Thanks for the response. From your earlier posts I have noted we have very similar trucks. The vibration in question is hard to verbally describe--it feels like the "skittish" sensation you get on a washboard dirt road, where it feels as though you are on the edge of control. It is only present on interstate highway pavement, which in our part of the world is pretty choppy. This leads me to believe it is a suspension/wheel problem, as opposed to driveline. The shop foreman from the dealer rode with me and contends it is the road irregularities that are at fault, yet I have NEVER felt such vibrations in any other vehicle, including 4X4 SD's I test drove on the same piece of highway. I think I need to drive or ride in a similar truck and see if it is present before I pursue anything further with the dealer. I do not mind a firm ride in a truck--this is different than a stiff response to a bump. As mentioned before, it is taxing and makes for an unpleasant driving experience on the big roads.
I have a 99 F250 SC LB 4X4 and mine had an out of round drive shaft. My vibration was not very bad, and sometimes seemed to be gone. My first idiot dealer told me it was the tires too, even when Goodyear checked them out and they were fine. The next dealer figured it out right away. If yours isn't reasonably consistant with speed, I would agree it is probably not in the drivetrain. If it is instead related to road conditions, I would think it is more likely shocks or suspension.
All, First trip towing my 27' t/t, took the wife and kids to see the big mouse in Fl, 1400 mi round trip. My trailer loaded is about 6700 lbs plus family of five in the truck ect. My configuration is: 00,f250,xlt,psd,6spd,3.73,265tires,cc,sb. This truck is a pulling machine!! I am so impressed with how this thing pulled my t/t, I set the c/c on 70 mph in 6th gear, and no grade on the interstates65,20,or 75, even gave a hint of slowing this beast. I averaged 14 mpg on the trip at that speed with air on the entire time. I love this truck. I never even put my sway control on, no need!
I know this has been hashed out a million times and this may not be the best topic, but seems to have the most traffic. Finally, I will get to my question. I have been mulling the whole gas vs. diesel thing. I have learned alot by reading, but am still left with a few questions. The big questions with the diesel is maintenance. Let me start by saying: Whatever I buy, I plan to take good care of it and keep it till it falls apart(like the cop car at the end of the Blues Brothers). I don't know what maintenance they need other than the mega capacity oil changes, additive to coolent, and fuel filter changes. Is there more? I have heard horror stories about injector rebuilds and other things that scare me. Is it similar to a gas engine, in the respect that if you take care of it, it will last practically forever(or a least a long time)? Please don't start the gas vs diesel war!!! I would just like some advice from people who know "first hand" more that I do.
Thanks for your help!
p.s. the gas price was up to $1.98 today( up $0.50 to $0.60 in the last two weeks) while diesel was at $1.63. I wish I had a diesel today!!
As well, this topic has been hashed over a number of times and if you don't find your specific questions answered, ask one in the appropriate Forum and you'll get answers.
We went with a diesel for a few reasons (and in no particular order). Cheaper fuel, ability to get way more miles out of a well maintained diesel engine over a gasser (I've read of diesels hitting 300-400K miles which a gasser isn't likely to hit without a re-build), and it's cool truck to drive. We're counting on this truck to make it 10 years and also be able to pull a horse trailer (if I ever get one .
From the sounds of it, I think you know of the bigger maintenance differences. I've not heard of any specific horror stories about PSD rebuilds etc.. Later in life (200k miles +) when the diesel needs work, it is usually more expensive than working on a gas engine..
A big question is to tow, or not to tow.. If your not towing or not hauling alot, or if you don't need to do any heavy towing/hauling, then the 5.4L gets fairly good mpg as well. (5.4L 5sp 4.10ls 4x2) Of course in your area, there seems to be a bigger difference in gas vs diesel gas prices than where I am. If your towing a fair amount of the time, or are towing/hauling heavy loads alot, then your at a tossup between the V10 and PSD..
When I was crunching numbers a while back, I figured I'd recover initial the cost of diesel after about 100k miles or so vs. a V10.. Thats a long time.
I think your already leaning towards the PSD, and that is an excellent choice for you that you'll be happy with, both today, and 10 years fro m now. If you want more re-enforcement to buying a diesel, check out ford-diesel.com.
I'm way happy with my truck (5.4L), as it fits my wants/needs perfectly.
I am seriously interested in purchasing a Superduty 5.4L, 3.73 rear axel, single cab longbed 4X4, 5 spd. truck. I drove one for the first time yesterday. It seems to me that this is a really fine truck. Would any of you be willing to share your gas mileage figures with me? I don't care what configurations your trucks are (auto, 5 spd., ect.) as long as they are the 5.4L gas engine. I am interested in the range of mileage figures. Please do supply specs. on your particular vehicle.
I will do most of my driving empty, but will pull a travel trailer some of the time. I would really appreciate hearing from you.
