1984 F-250 6.9 Diesel??

What can you guys tell me about them?? 4wd, 4sp manual. I might have found a really good deal o one, if they are worth anything. Truck is really clean, no rust anywhere, pretty much garage kept since '87. The AC even works. Owner says it has 100,163 miles on it, and the odometer shows 163(only 5 digits). The truck looks to good to have over 200k, but you never know. He's asking $5200. What were these engines and trucks like?? Thanks,

Casey

They are a good truck. The 6.9 is relativly gutless for its size. About equal power to a 351 gas engine. Not a powerstroke by anyones definition.
Not a bad engine unless it has developed cavitation and has an appitite for coolant!
Seems like $5200 is a bit steep.

had a 1985 same as the one you are talking about had put over 300,000 on it know problems,only thing was had to change fuel filters quite often,other than pretty happy with it,I think $5200 is kinda high,just my 2 cents worth,good luck

too high

Waaaayyy to high . I 'd think closer to $2500 tops ,,unless it is perfect shape then ,,still high . my 2 cents . I have an 88 f250 camper special ,with a 460 ,gave $1700

I just bought an 86 F250 with the 6.9 and same transmission setup from a gentleman on this forum for 500 bucks. Body is rough (MN truck) but only has 48000 miles. ACTUAL miles. Has new tires, came with an extra fuel filter, oil filter, and a spare front hub. All I have had to do is replace a brake line on it. Starts every time. Steering is a little loose but I only drive it when it rains and snows. Otherwise I take the motorcycle. I would say that 5200 is a little high. Granted mine is very rusty, but the box floor and cab are solid. Interior is like new. I have a video of it and my tractors on:
Kennys youtube channel

I think a bit high. Around here you could find something 10 years newer for that money.

I think he has a crack habit that he's hoping you'll support by buying that truck.
That's a thousand dollar truck around here. If that. I suppose one could say that the 6.9 was a decent engine, but it was no Cummins.
There's better out there for the money.
An '84 F series... probably not Ford's best effort either. At least not by late 90's standards.

Rod

So when was the first year that the 6.9 was put in a Ford?

I thought 89' was the first year, but I must be wrong.

What was the first year for a Cummins in a pick-up? Factory order that is.

T_Bone

I think the IDI 7.3's came in '89. The 6.9's were very early 80's. Mabey even 80?
The CDC 5.9 was released in '84 for general use. I'm thinking '86 was the first factory Dodge fitting.

Rod

I don't know where you guys find these $500 and $1000 trucks at. Around here, 15 year old diesel trucks with 200,000 miles bring big money. The only time I ever any diesel in that price range is if it's been wrecked or got 3 brazillion miles on them. Here's an example:

http://lexington.craigslist.org/cto/1417874187.html

Guy took the pics down because the whole front end of the truck had been wrecked, was not even drivable.

Another one:

http://lexington.craigslist.org/cto/1415153174.html

I'd like a Cummins, but look here:

http://lexington.craigslist.org/cto/1400365086.html

I guess I could spend 20k on a truck with 150k miles on it:

http://lexington.craigslist.org/cto/1373726048.html

This truck is an auto with 225k miles and the 4wd doesn't work:

http://lexington.craigslist.org/cto/1415470190.html

Apparently lots of people around here have a crack habit.

I know IHC started development in 1978. The earliest Ford I've seen with the 6.9 has been '83, but I'm sure production started before then. IDI 7.3 started in either 88 or 89, but I think your right on 89. Been trying to read up on them tonight...

Nothing wrong with a 6.9 other than not producing much power. $5200 is WAAAY too much for an 84. $2500 is about right. Stuff that old just isn't worth much. Not old enough to have any collector value.

Scrap yards and dealer's back rows are good places to look, which is where you find 95+ percent of the trucks from that vintage around here. Probably more like 99%. Rust takes them here. Mabey not where you are...

At the same time, I see lots of them around here advertized on private sales with plenty foolish figures on them. Some for sale for months on years at the same silly price.
Who's wrong? The guy that won't pay it or the guy that won't take a price he can get?

