? Buying 04 6.0 w/ SnoPlow...questions

[Cookin' SDD]

Recently sold my 99 Crew Cab LB 7.3 and miss it already. I'm looking at a 2004 Super Cab SB 6.0 with 75,000 miles. It's really clean and equipped just the way I like it. BUT, it's got a snow plow package that I'm not even sure has been used much (it has the controller, plugs and mounts). I don't need the snow plow because I'm taking the truck to California before winter hits.

My question is what are the things I should be concerned about with a truck used as a snow plow? It's been mentioned to look for rust, transmission & 4WD issues. I'm gonna drive it today and get a better feel for it, but I'd also like to buy it today if it's solid. It's an XLT with Line-X and a Leer top, in very good condition. Carfax has nothing to note and one owner. The dealer is asking $25k. Thoughts?

 

[MBRPCrazyford]

First, like, you said, check diffs, tranny, trans. case, and rust. BUT, also check the engine compartment for corrosion. Salt like to do that to things. Also, check the front frame rails for damage. (i.e. Bending, large holes from plow mount) These are just some things to check. Hope this helps, and good luck. Oh, also, listen to the engine close for anything that doesn't sound right. Plowing put a lot of strain o the whole drivetrain.

 

[DragonSlayer]

Do they know how much plowing it did? Other than that, get an oasis report to check the history, its much better than carfax. Good luck, more than likely it will make you a good truck. I love my '04, never had any problems with it.

 

[Cookin' SDD]

re: Truck w/ Snow Plow, should I buy? No.

Thanks for those two great responses, which were a big help. I'm not buying this particular truck.

Everything looked good on it, it drove great, has new brakes. BUT, after the drive, I took my time and inspected the truck closer. Looking into the engine area from the left-front fender well, I saw some serious corrosion. So, I got under the truck, looked up and found corrosion on the engine block that was so bad, I decided not to buy the truck then and there.

I found the salesperson, told him what I found and he was okay with that. He was surprised, saying "all of our trucks pass a 152 point safety inspection [wah, wah, wah] but if you see rust corrosion that you're not comfortable with, we can stand by that." He asked if I wanted it lifted so we could check it out. I said sure, pointed it out and that was that.

Here's a picture of the truck (loved it and was ready-to-buy), and two of the corrosion (deal killer). That split just to the left of the cable/hose is right where a bolt is (not good). Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that the exhaust manifold that's seriously corroded?

Anyway, thanks for the help. Now looking at a 2005 up the road.

 

[Cookin' SDD]

Also, they were seemingly good people anyway. They ran the Oasis report (this was a Dodge dealer with a Ford dealer under the same company) and a build report had to wait until Monday. I haven't seen the Oasis report to know its contents. I ran a CarFax and it came back fine.

I got a phone message from the salesperson saying that the corrosion shouldn't worry me because if something goes wrong with the engine, the 5 yr./100k PowerStroke warranty would cover it. Well, I'm not goin' for that B.S. because we all know how easily Ford would refuse a warranty claim. I'd have to see the build report to know whether or not there was a factory snow plow prep, but even so, I'd bet that Ford would refuse it. So, I'm passing on this one. The brakes were good tho.

 

[MBRPCrazyford]

Yeah, that's the manifold. Like I said, this is a common issue with trucks that plow. I'm glad that ya checked that before you bought the truck. It's sharp lookin though! Good luck with the 05! That is definately some serious rust and corrosion!! =0 At least the people were ok with it.And, btw, I'm pretty sure they don't check that stuff in a 152 point "safety inspection".

 

[Cookin' SDD]

Thanks, I'm glad I passed on it. Just think, if I'd bought that truck today, I'd be sittin' smiling my @ss off with a grin ear-to-ear. Ten months from now though when that corroded bolt wall gives, I'll be cursing from here to poughkeepsie.

 

[BamaSixGun]

WOW, are you sure thats not an artifact from the Titanic???

glad I live down here in AL, aint gotta worry about corosion like that.

you did a good job checkin that truck out as good as you did

 

[Cookin' SDD]

Somebody's gonna buy it tho. Feel sorry for them.

The thing is...the rest of the truck is in GREAT shape. It's easy to fall in love with it and with the canopy and Line-X, it was basically perfect for what we needed. I'm just glad I bent down, looked closely and said "holy cr@p! Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" My wife said "holy cr@p". That's when I got under the truck to get a better look.

 

[MBRPCrazyford]

Yeah, I would hae said nearly the same thing!! The rest of the truck does look great though. That's how dealers sell stuff. They like to make it look good on the outside, to try to distract you from the mechanical problems that might be present.