Ford Super Duty

stanford

That's about right -- total would be 9 weeks (2 1/4 months) before your order could be placed, then about a month to build it. That's right at the 3-4 month range.

tnt2

I too have a F350 4x4 DRW CC PS 4.10 auto, and I get 14-15 city driving, avg. The mileage will drop off on the really cold days, as I will let it run instead of turning it off if I stop for a few minutes. I now have 30,000 on mine. The highway mileage will be better if you stay under 70mph. If you tow the real savings start to kick in.

fasteddie1

Finally dropped by Bell Ford here in Phoenix to spec out a V10 SD 250 Ext Cab, 4WD, LB, etc etc... assist. sales manager had promised to "work with me" (I have no trade, it's a cash deal). After all that, today he faxed me his print out that listed all the MSRP costs...big deal I said... finally said he would give it to me for $2500 over invoice... he must have thought I fell off the punkin' truck yesterday...and I even got dressed up for the occasion.... I did at least get to drive the one V-10 he had on the lot, a SB Crew Cab... and I was impressed with the engine and ride... just not the price!! ...still shoppin' ... at this rate I might as well wait for the 2000 trucks... seems like these Ford and Chevy boys here in Phoenix don't want your money too badly or there are alot of guys willing to pay that much over to get their hands on one...not me...

tmd01

We've been using F-350 2wd SRW CC LB trucks for about 4 years. We've got about 9 trucks equipped different ways. One even has a 460 v-8, it's a guzzler. The PSD's we have are all equipped with 4spd auto & 3.73 driven @ 70mph. Empty they get 18+mpg. With a dually trailer it drops a little, though I don't have any actual numbers. But, you can't really tell that trailer is back there. We had a Dodge in our inventory for a while but nobody liked it. Well, I would take it, but I don't hold the purse strings. lets say the boss din't care for it. They bought a GM k-2500 4x4 Suburban with 454, 4spd auto and 4.something gear. It's a dog. I won't even mention fuel milage, to say nothing of steering problems and unfindable vibrations.

tmd01

Who hands out keys of a brand new truck to a 16 yr. old teenage girl and then complains about not having his truck? Just who wears the pants in that house anyhow? It obviously ain't mr. brown fish.

KEH4x4

I think I paid $1200 over invoice. That was the cheapest I could find around here that would still give a decent trade in allowance. Trucks sell very well in AZ. And the dealer knows that if you wont pay $2500 over, someone else will. Try Tom Jones Ford in Buckeye if you don't have a trade in. They were several hundred dollars cheaper and have a few hundred dollar cheaper sales tax. Plus ZERO B.S. None of this dickering around about price, or playing musical salesmen with you. I saw a red Crew cab in front of Bell Ford a couple of days ago. Mine looks just like it. Is that the one you checked out?

mje

Just to update those waiting for their trucks. I got a delivery date today. suppose to have my truck delivered on Feb. 22. If it actually shows up on that date it will be 6 months, 2 weeks, and 5 days from order date. So take heart everybody still waiting as the odds are in your favor that you won't have to wait that long. The bad news for everyone out there still waiting was that my story is similar to everyone elses. Originally I was told 8 to 10 weeks, then another 8 weeks. After that I was told there was a problem with the seat supplier. ( I have leather captains chairs). Anyway the end is supposedly in sight. I will keep everyone up to date.

chesak

Does anyone have a V-10 with a 4.30 gear ratio LS? If so, what kind of gas mileage are you getting and what is top speed? Is it wound out at 70 mph, or does it have alot of power yet?

I'm 99% sure I'm going to buy a '99 SD F250 4WD V-10 LS 4.30, but I have a slight reservation. Currently, I have a '95 F250 XLT 4WD V8 with a 5.8L 351 engine. I don't want less power when I buy a new truck, so I was thinking of buying the V-10 4.30 LS instead of the V8 with a 5.4L 4.10. As far as usage, I don't put alot of miles on my truck. I bought my truck brand new and only have 19,000 miles on it. I have a company van for work, so I only use for pleasure, to haul building materials, an occasional snowmobile trailer, and I do a little snowplowing with a 7 1/2' Western plow.

Does anyone have any thoughts on a V8 5.4L 4.10 versus a V-10 LS 4.30 considering my needs? It sure would be nice if trucks were on the lot to test drive for comparison.

stanford

chesak: If you don't need the V10 4.30 I'd get the V10 3.73 long before I touched the V8 4.10.

I have the truck you describe (V10 4.30 CC DRW 4X4). I can hit ~10mpg in the city (reformulated) and ~11.5 on the highway. I can also launch a 7000# trailer in 2nd gear without putting too much of a strain on the powertrain, so even the 3.73 gearing would be strong.

