1990 HD 3/4 F250

[DrKing]

Hey,

So, moving on to the next possibility. I found a guy that is selling a 1990 F250 "Heavy Duty 3/4" 4X4 xcab 7.3L with hypermax turbo, 160000 miles, original owner, has the records, has always used the additives or the fully formulated coolant, regular oil and coolant changes, rebuilt tranny with shift-kit and HD torque converter, 4.10 final, fifthwheel, tow pkg, trailer brake controller, gooseneck, class 4 hitch. the HD3/4 means that the rear end from transfer case to the wheels is all F350.

this was a horse and traveltrailer towing truck for this old rancher guy that is now selling it. he wants $5000.

any concerns with the hypermax i should be aware of? i dont need big speed off the mark, just lots of towing and hauling power.

any specific concerns about the HD3/4? or about the model year of the 7.3L?

any other concerns i should be aware of?

I only get one chance to look at this truck, because it is so far away. I need to be able to check it for common ailments.

Is 1990 one of the years when Ford used metric AND standard size wrenches?

i can check blowby by opening the oil-filler cap while truck is running, if it lifts the cap off, its too much? is there a more quantitative method?

if there is blowby, it is generally caused by damage to the cylinder, the pistons, the rings or something else? how hard is it to repair that damage?

i look for oil in the coolant (cold truck not running), coolant in the oil (cold truck not running), white smoke and water from the pipe (startup), and pressure in the radiator just after startup (when the coolant is still cool) to check for critical cavitation damage. any other checks?

how can i check to see if the tranny is working well other than fluid and a drive test?

should i use a stethoscope to check the bearings for grinding if i raise the truck up and spin the tires?

fluids to check:
PS fluid: should be clean and full,
oil: should be black and waterless,
tranny fluid: should have no or very little metal and be pink?
differential fluid: I dont know what to look for?
brake fluid: is easy,
coolant: test strip for SCA, pH test, no oil, green.
anything else?

Bushings on the suspension, basically looking for cracked or checked rubber?

Springs, how much clearance should there be between the rubber bumper above the leaves and the top of the leaves?

anything else i can do without a shop?

Thanks!

[cdnsarguy]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">the HD3/4 means that the rear end from transfer case to the wheels is all F350. </div></div>

It does....?? I was under the impression that meant it had a HD front sway bar and was designed to carry the diesel engine.... but I could be mistaken...

[Phillipmc1268]

Pete,

I've been pondering what makes an F250 an HD for the last couple weeks, since I bought a gasser 95 F250. My father bought a new '87 F250 with a 5.0 that did not have a full floating axle. The axle ends were just like a half ton with 8 holes, so I'm assuming this was an F250 light duty. I only wish I could go back in time and inspect that truck and read the weight ratings on the sticker. It's just pure speculation on my part, but since I've never heard that axle discussed here, I would guess all the diesels are heavy duty.

[88beast]

looked at ur pics sign man like the tt on the truck looks good never seen that setup before

a 250 hd is basicly an upgraded frame same as 350 in the old ones
better springs and shocks
stronger drive train (better materials)

supposedly what ford said

[Phillipmc1268]

Buy it if it looks good. It's only 5k for a turbo diesel set up to do what you want to do, tow trailers. It also appears you have a tranny that cost $1200 on the low side to rebuild that has already been done for you.

[DrKing]

cr*p.

i want to buy it so bad, but i need to put in a well on my property and that has to take priority. so i am doing the hard thing and not buying it. unless someone wants to give me an interest free loan where i dont have to make payments for 3 years!?!

sigh.

thanks for all the info guys!