Wow...just read a buttload of posts....sorry I haven't been in the "arena" for a while. Alien abduction thing...ya know.... As for a couple of posts.... bowhunter....I do it all the time. Foot on the brake and able to also push down on the gas at the same time. If my foot overhangs the brake by any little bit it also hits the gas pedal. Just have to be carefull. I have 12,000 miles on the truck now....picked up Oct. 15th 99......v10 Lariat CC V10 3.73....getting 12.7 in town and limited hwy miles have been about 15.8..... I'll throw my props out for one product....I had a black scuff mark on the rear corner by the tailgate....it wouldn't rub off when washing...used my GS 27 scratch remover....bought off the informercial....I'm a sucker....but that stuff took it right off...completely!!! Also used it on my sis in laws white escort....on some scratches on the hood....took them right off also. Its a miracle!!!! well...maybe not...but it worked. Seee ya all around.....and I've told the aliens to leave me alone!!!
I think you'd be just as happy with the 4.10 rear end and the 5.4L. Plus you can get a limited slip. It would also make for an easier time haulin the TT.
Also, the mpg difference between the 5sp and auto seems to be pretty significant, (-2 mpg when you have auto and the 5.4L).
Y2K F250 SC 4x2 5.4l 5sp 4.10LS: MPG when doing mixed city/highway = 15.5 or so. MPG when mostly highway = 17.8 (I bet 18+ is capable if I would do all highway for a whole tank). I am a conservative driver and basically obey the 65mph speed limit..
My dealer was as shocked as I was today when my SD arrived from the car-hauler this morning! (Arrived to the rail/ramp on Wednesday). Exactly 8 weeks from the day I laid my $500 deposit down.
2000 F250 SD CrewCab Lariat 4x2 5.4l Auto. Harvest Gold, Trailer Hitch & pwr. tele/tow mirrors, CD and best of all ....it's my first truck, and it's a Ford !!
Can't pick it up until tomorrow morning though. I think I've got to go golfing now to get my mind off of this.
Thanks for all the support. This is a great site we all learn from. Will check in with my thoughts after I've picked it up.
I also have a 2K SD SC 4X2 with the 4.10ls, 5 speed, and 5.4l engine. I tow occasionally and agree with bess, the 4.10 works well and doesn't seem to extract too great a mileage penalty while giving pretty reasonable performance all around. I just turned 3000 miles and my overall mileage is just under 17, mixed highway/around town, with several hundred miles of towing a 5000 lb trailer thrown in for good measure. Over 18 on the highway does indeed seem plausible. These mileage figures are one of the reasons I am very pleased with my truck.
Well my truck was built, loaded on a train and reached its first destination 06/06/00. It came from Louisville,KY and then transfered in East St. Louis and is on its way to Ohio. From the there it will be loaded back on a car hauler and delivered to Michigan. No wonder is costs $600 in shipping charges, it would of been easier just to truck it to Troy,MI. Oh well, ETA at the dealer is 06/18/99 hopefully it will be there before this weekend. Ordered the V-10 getting worried about the gas prices around here $2.10/gal reg, ouch. Its jumped over $.60 in the last few months.
Yes, it was worth the wait. My wait was only eight weeks though. Picked it up 50 miles from my home and only have 75 miles on it so far. During the trip back, my mileage moving up and up to about 16.4 (all highway) and was still going up a bit at the end of my trip home. Obviously, a 50 mile highway test is nothing.
The only concern that I had was in the steering or handling. It seemed like I had to keep correcting the steering just a little bit(drifting just a bit left and right as if the wind was pushing me a tiny bit). Not too noticeable but maybe it's because I'm not used to driving this beast yet. Any comments? I'll test it again tonight.
On an unrelated note: The dealer also told me before I left that the tire pressure up front was set at 50 or 55 (can't remember) and the rear was at 80 according to the specs./sticker on the driver-side door area!!! I was surprised to hear the rear pressure was so high. I have General tires.
Congrats on the new ride. A few comments on your observations. I have the some slight drift as well on windy days, and to one direction or the other on crowned roads (on a calm day). If the road is flat/level on a calm day, it seems to be better.. But, overall, the truck doesn't seem to track as well as the 99 Windstar. I figured its just because of the stiffer suspension etc. ..
Tire pressure: On the door jam, the pressure numbers reflect what the pressures should be if your under max load conditions.. (thus the 70 or 80 in the rear). Lowering the rears down to a 50 or 55 also seems to help the over handling somewhat when empty.
I have a '99 PSD. Book says oil change capacity is 15 quarts. This is clearly stated in more than one place. A buddy had his '99 PSD oil changed and the dealer told him they only put in 14 quarts and are rescribing the dip sticks based on Ford telling them to do so. I have a query into Ford. I called the dealer I do warranty work with and a diesel mechanic says they too only put in 14 quarts and have been doing so for quite awhile. I change my own oil and always put in 15 quarts and on level ground the reading is about one sixteenth of an inch above the top end of the operating range. This "excess" reading could be from the physical size of the filter I use, which is a Purolator, which at least looks the same size as the Ford rip-off filter. Anyhow, what's going on here??? The dip stick (and the book) clearly state not to overfill. Why did Ford (or Navistar) change from 15 to 14 quarts? What harm can the 'extra' quart do to the engine? Will Ford give us a straight answer? How does this affect the warranty? Should we do what the book says with a grain of salt? I realize this is only a 6.6 percent decrease in the total oil capacity, but why?
this past weekend and loved it. All the dealer had in the lot in crew cabs was a 350 with the psd and the 6 spd. I was extremely impressed with the truck. The only fault I found (which may be fatal for me) is the length. I don't think I could deal with it on a daily basis for my urban assult. I am thinking towards a supercab now. The problem is the pressure from the wife (who see's kids coming down the road). Please don't shoot me for asking, but, can baby seats fit in the back of the supercab? Will two of them fit? My wife has her sights set on 2, so she wants me to get a 4 (full) door. Might have to settle for the F-150 supercrew, although I would prefer the F250 anyday!!!
