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2008 F250, anything to look for?

aczlan

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Joined
May 19, 2020
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159
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Loc
Fingerlakes region of NY
Looking at a gas 2008 F250 shortly (Wednesday?), anything in particular to look for?
ECSB, XLT, 5.4L V8
Looks like build dates after 10/09/07 had less spark plug issues?
Did they have exhaust manifold issues like the 2v motors did?
Looking at it to replace our 2002 ECSB V10 that lost a motor and was sold.

Aaron Z
 
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Sounds like a beater ford work truck, price? Look for typical rust, oil, alignment that anything of age may need and judge it as it sits.

Is 2008 too early for the 6 speed in the f250?
 
aczlan said:
Looking at a gas 2008 F250 shortly (Wednesday?), anything in particular to look for?
ECSB, XLT, not sure yet if it's a V8 or a V10.
Looks like build dates after 10/09/07 had less spark plug issues?
Did they have exhaust manifold issues like the 2v motors did?
Looking at it to replace our 2002 ECSB V10 that lost a motor and was sold.

Aaron Z
Click to expand...
If its a 3v motor sparkplugs arent the only big issue.

Cam phasers, rocker arms and valves are critical issues
 
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Provience said:
Sounds like a beater ford work truck, price? Look for typical rust, oil, alignment that anything of age may need and judge it as it sits.

Is 2008 too early for the 6 speed in the f250?
Click to expand...
Asking $6500, 130k miles, 6 speed wasn't available until 2011 in the Superduty, so it should have the 5R110W.
total newb said:
If its a 3v motor sparkplugs arent the only big issue.

Cam phasers, rocker arms and valves are critical issues
Click to expand...
Yep, have a friend with at least some of those issues.

Just talked to the seller, sounds like he has a property management company, supposedly his friend bought it new and used it to plow his parking lot and parked it inside when not in use.
He said he bought it when he had a truck down, ended up not using it for his company and just running back and forth to camp with it.
Sounds like a "I drop it off at my mechanic and tell him to fix whatever is broken" kind of guy.

Has the 5.4L V8, not the V10. CEL is on in a picture, supposedly for EVAP, will bring my scanner to see what other codes lurk when we look at it on Wed evening.

I would kind of like to get the 2007 Chevy 2500 that I found, crew cab, short bed, 130k miles, but no rust, not used as a plow truck.

Aaron Z
 
Provience said:
6500 almost sounds like a decent price until you said plow truck : laughing:

Probably worth looking at
Click to expand...
Kind of my thought, although with 122k miles on a 2008, its either been a "hanger queen" that noone wanted to drive, or its been like the seller said.
Our 2002 F350 was a plow truck, supposedly the guy we got it from just used it for his and a neighbor's driveways, never had transmission or transfer case issues, but we only put 10k miles on it over 4 years (he was replacing it with a 1997 that was clean enough to eat off of and insisted on replacing the intact, but hazy taillights with new ones).
We averaged 2500 miles/year on the F350, this will probably see similar miles.

Aaron Z
 
I've got an 06 f250 with the 5.4. Had it since 40k miles. Full synthetic oil changes with a can of sea foam in the crankcase prior to changing every 5k, and haven't had any phaser/valve issues. Just turned 153k. If the exhaust manifolds haven't been changed, they will need to be soon. Ford can't build a manifold for shit. I changed them both around 110k, no broken studs, but it's lived its life south of the Mason Dixon. Replaced all the coil packs and plugs at 100k, didn't break any. Still on all the factory front end parts.

Mine got to be a bitch to fuel up at one point. Gas pump would do a half gallon and shut off. Fairly common problem in dusty environments and mine came from the dusty shithole that is New Mexico. The charcoal canister is up under the spare and gets clogged up with dust. I took mine down, drilled a hole in it and gutted it of the charcoal, sealed to canister back up, and no more problems. Until my epoxy job failed, it threw a check engine light for evap until I pulled the canister down and resealed it.

It's slow, and drinks more than my old roommate, but it hauls 2500 pounds in the bed regularly and tows 10k a few times a year just fine.
 
total newb said:
If its a 3v motor sparkplugs arent the only big issue.

