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Ford F-250 Owners
Enjoying your F-250? Need to find out what F-250 owners think about their truck? Then this is the place!
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The engine is pretty much bullet proof. So is the tranny IF it has had regular and frequent fluid changes and has never been allowed to overheat. Overheating and burning the fluid is especially easy to do with a diesel since the engine produces so much torque at very low rpms. Also, since it is a diesel, chances are it has towed some heavy loads. If the fluid has been changed regularly then the tranny should be ok.
However, you didn't mention the trucks mileage. And as we all know, trannies and most other components have a finite life. What are you going to do with the truck? Give us more details about the truck and we'll try to give you more detailed answers.
Anybody done injector changes, chip, airflow changes(throttle bodies/mas air flow ?) or anything else?
Yes, ask for the service records if there are any. If that is the correct mileage, then the two biggies that I see with this truck are regular oil and filter changes and coolant additives. The tranny will go that far without a fluid change as long as it hasn't been allowed to overheat and cook the fluid. But back to the oil changes. These trucks use a second high pressure oil pump to hydraulicly actuate the injectors. So not only will old, dirty oil wear on the engine, it will also wear out the injectors prematurely. The coolant additive is IMO the BIG one you should ask about. Diesel engines require coolant additives. This is due to the high compression ratios. The high compression will actually cause the cylinder wall to bow out during the compression stroke creating an area of high pressure around it. As the piston then retracts after the combustion process, then that cylinder wall will very quickly flex back in to its original position, which creates an area of low pressure around it. The coolant will have a tendancy to form air bubbles, boil if you want to call it that, in this area of low pressure. When the piston begins its next compression stroke, the cylinder wall flexs out again. Only this time those air bubbles formed from the last cycle will implode due to the incredible pressures created by that rapidly expanding cylinder wall. When those air bubbles implode, they can, and will, eat away at the metal of the cylinder wall. Over time holes will form and the engine is shot. This whole scenario is called cavitation. That's where the coolant additive comes into play. It prevents cavitation from happening plus it helps the water to draw heat from the engine metal more efficiently.
The reason why I have gone into such an discussion of this is because most dealers aren't even aware of this additive. I don't know about the '95 model year owner's manual, but I'd bet it doesn't even mention it either. My '99 model year manual does, otherwise I wouldn't have ever known to ask about it from other diesel owners.
Again, if that is the correct mileage, that truck has set for long periods of time or has only been driven a few miles a day. Unless something else jumps out at you, the condition of the coolant would be the thing I would be most concerned over.
Have you test driven this truck yet? If you do, take it on an extended test drive, not 10 or 15 minutes either. I'm talking about a couple of hours. I test drove a '95 dually, crewcab with the 5-speed back a few years ago. Once it was up to full operating temperature, I drove it hard. I'm not talking about redlining every gear, but at least taking it up into the 2,200 to 2,600 rpm range with the throttle to the full. You won't hurt a diesel that way. These engines are designed to work hard and enjoy it, not like a gasser. Anyway, I had made a couple of stops, one being at my house to see if the truck would fit into my garage, and on the way back to the dealer I noticed the truck started smoking lightly under acceleration. Not the typical black sootie smoke, but it had a white color to it. I took it back to that dealer and didn't buy it. Turned out to be a good decision as I later happened to mention it to a reputable diesel mechanic. He told me he was familiar with the truck and that the smoking would have gotten worse the longer I drove it. All in all, he said about $2,000 to fix it. So if you've read this far, take the truck on a good long test drive.
Your mileage will be considerably different running empty and towing. Remember, my point of view on mileage is based on a '99 F-350 Supercab, long bed, 6-speed, 2wd. I get around 18 mpg when empty and 11.25 mpg when towing my camper. I have a 16' flatbed on which I use to tow my offroad Jeep. I'll get around 16.5 mpg with that trailer behind me.
I've been told snowplowing is one of the hardest and most abusive things you can do to a truck. I don't know from personal experience as we don't get much snow where I live. I personally wouldn't want one that has been used in that manner. I would imagine the tranny wouldn't last long.
