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Topic: Is 143,000 miles on a 1994 LD Ford 350 V8, 460 a lot? (Read 14 times) previous topic - next topic
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Is 143,000 miles on a 1994 LD Ford 350 V8, 460 a lot?
Yahoo Message Number: 114873
We have a chance to purchase a Lazy Daze.  Our hesitation is due to what seems to be high mileage (143,000). When is it considered too old and are better off with a newer LD? Are we in for a lot of problems? And what could they be? We are concerned about the mechanical aspects of the RV.  The interior appliances seem fine and it is very clean. The owner has admitted to being non-mechanical in nature and has had all maintenance done on the recommendations of her mechanic. Our first inspection showed the engine low 1 1/2 quarts of oil after her last oil change which was 2,200 miles ago. Her mechanic said that is normal for the age of LD and it need only to be monitored more often. Transmission was overhauled 4000 miles ago. At this age, is the suspension questionable? We've been given to understand that when purchasing an older RV, to expect to put in a certain amount of money for replacement of parts.  What is your experience with that? Thank you!
Re: Is 143,000 miles on a 1994 LD Ford 350 V8, 460 a lot?
Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 114874
The low oil would worry me with it only being 2200 since last oil change.  Possibly bad rings and low cyclinder compression.  What does the exhaust look like especially when giving gas and engine under load...climbing a hill or accelerating??

D

AlaDar Beagles
www.aladarbeagles.com
Re: Is 143,000 miles on a 1994 LD Ford 350 V8, 460 a lot?
Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 114875
I purchased a 1985 LD 23 foot RB this year that had only 31k on it.  I still had to replace the shocks, tires, belts, hoses, rebuild the carburetor, and have it aligned.  I also had to repair the water pump, heater, and refrigerator.  My mechanic is especially fond of the 350 chevy engine, and he told me that he could keep that engine in good repair because it is such a popular engine that parts are never an issue.  Frankly, I don't think having low mileage is a great thing.  My van sat in a barn for 20 years and deteriorated for lack of use. I added up the full cost, and it sort of equals out.  I only gave $4,000 for the LD, but then I put another $3,000 into it.  Now I have a really nice van that runs great, and I trust.  I suppose I could have looked for a newer van and spent $7k but not been forced to put in the repairs.  At least this way, I know what has been done.  I am also pretty sure that I will get most of my money out of it if I need to.

Becky Carrier,

__
Re: Is 143,000 miles on a 1994 LD Ford 350 V8, 460 a lot?
Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 114876
"  wrote: "We have a chance to purchase a Lazy Daze.  Our hesitation is due to what seems to be high mileage (143,000)."
 High mileage on a motorhome isn't *necessarily* a heads-up that something's going to go "blooey" very soon, but, IMO, it would be enough of a concern that I would keep looking, particularly when I read some of the other indicators of potential problems!
 "The owner has admitted to being non-mechanical in nature and has had all maintenance done on the recommendations of her mechanic."
 Is the "mechanic" trained, experienced, and knowledgeable?  Are all the *service/maintenance/repair* records available?  Has the maintenance been done at regular intervals?  If any and all maintenance on this rig hasn't been done consistently and throughly throughout its lifetime, a buyer could well be in store for a lot of unpleasant and very expensive repair surprises.
 "Our first inspection showed the engine low 1 1/2 quarts of oil after her last oil change which was 2,200 miles ago. Her mechanic said that is normal for the age of LD and it need only to be monitored more often."
 Well, I think that Ford has some pretty loose standards when it comes to "acceptable" oil consumption, and, apparently, 460s do consume oil, and older, high mileage engines use more oil than newer ones.  This website page offers some basic information on oil consumption:
 http://www.aa1car.com/library/oil_consumption.htm