It makes plenty of power. All the SDs are factory limited at ~95mph, and mine can get there without any difficulty. The one beef I have about the 4.30 gears is that there are times when O/D is revving a little low (ie: accelerating 65 to 75 w/ a trailer) but Drive is revving a bit high. I may add a 20% Overdrive unit to it -- may not. It would be for comfort reasons only though, the price would far outweigh the fuel savings.

mroffshore

lemans,

Your milage will improve quit a bit more. Also do not forget depending where you live the milage will drop a little because of winter diesel which I learned all about a few weeks back. I have the same truck you do plus a heavy cap on the truck and I'm getting 20 plus on the highway and 17 around town some times a little less(around town).

chesak,

I hear you on the oil changes. My dealer is too far away and the wait, I understand!

tmd01,

Have a little compassion! You have to understand something about daughters, I'm sure it's hard for the brownfishman to say no to his lovely little girl! I have a hard time saying no to my little girl! You go Brownfishman, just don't let her drive it too much! HAHAHAHA

chesak

Some dealers are such idiots! I had two phone conversations with a dealer yesterday that's located about 25 miles from my house. I told him I wanted to test drive a V10 SD and he said he had one on the lot. So I ran down there after work only to find out the truck wasn't a V10! It was a good thing the idiot that told me twice over the phone that it was a V10 wasn't there, because I wasn't too happy. It's not like I have anything better to do with my time, right? If he's smart, he won't ever call me again.

stanford - Thanks for the info.

chesak

stanford - The F250 Lariat can only be ordered with 4.10 ratio LS in a 5.4L engine, or 4.30 ratio LS in a V10 6.8L engine. You can't get the 3.73 ratio LS in a V10 6.8L.

stanford

Actually, you can. You couldn't when they first came out, but several people here have them. Make sure that your dealer is using the current information for ordering the vehicle.

dlamastr

I'll be ordering my truck in a month or so (SD F250 4WD PSD SB CC). One dealer told me Saturday that it would be 4 months for delivery, and he wanted me to order it on the spot. He said he could sell it even if I decided I didn't want it.

I then talked to my preferred dealer, and he told me 8 weeks for delivery, $200 over invoice. What a difference in delivery times!

I'm going to have to build a new detached garage to park the beast in. I have 9' doors on my attached garage, and I figure the truck will just fit, although I'll have to fold in the trailer tow mirrors when I pull in.

I thought about building a small garage to displace the riding mower and Honda Civic, but then I thought, "Hey, why not build something bigger so my truck can have its own special place?" So, I want something like a 24x26 with a 16' door and a loft for storage. Anyone know a good source for garage plans on the internet?

leroybkr

I have a F350 SC LB SRW V10 with the 4.30 and auto. I needed the 4.30 to maximize the towing of a 12000 lb 5W. The RPM is about the same as my 96 Sable. At 60 it ranges from 2000 to 2900 to 4500 in OD, direct and 2nd. At 70 the RPM is is 2400 in 3400 in OD and direct. The torque peak is at 2700 and it remains fairly flat from 2000 to 4000. The 4.30 is only 5% higher than the 4.10 available in years past and gives the truck a 1000 lb boost to the GCWR allowing Ford to give the gas engine the same GCWR rating as the PSD for the first time. Without a load the truck seldom shifts out of OD. In 2nd 60 MPH is at the HP peak of the engine and able to climb a steep grade.

mikey43

Chesak - I ordered my F250 CC 4x4 SRW SWB with the V10 and 3.73 limited slip back in November (still don't have it yet!!). I looked at the Kelly Blue Book and Edmunds sites for the invoice prices and both of them indicated that combination was not available. However my dealer faxed me a copy of the order straight off of their computer screen and that was what the order was. Apparently they made that available back in July or something. I think that there was a discussion on this here in one of the conferences back around then. Good luck with your purchase, and may your wait be short!

stanford

Do you have the order code for it?

chesak

mikey43 - I'll contact my preferred dealer tonight and ask him if he's aware that the 3.73 LS in a V10 is available. I was looking at the same information you were apparently, and it obviously isn't up to date. I'm getting an uneasy feeling about ordering...anything that can go wrong will go wrong! So if you can help me out with an order code number lilke stanford mentioned I'd appreciate it.

mikey43

The code for the 3.73 limited slip on my order is XC1 and it's right underneath the 99S 6.8L V10. If it was not available I would hope that the computer would not have accepted it.

mje

Now that the end is in sight I have started to look at accessories. I'm interested in the power slider for the rear sliding window. Does anyone have any experience with these or any opinions?
Thanks

gobrownfish

Mje: When you get your truck we expect a full
report on it, after waiting six months I can assure you we will listen. Congrats on getting a
delivery date.

