Is an F250 6.2 V8 Gas Reliable Enough?

[dole]

140k on ours now.

I routinely wring its neck on our steep Idaho grades.
5500 RPM & pinned to the floor doesn't seem to bother it.

Coming from a diesel, I'm (still) adjusting to the high RPM it's designed for.
But it is a work horse, and never complains, only asks for more fuel.

Your rig is exactly what I want! Is that flatbed custom? Beautiful setup and very good to hear it's treated you well!

 

[dole]

I don't really care one way or the other about Fords but as far as I can tell reliability is a property of the owner more than it is of the machine. While I've never personally owned a Toyota I've repaired enough of them to know that they break just like anything does. Since you're shopping machines with 150k miles, move your budget down $1k and then reserve that $1k for catch-up maintenance the previous owner didn't do. It'll go a long way.

Yeah, I really don't like the idea of buying one with so many miles. I may still get lucky and find something lower mileage but truck prices are insane right now. Or I may end up taking out a tiny loan to cover the difference in my cash budget to buy something with lower mileage. A small loan payment for a few months still beats paying rent instead.

 

[Deleted member 9101]

What would that mpg be by chance? 13?

12 or so in town and 18 or so on the HW.

 

[Deleted member 9101]

Yeah they are all about the same as far as fuel economy really. People say the 7.3 gas is bad on fuel, but it gets roughly the same fuel economy as a friends older half ton Chevy.

The 7.3 gets about the same as the 6.2....while providing more power.

 

[calicamper]

Eh, miles don't really mean that much to me in fact I just bought a 28 year old car with 240k miles in July for $500 and spent a few weekends since then fixing what's wrong with it... I'd drive it cross country today. The last SUV I sold had ~320k miles and I got full asking price for it, 5x what I paid, and the buyer was able to resell it 2 years later to another person who's adventuring in it today. Miles don't mean as much as neglect/maintenance and your ability to turn a wrench. I don't consider 150k high miles if the previous owner wasn't a complete wad. Of course... there are a lot of those out there too

Yep
Cracked manifold Toyota’s get those when driven hard in hot temps. The Landcruiser 4.7 and the sequoia/ Tundra both have this issue and it only surfaces when those vehicles are absolutely hammered on like 75+mph across Texas in 100 degree heat etc. Even the old bullet proof R22 suffered manifold issues and typically had big failures due to absolutely red hot frying the exhaust side of the block being driven like it was a 454 v8 lol.

 

[Deleted member 9101]

Yep
Cracked manifold Toyota’s get those when driven hard in hot temps. The Landcruiser 4.7 and the sequoia/ Tundra both have this issue and it only surfaces when those vehicles are absolutely hammered on like 75+mph across Texas in 100 degree heat etc. Even the old bullet proof R22 suffered manifold issues and typically had big failures due to absolutely red hot frying the exhaust side of the block being driven like it was a 454 v8 lol.

That's how my 1st gen Tundra else's up with a set of headers...haha.

 

[tacollie]

I would buy high mileage with a good maintenance history before a low mileage vehicle with no maintenance history. My 19' had 89k on it with 2200 idle hours so it basically had 128k on it. Maintenance records showed the fluid were changed regularly and the shocks never were. It was a rough ride home?

 

[dole]

Eh, miles don't really mean that much to me in fact I just bought a 28 year old car with 240k miles in July for $500 and spent a few weekends since then fixing what's wrong with it... I'd drive it cross country today. The last SUV I sold had ~320k miles and I got full asking price for it, 5x what I paid, and the buyer was able to resell it 2 years later to another person who's adventuring in it today. Miles don't mean as much as neglect/maintenance and your ability to turn a wrench. I don't consider 150k high miles if the previous owner wasn't a complete wad. Of course... there are a lot of those out there too

yeah after seeing how 95% of people i know treat their vehicles i generally assume most people have totally neglected proper maintenance and driven like lunatics. skipping every other oil change and redlining it out of every stoplight in town seem to be the average person’s way of caring for their vehicle. i’ve only ever looked at one used vehicle where someone actually had service records.. and it’s the truck i own today.

so i am extra cautious. because also agree with you that it’s more important how a vehicle was maintained than how many miles it has. but at least with fewer miles some idiot has had less time to abuse it

 

[IdaSHO]

Your rig is exactly what I want! Is that flatbed custom? Beautiful setup and very good to hear it's treated you well!

Yes, entire thing is completely custom, built by me.

Bed & camper

 

[dole]

Yes, entire thing is completely custom, built by me.

Bed & camper

beautiful work! i’m just below you in utah. maybe we’ll cross paths one day!

 

[Explorerinil]

The 7.3 gets about the same as the 6.2....while providing more power.

And should be more reliable in the long term due to a much simpler design. The 5.0 in my 17 f150 take home vehicle just had its cam fasers (?) replaced, it was a costly bill.

 

[Grassland]

Isn't the coyote an evolution of the modular V8s in prior generations?
You would think Ford could figure out cam phasers and timing chains by now.

This thread has me leaning back towards a 6.2 F250 rather than a new F150, despite a super duty being complete overkill for my uses

 

[gtbensley]

6.2 is a fantastic motor. Plenty out there with many miles and run hard. Parts are easily available as well.

 

[Todd780]

despite a super duty being complete overkill for my uses

Isn't that the mantra here?

A 3/4 ton is on my radar too even though it's overkill for me 90% of the time....... ?

 

[Regcabguy]

From what I've gathered they're pretty bombproof. Thirsty, but reliable. I originally wanted a Tundra, but the MPG vs. payload led me to the Ford. Mine is a '14 350 xtra cab short bed with 4:30 gears. Got it 4 years ago with 30k miles and have 8?,??? on it now with no problems. I bought it because it was supposed to have the 3:73 gears for better MPG. After checking the VIN I discovered it was 4:30. I got a Bilstein deal with new springs and shocks for cheap. Think they were for a diesel because it popped it up more than the advertised 2-2.5 inches. Planning on a Buckstop bumper and winch to push the front end down a little. I had E rated tires on it before and it was a bit harsh. Put on some C/D rated 35's and run them with about 40 pounds +/- depending on what I'm doing and it's a little better.
I would never want to keep throwing money at a Tundra to make it more able to carry weight when I can get it stock from the factory. I love Toyota's as much as everyone on here but,.......
Good luck and happy truck hunting

The correct springs and shock valving would yield a nice ride without resorting to passenger tires. The engineers determined an E rated LT tire is safe for an F-350.