Cedmi, I don't have children but based on the size of the back seat in my SC, I wouldn't put child seats back there... it's pretty small. (You'd have to check with Ford, I'm not sure that they consider it safe to put car seats in the back since there is a keyed switch on the dash to disable the passenger air bag if you have a car seat in front.)
Have you checked wheelbases of the SC long bed vs CC short bed (since you didn't say what bed length you're looking at). The SC LB is only slightly longer that the CC SB (an inch or so). The SC SB is about 18" shorter than the CC SB (as I recall).
I know what you mean about length but if you're planning on family additions and lusting after the PSD, I'd go CC LB and satisfy both you and your wife.
are perfectly fine. My 3 1/2 year old rides in my truck every day, and we'll put another seat back there when her sister arrives at the end of July. The air bag switch is there in case you have more kids than space in the back seat.
I have 2 children (age 1 and 4), and there's more than enough room for both.. The 4 year old is in a booster seat and I usually sit him behind the driver. The 1 year olds car seat fits easily in the middle of rear seat when both in the rear facing position and forward facing position.. When the child seat is rear facing, my wife found it nice that she could put her seat all the way back, and recline some and tend to the little dude.
We've taken a few long trips (500 miles), and the kids had no problem.
The SuperDuty SC rear seat is slightly bigger than the F150 SC, but not as big as the F150 SuperCrew.
I figure the SC will fit my kids well into thier early teens. (Although I'm only 5'5" so its likely my kids will be shorter than average).
Ford considers it safe to put child car seats in the rear seat.
I join with Bess in saying congratulations on receipt of your pride and joy. I've had mine for three weeks now and am still in heaven. Regarding your drift issue, I've noticed that my truck (F250 SD, SC, SB, 4X2) does the same. It seems that I have to almost constantly provide small input to the steering. Sometimes to the right, sometimes to the left, and occasionally not at all. It doesn't really bother me much and I'm sure it won't be long before I don't even notice it.
On another note, I just had a line-x spray in liner installed in my truck bed. I can't be happier with the installation and its appearance. The installer did an excellent job and even dared me to find anything wrong. I'm pretty picky when it comes to my vehicles, and am happy to say I couldn't find even the smallest defect. I guess time will tell on the liner's durability, but at least now I'm not hesistant to throw practically any thing into the back of the truck.
hello all. haven't posted in a while. goleta: congrats on the new arrival. enjoy.
cc v. sc: we have 2 cubs (one just arrived) and i had seriously considered the sc and the lb. ended up getting the cc with the sb, and am quite pleased with the driveablility. however, i do live in a pretty rural area so i have no "urban assault" to contend with. having said that, you gotta believe that all the little cars and trucks will scatter when you need to get somewhere...
gas v. diesel: just in case any of the "havenots" are sitting on the fence, gas has gone up to 45-50 cents more per gallon than diesel. i'm sure it is temporary, but owning a diesel is particularly frugal these days.
misc: left my 350 (psd) over the weekend for it's first oil change at the dealer. was given an expedition as a loaner. it's a nice truck, but i couldn't get over how small it felt, and that it would tip over with the slightest bit of hard steeering.
have 3600 miles on the rig. mileage is basically 17 city, 19 hwy. hope it improves, although i can't complain about those numbers. quick question, do any of you have any comments/experience with Leer bed caps? they are the only ones local, and they are selling them for just over $1k. don't know enough to know if that's pricey, it their well-made, etc. any help would be appreciated.
Stay away from Leer, I can't say from personal experiance, but everything I have read about Leer shells has been bad. From quality to customer service. Check out Ford Diesel.Com You will find plenty of discussion about them there. I went with a Stockland shell myself, and am happy with it so far.The price was about $1200. If you go with Leer I hope you get a good one. Good luck. John
I'm still hoping for more mileage figures on the F-250 with the 5.4L engine. Thanks to those of you who responded. The 4.10 axle seems like a good all around performer, but I'm still wondering if the 3.73 with the 5 spd. might do even better on mileage, especially on the highway. I will rarely pull anything, although a 4X4 weighs more than a 4X2. The 3.73 is available even with the diesel engine so I know it's a strong rear end. With today's gas prices, one or two mpg's makes a difference.
