Potential F-350 owner
 

Hey all,

Potential F-350 owner here pending positive answers from the knowledgeable folks here. Just test drove an 04 F-350 Lariat, and about 3 minutes into the test drive I noticed there was a problem. Under acceleration, the truck had very little power regardless of how hard I pressed the pedal. As soon as I let all the way off, it cut off like it was out of gas. The fuel gauge read just below 1/2 a tank. The salesman that was with me tried to crank it for a few seconds and it wouldn't fire. While we were waiting for one of the mechanics to bring us some gas, the gas gauge fell from 1/2 to Empty, then kicked back up to its previous position a short while later. They brought $15 worth of gas down and it fired back up. He went down and put $30 in it and we went for another ride. The truck seemed to be fine, aside from the gauge still reading the same 1/2ish level.

I guess I'm just curious as to whether or not this is a common issue, or if this seems like some sort of fluke. I read through some Googling that there's different modes for the fuel gauge, and depending on the conditions it can take up to 55 minutes for the gauge to react. The salesman said the truck hasn't been moved in at least 4 days. If anyone has any sort of information as to what the cause of this could be or if it should be a simple fix, please shoot me your suggestions. The price seems right for the truck, I just don't want to buy something that has some underlying issues. And if it matters it's a 2004 F-350 Super Duty Crew Cab Lariat FX-4 with 176k(ish) with the 6.0 PowerStroke.

Thanks for any potential assistance in advance.

if I'm honest, the 6.0 is a very unreliable powertrain that has had more than it's fair share of problems. I would personally back away

i agree with what my buddy above has said

I agree also. Stay away from 03 - 04 6.0's. I am a 7.3 guy. My last one had 297,000 on it when i sold it. I bought a Chevy gas and within a month I was looking for another 7.3.

Yes the 7.3 is the better choice