Man its been a long time since I've been on the forums. Here is the deal...

I have a 92 xlt ex cab, short bed, 4.9L, auto, 4x2 with 323,+++ miles. Rebuilt the trans about 36,000 miles ago. The engine is just wore out. She has been used real hard over the years. The dilemma is should I even bother with a rebuild or not? The truck itself is in pretty good condition, but has over 323,000 miles on her. Are there any structural concerns I should be having with this many miles? Old red has been my daily driver/hauler/work truck for a very long time. Got this old girl from my dad right at 200K. I've put the other 123K on her. Its towed boats, flat bed trailers, 16ft travel trailers, and 3 horse trailers for quite awhile now. What have been the structural problems seen on our trucks over the long haul? If I had the money to buy a new truck I would, but I don't. Not sure how much I could get for her in the present condition. The ac is out, so no one in Texas is going to pay very much for something without ac. Throw me some info folks. I'm at an impasse. Right now I'm rolling around in a jeep cherokee thats been floating around my friends and me for a few years as an emergency vehicle. It blows to say the least. The engine in the truck might be toast, but at least she doesn't ride like total hell.

 

Depends on how much money you have.

But you got over 300,000 miles on that stock motor. A rebuild and that motor will far outlast the body. You'll get all the benefits you've had thus far and then some with a that inline 6 brought back to life.

I say depends on money because around here, nearly any pre 97 F150 you can get for $2000 or less no matter the drivetrain or body combo in all range of conditions.

I Personally would investigate a 351w swap if i as pulling the motor out anyhow. Could just be me though. I also have a regular cab short box and think the 351 would be fun in the small truck.

 

Id check the frame and look for cracks or anything and besides that rebuild the engine and fix stuff as it breaks man

 

What he said, they ain't making them like that any more, I d dump a good used motor in it, but I m cheap.

 

theres been tons of vehicles not just trucks who the owners have got 500k even 1,000,000 miles out of them with just rebuilds and basic maintenance as long as you dont abuse it and fix it when its broke you should be fine.

 

Right on. I figured I would have support from y'all. Everything looks good even though it's covered in oil right now. The only problem besides the engine is that the rear tank pushes fuel to the front tank when I use it.

I've been thinking about swapping out the I beam suspension, and turning her into a 4x4. She does OK off road, but 4x4 would be nice.

 

That cross filling tank is a common problem. And i agree you woul like the 4x4

 

honestly you'll get no money for he, and if the body is still ok i'd just go ahead and drop in a working junkyard motor, or even do a rebuild of a junkyard motor then swap that in when it's done, so you have minimal downtime. and 4x4 swaps have been discussed a lot, a number of people have done them

 

agreed with everybody. everything you need should be easy to find. have that motor rebuilt or find a good used one. 4x4 parts arnt nothing hard to find either. pretty reasonable priced depending on who find them from. like sombody with a truck who is about to scrap it they would usually sell parts pretty reasonable. might better off finding a truck with all your options just in 4x4 then you have all those extra parts if you need a qiuck fix.

 

For example. There's a 1990 F250 XLT Lariat with 7.3L extended cab. 10.25" rear, Dana 50 front, 3.55LS, 122k miles, very good tires, new fuel pump, glow plugs, etc, pioneer cd player and speakers, for $1900