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Any 1999 F-250 owners?

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Comments

  • pworangepworange Member Posts: 57
    checksix Please don't take this wrong, its not meant to insult your intelligence. I had a 92 F150. The truck only came with rear anti lock brakes, I don't remember if 4wheel ABS was even available. If that is the case your scenario sounds almost right. Without ABS on the front they would lock up while the rears wouldn't. With a trailer I'm not sure of what the dynamics would be but perhaps the trailer was "lightning" the rear end and reducing the effectiveness of your rear brakes. It might seem like the trailer should make the rear end heavy, but I'm not so sure that that is the case. It might be that the tongue of the trailer trys to jackknife up making the rear end lighter????
  • pworangepworange Member Posts: 57
    Correction I didn't have a 92 I had an 89.
  • stanfordstanford Member Posts: 606
    My '93 has similar behaviour quirks. Especially in the rain, I can lock the front two wheels up just by thinking about it. I got used to it -- and am hoping that the '99s are a little better behaved (although the 4 wheel ABS will help there).

    I had BFGoodrich A/Ts on it at one point (285/75R16s I think). They had the oddest effect of kicking water up over the windshield whenever I drove into a deep puddle. Wouldn't hydroplane, but cut visibility to zero. The original highway tires were terrible in the rain, my current Michelin ATs are decent, not great.

    The rear wheel comments above make a lot of sense. I've often wished for front, not rear, ABS if I had to pick 2 wheels for it. Oh, well.

    As an aside, my break wear is unbelivably good. My rear pads are down to 30% left, the front ones a little more worn -- this after 97,000 miles! Yes, they're the original pads.
  • checksixchecksix Member Posts: 28
    Great info: thanks
    KC-it's comforting to know someone else has
    experienced this unwanted phenomenon. Sure does get your attention when you are about to get broadsided by 80,000 pounds of metal, and can't
    do a thing about it. Ralph Nader, where are you?
    I looked in the manual and found there is a 60
    amp maxi fuse for the Anti-Lock Brake System.
    Thanks for the fix.
    I'll try the new truck first and see if the
    proportional setup works.

    PW-mine was a 92 F150, and only the rear abs
    was available then. Don't worry about insulting
    my intelligence-it's in cold storage somewhere.
    Besides, anyone with that neat a handle can get
    away with anything.

    How about it: any big rig drivers using ABS?
  • cdeancdean Member Posts: 1,110
    stanford

    quick lesson on vehicle dynamics. take a toy car, a good sized one, 5 or 6 inches long. tape up the front wheels so they can't spin, and slide it down an inclined plane. it slides straight down. now release the front wheels, and tape up the back wheels, and slide it down the incline. the car will spin side to side, uncontrollably.

    you DO NOT want ABS on front wheels only. :)
  • KCRamKCRam Member Posts: 3,516
    checksix

    all big rigs have ABS - it's a federal law. It's the trailer that locks up and causes the jackknifing

    By the way, my Ram is 4 wheel ABS, so this phenomenon is NOT limited to rear wheel ABS only
  • stanfordstanford Member Posts: 606
    You're assuming that the front wheels lock before the back ones do (and that locking is permanent). Generally a fair assumption, I'll admit, but... in my case, my front wheels will lock at a moments notice, generally 2-3 times a day in stop-and-go rush hour traffic. Not for long, but enough to get some good chirps out of them (and, I'm sure, to unnerve the drivers of the cars in front of me). Annoyingly enough, I have more stopping power than that -- I'm just tired of the tires screeching (momentarily) all the time.
  • mikef150mikef150 Member Posts: 35
    checksix...did you work in the airline industry?
  • harold2harold2 Member Posts: 14
    i bought my f250 sd with the optional 4-wheel abs and have had to make two emergency stops (once with 1700 lbs in the bed). they worked flawlessly. By the way, regarding my ongoing vibration problems, ford has agreed to repurchase my truck at full price, with no mileage deductions. now i get to order another one. have there been any color additions?
  • BrutusBrutus Member Posts: 1,113
    The 99 trucks come standard with rear ABS only. Unless you pay for the 4 wheel ABS option, the front tires on your new truck will lock up during a quick stop. To prevent that from happening, you have to have the 4 wheel ABS.
  • stanfordstanford Member Posts: 606
    Anything over 10,000 lb GVWR comes with 4 wheel ABS as well. I believe this covers all the dually trucks... not sure about the SRW F350.
  • curiousercuriouser Member Posts: 12
    Can any of you out there tell me what the Waranty is on the Power Stroke Diesel and the V10. I know about the 3yr/30,000 but someone mentioned 100,000 on the diesel.
  • KCRamKCRam Member Posts: 3,516
    Ford's warranty is 3/36 on the truck and 5/100 on the diesel engine, matching the Dodge/Cummins warranty. A $50 deductible applies on the 5/100 after the 3/36 ends.
  • ruzruz Member Posts: 59
    #0 of 3: 1999 F-250 Light Duty Owners (ford_man) Wed 26 Aug '98 (02:37 PM)