What brand of oil did you put in it? I have only used Rotella-T in my truck. Walmart sells it around here for about $6.50 a gallon. I got familiar with Rotella-T when working for a trucking company. That's what they used, and still do today. Several of their trucks had 1 million miles on the odometers when they were sold. They were never rebuilt either. The company choses to buy a new truck at that point rather than chance a truck on the road that might break down. I have 140k miles on my truck now and can tell you the inside of the valve covers are clean and sludge free.
Obviously I'm a Rotella-T fan. Others really like Chevron Delo, and there's another major brand but I can't think of it now. Ask around at the truck stop when you fuel up. You'll get lots of good information from the guys that know what they're talking about and far more opinion than you want.
Welcome to the Ford diesel club. If you're like most of us, you'll find out it's a love affair.
Since I may run afoul of the Edmunds membership agreement, I'll send you an email with some information on another website that you'll find very helpful.
I posted this exact message on another post and was directed to put it here - ANYWAY - my truck is awesome - I went from a ranger to a f150 4.6 v8 to this 6.0L diesel - WOW!
Generally speaking, the diesel class of oils are intended to keep the carbon particles suspended. The carbon particles are the result of burned diesel fuel and blown by the piston rings. This is much more prevalent in a diesel due to the higher compression of the engine. Usually the commonly available oils in 15-40 are diesel and have the API ratings to support use in a diesel engine. Using a 10-30 weight oil may not harm the engine from a lubrication perspective, however the lack of the ability of the 10-30 oil to keep the contaminates suspended could be disastrous and very quickly.
From what I understand one of the few things that can compromise the longevity of a diesel engine is coolant cavitation. Cavitation occurs when microscopic bubbles momentarily appear in coolant - when the bubbles pop (implode) near the outside of the cylinder wall they cause microscopic erosion of the metal. Over years, it can cause $$ problems. If previous owner used anti-cavitation coolant additive then great. Unfortunately a lot of diesel owners don't know about this phenomenon or the additive. I don't know how fast cavitation will cause damaged, my guess is at 60K, it's probably not worrisome. Maybe Jim can add his knowledge here.
Some '99 and '00 Powerstrokes exhibited a noise called "the Cackle". Supposedly a funny noise akin to pinging in a gasoline engine. Had something to do with a shortcoming with an injector on cylinder 5 or 6 (?). Supposedly, the noise doesn't damage the engine, but a lot of folks with the cackle complained of sluggish engines, or mediocre mileage.
Diesels require a bit more maintenance than gassers - bigger oil capacity, more expensive filter. Bit finicky on quality of fuel too - watch out for fuel with water in it; buy your fuel where the big rigs go to ensure it's fresh. Need to be religious about changing fuel filter, and learn how drain any water out fuel line separator. Also, have to be mindful of cold weather - starting is a bit more complicated than a gasser. Need to wait a minute while glow plugs warm up the cylinders before trying to start. Depending on how cold it gets in your area, you may have to use the engine block heater too.
By and large Super Duties are pretty solid trucks. They have a tendency to warp brake rotors, and can be rough on ball joints, etc. But you can beat the snot out of them on a daily basis and they'll keep going. Though, personally I'd stay away from one that had been used to plow snow, or one that had towed a really heavy trailer for a living.
Disclaimer: I own a V10 F350 4x4, and have two very good friends with '99 and '02 Powerstrokes. However, I'm the one who has a heated 30x30 garage with 8 ft doors. So guess where everybody's winter maintenance gets done? All my diesel knowledge rubbed off from them.
The cackle can be a bit worrisome. Ford says there's no damage to the engine, but the ones I have talked to that have cacklers feel differently. I think the problem lies in part in injector #8. At some point Ford started putting in an injector stamped "LL8" (long lead?). This supposedly fixed the problem according to them. But the Ford abandoned the LL8. I don't know why unless new computer programming fixed it. I have an early '99 that has the regular #8 injector, code "AB" I think. To my knowledge I do not nor ever had a cackler.
Rotor warpage, IMO, seems to be related to drivers rather than the truck itself. That SD CC is a very heavy truck. But with that said, I have 142k miles on mine and they are just now beginning to exhibit very slight signs of warpage.