Got close to 5000 miles on my crew 4x4 with 5.4, 4.1LS, auto, when I set the cruise at right around 60 I do a steady 15.9- 16.1,upping it to 70 and I'm getting 14.5 to 15. Thats with 3 passengers and hardly anything in the box. Can't complain about that mileage, it's a pleasant surprise, I didn't buy mine for gas mileage. I also have an A.R.E. Cap on mine. The Z Series, it's a little bit rounded off in the back, makes you look sorta like an Excursion by way of a quick glance. I like the sliding glass window because it goes the opposite of my slider on the truck and it's a single opening. I also opted for the flip down coat hanger in the cap. The dark windows are hard to see in, but easy to see out. The ARE site has it so you can see the type of cap your thinking of buying on a truck like you have. I paid 1279 for mine.
I have just one young'un, but he, at 6, fits just fine in the back seat of my 2K SC. I've been just belting him in with the middle belt, but I am thinking seriously of using some sort of booster seat. Much recent publicity on the need for child support seat for kids up to 60 pounds, plus seeing where his head could possibly hit from the back in a crash (no head restraints on the SC) concerns me. Aside from this, there is plenty of room for him and we don't anticipate any siblings, so we are quite happy with the SC configuration. Goleta--congrats on the recent upgrade to "have" status! I'm going on 2 months of ownership, 3200 miles, very pleased. Keep us informed. Bess--more info on my highway ride concerns. I drove the interstate tonite with approx 400lbs in the box, and the choppiness was noticeably less than when empty. Perhaps the dealer service manager is right and the highway itself is the culprit. It is a pretty rough stretch of road, yet I keep feeling as though something is out of balance in the rear. It feels as though there are three distinct, rapid oscillations for each bump that is hit, and there are sharp, regular bumps for miles on end on Colorado's I-25. I wonder if there is a weak shock back there that is not controlling rebound as much as needed. I'll let you know what happens as the investigation unfolds.
Is anybody on here, that is a North American Hunting Club Life Member. Back in April or so, I got a letter from NAH asking for volunteers to do a tire kicking of a F150 Screw. I applied, got a phone call yesterday that I was accepted. Next Thursday, the 22nd of June I get to kick the tires, it being a joint venture between Ford & NAC I also heard they had some goodies for us, since we agreed to do this. Looks like I'll have to drive my SD to work, so when I go to this meeting of tire kickers, they know what a real truck looks like. Can't wait to get home, they were going to fax all the details today. I guess they are doing this all over the country. One of the bennies to being a life member. Whew gas is up to $2.09 a gal for Regular
I've had my 2K F250 SD SC 4x4 5.4L 4.10LS 5SPD since March 6 and have about 7000 miles so far on it. Mostly highway but I mix in city , a little dirt and mud by necessity, and hauling round bales (only a few so far). Gas mileage is 14-15 for normal driving and doesn't even drop below 13 for heavy hauling. The 4.10 is, as mentioned, a great combo for the 5.4L, I'd never have thought I would have liked it. I had a '92 351 F250 HD 4X4 with a 3.55 (I think) and it never got better than 14. And this one can blow the doors off most everything on the road, not that I try to or anything.
But, I disagree about 1st gear. I use it, my last F250 had the same tranny (the ZF1) and I used it then too, 200,000 miles and it only now needs a clutch job.
I have had a hard time getting used to the drive line lash (clunky clunky) but just about have it in hand.
Previously, I had an F150 SC and three small kids. It worked fine, but the car seat always fit better in the middle (better to reach, too). The SC was fine when they were small. When the kids got bigger (now: 14 yr old boy-6'; 11 yr. old girl-5'4" and growing; and 8 yr old boy-will be over 6'in 3-4 years), it was time to go to a CC. So I did. It's also a good place to haul groceries. :-)
I'm 6'4"/240# and I fit just fine back there just in case (not likely I might add)I want to let someone else drive. I rode in a friend's Honda Accord yesterday and I could barely get in and out and I couldn't see a thing.
I haven't seen any references to clunking from under the CCs, lately. I noticed it only happened on mine when I turned to the right and into a driveway with a hump or gutter. Then it "clunked" under the left rear. Someone earlier said they had the "nerf bars" tightened, but I didn't know what it was. But, I thought they might mean sway bars.
I slid under the truck and noticed that there was a place about 1/2" long on the rear anti-sway bar that was wiped clean of dirt like the bar was moving left and right a little. Everything else was brown, but there was that shiny black paint showing. The sway bar goes through a bracket that holds a bushing on both sides, but the right side was uniformly dirty and obviously stable.
There are several bolts that clamp the sway bar in place, but this one (left side only) appeared to be wiped clean. I tighted the nuts and the clunk appears to be fixed, at least I haven't heard it yet in the one place near my office that I always heard it every morning.
Sorry about the long post, but this might be a clue to the mysterious clunking so many people heard. It might be specific to those CCs with the tow package and the camper package that come with the sway bars.
Gas update: Atlanta area yesterday Reg. $1.45/gal., diesel, $1.35 gal. Bottled water: $.99/liter
Any body know how long it takes for Union Pacific Railway to update their database. Traceing my truck and it has said the same thing since the sixth of June. What does the ramp mean? Is it when the rail car is being unloaded?
lile1mo "nerf bars" are the tubular bars for stepping into your truck. Its just another fancy name for them.
