The orphanage where I volunteer has asked me to check up on a vehicle they are considering buying. Need some help from the DTR resident experts please. The vehicle is a 2001 Ford 350 15 passenger van with what appears to be the 7.3 liter diesel engine. The only clue for the engine size is on the belt routing diagram. It has 175,000 kms (109,000 miles) on it.

I drove the vehicle and it looks and runs fine. The acceleration seems a bit sluggish, but am comparing it to my truck. Everything works except the airbag light stays on. The owner says it has been like that 'for ever'.

According to the door sticker, this vehicle was built in the US especially for the Mexican market. Everything is in Spanish. No rust anywhere. Almost new tires. The upholstery shows some wear, but would expect this as it has been used as a school bus.

Is this a good engine? How much more life can we expect out of it before it starts costing megabucks? What problems can be expected? What about the transmission? What should I check extra closely? What would this vehicle be worth in the US?

Any help and guidance will be much appreciated. Thanks.

 

If it is a diesel, it should be the 7.3. Yay. They can be great pieces of work, or a great pile of work. I have never had any luck with them. If I were so inclined to buy a passenger van, I would suggest a gas engine, they are hard to beat. Easier to maintain, generally more reliable, and cheaper to run overall.

There are far greater opinions than mine on the powerstroke engine, I can walk you through diagnosis and repair of them, due to way too much bad experience. That said, those engines have their cheerleaders, and good on them.

without a complete service history, I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot cattle prod.

 

Like ^^^^ said. 100,000 miles properly maintained is just barely broken in. 100,000 miles poorly maintained is just about worn out. The air bag light and comment is a big clue that the latter condition might be true.

I'd consider it, but I'd run it by a good diesel mechanic and pay him to look it over with a jaundiced eye, and do some testing.

Also like he says, a gas engine is a lot easier to maintain, and a lot less expensive if something major goes wrong. On the other hand, if it's well maintained, a diesel, even a powersmoke, will pull hard and long.

Diesels in general aren't noted for snappy acceleration, unless they're highly molested like they are around here. My first gen happens to be bone stock for a short time right now. If I need to "launch", I have to mash the throttle about 3 seconds before the light changes.

 

The biggest problem with the 7.3 is the high pressure oil pump that operates the injectors the trans could last another 50k or 5 miles.

My .001 cents worth

 

Ours is at 215,000 miles and running strong, but has been maintained well and by well I mean it has had about 7500 US dollars worth of maintenance and repairs over the last 3 years, but a lot cheaper than a new F450!

Although I do agree with what the others said, it could go either way....

 

If I recall correctly, the 7.3 parent bore blocks were prone to cavitation if the coolant wasn't maintained correctly.

The cavitation causes little pinholes in the cylinder walls that squirt coolant into the cylinder.

Something to check into as well....

It's all about the maintenance....

 

Thanks everybody for the response. Gave all this info and more to the powers that be and last I heard, they had decided not to buy that van.