Even if you do your own oil changes, look to spend about $35 to $40 for oil and filter. Fuel filters are available at the dealer for just under $50, or online for $15. Same filter too.
Starting in cold weather has only been a problem on those occasions, like last week when the temps suddenly went to near zero, when I got caught with my pants down by not having my usual winter time fuel additive in the tank. I use Stanadyne, in case you're wondering.
Fresh, water-free fuel is of great importance. About this time last year I got some water-laden fuel that ended up costing me $900 for two new injectors. These injectors don't cost $450 each, that $900 included labor, testing 4 injectors and replacing 2 with rebuilt ones.
With proper maintenance, that truck should go 300k with no real problems. Give us a few more details about the truck you buy, we'd love to hear about it!
Thanks again!!
Andy
What online sites do you use to get your parts, filters, additives and such? Wife just got a new 04 F350.
Thanks!
Dave
http://www.dieselsitetoo.com/store.asp
Good luck with the new truck.
Walt: I sent the guy an email. I didn't know if Edmunds would allow me to post a website address. I got my hand slapped by the host over in the Jeep forums for doing that. Didn't want to take a chance a do it again. Bob's place there really is a very good one also.
The dealer has recommended that I go with the standard suspension w/o heavy front springs or stabilizer bar. He thinks I'll prefer the better ride on a daily basis over the slight improvement in towing behavior.
Any advice who be appreciated.
Push the parking brake in part way. Not a lot, but just enough to put some drag on the wheel that has no traction. This will shift some of the torque over to the side that's not spinning and allow it to start going.
It's a "limited slip" rear end, so it only will divide the torque between the two sides up to a certain point. (Like the spec the dealer mentioned.) If you want power equally distributed to both wheels, you'd have to get a "locking" differential. Lockers are great for mud bogging, and can get you out of really deep snow, but they're impractical and possibly dangerous for normal driving. A great compromise is an "air locker" - a pneumatic control on the dash allows you to momentarily lock the differential when needed, then release it. Unfortunately, they're $$$.
Lot of folks complain about the Ford LS rear end. I think it's fine - applying the brake has always worked on my F350. It takes a while to get a feel for it, but then it's second nature.
Have you, or anyone else had trouble with door-alignment on the Super Cab? Mine knock and shift when on a bumpy road (normal speed). If I'm at a complete stop, turn the wheel hard in either direction, then accelerate, it (driver's side)shifts so loud it scares you. (First time in happened, I thought I ran something over pulling out of a parking space) Luckily nothing/no one was there!
Thanks again for your help.
Jim
The only word of caution that I have when adding a performance chip is this: Get a pyrometer, a gauge that reads the exhaust gas temperature. A chip can raise the EGT's to a point where turbo failure could occur. However, lot's of people run mild chips with no pyrometer and never seem to have any problems either.
You mentioned also adding an aftermarket exhaust system. A larger diameter system with a less restrictive muffler, or none at all, will most likely reduce the EGT's. However, there is a downside to doing this. Unless you're going to go with a hot chip, you may notice a loss of low-end torque. I don't know the physics behind this, I just know of others that have noticed it. I'm sure if I wanted to, I could find dyno data to prove it also.
Thank you for the sites! I have bookmarked them! They will come in handy soon.
Right now, we're looking for nerf bars that are frame-mounted, and not body-mounted. Any recommendations!
Dave
Considering you're only doing short trips, and only a 1000 miles per year towing, the diesel would not be a good option for you. It'll pull anything, and gets significantly better mileage when towing than a gas engine, but it costs ~$3K more and you'd be hard pressed to make up that money difference on fuel savings alone. Maintenance is more involved as well, and the low miles you say you'd be doing may cause you a few more hassles with a diesel. Stick with a gasser.