    I've ordered a 1999 F-250 Extended Cab Light Duty
    pickup. Don't confuse this with the Super Duty
    that has been available since March or April.
    The light duty extended cab comes with the 4th
    door. My delivery date is supposed to be the week
    after Labor Day. Has anyone actually received one
    yet? My dealer indicates that mine will be in the
    first load he gets.



    #1 of 3: ford_man (ford_man) Tue 01 Sep '98 (01:52 PM)

    Well I've just received news that my new LD F-250
    will be arriving on Thursday and I'll pick it up on Saturday. If anybody out there has one and wants my assessment just let me know.



    #2 of 3: rsholland (rsholland) Sat 05 Sep '98 (07:13 AM)

    Which configuration did you get? 4x4? 7200 GVW or
    7700 GVW? I'll be interested in reading your
    comments. I've long felt that the F-250LD is one of truckings best kept secrets.

    I like the F-150, but the payload is, in my
    opinion, too little. My feeling is that all
    full-size pickups should have a payload capacity of 2000 lb or better. My old '86 F-150 4x4 had a 2200 lb payload rating. If you want a new Ford 4x4 with that payload capacity, you now have to go to the F-250LD.

    I'm surprised that Ford doesn't offer the F-250LD
    with an 8' bed with the extended cab.

    Bob



    #3 of 3: ford_man (ford_man) Wed 09 Sep '98 (10:21 AM)

    Bob,

    I got the 4x2 Supercap. It is rated to pull 8,700
    lbs and the payload capacity is 2,280. I also got
    the towing pkg which includes the transmission
    cooler, oil cooler, heavy duty battery/alternator,
    and class III hitch. I plan on pulling about a 25' travel trailer.

    I don't know why you can't get the F-250LD
    Supercab with a long bed because you can in the
    F-150.

    FYI. I found out another very important change
    from the 1998s to the 1999s. You cannot get the
    color matched honeycomb grill in a 4x2 XLT (which
    was standard in 98). You have to buy a 4x4 or
    Lariat in 1999 to get this option. The 1999 XLT
    comes with the chrome grill and mirrors like the
    XL. Fortunately, my dealer is willing to change
    out the grill surround and mirrors from a 4x4 for
    me.

    I've had the truck since Saturday and have put
    over 400 miles on it. I am getting about 13MPG in
    town and 18MPG on the highway at 70MPH. That's
    pretty impressive with the 5.4V8 and 3.73 limited
    slip differential.

    The bottomline is I LOVE MY TRUCK!

    Joel Mc
  • stanfordstanford Member Posts: 606
    The F250 LD thread should probably be in the F150 conference rather than here. The F250LD and F150 are much much closer to one another than the F250 LD and SD are. I know the thread just says F250, but its been exclusively SD until now.
  • gobrownfishgobrownfish Member Posts: 44
    Read a few days ago about the Gale Banks System
    and it seems impressive. Has anyone had any
    personal experience with this system. I did
    write down the phone number but I did not call.
    With 85 ft lbs of extra torque and 15% better
    gas milage why hasn't Ford copied a similar
    system ? I noticed a California address, where
    else are these systems available ?
    Has anybody checked this out....
  • ford_manford_man Member Posts: 16
    Christian,

    The F-250LD discussion does not belong in the
    F-250 SuperDuty category and it does not belong in the F-150 category. It is a category of its own. I would appreciate it if you would please open up Topic 341 again for the F-250 Light Duty truck owners such as myself. Thanks.