Cam phasers, rocker arms and valves are critical issues
Click to expand...
Any external signs to look for on those? Some say a tic-tic-tic is a bad sign, but others say that they improved those around 2007 and the newer ones have less issues.

Aaron Z
 
I cant say, im not a motor man.

bUt ive seen more than a hand full of fucked ones and tried to help facilitate take out puchase's for friends with high $$$ IF they were available, but none in stock through the yards i used.

And you could very well be right about updates, the one i recall the best was an '05.
 
aczlan said:
Any external signs to look for on those? Some say a tic-tic-tic is a bad sign, but others say that they improved those around 2007 and the newer ones have less issues.

Aaron Z
Click to expand...
Noises. If you can manage it, be there when it starts from dead cold. The pins that lock the phasers at idle can gall or break and the phaser will slap back and forth till oil pressure builds. My F150 had this issue both from cold starts and sometimes on hot restarts. Violent rattling for a couple seconds. A light tick at hot idle is pretty standard, any heavy knocking when hot is signs of an oil pressure problem. Major updates were in the '08 model year, that's when they got normal plugs and some slightly better parts in the timing system.

I ended up locking out the VCT system entirely in my truck, I had a phaser lock pin fuck off in the middle of the Covid parts drought and couldn't get an OEM phaser.
 
TrikeKid said:
Noises. If you can manage it, be there when it starts from dead cold. The pins that lock the phasers at idle can gall or break and the phaser will slap back and forth till oil pressure builds. My F150 had this issue both from cold starts and sometimes on hot restarts. Violent rattling for a couple seconds. A light tick at hot idle is pretty standard, any heavy knocking when hot is signs of an oil pressure problem. Major updates were in the '08 model year, that's when they got normal plugs and some slightly better parts in the timing system.

I ended up locking out the VCT system entirely in my truck, I had a phaser lock pin fuck off in the middle of the Covid parts drought and couldn't get an OEM phaser.
Click to expand...
So this 2008 should be somewhat better than an earlier one (in theory)...

Aaron Z
 
In theory anyway, sounds like it wasn't neglected which is the biggest killer on a 3v stuff. They like being beat on, but if you don't keep clean oil in them and they go to shit in a hurry.
 
Didn't even start it, went there, looked at it, walked away before he came outside.
"Clean rockers" had golf ball sized holes in them, needed a cat back exhaust, cab floor was soft, it looked like a hoarders truck (every seat and the bed full of junk), 2 flat tires, needed at least rear shocks and that was just from the outside...

Aaron Z
 
We had one at work of this vintage f250 with the 5.4. It was a solid truck just a gutless turd.
 
Krazykiller said:
We had one at work of this vintage f250 with the 5.4. It was a solid truck just a gutless turd.
Click to expand...
What I.was going to say.

A friend bought one brand new that I borrowed a day or two.
I swear it was worse than my clapped out 160hp (when new) SBC square body.
To the point that I popped the hood expecting to find a 6 cylinder.
 
AKnate said:
What I.was going to say.

A friend bought one brand new that I borrowed a day or two.
I swear it was worse than my clapped out 160hp (when new) SBC square body.
To the point that I popped the hood expecting to find a 6 cylinder.
Click to expand...
Yeah work bought it for a plow truck around the plant and general duty. It was horribly underpowered I can't believe ford would put that engine in a 3/4 ton truck.
 
I had one. Was a single cab 6 speed flatbed I picked up cheap at an estate sale for the welder and tools but figured it would make a good farm truck. Had 198k on it and found paperwork in the glove box for a new motor from ford at 120k. Was a gutless piece of shit that did good to pull its own weight let alone attempt to pull a gooseneck. Also got less than 10 mpg empty.
If you lugged it it acted like the motor was going to sling apart until you reved it back up. Ended up selling it to a local guy who does mine contracting to use as a beater for his crew. About 3 months later I saw it sitting at his shop and he said the motor shit the bed.

In short fuck a 5.4.
 
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