Rod

Hi Casey,

I took a quick local look, Phoenix;

1985 1-ton DRW service body, 6.9, jib crane, $5500

85' F350 DRW CC, tranny out, 6.9, $850

85' Very sharp 2wd OEM paint? ext-cab, F250, $6000

T_Bone

I didn't mean to seem like a smarta$$, not my intent at all. I'm just frustrated around here. It seems like almost everybody has the "what I've got is worth gold, but what you've got ain't worth crap" syndrome. I had a guy offer me 16k for my 06 Chevy 2500, ext cab 5 sp, manual everything, 6.0 gas. That's a $1000 more than I have in it. But I still need at least a 3/4 ton truck. I guess it doesn;t have to be a diesel, but I figured if I was looking at trucks with 150k miles on them, it probably should be. It would be nice not to have so much invested in a work truck. Guess I can dream on...

89 was the first year for a Cummins in a Dodge. I have one that a then die hard Ford man preordered from Chrysler in 87 to be sure to get one of the very first. 3/4 ton 4x 5 spd.

i wish i had a buck for every one of those 6.9's that blew a head gasket...folks that run em like a truck had no problems but the yuppies that drove em like a car were in the dealership real regular when i was turnin wrenches...i agree price is waaay too high.

Had a new 85 F250 with a 6.9. Fella ran a stop sign and totaled the truck in 1990. Hated to see it go but truth was it was not a good truck. Problems with alignment, had to replace injectors and pump, vacume pump for brakes replaced twice, replaced glow plugs, seemed to be underpowered.

Given the opportunity to do it again, I wouldn"t.

Bob

Casey, The only thing that is wrong with that set up, is the granny low 4 speed, that combo had major short commings till the 5 speed OD was put in it around 87.
A 6.9, 4-speed, with 3.73 would self destruct in time if ran at 70 MPH ++++ hard!!!
BIL had a 86 F-250, 6.9, 4-speed Super cab on 4.10 rears. He had nothing but trouble from it from day one. But he drove it hard all the time, tack ran at 3000++ RPMs every where he went!!
The OD is what really made those trucks is 87. My neighbor had one from day one to just short of 300K. No major engine problems, and he didn't baby it. It was one outstanding truck 6.9, 5 speed OD, on 3.73, w/ manual front hubs,, On a Super Cab F-250. I personally saw this truck do things that most truck wouldn't or couldn't do!
You use this one for farm work and towing up to 65MPH you should be OK.Hope this helps!
Later,
John A.

Every one up there is on crack when it comes to buying or selling any thing. My inlaws are from North Central KY and everything up there is nuts. Here is an add in the local Trader Paper for a truck out of IL this week.

"1993 Ford F-350 4X4 7.3 auto, 260,000 miles, new fuel pump and Jasper trans. $5100"

I bought my truck 3 years ago, 93 F350 duley 7.3 5sp, steel flat bed 4X4 120,000 second owner $5500.

If a fair truck could be found for a fair price up that way Larry Stigers would have been eat'n on food stamps years ago.

Good luck.

Dave

This is not about the 250 6.9 diesel but here is something I ran into today. I have been working on my old 88 F250 gasser. One rainy week It was in my shop and I decided to dob up the rust holes above the wheel wells on each fender. One thing led to another and I ended up painting the entire truck. Took all week but it ended up looking nice. A gallon of Ferguson grey with a quart of black added in gave it a nice dark grey tone. Sandpaper and Tractor supply paint and primer all cost about 75.00. It was about a $100.00 paint job. I was so proud of it I decided to go for a new seat. Went to a salvage yard today and found the exact same Lariet seat in mint condition for #125.00. I asked about the truck they took it out of. It was in mint condition but had no motor and transmission. A little beauty with 90,000 miles. Turns out they were parting out one of those cash for clunker vehicles someone had traded in. What a shame.