But, the mechanic's statement that the oil level needed to be monitored "more often" suggests to me that the owner may not have been particularly diligent in doing routine, preventive maintenance, the most basic of which is changing the oil and filter at recommended intervals.  And, *if* you have no way to verify that routine maintenance was done at intervals per Ford's recommendations, i.e., an absence of service records, it's another red flag.
 "We've been given to understand that when purchasing an older RV, to expect to put in a certain amount of money for replacement of parts.  What is your experience with that?"
 IMO, spending a "certain amount" for "replacement parts" is a given; all motorhomes, old and new (even Lazy Dazes!), demand ongoing "preventive" maintenance and timely "repairs".  It's simply unrealistic to buy an "older" rig (even most *new* rigs have a long punch list!) and expect it to be wart-free; RVing is not an inexpensive lifestyle choice!  ;-)  The real question is *how much* is a "certain amount"?  I suggest that for a 16-year-old motorhome with high mileage and an apparently "uncertain" maintenance history, a "certain amount" could be some big bucks!
 Other may not agree, but, IMO, there are too many potential surprises and red flags in this deal; I'd keep looking!

Joan
2003 TK has a new home
Re: Is 143,000 miles on a 1994 LD Ford 350 V8, 460 a lot?
Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 114877
-> The low oil would worry me with it only being 2200 since 460's, especially early ones are known oil burners, even with low mileage, but plenty of power and very reliable.
Re: Is 143,000 miles on a 1994 LD Ford 350 V8, 460 a lot?
Reply #5 –
Yahoo Message Number: 114880
My LD comes with a sheaf of maintenance records an inch thick. It has been diligently maintained, including oil changes every 3000 miles. When the mechanic  mentioned checking the oil "more often," he just meant to check the dipstick every 1000 miles, not wait to 2200. He runs his own shop but is a former Ford dealer transmission specialist.

Joanne
Re: Is 143,000 miles on a 1994 LD Ford 350 V8, 460 a lot?
Reply #6 –
Yahoo Message Number: 114881
Quote
... apparently, 460s do consume oil, and older, high mileage engines use more oil than newer ones.  This website page offers some basic information on oil consumption:

http://www.aa1car.com/library/oil_consumption.htm
The link agrees with my mechanic: "...  as the miles accumulate, wear and oil consumption naturally go up. ... Using a quart of oil every 1,000 miles is not unusual for a high mileage engine. The amount of oil used is still acceptable, but by the time it reaches a quart or more in 500 miles it's using a LOT of oil. Blue smoke in the exhaust is a classic sign that an engine is burning too much oil."
 So if 1 quart in 1000 miles is "not unusual" then 1.5 in 2200 miles isn't unusual either.

Joanne
Re: Is 143,000 miles on a 1994 LD Ford 350 V8, 460 a lot?
Reply #7 –
Yahoo Message Number: 114885
Just FYI I had a chevy conversion van  with the 350 engine with almost 150,000 miles on it when I sold it.  It use maybe 1/2 quart of oil between oil changes.  No blue smoke etc.  So not all high mileage vehicles will use oil.
Darlene

AlaDar Beagles
www.aladarbeagles.com
Re: Is 143,000 miles on a 1994 LD Ford 350 V8, 460 a lot?
Reply #8 –
Yahoo Message Number: 114888
My previous 1996 class A had the Ford 460.  During the 1997 Life on Wheels conference, the Ford factory rep giving one of the classes said that the design MTBF on the chassis engine/tranny combo was 100,000 miles. FWIW: Jack
Re: Is 143,000 miles on a 1994 LD Ford 350 V8, 460 a lot?
Reply #9 –
Yahoo Message Number: 114889
MTBF? ? ? ? ??? Translation please.
Dale from Downey

__ From: captjack100 captjack@...>
 To: lifewithalazydazerv@yahoogroups.com
 Sent: Thu, July 29, 2010 7:31:10 PM
 Subject: [LD] Re: Is 143,000 miles on a 1994 LD Ford 350 V8, 460 a lot?

