So when do you pull the plug on a utilitarian vehicle?

Looks like my old Powerstroke is having a bit of a automatic transmission issue recently - guess towing the trailer across the country didn't help, although I did have everything serviced and checked before setting out.

Anyway, the transmission (allegedly) had already been rebuilt before. It's now occasionally either slipping or slamming into gear like I drop-kicked the (nonexistent) clutch. The local shop that was recommended to me by our non-car people friends and one of the local car guys took a look when they did an oil change, found the fluid about 1/2qt low and suggested pulling the pan and having a closer look. The didn't find any evidence of the transmission leaking, neither could I and the fluid levels were correct before the cross-country trip. Anyway, I should know more about this next week but suspect the transmission is on borrowed time.

Getting the transmission replaced is likely going to cost me close to what the truck is worth. I expect the truck to be worth in the $5k ballpark - it's a 96 with 310k miles, single cab/long bed 4x4 and cosmetically challenged. Rust free by salt belt standards, though.

Guess the question is now, do I pull the plug and have to go search for another truck/SUV that I can a) use as a winter beater and b) is presentable enough to actually show up at a client with, or do I throw less money at the transmission. We're already past uneconomical here (I had to dump > $3k into the truck the week before our move due to issues that came up before the drive) but at some point I have to stop flushing more money away.

Of course, if I do sell it - and I have someone who is interested - what I can find for less than $10k that'll have half decent fuel economy and can still tow about 6k up and down the hills around here?

I had a bit of odd shifting in my 96 three quarter ton Powerstroke F-250. Had the pan dropped and change fluid and filter. Runs perfect now no problem. That being said a quality rebuild is a lot cheaper than a new truck payment. Ymmv

Oh, I'm not getting a new truck - I don't them often enough to justify that, so I'd end up paying cash for something that's less than $10k.

I'll definitely have the fluid and filter changed before I do anything else. I don't think I want to spring for a trans rebuild as the truck isn't in that great a shape in the first place, but then again a lot of the sub-$10k trucks here seem to be missing an inch or two at the bottom of the cab...

A quick poke around FB Marketplace suggests it's worth even less than I thought, likely only 3500-4k.

Devil you know vs the devil you don't...

How much other deferred maintenance does your current rig have?  How are the tires?  Balljoints?  Brakes new?  Thats really the deciding factor for me.  If your current rig is perfect in every other way, keep it.  If it needs a ton of other work - send it and fine one that someone else dumped a ton of money in.  New brakes and balljoints dont really increase resale value.  

Any other sub $10k diesel 3/4 ton will have its own issues.  Only saving grace is it stings a little less to put $3k into a $10k truck than a $3k truck.

Rust free and 300k is better than rusty 180k.  

I vote to fix/service and keep.  

You're at an interesting crossroad.  Northern buyers will have a northern bias to their decision making.  To us in the north 300k means beat.  This bias comes from the experiences that a car with 300k miles of salty road expose is ready to disolve. 

300k out west means, might need some wrenching.  I'd rather try to fix something with a wrench because rust really can't be fixed.  

If you try to buy something else for $10k it will likely have more rust (or soon have more rust) than you feel comfortable with arriving to see a customer.  

It's got recent tires (less than 5k on them), glow plugs, some additional service work (exhaust manifold gaskets for example), some HPOP work, some steering components replaced, water pump, starter and some other stuff. It's also got paint falling off and some damage to the bed.

Other than the transmission and cosmetics it does have an issue with the RHS front suspension and the interior is nothing to write home about either. It's basically about as worn as you'd expect a 310k miles truck to be.

I'd probably go back to a gas truck (RAM or Ford V10) simply because the Diesel premium seems even higher around here in WV than it was in NV.

What about a transmission rebuild / repair and a $500 maaco paint job? They suck but they're not as bad as paint falling off.

Also, my brother had a single rear wheel powerstroke like that and a factory new Ford transmission wasn't that much more than a rebuild. They all go through transmissions, but at least they last over 100k miles. Sadly just a few years after replacing the transmission, his engine developed a crack in the block between two freeze plugs - likely a casting flaw that took years to manifest. He gave up on the truck and my other brother replaced the engine with a junkyard part and sold it for $10k or so, and they split the profit. For me I would never pay that for a '96 truck as a utilitarian vehicle! I think the diesel tax is nuts, especially since they don't actually seem more reliable in the least.

In reply to John Welsh :

Thanks John, that's the sort of insight I was looking for, being new to the salt belt. Very much agree with you on the rust - growing up in Germany where rust was a problem, then living in the UK where rust was a bigger problem, I'd rather not deal with it unless I absolutely have to. From that perspective, there is probably more life left in the truck than I thought there was, especially if I spring for some rust proofing before next winter.

And yes, I wouldn't want to buy a rusty truck, so that would likely mean blowing valuable time off on finding something in the Southwest with all the assorted transport shenanigans.