    Joel Mc
  • stanfordstanford Member Posts: 606
    The Banks systems are impressive, and legit. I'm waiting for them to finish work on the V10 package. The main reasons that the manufacturers don't use packages like this are that most people don't need the extra power, it does cost more to make, and it can also increase breakage. Don't be alarmed at that last one -- to you or I moving from a 1:10,000 chance of transmission failure to a 1:2,500 doesn't mean much. To Ford or Dodge, that would get very expensive. Equal length headers are also damn near impossible to install on a standard assembly line. For just the exhaust system for the V10 they're spec'ing 7.5 hours of install time -- that's with no welding at a decent shop.
  • BrutusBrutus Member Posts: 1,113
    gobrownfish,

    If you haven't checked out their website, that might give you some more information (www.galebanks.com). It doesn't give you a whole lot more info. Like you, I'm still waiting for some feedback from actual users.

    I've heard some pricing info, although I haven't personally checked it out. I think I might have got the pricing info from Stanford. The price for the full Power Pak was about $1,850 with an extra $450 for installation. The price for the lesser end unit (Stinger, I believe) was about $1,000 less. For the 460, the mpg gains were about the same between the two systems. Although the Power Pak offers more hp and torque gains, the gains were still impressive with the Stinger.

    Banks says that the installation of these systems absolutely does not void your factory warranty. They say that dealers may make that claim, but Banks will provide whatever is necessary to prove to the dealer that they are wrong. Banks says that they can only refuse to do warranty work if they are able to prove that the aftermarket product created the problem. If for some reason, this is the case, Banks will stand behind their product. Banks, of course, says this won't be necessary since their systems actually increase the efficiency and life of the powertrain. Of course, this is all info directly from Banks, so take it with whatever grain of salt you think is applicable. Still, Banks has a good reputation, and the statements they make about warranties sounds reasonable.

    I'll be interested to hear the figures for the V-10 when Banks gets it done. It sounds like Stanford is on top of the situation and will let us know what he finds out as the info is released.
  • rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    What really should happen is that Ford should re-badge the F-250LD as an F-150HD. There is too much confusion between the two different (radically different!) F-250s.

    Ford sells very few F-250LDs because it's perceived (and marketed) mostly as a light duty commercial vehicle, rather than a heavy duty personal use vehicle. I'd be willing to bet that if they rebadged the vehicle as a F-150HD, they would sell lot more vehicles.

    Bob
  • stanfordstanford Member Posts: 606
    The pricing on the F250s (LD and SD) is almost identical. The F250LD is within 500-600lbs of the F150 when it comes to towing. The 250LD can haul about 1,000 lbs more than the 150, but still considerably less than a comprable SD can. The LD brochure section doesn't list GAWRs, but that seemed to be the main difference between the 150 and 250 when the 250 came out (LDs).