Mroffshore, thanks for the support with my daughter driving the V-10 Super Duty. She has been very popular lately at school. By the way,
I do wear the panties in my house......
Got the bench seats (leather) for the exact reason
my wife of 25 years can sit right beside me. The
best to all......
The Brown Fish Man

singer4

Does Amsoil affect the warranty on the Fords? I understand 25,000 mi. is not usual.
Thanks, JB

fred9

I was looking for some floor mats the other day
for my super duty and while I was flipping through
the parts book at my Ford dealer I came across the
power rear slider kit and I was glad that I was sitting at the time as my knees went week after I found out that it cost $1200.00 CDN. ($800.00 US.)
That was NOT including installation! There was an after market one there aswell and the cost of it was ONLY $800.00 CND. ($530.00 US.) If I ever win
the lottery I will be sure to get one installed.

Fred.

tom50

Does anybody have any firsthand knowledge about the Manik tubesteps (nerf bars)? They are cold rolled steel, frame mounted and powder coated. They also claim that the step is pressed into the tubing, not cut out, so there's no place for cracking or corrosion to get a foothold. Just wondering if they are as good as they claimed. Thanks to all for the info.

fasteddie1

KEH4x4: thanks for the tip about the Buckeye dealer...I may end up over there. Any yes, it was the red V10 4WD Crew Cab I drove at Bell...they weren't giving that away either..but at least they let me drive it...but then tried to talk me into a diesel (cause that's what they had...)

All: Be firm with your dealer...I asked repeatedly about the 3.73 V10 with the LS because it is important to me. They INSISTED it wasn't available... news like this from Stanford and others makes this site very worthwhile...ever so slowly us consumers are gaining equal knowledge to deal with the dealers...thanks again to Edmunds and all of you...

tnt2

I had a power slider in my '95 ext cab chevy and loved it. There is no way of opening the back window in an ext. cab short of crawling into the back seat. My last two trucks have been crew cabs, so the pwr window wasn't big on my list, but I would get another if I had an ext cab.

chesak

I talked with my dealer last night and made him aware that the V10 was available with 3.73 LS gear ratio. He dug in his books and found it, and then said HE should have known that without me telling him! It looked like the dealer received notification from Ford around October, but this salesman has only been with this particular dealer for a few weeks. He's been a salesman for 20 years, but he's new to this dealership. Anyway, I'm going to take the big step tonight and order my truck: Red, 1999 F250 SDuty, 4WD, V10 with 3.73 Ltd. Slip, Regular Cab, Lariat, leather 40/20/40 seats, preferred equipment pkg. with lariat trim and cab steps, power mirrors, air, premium aluminum wheels, power seats, keyless entry, electric 4-speed auto, LT265 white wall all-terrain tires, front license bracket, 8800# GVWR pkg., electronic SOF, engine block heater, sliding rear window, spare tire/wheel, premium cassette/CD, aero headlamps, roof clearance lights, chrome rear bumper, trailer hitch RCVR, trailer tow pkg., snow plow pkg., heavy duty battery, privacy glass.

Thanks to everyone for the valuable information that dealers and consumer reports didn't provide.

joe

Well I got my truck back in Oct. I waited close to 6 months, it sounds like the lead times still haven't gone down. For those of you that are waiting this is what I did. When I got to 5 months I called my salesman and ask when it would be built, he said he didn't know. So then I called Ford 800 number and talked to them. They called the reginal sales rep., the truck was schedule to be built within 48 hours. For those that are waiting call Ford and let them know your not too happy.

Joe

stanford

Sounds nice, chesak. The bright red or the toreador? I wanted the latter, but it had just come out when I ordered mine and was on indefinate hold -- so I stuck with black. Seen a couple of the dark metallic red trucks around though, and they sure look nice.

sundance

My F250SD, SC, V-10, 4.30LS, 4x4, LB, is great. I have 8000 miles so far, 4500 miles towing a 26ft 5th wheel, apprx. 7500 pounds loaded. Get 8-9mpg towing, 11-12 mpg in city empty, 14 mpg empty hwy at 65mph. The shift on the fly has some problems. After driving a while the sof will not engage. It takes about 5 minutes after I shut the engine off before the sof will start to function. Has happened numerous times. Taking it to the dealer tomorrow. The drivers side doors squeek on bumpy roads, probably needs adjustment.. Burns a little over 1 qt. of oil per thousand miles, having that checked out also.