I just ordered an A.R.E. CX, carpeted liner, interior light, quarter slider for just over $1100. Site is www.4are.com. They send along a $20 coupon too. I found a place 10% less in MD and could pick it up enroute for the 4th of July but bought local in VA after they came down a bit (but not the full difference). I read in ford-diesel to avoid Leer. Refered to as a POS. Century had a good rep. No local Snugtop dealer. Glastite is too expensive for me.
I got the CC and long bed. We have a 9 yr old and 6 yr old. They will not be petite when they mature. A SC would work for a short period but since I hold on to the truck for 10 plus years I want one that will do it all for quite a while. I got tired of the 2 door Bronco and kids climbing over the seats instead of sliding them forward. It's a big truck but it's manageable (and GREAT!).
My SD came by Union Pacific also. I think you are right. If at the ramp, it's being unloaded. I never saw the Event at ramp. I saw (in the Event column) when it "Arrived" at its final destination, then "Placed at Industry" and in the L/E column, it said "Load" each time. The next day, I saw in the Event column, "Released for Movement" and the L/E column said "Empty" (on a Wednesday).
I suppose it may take a day or so to completely empty the rail-cars. Then, I hear, they may sit in a yard for the car-haulers to arrive. From the day my SD arrived, it was then three days later at the dealer. (Saturday morning!)
You are probably a day or so away (I hope). Can you ask your dealer to check with the car-hauler? My dealer was able and going to, but it arrived before they were able to check.
I too have the noise in the rear (00 CC 4x4 172 v10) and other problems, so I made a list and took it to the dealer back in May 22nd. They were supposed to fix or check: 1. clunk in front end (ordered bushings 5/23,not here yet) 2. Clunk in rear under acceleration from a stop or slow speed (says not found, normal) 3. Low on power and poor gas milage (2nd time, 1st they reflashed prom, this time replaced Mass Air Sensor, no change still 10.5 on the hwy) 4. Cuptosser broke ) (I was told I would get the new style, NOT!!!) 5. Recalibrate the speedo for 285's (wife just got a ticket for 78mph, she said the speedo was on 70) 6. Alignment, pulls to right (not even close) 7. Change oil (Well I guess one out of seven ain't bad)
If anybody knows of a GOOD Ford dealer in Cen Texas, please let me know. The ones I have been to are poorly staffed. BTW the service guy at my place was nice as pie, just didnot fix the truck. Maybe I ought to just sell it and try again.
Thanks for the info on Union Pacific. I ordered a 00 Black SD CC SB V-10 3.73LS Lariat CD TT CP TTM and all the other goodies. Union Pacific posted that my truck had reached its first stop on 06/06/00 which was East St. Louis, its final destination is Ohio. From there it will be loaded on a car hauler to be shipped backed to Troy, MI. As of yestered it still didn't tell me if it reached Ohio. I keep everybody posted.
My CC took a 3 week vacation traveling the flat lands of ILLinois, before it got to the shipping yard to be loaded on a truck to Wisc. I think it was chasing a sexy little mustang....but Ford never did say it for fact. I guess I got my $660 worth of the shipping. Good luck and I hope that yours won't take as long as mine did riding the rails. One good thing did come of it, I didn't experience any rail dust.
I've got a `00 F-250 SD CC SB 4X4 5 SPD V-8 with about 6,000 miles on it. Averaging about 11-12 in city, 15-16 on highway. City mph increased (from 10ish in winter) now that summer has hit Alaska and I don't need to idle in mornings.
I went thru the whole SC vs. CC debate before ordering my CC. I upgraded from a F-150 SC. Yes, kid seats do fit in the SC but adults and rear facing child seats don't fit so well, especially if you have a bench or 40-20-40 seat with the middle section up. As I had no real need for the full size bed, I decided to make my life easier by ordering the CC. I have no problem jumping in and out of the back seat twice daily when hauling the 1 year old to daycare. My 10 year old loves the room. Friends and visitors are much more comfortable in the CC than the SC. A good buddy has a SC and hauls two kids. After seeing the ease of loading and unloading kids in my CC, he is going to upgrade to CC in the near future. Your truck is your choice but I strongly recommend the CC over the SC, especially if a SB suits your needs.
I've got 1300 mile on my truck and average 16.7 mpg so far. I would be sitting back laughing as I watch the gas prices go up and the diesel prices come down if my other cars wern't gas. We take the truck every where, my three boys fit just fine in the back seat of the SC, and all the baseball, fishing and rafting junk just gets thrown in the back. I was debating over spray in or drop in bed liner, I went with the "Load Loc" (drop in) bed liner from York and have been happy so far. You can make up a bed over storage arrangement with a couple of 2x's and two sheets of plywood plus if I decide to up grade to a CC as the kids get older I'm set. Now I'm shopping for caps any ideas? Has anyone had dealings with "Eagle" caps? Should I go with the raised cap if I plan to tow a trailer?