    I agree with you that the F250LD should be rebadged as an F150HD. That would certainly make more sense. I think that you've nailed the target market for it as well -- I doubt too many commercial firms would pick it over the 250SD (once the SDs can remain on a lot for more than 5 minutes).
  • gobrownfishgobrownfish Member Posts: 44
    Thanks a lot for the info. Stanford, I would
    be interested to know your feedback once you've
    had a chance to drive your truck w/Banks System.
    By the way, did you have the complete system
    installed or the Stinger only, and is this your
    first time with the Banks ?
    I will call the 800 number this week and find out
    who in my area handles the Banks System. I still
    find it hard to believe you can have more power
    and better gas milage at the same time. Its like
    someone telling you they are married to an
    intelligent woman, it just don't make sense.
    See you guys later....
  • bootch4bootch4 Member Posts: 1
    CheckSix--can't believe I'm here!! Computer has been down for over 2 weeks. I drove our F250 CC,
    V-10, 3.73, L/S(for those doubters!!), 4X4. What a nice toy!! Prairie Tan!! Not Bad! Not our first choice--but not bad! I drove about 30 miles, and it drove smooth as silk--the CD/Cass sounds great, visibility is great. I would think that some nice aftermarket chrome would dress it up real nice. The wheel wells have "0" protection other than a piece of plastic to guard whatever. The vehicle came in under 8 weeks, with a tag of $29,344, leasing @ $365(4 yr.) with 2800 down. Only negatives--with a short bed, we have to go with the cadillac of hitches---Pullrite Super Glide 5th---$2500 even at the local RV show.
    Harrisburg, PA. Trk needs a smaller antenna, and I'm not sure of the need for wide Power TT mirrors. I have exactly 1/2 inch of space on either side of my garage doors. In any event, we have decided to hold off on acquiring the truck--too many things going on right now. The dealership was quite understanding. Keep in touch. Bootch, aka singer!!
  • campocampo Member Posts: 9
    has anybody ordered up shop manuals from helm
    I can't seem to find any listing,s of manuals available and cost.
    The last one,s I ordered was in 82. They were a great help at times.
    Any help woud be appreceated.
  • richflynnrichflynn Member Posts: 147
    campo.
    In the back of one of the user guides there is a toll free number to call Helm. I think that it is in the maintenance guide. It is rather obtuse and it just states something like "To order additional information....." The reference is probably less than 10 pages from the back of the guide, not counting index. I ordered all three that were available. (The Electrical and Vacuum T/S guide is a MUST for adding any accessory.) I think that the cost was $271. (Worth every penny to fix the key buzzer!) Actually it is two manuals, one has two volumes.
    Rich
  • drozdroz Member Posts: 30
    I have the F-250SD, 5.4 SC with the standard tires. The recommended tire pressure listed on the door are 50 front and 65 rear. I am new to large trucks but this shocked me. The dealer says 50 and 50 would be good and someone else recommended 30 and 30 for a better ride and longer tire life. Any other recommendations out there? Also, the oil recommended is 5W30. Is that also standard (I have always used 10W40 in my light truck and cars)?
  • akjbmwakjbmw Member Posts: 231
    Campo:
    The web site is http://www.helminc.com/.
    Over the years, I have ordered manuals from them a number of times. The last go-around, I found their web site, but discovered that they are not geared to listing the manuals there. It must be related to the extreme variety or non-availability of manuals that have all been sold.

    As indicated in another posting somewhere, they provide manuals for a number of automotive manufacturers. You’ll see diagrams in Chilton and Motors manuals that are the same. I suspect that they came from Helm first.

    ALLDATA is a CD based manual that can be acquired for personal use. I have one for my wife’s’ ’92 Sable. The advantage with the CD is that you can print a clean page to carry around and get greasy each time. The negative is that you no longer have your notes unless you keep the greasy pages in a folder. Also, I don’t think it is as complete as the Helm manual is.

    I have seen another CD based manual displayed at Auto Parts Depot. Mechanics Illustrated maybe?
  • stanfordstanford Member Posts: 606
    Welcome to the wonderful world of load rated tires. If you use the truck a lot, keep a decent pressure in them. I run 55/55 in my '93. You could go down to 45psi ... I wouldn't go much below that but I couldn't say why not, just habit I guess. I kept the 235/85R16Es at 75/75 for a year or two -- now that's a firm ride.
  • drozdroz Member Posts: 30
    Richflynn,

