tool

So, the connundrum continues on what to do.....

I moved to a different province and need to get an out of province safety inspection done on my truck to get it licenced here.

I have loved my '06 Mega, but after 165,000 hard miles and few repairs done, it needs lots of love.

For safety it will need, tires, windshield, front axle u-joints, balljoints, tie rod ends, axle seals, steering box, pitman arm, right front head light not working believed to be TIPM, glass in the right hand mirror, new fog lights,

Also the transfer case is cracked and leaking fluid.

Just replaced front driveshaft.

So all in, that adds up to a pretty darn big bill. Gotta wonder if it's worth it?

What to do? trade on new '12 3500? Buy a new F350?

Decisions, decisions....

SOhappy

'06 Megas are a gold mine down here because of the 5.9. They fetch $25-$30k depending on miles and condition. Yours obviously less...

If you can afford a new one I'd say fix the obvious stuff (windshield, headlights, tires) and sell or trade if you find a good deal.

Grit Dog

My 2c.
The new Ford 6.7's "seem" to be doing ok, but if I was going new I'd still go Cummins or Dmax until those engines earn back their reputation.
Regarding your truck, yah, that's a ton of stuff to be fixed.
If the truck looks nice you might find a dealer that doesn't do a thorough inspection and give you a decent trade on it. If they add up all that stuff you won't get much for it though. I bought 1 truck at a dealer in my life and it was becasue they made me a trade in offer that was considerably more than I could have sold it for on the street. Not sure what they were thinking other than it was a shiny red truck that "looked" like new, but it needed, tires, brakes, tre's, trans work, a new hood, shocks and the deal was right considering what I'd have to put into it.
See what you can get for it private party sale. Like SO said, 5.9 Megas hold their value stupid well. To say that I could get the better part of $30k for my 07 with 100k mi on it when I only paid $30k for it with 10k miles is crazy, but at least here in WA 100k mi Mega Cabs and CC Dmaxes fetch between $25 and 30k.
That said, if it's in otherwise nice shape you might find someone willing to pay a decent amount for it just because it's 5.9 Mega. $10k-15k maybe.
If it's beat up then good luck.

tool

Hard to know what to do,

I am a little leery of all the emission stuff on the '12 models with the DPF etc.

This truck wouldnt see 10,000 miles/year anymore but it's all work and towing.

I am also worried about cold weather idling in the winter. I use this truck to haul water and it drives to the well which is about 7 miles, idles for about 40 minutes and then drives back loaded towing about 15,000#

Seen some 2011 F350 with the 6.2 gas and low miles for reasonable money. Anybody have experience with those?

jswar

We have 2 F450's w/6.7's running between deep mine sites...2011 w/37,000 miles and a 2012 with 16,000 miles. Both trucks are used for core pickups and parts deliveries. The drivers leave the trucks idle all the time and they've had zero engine/emission control problems. Ford derates the 6.7 in a cab/chassis app. 100 hp, and the trucks run accordingly. But with aluminum flat beds, an Auto Crane, 4:10's and all of the hauling/idling they're still averaging 12+ mpg. We have 2 2008 6.7 Ram 2500's that run between strip mine sites and they've had a ton of the standard turbo/etc. problems. I checked hours on one of them the other day and it has a lifetime avg of something like 22 mph...about 10 less than my daily driver, which needed an egr cleaning at 55,000 mi.

It sure appears that the def method of cleaning the dpf beats the BlueTec approach.

Farmer Duke

I just traded my 2012 F350 4x4 CC drw for a 2012 3500 4x4 CC drw. My Ford was getting 12.5-13mpg on the highway empty hand calculated. The thing pulled like an ox, but the extra added maintenance was going to be terrible. The Ford has 2 yes TWO seperate cooling systems( 2 radiators, 2 water pumps, 4 thermostats) which you have to check every 12-15k miles. Around here the Fords that have between 50-80k miles have been shutting down on account of a bad exhaust sensor. it will literally shut the truck down and you have to tow it to the shop, then they have to reprogram it once they install the new sensor. Mine was jumpy from take off, could smell antifreeze when idling, and had a rumble in the floor board while going down the road. All of the dealerships I took it to said until something throws a code or breaks they can't do anything. And the mpg and gallons used on the computer was off. The mpg was off atleast 2mpg when I hand calculated it and the gallons were off 5-8 gallons all the time. I told the dealers this and they said that they aren't supposed to be real accurate. I thought for the price I spent they should be spot on.