What are the major &/or common problems in general? Would you buy it? 5.8 gas, automatic, 2WD
No, wouldn’t touch it. 26 year old truck! There are no common problems of a truck that old with, what? 300,000 miles? Find another truck.
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Common problem, or maybe the weakest link, would be the automatic transmission, in my opinion. A 1993 model is getting pretty old, even for me. And I’m rather frugal. Or cheap. Depending on who you ask.
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have an pre-purchase inspection done before you buy it. Those on a forum can give general ideas, but having someone that can actually look and touch this truck will be vital in making sure you know what you are purchasing.
Also, you need to examine why you are looking at a 1993 truck. Is this to be a daily driver? A work truck? A fixer upper for fun? a first vehicle for a new driver? These are types of things we don’t know, so we can’t give you a very solid answer to your question.
Would I buy it? No. I don’t need another truck. 
Mine was good except for rust problems. 2 manifolds due to rusted out bolts, then work decided to scrap it when the brake line failed due to rust. 1st gear good for plowing, I usually started in 2nd, and get any loose fillings fixed because it is a rough ride. I liked the truck.
I would only consider getting a 1993 F-250 as a truck used to do chores on the weekend, such as picking up stuff from Home Depot
No way would I buy it for a daily driver
and this truck had better have lived its ENTIRE life in the southwest . . . otherwise it’s probably darn near rusted out by now
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It’s an old truck and will be subject to all the problems old trucks have – body and chassis rust, suspension, brakes are all suspect — no doubt about it, but OP already knows that. From what I see the 5.8 is a conventional electronic multi-port fuel injection engine, with an injector for every cylinder. No throttle body injectors, that’s a good thing. It looks like a pretty good, robust design imo. Fords seems to have problems with the EGR systems on their vehicle, but this engine seems to have a pretty simple to understand EGR design. The EGR vacuum regulator is probably the most difficult to diagnose problem that might come up. If it uses air injection as part of its emissions package, that might become problematic at some point. Known problems seem to be pretty innocuous, starter solenoid, cruise control, fuel pump check valve, fuel pressure regulator, parking brake, drive belt detachment. All the accessories, especially the transmission if it is an automatic, of course could punk-out at any time, but that’s true of any truck that age.
Would I buy it? Well my own Ford truck in nearly 50 years old, so it would be a big step up for me!! 
But were I looking for an old truck with a big engine I’d definitely consider it. I would be much more interested in a truck like that if it were equipped with a manual transmission. If it had an automatic that hadn’t been rebuilt in the past 5 years I’d probably take a pass myself. Who needs automatic transmission problems?
I’d be more interested in the truck, if it had the 7.5 liter V8 
I will repeat the question asked by others: “What purpose do you have for the truck?”
Back in the early 1970s, we bought five acres in the country. We were having a house built and a pole barn erected. I was fencing the back 4 acres and needed to haul fence rolls and posts. I needed to haul lumber to build horse stalls. I needed to haul hay bales for the winter.
I bought the only truck I could afford–a 1950 Chevrolet one ton (3800 series). I paid $120 for the truck. It was badly rusted. It wasn’t a daily driver. I sold the truck three years later. At the time we had the truck, we also owned two cars. Had I been able to afford it, I would have replaced one of the cars with s half ton pickup that could have been a daily driver as well.
Now I will admit that a 1993 F 250 is much more civilized than the 1950 Chevrolet 3800 that I owned. If it is to be s chore truck only, it may make sense. If it is to be s daily driver and second vehicle, you may want to look for a F-150 or even a smaller truck such as a Chevy Colorado or Nissan Frontier.
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