jepsonfam - Where's that ARE dealer in MD you mentioned
2000 white F-250 XLT 4x4 PSD auto 2.73ls (great truck)
y2k f250 sc 4x4 3.73 5.4l 11k miles auto last tank was 15.4 a really sweet ride, at first i did notice a drift in the steering but its gone or i got used to it
While performing my first oil change on my Y2K F250 SD SC V10 (1039 miles, built in May 2000), I noticed an unconnected hose positioned between the brake master cylinder assembly and the oil dip stick. I also noted the end of the hose had a sqeeze type clamp attached indicating it was supposed to be hooked to something. Upon a closer look, about 20 inches below the hose opening there was a medium blue identification tag which read "tube assy, fuel vent". This tube is a combination hard metal tube which comes from the rear of the truck and transitions to a black flexible hose. The black flexible tube is about 18 inches long and is what I found unconnected. I then looked around the engine compartment for another tube or object that appeared to be intended for the hose I found. I then noted a black canister located between the power steering fluid resevoir and air filter housing which had one open tube connector. There were no other connections to this canister and it seemed to be useless with nothing connected to it. Since this was the only item I could find that had an available connector, I figured this was the item to which the vent tube was supposed to be connected. I routed the vent tube/hose to the canister connector and completed the connection. It just so happened that the hose was exactly long enough to allow the connection. It was very easy to accomplish.
Hopefully this is an isolated incident, but I highly recommend those Super Duty owners with gas engines check for this discrepancy on their trucks as it is a potentially dangerous condition.
I'm glad I perform my own maintenance or who knows when this problem would have been discovered.
Hopefully they are doing better then the last 9 months of ordering, some people on here have gotten them within 3 months, other have waited 6 months or more. As for myself the dealer told me 3 months and it arrived at 6.
My SD was at my dealership in exactly 8 weeks. (Built in Mexico & delivered to CA). However, if you ordered the V10, it may take longer. I almost changed my order (in the first week) from the V8 to the V10, and the dealer said the V10's are taking a long time even with priority 10 dealships with large allotments (as was my dealership).
By the way, I'm taking a 500 mile trip (one way to northern CA this week. I'll report my MPG when I get back. Again, I have the 2000 SD CC V8 Auto. shortbed (no 4WD). So far, it's a great truck. (Just the drift problem I hope to get resolved tomorrow).
What does the dealer say the ETA is? It may change week-to-week. My SD came 1 week before ETA.
My dealer told me 3 months and it actually took 4.5 months. Keep in mind that I ordered a V10, auto. These seemed to be the slowest configurations coming out of the plant and the Excursion and Super Duty were competing for the same drive line in this configuration. About a couple of months ago, Ford significantly reduced the production of the Excursion due to lethargic sales volume and then pumped up production of the Super Duty which should help supply of all configurations since both platforms are made at the same plant.
Be aware that the CC does not have the passenger side airbag deactivation feature. So that means no little kids up front ever. I had to go with the SC because we have four little kids. I have two car seats in the back and I have to move my chair up one notch when all 6 of us are in it, and my wife is relative short so she doesn't care if she moves her seat up. Also the middle seat up front does not move. The kids are with Mom in the Excursion 95% of the time anyways, but the SD according to the kids is "way cooler."
My SD door frame sticker says 55 lbs. up front and 80 lbs. in the rear tires. That's how it was delivered also. I assume this is max. tire pressure considering a max. loaded truck.
Can I lower the pressure in the rear to be the same as the front pressure? Around 55? Does this give me a little smoother ride (empty)? Will this affect tire wear or handling at 55 lbs. or at 80 lbs? Would I want to lower the pressure in front from 55 down to ?????
Most of my travels will be empty. When I tow, or carry a heavy load, I suppose I would increase the tire pressure in the rears.
I didn't realize that you still were running 80lbs in the rear tires when empty.. No wonder the rear end is jumpin all over the place. It is a widely accepted practice that when empty you can run considerably less tire pressure in the rears without adversly affecting wear. It will be a big improvement in the handling of your truck.. I thought I had mentioned this before here. I currently run 50lbs in front AND rear tires.. (my door jam plate calls for 45front/75rear).
This is also consistant with the advice on ford-diesel.com. Folks with diesel's tend to run a slighly higher front air pressure because of the extra weight up front.
Note: if your hauling a load, then its extremely important to air up the rear tires to the recommended pressure, otherwise they can overheat and risk exploding..
You are right, the CC does not come standard with an airbag deactivation switch. There is an NTSB form you can fill out asking for a "waiver". Take the completed form (signed and approved by NTSB) to a Ford Dealer with $350 bucks, and they install the airbag deactivation switch.
Picked up my new ride last night 00 cc lariat and all the options. Truck looks awsome it was worth the wait. Seven months to the day for delivery. Only drove it a few miles last night but it rode great. Hope to take it on a short trip this weekend, I keep everybody updated with any problems I find, hopefully none, and I will post my milage at the end of this week. Thanks everyone for the info.
Comments
First trip towing my 27' t/t, took the wife and kids to see the big mouse in Fl, 1400 mi round trip. My trailer loaded is about 6700 lbs plus family of five in the truck ect. My configuration is: 00,f250,xlt,psd,6spd,3.73,265tires,cc,sb.