I believe that '84 was the first year for the Ford diesels. The 6.9 was an IHC engine, and I think they were alright if you knew how to take care of a diesel engine. As someone else said, way to many people didn't need the diesel to begin with, didn't know how to use them or take care of them, and had problems with them. And the same still holds true today. I don't think that diesel pickups would be nearly as pricey as they are, if only folks who truly need and utilize them were driving them. But everybody and their brother just has to have a Powerstroke or Cummins, just because. Weaknesses I know of with the '84's were the front end wasn't built heavy enough to stand the extra weight of the diesel engine, versus a gas. And some people I know had clutch problems with a manual transmission, but they may have been self inflicted problems through over torquing the clutch. I did that once with my Cummins, and learned my lesson the hard way. I had a close neighbor, deceased now, that went through two pickups just like you're describing, and got along with them pretty well. And he had a reputation for testing things to their limits. The first was a '84, purchased new, and they probably got five or six years out of it, which was good for them. The second was a '86, the replacement for the first, and was one of those rare find, immaculate, low mile, several year old pickups when they bought it. And I believe the guys boy is still using it as a pasture/fencing pickup. As for the price, $5000.00+ sounds high to me. But I guess it's worth whatever the local market will bear. Kind of like giving $5-$10K for a seventy year old tractor, that cost less than $1K when it was new. And prices are driven so much by what new replacement cost is as well. If a new one to match it is $35-40 K, then maybe $5 K for the twenty five year old one is not to much, if it's really nice, and well cared for. Replacing vehicles is something I've come to despise, and I always look for nice, lower mileage stuff, five to ten years old, when we need something. They're out there, if you take the time to look. My current heavy duty highway truck is a '98 Dodge 3500 w/ a 24 valve Cummins engine. We've had it for 5 1/2 years, and it's got 90K miles on it now. I hope it lasts the rest of my life, and I think thats a reasonable expectation. At any rate, my 2 cents, and good luck with your deal!! :wink:

In my area its a $2500-3000 truck at the very most. The 6.9 engines will run forever,but dont get real great mileage and are short on pulling power.

In my area its a $2500-3000 truck at the very most. The 6.9 engines will run forever,but dont get real great mileage and are short on pulling power.

Seems a bit high to me, but perhaps not if truly rust-free and good running.

I just finally sold one of 1985s yesterday. F250, extended cab, 4WD with 4.10 axles, C6 trans, and 6.9 diesel. Also had a custom-built 50 gallon rear fuel tank, along with the 19 gallon side tank. Had 135K orig. miles as far anyone can tell. Ran perfect and was well maintained. Just put new injectors and a new water pump in last year, although the old parts weren't bad yet.

I sold it for $1000, but it did have some rust, especially in the rear box.

As far a claims about engines burning out early when they lack overdrive? Has not been my experience. I've got another 85 F250 with a 6.9, no overdrive, and 4.10 axles. Has 420K miles on it and runs great.

Also had an 87 4WD Chevy Suburban. 6.2 diesel, TH400 trans (no overdrive), and 3.73 axles. Made it to 520K miles before the crank snapped into three pieces (with no warning). My son is still driving it in Colorado, with a 2nd engine, and it's now at the 260K mile mark. No OD and not blown up yet. That, even though it now has a turbo on it.

6.9 engine was built by IH and first sold by Ford in 1983, as I recall. IH built if from an existing HD truck gas-engine platform. That is why it uses the IH truck gas-engine bolt pattern for trans-mounting. The later 7.3 was exactly the same engine with a slightly bigger bore - until mid 1994 sales-year. Then got changed to direct-injection and renamed the Powerstroke.

As compared to the GM 6.2 and 6.5 series, the 6.9s and 7.3s are built much heavier. Both the Ford-IH and Detroit-GMs use the same Ricardo Comet precombustion chamber systems. The IH-Fords have heavier blocks, forged steel cranks, all gear-drive in front, hard valve-seat inserts, etc. GM 6.2s and 6.5s have light blocks prone to cracking under heavy use, cast iron cranks, a timing chain in front, and NO valve-seat inserts.

The price is high for that truck, including since it was underpowered. You could fix the power problem with a turbo kit and fuel adjustment, but your talking at least $1100 for the turbo kit ontop of the price of the truck. Not a good buy.