My previous 1996 class A had the Ford 460. During the 1997 Life on Wheels conference, the Ford factory rep giving one of the classes said that the design MTBF on the chassis engine/tranny combo was 100,000 miles. FWIW: Jack
Re: Is 143,000 miles on a 1994 LD Ford 350 V8, 460 a lot?
Reply #10 –
Yahoo Message Number: 114890
MTBF = Mean Time Between Failure A common manufacturing, engineering, and design term. Basically summed as expected lifespan.

Ken Sann

wannabe in SoCal
Re: Is 143,000 miles on a 1994 LD Ford 350 V8, 460 a lot?
Reply #11 –
Yahoo Message Number: 114891
Quote
MTBF? ? ? ? ??? Translation please.
Dale from Downey
Dale,
 MTBF = Mean Time Between Failures.  Commonly used in the engineering field.  I'd pass at 140k miles unless I was willing to throw a new motor in it sometime soon.  The key is what the Ford engineers consider a failure.  MTBF can be quite an involved analysis.  Look it up on Wikipedia and you will see what I mean.  There are guys at my work that make a living on calculating Reliability for all sorts of systems..... MTBF's being one of the calculations.

Ramon
Re: Is 143,000 miles on a 1994 LD Ford 350 V8, 460 a lot?
Reply #12 –
Yahoo Message Number: 114892
Bottom line for me is it's just too many miles.  I wouldn't consider a  unit with this number of miles on it regardless of oil consumption.  I know they are hard to find, I spent 2 years looking for mine.  Low mileage LDs are out there.
Skip
Re: Is 143,000 miles on a 1994 LD Ford 350 V8, 460 a lot?
Reply #14 –
Yahoo Message Number: 115003
Hi Garry, thanks for reporting on your experience. My asking price on non-cult sites (RV Trader and Craigslist) is $11K, which is $5600 less than the asking price shown for 16-year-olds on the "Asking Prices for Used Lazy Dazes" chart, which has been removed from this site but is still available on the New England group's Yahoo discussion board. That discount was intended to reflect not only the higher mileage but also changing economic times, season, geography, whatever. We'll see!

Joanne
Selling older units-challenging at times.
Reply #15 –
Yahoo Message Number: 115004
I am having a hard time even getting interest in my older unit priced at 14,000.  Yes it only has 40,000 miles but I do have history on unit and I know how often I have driven it.  I have a letter from previous owner also.  Still good shape despite age.  Does need a few thing like resealing roof, clean refrig vent, ac vent--just normal routine stuff.  Except heater coil leak which we will have done by winter.  Even that is something others have experienced with even newer units.  What hurts me is where I am located-in AL.  So many newer units for less and people have  not heard of Lazy Daze.

Will keep trying..
Darlene

AlaDar Beagles
www.aladarbeagles.com
Re: Selling older units-challenging at times.
Reply #16 –
Yahoo Message Number: 115011
IMHO, resealing the roof is something that should never be put off. Most of us who have used Eternabond have found it to be very easy to install, a half-day job. If you can't handle it yourself, hire a local kid who takes directions well.

Joanne
Re: Selling older units-challenging at times.
Reply #17 –
Yahoo Message Number: 115017
"If you can't handle it yourself, hire a local kid who takes directions well."

Joanne
 Small chance of separating any of the local kids from their video games long enough to be of any help.
Most kids do not work for the neighbors anymore; it's below their station in life.
I can't find a dependable kid to water my yard or mow my lawn when we are gone.

Larry
2001 MB
* Not to be confused with Larry W (3000 of my posts are actually from expert Larry W due to Yahoo transition mis-step)
Re: Selling older units-challenging at times.
Reply #18 –
Yahoo Message Number: 115018
Joanne, It is under cover and right now in 125 heat index, resealing the roof is not on my big to do list.  Especially since we have had lightning strike to van and it is still in repair shop.  Damage to house roof, the oil spill, plus I have spent the last two weeks in various MD offices. Find a local kid, that is a joke. We can't even find one to help mow our three acres.  So thanks for the IMHO but my shoes fit different.
Darlene

AlaDar Beagles
www.aladarbeagles.com