Hello,

I am looking at buying a 1994 f250 4X4 7.3L idi turbo.
the price is $4000
230,000 miles
i have a lot of questions.
the owner of the truck is a mechanic, and told me a lot of stuff about that truck that he didnt have to tell me and that i would not have figured out on my own any time soon (see below). he really seemed honest. he has records for all the major maintenance and repairs for the last several years.

tires are good, a little wider than stock, medium aggressive, with 2/3 tread left. truck is clean and seems well-maintained. everything works fine. manual locking hubs, power windows (including a rear slider). power lumbar support, extended cab, longbed. no shell, no winch, no lumber rack. trailer brake controls, class 3 hitch, transmission cooling system, lock-up torque converter, shift-kit (or tug-kit?). transmission replaced (E4 OD) not long ago.

what is a shift (or tug) kit?
does the lock-up torque converter mean that at higher speeds and gears the torque converter does not slip as it does when the truck is under a load or at a stop under normal conditions?

the truck has a small leak from the oil filter. has a small leak probably from the left valve cover, but not certain. the transmission has a tube coming out the bottom of it that the owner of the truck mentioned is there to allow motor oil that pushes past the rear mainseal to drain through. is that right?

is the motor oil in a diesel always black? why?

this truck does not have a solid front axle. i am used to thinking that i want a solid front axle on my 4X4, but, i will be using this as a hauling and towing truck, i dont plan to do any recreational 4X4ing with this truck. is the solid front axle better for towing and hauling or not?

i wont be taking this truck on very many long trips at all. almost all the driving it will get is going to be local and it wont be used for anything other than trips that require a big truck. i expect it to get less than 2500 miles per year from now on.

here are the problems with the truck.
i did not have any problems with the brakes, but the owner told me that a diaphragm in the power brake booster has a pin-hole and is causeing vacuum loss when you try to brake very hard (otherwise its no issue) which results in the brakes being a little squishy in an emergency (so i need to fix it). the part required to fix this is apparently $65. is this a relatively simple repair? he described to me that i could release the pin holding the rod that is attached to the brake pedal, undo 2 bolts from under the dash, and two more form the front of the booster itself and replace the diaphragmm fairly easily. does this sound right?

i felt that the truck shifted a little abruptly, compared to other automatics that i have driven, but i dont drive them very often except a small car that is my wife's. the owner of the truck said that the throttle position sensor has problems and sometimes causes the truck to shift poorly. a new sensor costs about $150. can this problem cause damage to the motor or the truck? he said that he has just not worried about it because it only happens very rarley and that when it does he can make it go away by tapping on the throttle position sensor or by just switching the ignition key on and off a few times. it seems pretty simple to fix, just buy the part and replace it, its right on top of the motor, does that all sound right? he told me about this before i drove it, or i would not even have felt that the shifting was particularly bad.

when i was driving the truck, i noticed some creaking and popping from the front when going over bumps while turning or that sort of thing. the fellow who is selling the truck showed me there are two bushings on the front that need to be replaced. they are not completely gone, but they are not good any more. on a solid axle they would be called the lower control arm bushings, but maybe thats not what they are called on this axle. again, he mentioned this before i drove the truck, but i would definitely have noticed the symptoms anyway. e recently replaced the tie-rod ends and their bushings.

the front leaf springs are past straight, there is only about an inch of play to the pad. can this cause damage to the truck? is it critical to replace? is it fairly easy to replace? i have done shocks and struts but not leaf springs.

is this a good price for this truck?
are there any things in what i have said that make you think its a bad idea to buy this truck for local hauling and towing and very occasional longer (300 to 400 mile) hauling/towing?

Thanks!