2000 Ford F-250 Super Duty - 7.3L Powerstroke Diesel & ZF-6 - In-Depth Review, Walkaround, and Drive

After 9 months and 9,000 miles of ownership, I finally got the chance to make a review video of my new-to-me toy hauler - a 2000 Ford F-250 XLT Super Duty. This truck is a SuperCab/long bed configuration with the 7.3L Powerstroke (Navistar T444E) turbo diesel engine and ZF-6 speed manual transmission - a pretty desirable combo that is becoming harder to find in this modern era of quiet emissions-controlled diesel engines and automatic transmissions. The truck also has the manual floor-shifted transfer case 4x4. I have wanted one of these trucks for a very long time and was finally able to purchase this one last fall when I had purchased a larger equipment trailer and was looking to upgrade from my well-used 2000 F-150.

This truck was built August 4, 1999 and spent the first few years of its life as a spare plow truck in a contractor's fleet in York County, PA. It was set up to plow snow but saw very little salt and snow over those first few years (which saved the body and frame). In 2004 it was purchased by a couple in Lancaster County, PA who used it to tow their 28' camper and 17' boat on various yearly trips out to Ohio and back. The truck was maintained by a local mechanic and was pretty well taken care of over their 17 years of ownership. They put it up for sale in their front yard when downsizing due to health issues, and thanks to a friend Jake who lived right across the street, I found out about this truck immediately after it was parked out front for sale. Jake sent me a picture of the sale sign taped to the window, which left me wondering about the truck, so I took a trip down to look at it one evening after work. I was amazed to find that it was pretty much the exact configuration I was looking for. After thoroughly inspecting the engine and the body, and negotiating a price with the owners, I signed the title and a bill of sale, and drove it home.

The truck is in excellent overall condition for being 23 years old with 188,000 miles on it. It is mostly rust free except for the rocker panels and a couple spots along the rear wheel wells, but I do plan to have that fixed in the future. The 7.3L engine runs strong but does have an occasional miss and does leak some oil from the turbo pedestal (typical of these). I will be upgrading it with new oversize injectors, KC300 turbo, EBPV delete, billowed stainless up pipes, stainless exhaust system, and extended life severe-service air intake (to replace the POS K&N system currently on it). I also plan to make some interior changes, including adding a set of 40/20/40 seats in the front to replace the center console, adding WeatherTech floormats, LineX bed liner, new shocks, new steering box, and some other odds and ends.

I am excited to own this truck and plan to hang on to it for a very long time. It will make an excellent toy hauler for me and I believe it is the right fit for my new trailer and the tractors it will be hauling. The early Ford Super Duty pickups were some of the best vehicles Ford ever built in my opinion and I intend to keep this one running as long as possible - would like to get a million miles out of it if I'm lucky. It's not the flashiest or most powerful truck on the road but it sure is reliable and I will be putting it to good use.