Does the 6080 lbs trailer weight include the weight of the horses? A gooseneck puts a fair portion of its weight over the rear axle of truck and this affects the payload capacity of the truck. Payload of F250 Supercab is around 2200 lbs. (Payload includes passengers and their gear, along with the weight of the gooseneck.) That trailer puts at least 20% of its weight on the truck - that's 1200 lbs right off the top of your payload, before the passengers, the cooler, luggage etc. - doesn't leave too much payload capacity for the tack, feed, etc. (If you've got a couple of 1200 lb horses to add to the weight, the remaining payload's even lower.) Don't want to spend your money, but for ~$750 more you might be better off with next step up in trucks. The same configuration in an F350 - has a payload of about 3300 lbs. You can "legally" carry half a ton more.
Also where do you travel? Any big hills that you're gonna have to go over? There are two gas engine choices in the Superduties- 5.4L V8, and 6.8L V10. The 5.4L can have either 3.73:1, or 4.10:1 rear ends. The 6.8L comes with either the 3.73 or a 4.30:1 rear ratio. The higher number means that the engine turns over more times for each revolution of the rear wheels. So the higher number ratio puts out more torque and allows you to pull a heavier load easier than the lower number axle ratio. Of course since the engine spins more, there is once again a small mileage penalty.
You said you wanted a manual transmission. This will give you a lot of control over the engine's power, so you could probably be fine with the 5.4L with the 4.10 gears. (Might still be a little slow towing over a mountain.) A V10 with 3.73 is only about $600 more, but you'll have a lot more power at your disposal, and surprisingly, the gas mileage is not much different than the V8 with 4.10 - the V8 has to work harder to pull the same load and ends up burning just as much gas.
I am biased. I have a V10, 3.73 automatic, 4x4 Crew Cab. I tow more than you, but still not enough to warrant the diesel. I've towed 10K lbs and am quite happy. (Well except for maybe the towing mileage.)
thanks for the advice! I took a test drive today in a truck that had most of what I was looking for-F250 SD, 4 X 4, extended cab. It was a little sluggish on hills, and I was wondering if this is typical of this truck, and if it is a truck I should consider for what I want to haul.The trailer I will be hauling is a gooseneck that weighs 2100 lbs. empty and has a gross loaded weight of just over 6000 lbs. The truck I drove today was a Triton V8, 5.4 L. gas engine. Of the three engine sizes available in this truck, what do you think of each considering what I will be hauling (3 horse gooseneck trailer). Thanks so much for your advice! Lynn
forogt to mention the truck I test drove was a 2001 model (any particular problems with that year?) and it has 63,000 miles on it, one owner. Looks clean and rides nice.
Lynn
The diesel is the superior platform for towing. With it, you would barely even know that you're pulling the horse trailer. If you can find a good used one it would serve you well, though it would cost more $$. But be advised, it'll take extra care and attention to deal with the foibles of a diesel. 15 quart Oil changes. Issues with fresh diesel fuel, water in the fuel, then summer vs. winter diesel and cold starting issues. (My wife dislikes diesel fuel odor, and positively loathes the exhaust smell.) Loads of folks deal with these matters all the time and love diesels; it would be a matter of your personal choice and pocketbook.
My (biased) choice is still the V10. The extra two cylinders make a big difference in the way the truck moves out. (I have a 3.73 rear.) No special driveability, or maintenance issues compared to the diesel. Similar power output, just not as good mileage as the diesel. I surprise other cars with how fast my 7500 lb 4x4, crew cab behemoth can move when I need it to. It's just a bit disconcerting to watch the gas gauge visibly move as a result.
My truck is an '01, with 26K on it,(not my daily driver,) just out of warranty a couple weeks ago. No major problems with it. One stupid one: lock on tailgate is possessed and locks itself going over bumpy roads. Only problems I've heard other folks consistently complain about is a tendency to go through ball joints quickly, and warped brake rotors resulting in pulsing brakes. V10s can sometime have a problem with blowing out a spark plug - I guess cylinder head is only 5 or 6 threads thick (and can be stripped?) Plugs are supposed to last 100K miles, but you still need to pull and inspect them every so often. I put anti-seize compound on mine, and take special care to put them in at the specified torque setting. So far no problem.
Older model (pre '01) Superduties were a bit shy on transmission cooling - could factor in towing on hills. People add tranmission temperature gauges and supplemntal cooling to prevent costly problems from overheating the transmission.
I love the truck, and would have no pause in selecting the same setup should I need to buy another.