This truck is a pulling machine!! I am so impressed with how this thing pulled my t/t, I set the c/c on 70 mph in 6th gear, and no grade on the interstates65,20,or 75, even gave a hint of slowing this beast. I averaged 14 mpg on the trip at that speed with air on the entire time. I love this truck. I never even put my sway control on, no need!
Thanks for your help!
p.s. the gas price was up to $1.98 today( up $0.50 to $0.60 in the last two weeks) while diesel was at $1.63. I wish I had a diesel today!!
First, I'd recommend trolling www.ford-diesel.com. It has over 7000 members and the primary (albeit not sole) focus is the Ford diesel (old and new).
http://www.ford-diesel.com/downloads/mileage.xls is an Excel spreadsheet to calculate the breakeven point for diesel mileage.
As well, this topic has been hashed over a number of times and if you don't find your specific questions answered, ask one in the appropriate Forum and you'll get answers.
We went with a diesel for a few reasons (and in no particular order). Cheaper fuel, ability to get way more miles out of a well maintained diesel engine over a gasser (I've read of diesels hitting 300-400K miles which a gasser isn't likely to hit without a re-build), and it's cool truck to drive.
I've not heard of any specific horror stories about PSD rebuilds etc.. Later in life (200k miles +) when the diesel needs work, it is usually more expensive than working on a gas engine..
A big question is to tow, or not to tow..
If your not towing or not hauling alot, or if you don't need to do any heavy towing/hauling, then the 5.4L gets fairly good mpg as well. (5.4L 5sp 4.10ls 4x2)
Of course in your area, there seems to be a bigger difference in gas vs diesel gas prices than where I am.
If your towing a fair amount of the time, or are towing/hauling heavy loads alot, then your at a tossup between the V10 and PSD..
When I was crunching numbers a while back, I figured I'd recover initial the cost of diesel after about 100k miles or so vs. a V10.. Thats a long time.
I think your already leaning towards the PSD, and that is an excellent choice for you that you'll be happy with, both today, and 10 years fro m now. If you want more re-enforcement to buying a diesel, check out ford-diesel.com.
I'm way happy with my truck (5.4L), as it fits my wants/needs perfectly.
I will do most of my driving empty, but will pull a travel trailer some of the time. I would really appreciate hearing from you.
Thanks again.
As for a couple of posts....
bowhunter....I do it all the time. Foot on the brake and able to also push down on the gas at the same time. If my foot overhangs the brake by any little bit it also hits the gas pedal. Just have to be carefull.
I have 12,000 miles on the truck now....picked up Oct. 15th 99......v10 Lariat CC V10 3.73....getting 12.7 in town and limited hwy miles have been about 15.8.....
I'll throw my props out for one product....I had a black scuff mark on the rear corner by the tailgate....it wouldn't rub off when washing...used my GS 27 scratch remover....bought off the informercial....I'm a sucker....but that stuff took it right off...completely!!! Also used it on my sis in laws white escort....on some scratches on the hood....took them right off also.
Its a miracle!!!! well...maybe not...but it worked.
Seee ya all around.....and I've told the aliens to leave me alone!!!
It would also make for an easier time haulin the TT.
Also, the mpg difference between the 5sp and auto seems to be pretty significant, (-2 mpg when you have auto and the 5.4L).
Y2K F250 SC 4x2 5.4l 5sp 4.10LS:
MPG when doing mixed city/highway = 15.5 or so.
MPG when mostly highway = 17.8 (I bet 18+ is capable if I would do all highway for a whole tank).
I am a conservative driver and basically obey the 65mph speed limit..
2000 F250 SD CrewCab Lariat 4x2 5.4l Auto. Harvest Gold, Trailer Hitch & pwr. tele/tow mirrors, CD and best of all ....it's my first truck, and it's a Ford !!
Can't pick it up until tomorrow morning though. I think I've got to go golfing now to get my mind off of this.
Thanks for all the support. This is a great site we all learn from. Will check in with my thoughts after I've picked it up.
It's a great day in Santa Barbara, CA !!
Gold, Trailer Hitch & pwr. tele/tow mirrors, CD
Yes, it was worth the wait. My wait was only eight weeks though. Picked it up 50 miles from my home and only have 75 miles on it so far. During the trip back, my mileage moving up and up to about 16.4 (all highway) and was still going up a bit at the end of my trip home. Obviously, a 50 mile highway test is nothing.
The only concern that I had was in the steering or handling. It seemed like I had to keep correcting the steering just a little bit(drifting just a bit left and right as if the wind was pushing me a tiny bit). Not too noticeable but maybe it's because I'm not used to driving this beast yet. Any comments? I'll test it again tonight.
On an unrelated note: The dealer also told me before I left that the tire pressure up front was set at 50 or 55 (can't remember) and the rear was at 80 according to the specs./sticker on the driver-side door area!!! I was surprised to hear the rear pressure was so high. I have General tires.
I'm so happy !!!
I have the some slight drift as well on windy days, and to one direction or the other on crowned roads (on a calm day). If the road is flat/level on a calm day, it seems to be better..
But, overall, the truck doesn't seem to track as well as the 99 Windstar. I figured its just because of the stiffer suspension etc. ..