    Thanks for the tire information. At least I now have an idea where they should be for various loads and unloads.
  • mharde2mharde2 Member Posts: 278
    Droz, If you live a hot climate you should use a heaver weight in the summer, such as the 10w30 or 10w40. The manual should have a breakdown of temperatures and viscositys..
    I don't know if its true or not, but I heard that manufactures started recommending 5w30 in their vehicles because it improves the mileage ratings for C.A.F.E.
  • drozdroz Member Posts: 30
    Actually that is what I expected, to have various viscosity choices but the manual lists 5W30, period.
  • campocampo Member Posts: 9
    some intersting reading,s on oil
    vger.rutgers.edu/~ravi/bike/pages/pages/docs/oil.html
    I always used 10w-40 in the past but I think I'll switch to 5w-30
    seems that 10w-40 has caused problems in diesel engines,because of high polymer content.
    5w-30 also contains a high poly content by most oil co,s,but some use no viscosity improvers(polymers)
    need to check brand of oil used.
    any input would be welcomed
  • mharde2mharde2 Member Posts: 278
    Make sure that the oil you use is certified for diesel use....I have never seen a 5w30 that was.
  • pworangepworange Member Posts: 57
    I always believed in doing what the manufacturer recommends. In the diesel supplement included with my owners manual they are fairly specfic about which oil to use.
  • ande157ande157 Member Posts: 23
    Plan on ordering F250SD 4x4 Lariat CC in October. Only decision, other than color, is whether to order V-10 or PSD. Will go w/ auto trans. Don't do any heavy towing, so I may find it hard to justify added cost of PSD. Anyway, what are you V-10 and PSD owners getting for fuel mileage city/highway? How about towing mileage? (Like fuel mileage is a big concern w/ these monsters anyway)! Any and all responses greatly appreciated.
  • bobcat99bobcat99 Member Posts: 3
    F250, V10, Auto Trans WITH 3.73 Limited Slip rear axle is now available in California! The order code is XC1. I've been trying to get this option for several months. Orders for this option have not been accepted in California until last week. If you have an F250 on order, and want the 3.73 LS option, have your dealer submit the change. It should now be accepted. My personal thanks to the personal attention of a Sherryl Brown, systems analyst at Ford in Dearborn, MI, for making this happen!
  • pworangepworange Member Posts: 57
    Only have about 500 miles on mine, but I'm getting a solid 17 mpg, city/highway with my 99 F250, PSD 3.73 LS.
  • stanfordstanford Member Posts: 606
    I'm getting a solid 10.5 on my F350 Crew cab DRW 4X4 V10 with the 4.30:1 gears (or about the worst mileage combination you can get). I've heard others getting 12-14 with them. Also note that I've been driving with a really heavy foot. I love the responsiveness of the V10 though -- this from an old die-hard diesel fan.

    Let's face it -- you've got a winner either way.
  • mharde2mharde2 Member Posts: 278
    Does the 100,000 mi warranty on the PSD cover the whole drive train or just the engine?
    Thanks Mike
  • dlischkadlischka Member Posts: 6
    Bobcat99- Well, the good news is that Ford finally saw the light and allowed the 3.73 L/S (XC1) option with V10 & A/T to go through on California orders. The bad news is that I missed the cutoff to add it to my order by 2 or 3 days! The order is "locked" in and my truck is scheduled to be built on 10/5. I tried calling everybody I could in Ford, but unless I can resurrect Henry Ford himself, there is no way. My dealer is sick of me. The roads I have to drive on are a textbook example of why L/S is superior. After painful deliberations with my wife, we decided to let the dealer have "our" truck and go elsewhere to order another one with L/S! What a pain. I did research the possibility of adding it in later, but it would potentially cost 5 times more (or more) than the $229 Ford gets to add it at the factory. I had tried repeatedly to get my dealer to change the order to allow it and finally gave up. I almost understand the problems associated with an order change this late in the game and it's negative effect on manufacturing process flow, however if Ford would have allowed this option combo in the first place I wouldn't have to write this post! Good luck to everyone in their dealings with Ford. Just remember.... Quality is job one, I don't know where customer satisfaction fits in!
  • mroffshoremroffshore Member Posts: 148
    I have'nt participated in 2 months so I thought I would just chime in to let you guys know so far so good!

    I have 3,000 miles on my f250 lariat,cc,lb,7.3,auto and just had my first oil change. I think the dealer used 5w-40 heavy duty oil for the change. I did not check the manual but is that par for the 7.3L?

    I'm getting, according to the trip meter, 15.8 mpg. I thought I would get a little better, more like 17 or so. I think it will continue to get better. It started at 14.5 mpg and has improved 1/10 by 1/10 each time I fill up. I have the better tires so I'm hoping the milage will continue to improve as the engine wears in.