In reply to dculberson :

That's not a bad idea - I'd have to get the bent bed side sorted out, but if even if I spent 1-2k on the paint job, I'd probably come out ahead *and* have something that isn't a white truck with grey patches anymore.

Start in this thread of my 2006 Ford Super Duty.  See the before pics.  That is what an average 12 yr old Ford looks like here in Ohio. Look past the previous decal issues and the frame bend.   If my truck was a XLT, Crew Cab, it would have had a $10k retail value, even in that level of appearance.  Notice closely the amount of rust on the rear bumper.  So much that the bumper more so crumbled rather than bent.  

In this thread, discussing fender flares, you will see some close up pics of my wheel wells.  Know that many older trucks you look at in the rust belt will have these plastic fender flares added later in life to hide the beginnings of cancer. 

Here are some quickly found local examples to me: 

$7k and that's a lot of wheel well rust, even from far away.  

$13k at dealer and the non factory two tone paint is only because this has had "rust reduction surgery".  

$9k at dealer and again plastic fenders and non-factory two tone.  

You mentioned earlier that your interior is rough.  It is probably sun scorched from out west.  

You want truck bodies from the west but you want interiors from the rust belt.  Notoriously, the truck bodies dissolve before the interiors wear out.  Therefore, I recommend hitting up the rust belt JYs to find much fresher interior stuff, cheap.  

Sample of '00 w/ 164k

Rough exterior:

Generally neat interior:

In reply to John Welsh :

Wow, that's some rust right there. What I'm seeing between here and DC doesn't seem to be quite as bad, but still too much for my liking.

The interior in mine is mostly well used - it's kinda in line with what you expect after over 300k miles, but that doesn't make it a much nicer place to be either.

I forget, even though WV, you are more the DC Metro Market.  You will have much less rust there.  

My DD is a 99 F-250 that is closing on 600K miles. Rust free.  

I just had the trans rebuilt by a reputable shop for $2200. 

I hated spending $2200 on a truck with that much mileage. But it’s a free truck, and how much truck am I gonna buy for $2200?

I’ve decided to stick with the devil I know. I’m gonna sink a little more  money into it- replace the interior, new stereo. 

Its a tow pig. How much truck are you gonna be able to buy for the price of a transmission?

BoxheadTim said:

In reply to John Welsh :

Wow, that's some rust right there. What I'm seeing between here and DC doesn't seem to be quite as bad, but still too much for my liking.

The interior in mine is mostly well used - it's kinda in line with what you expect after over 300k miles, but that doesn't make it a much nicer place to be either.

E36 M3, man, that is rust free.

I vote for a proper diagnosis.  Plenty of simple things could be wrong with that transmission.

If it's OBS, check the ignition switch.  Seriously.  They can fail and give intermittent continuity that doesn't shut the engine off, but can freak out the transmission.  The valve body isn't a common failure, but could cause the problems you describe.  Accumulator springs like to break and wedge open.

You might find that it's a simple fix.  Don't throw in the towel just yet.

Towing 6k is pretty easy for newer things.  Most mid-sized SUVs will do 6k.  A properly equipped Colorado can tow 7k or more.

No need for an F250 to tow 6k.  Heck, if my 94 Mazda B4000 weren't a manual 4x4, it would be rated to two 5500.

Something that really stuck out to me during my two years in WV is the horrible mileage my gas truck got in the Mountain State. Is diesel better in that regard with all the hills riding that long torque curve and being able to keep the RPMs down? My 318 was Screaming for Vengeance all the time there.

I guess I've been absent round these parts but Tim, when did you migrate from the left to right coast? 

In reply to GCrites80s :

Yeah, the diesel isn't doing that well on the mileage either, but at least I'm seeing 15-17mpg when not towing. It's only 2ish mpg down from what I got out West, but then again I live on the edge of the mountains.

In reply to Curtis :

Proper diagnosis is definitely on the cards. I've dumped too much money into this truck already to just take it out the back and shoot it.

In reply to dxman92 :

Moved out here late December last year. It's all still pretty new to me.

I’m sure you already know this, but the third brake late has something to do with transmission function, as crazy as that is. That is also a common spot for water intrusion. 

You can do a lot of maintenance on a truck for $10k, like putting in a rebuilt transmission and engine if you do the work yourself. Like it was said, you can't wrench on rust.

BoxheadTim said:

In reply to GCrites80s :

Yeah, the diesel isn't doing that well on the mileage either, but at least I'm seeing 15-17mpg when not towing. It's only 2ish mpg down from what I got out West, but then again I live on the edge of the mountains.

I never noticed poorer mileage in my Dmax when I'm in Clarksburg.  That thing gets 20+ empty.  My F150 with a 5.4L got 12 at best.

Depending on the kind of diesel truck you have, you can expect anywhere from 30-50% better MPGs.  Back in the day I had an 88 TBI chevy that reliably got 13 empty and a 98 6.5TD that reliably got 22 empty.  And the TD had way more torque and way better resale value.  Guess which one I drove every day?  The TD.