Because the 4x4 is so high there is little rail clearance with the trailer. Ford sent the lowering kit and will install it free but I'm concerned the 4" it will lower the bed will cause problems with the converter/trans. ect. Has anyone had this done? Thanks for any help.

chesak

stanford - I'm 99% sure I'll order it in bright red, but I caught a peak last night at a toreador truck that had just come in at my dealer and it caught my eye. I might try to take a quick peak at it again tonight before I go with bright red. Unfortunately, the truck got dinged up during delivery. I wouldn't want to accept it, as there's nothing like a factory paint job. I guess you could say I'm partial to bright red vehicles. My current truck is bright red with a gold and black striping package, and I have a '97 Grand Prix GT that's also bright red with a custom striping package.

A guy I know who is a full-time fireman that works several days on and then has a few off has a striping business. He's very reasonable and comes right to my garage. After I bought the Grand Prix I went with him to one of his supplier's warehouses and picked out a custom striping package in person instead of looking in a book. It was nice to hold it up to the vehicle and see how it was going to look. Then I had custom lettering made to accent the striping package. I plan to contact him when my SD comes in to to see how we can customize it.

My cousin has a ''97 or '98 Ford work truck that's a really sharp bright royal blue metallic. If the SD's offered a similar color I would have gone with that in a second. Yes, I would have broken up the fleet of fire engines!

todlake

Put in my order last night. F250, SD, CC, SB, 4X4, V10, Auto, 3.73LS. Cab steps, SOF, slider, privacy glass, trailer and camper pkgs, pwr mirrors, premium sound, preferred equipment pkg, roof lights, chrome step, class IV hitch, keyless entry, 265 OWL. Deep Wedgewood, grey cloth 40/20/40. Worked the deal with a great group of people at Kings Ford in Cincinnati, OH. Very Knowledgable, no bull****. Putting order in as a 10. Hope to have it by May. Keep you updated.

cagent

Anybody know if Ford puts electric lumbar supports in their seats? What I have seen has only had a knob to twist.

stanford

Nope, its manual only. Then again, for me at least its a one-time-only setting.

cagent

I may be too picky, but after back surgery, you look at seats pretty close; especially if you spend 5-6 hours a day in it. I would look closer at the SD if the seat was better

stanford

You adjust the lumbar a lot while driving? Like I said, for me I set it once and never touch it again. Then again, complete aftermarket seat systems are only around $800 down here at the custom shops.

stanford

Oh -- which seats did you look at? The bench or the buckets? I have the buckets, and (to me at least) they're adjustable and comfortable.

fred9

I drive around 100,000 Km's in a year and I can't stand the manual knob for the lumbar. I couldn't
believe Ford changed the system from there 97 heavy duty when I picked up my truck as I am in the x-ray shielding business where I install over 400,000 lbs of lead per year!. When I am out on the road I must change the settings for the lumbar 3 times per trip due to a back that would make a chiropractor squirm. It sure was discouraging to find out Ford changed its lumbar support after my truck arrived or I would have ordered the bench seats and purchased a proper set of seats with power lumbar in which Ford was incapable of doing.

longhair

At a dealer yesterday I saw a Ford Truck Accessories booklet that listed a power rear slider as a dealer installable option, list price about $460. The booklet included a part number that you could order it through the parts dept with. Unfortunately, I won't be near that dealer again to look up the details.
I have two friends with (93,97) crew cabs that swear by them. One of them couldn't believe that I was ordering a truck without it - the automatic ventilation was worth the price. I don't know too many people that can open the rear slider from the front seat, but with a cap it won't matter to me anyway.

mje

Thanks to all on the info on the power slider. I believe I will get it. I will make some calls and check on some aftermarket prices here in MN.

gobrownfish: You know that I will definitely ramble endlessly when the baby finally arrives. Don't let anyone give you any guff about your daughter. I think any dad should be proud that his daughter would rather drive his truck than a sports car. Besides, when any potential boyfriend sees her in that, they will know that dad is not someone to piss off. Ha!

chesak

Well, I ordered my new truck last night! I'm excited, but now we'll see how long it takes to get it. The dealer said it looks like 10 weeks, but I'm not holding my breath. I took the deal for invoice price through a dealer 3/4 mile from my house that I trust from past purchases, rather than a dealer $100.00 under invoice 8 miles from my house that didn't impress me the last time I was in the market to buy a new truck. After my dealer places the order he's going to give me a copy so I can check on progress in the future months. I read somewhere in several posts back about contacting Gwen in Scheduling at Ford. Is this still the person to call once my order is in and I have a VIN #?