    I also noticed the 7.3L sounds a little louder after the first 2,000 miles. Maybe it's my imagination but it seems louder. Everything seems good and I get alot of positive comments every where I go! It's hard as hell keeping clean but I guess thats part of the game.

    Brutus, did you get your truck yet? Any comments or suggestions on anything give me a yell!

    Hey professor Rich,

    I recently stumbbled on to your lecture on tires and tire pressure! Spoken like a true professor!!! I do miss reading your post's so know that school is in and I have more time I will be able to keep up! HAHA

    Mroffshore
  • stanfordstanford Member Posts: 606
    Is anyone else flinching when looking at the right hand trailer tow mirror? The new SD internal rearview mirror is convex (so you see more of the road, but things look further away) and the right hand top mirror is flat (like the drivers side mirror). This is exactly opposite of the standard layout in other vehicles. I think I like it, but I'm still not used to it.

    I do agree that the lower portions of the mirrors need to be adjustable too. The driver's side one is a little low (but is great for parking) and the passengers side one is good for driving but not much help in parking. Actually, the combination is not bad for me, but it would vary greatly on seat position.
  • BrutusBrutus Member Posts: 1,113
    I called Gwen at Ford today. She said my truck was loaded on a freight car yesterday, so I'm hoping it will show up at the dealership on schedule next week. I think that puts me at 13 weeks from the time I changed the order to a dually. Then again, I don't have the truck in my possession yet. Hopefully, I will have good news next week. FYI, Gwen was very pleasant and helpful. However, she can't do anything for you if you don't have a VIN number.
  • BrutusBrutus Member Posts: 1,113
    Mroffshore,

    Have you checked your mpg the old fashion way to make sure the trip computer is accurate?
  • mroffshoremroffshore Member Posts: 148
    Brutus,

    Not really, elaborate a little more. How can I check the MPG on my own?

    Mroffshore
  • AirwolfAirwolf Member Posts: 142
    How do most of you breakin your new vehicles? Especially trucks. Every new vehicle I've had I've broken in accoridng to the manual, except my latest -- '96 Mustang Cobra. I took the advice of the salesman and broke it in like I was going to use it... and I've had no real problems.
    Is there a better way, one or the other?

    Thanks,
    Ryan
  • stanfordstanford Member Posts: 606
    The F-SD brochure claims that no break-in is needed. I'm planning on doing an initial oil change at ~1000 miles anyway, just in case. They probably figure that the trucks are going to be worked hard from day 1, and don't put the straight 50 wt oil in from the factory, or do anything else that would require a softer break-in period.
  • stanfordstanford Member Posts: 606
    To: Brutus

    The computer has been correct to within .1 MPG so far (that's as far as it goes). It should be, too, with fuel-injection it knows exactly how much gas has been used, and exactly how far its moved.

    The V10 isn't as fast as I'd hoped, but this truck is also 1500 lbs heavier than my old one (and a dually) which will have something to do with it. No complaints, though.
  • akjbmwakjbmw Member Posts: 231
    Mroffshore.
    For the record . . . Gas mileage calculation.

    1. Fill tank and record the odometer reading.
    2. Drive in a manner to be evaluated. A couple hundred miles is good.
    3. Fill tank again, record the odometer reading and the number of gallons required to refill.
    4. Subtract the first odometer reading from the second giving distance traveled.
    5. Divide the distance traveled by the number of gallons to refill giving miles per gallon.

    Back when gas was in the teens of cents per gallon, I tried to see if there was a difference in the miles per gallon between brands of gas. It took me awhile to realize that my mood was not constant enough nor was my foot smart enough to be consistent. All I did was get practice at calculating miles per gallon.
  • BrutusBrutus Member Posts: 1,113
    mroffshore,

    Ditto what akjbmw said about how you calculate the mpg yourself. From what Stanford said, it sounds like the computer is right on target.

    Stanford,

    So are you going to install the $2,000 Banks system to get that 330+hp and the PSDish torque?
This discussion has been closed.