mikey43

Congratulations on taking the "big jump". I hope you have a short wait. I'm jealous that you were able to get such a good deal so close to home. I shopped at all three dealers here in Las Vegas and, if I remember right, the best deal I could find was invioce + $1200. One salesman asked me straight out if I had shopped over the net. When I told him yes he said that probably no local dealer would beat whatever deal I found. He told me that he had made one deal at invoice + $600 after about two weeks of negotiations and choosing options only to have his sales manager nix the deal because they weren't making enough money on it. It must be nice to be so successful that you can turn down business! I'm going to OK to pick mine up (invioce - $99) if and when it gets built. Then I'll have a two day drive alone with my new baby and a chance to get acquainted. I'm stocking up on new CD's for the trip.

chesak

mikey43 - I found this site quite by accident when I was trying to gather as much information as I could about the SD's. I think anyone who frequents this site has a tremendous advantage in that they will be much more informed than anybody else trying to make the same purchase. Where else would you have the opportunity to chat and ask for information from people all over the U.S.? As an example, rather than a single Consumer Report regarding gas mileage, you have the ability to read first-hand from people who already own and drive them. You also get a sampling of what people are paying for vehicles around the region, which was amazing to me that there was such a difference. Arizona seemed to be one of the worst I've read about. I'm glad to be in Wisconsin where 5 out of the 10 dealers I faxed a request to came in at invoice price. My hometown dealer was at $500 above invoice before I showed him 4 dealers at invoice and then he dropped to match it. Since the V10's are in such hot demand, though, maybe when the 2000's come out Ford will jack the price up considerably. And I really appreciate the help from various people who said the 3.73 LS was available in the V10 when the literature and my dealer said it wasn't. Reading everyone's personal experiences about leadtimes and how dealer allocation versus back orders effect delivery was invaluable information as well. This has got to be the best group of informed people around when it comes to SD's!

longhair

Should I go with the 4.10 or the 3.73?
I'm getting the CrewCab DRW diesel 4x4, which will have 2000# of permanent cargo, plus a trailer 20% of the time (2000# empty, 5000#full), and occasionally 500# of additional cargo.

My '86 chevy 350 motor (guessing 200hp, 300ftlbs) has 4.56 which seems to have geared it down nicely powerwise (but boy does it eat the gas on the highway)

How does that compare to the PSD (235hp,500ftlbs) with either of the gear choices? I can't figure out how to do the math to compare.

mikey43

Chesak - Amen

stanford

I would take the 3.73:1 gears with the diesel almost all the time. The only time I'd go with the 4.10:1 gears is if you were regularly pulling/hauling more like 10000# in the city, or if you had an inordinately heavy 5th wheel. The 3.73:1 will give you plenty of power for your application, and you won't be redlining it down the highway.

singer4

Singer now has 60 mi. on '99 V-10, 3.73 L/S---get that, L/S, 4x4.Just arrived last night...Red Toreador/Silver accent!! Looks and drives nice and can be accessed easier than our previous Ford Expl. Cab steps work well..although my wife suggested that they might be a bit slick!!
A little disappointed--$30,000 trk., and no floor mats...so, the remaining list...mats, Rhino Liner,
guards, and eventually a hitch---then we'll need to resolve whether the 4x4 is too high to accommodate a 5th Wheel. All in all, the unit is a beautiful truck...looks huge in our garage!!
By the way, given that there is only 50+ miles on it, is it natural to encounter what I would describe as a pulsating hum, rather loud, at about 45 mph., and sounds like it is coming from the right side...it's not a vibration, but a pulsating hum....could it be alignment, or what?
Any input is appreciated!!
Remember, for the NEW guys...this unit took exactly 49 days...from signing to delivery...here in PA.
Thanks!! JB

sundance

Casper 47 - thanks for the info. I called the dealer and they will start monitoring.

tnt2

I would go with the 4.10 gearing. I have the 4.10 in my CC 4x4 DRW and it does great loaded or unloaded. The motor won't redline unless you frequently travel at 100mph. Mine runs about 2100 @ 70mph unloaded. The 3.73 would do if you were running empty most all the time, but with 2000# cargo the turbo would be spooled up a lot more creating higher temps and possibly equal or lower MPG, especially in local driving.

chesak

Since my order hasn't been picked up yet, I'm seriously thinking about changing my color from red clearcoat metallic to dark toreador clearcoat metallic. I only got a glance at a toreador truck so far, so I'm heading to some lots tonight to look closely and check it out. I'd like to get a custom striping package in silver or gray tones, and I think the dark toreador would really look sharp. It might look classier than bright red. Anyway, I have to make my mind up quickly!