Tire pressure: On the door jam, the pressure numbers reflect what the pressures should be if your under max load conditions.. (thus the 70 or 80 in the rear). Lowering the rears down to a 50 or 55 also seems to help the over handling somewhat when empty.
Have you checked wheelbases of the SC long bed vs CC short bed (since you didn't say what bed length you're looking at). The SC LB is only slightly longer that the CC SB (an inch or so). The SC SB is about 18" shorter than the CC SB (as I recall).
I know what you mean about length but if you're planning on family additions and lusting after the PSD, I'd go CC LB and satisfy both you and your wife.
Dave
The 4 year old is in a booster seat and I usually sit him behind the driver.
The 1 year olds car seat fits easily in the middle of rear seat when both in the rear facing position and forward facing position..
When the child seat is rear facing, my wife found it nice that she could put her seat all the way back, and recline some and tend to the little dude.
We've taken a few long trips (500 miles), and the kids had no problem.
The SuperDuty SC rear seat is slightly bigger than the F150 SC, but not as big as the F150 SuperCrew.
I figure the SC will fit my kids well into thier early teens. (Although I'm only 5'5" so its likely my kids will be shorter than average).
Ford considers it safe to put child car seats in the rear seat.
On another note, I just had a line-x spray in liner installed in my truck bed. I can't be happier with the installation and its appearance. The installer did an excellent job and even dared me to find anything wrong. I'm pretty picky when it comes to my vehicles, and am happy to say I couldn't find even the smallest defect. I guess time will tell on the liner's durability, but at least now I'm not hesistant to throw practically any thing into the back of the truck.
goleta: congrats on the new arrival. enjoy.
cc v. sc: we have 2 cubs (one just arrived) and i had seriously considered the sc and the lb. ended up getting the cc with the sb, and am quite pleased with the driveablility. however, i do live in a pretty rural area so i have no "urban assault" to contend with. having said that, you gotta believe that all the little cars and trucks will scatter when you need to get somewhere...
gas v. diesel: just in case any of the "havenots" are sitting on the fence, gas has gone up to 45-50 cents more per gallon than diesel. i'm sure it is temporary, but owning a diesel is particularly frugal these days.
misc: left my 350 (psd) over the weekend for it's first oil change at the dealer. was given an expedition as a loaner. it's a nice truck, but i couldn't get over how small it felt, and that it would tip over with the slightest bit of hard steeering.
have 3600 miles on the rig. mileage is basically 17 city, 19 hwy. hope it improves, although i can't complain about those numbers. quick question, do any of you have any comments/experience with Leer bed caps? they are the only ones local, and they are selling them for just over $1k. don't know enough to know if that's pricey, it their well-made, etc. any help would be appreciated.
Good luck.
John
Thanks again.
Goleta--congrats on the recent upgrade to "have" status! I'm going on 2 months of ownership, 3200 miles, very pleased. Keep us informed.
Bess--more info on my highway ride concerns. I drove the interstate tonite with approx 400lbs in the box, and the choppiness was noticeably less than when empty. Perhaps the dealer service manager is right and the highway itself is the culprit. It is a pretty rough stretch of road, yet I keep feeling as though something is out of balance in the rear. It feels as though there are three distinct, rapid oscillations for each bump that is hit, and there are sharp, regular bumps for miles on end on Colorado's I-25. I wonder if there is a weak shock back there that is not controlling rebound as much as needed. I'll let you know what happens as the investigation unfolds.
I also heard they had some goodies for us, since we agreed to do this. Looks like I'll have to drive my SD to work, so when I go to this meeting of tire kickers, they know what a real truck looks like. Can't wait to get home, they were going to fax all the details today. I guess they are doing this all over the country. One of the bennies to being a life member. Whew gas is up to $2.09 a gal for Regular
But, I disagree about 1st gear. I use it, my last F250 had the same tranny (the ZF1) and I used it then too, 200,000 miles and it only now needs a clutch job.
I have had a hard time getting used to the drive line lash (clunky clunky) but just about have it in hand.
I'm 6'4"/240# and I fit just fine back there just in case (not likely I might add)I want to let someone else drive. I rode in a friend's Honda Accord yesterday and I could barely get in and out and I couldn't see a thing.
I haven't seen any references to clunking from under the CCs, lately. I noticed it only happened on mine when I turned to the right and into a driveway with a hump or gutter. Then it "clunked" under the left rear. Someone earlier said they had the "nerf bars" tightened, but I didn't know what it was. But, I thought they might mean sway bars.
I slid under the truck and noticed that there was a place about 1/2" long on the rear anti-sway bar that was wiped clean of dirt like the bar was moving left and right a little. Everything else was brown, but there was that shiny black paint showing. The sway bar goes through a bracket that holds a bushing on both sides, but the right side was uniformly dirty and obviously stable.
There are several bolts that clamp the sway bar in place, but this one (left side only) appeared to be wiped clean. I tighted the nuts and the clunk appears to be fixed, at least I haven't heard it yet in the one place near my office that I always heard it every morning.
Sorry about the long post, but this might be a clue to the mysterious clunking so many people heard. It might be specific to those CCs with the tow package and the camper package that come with the sway bars.
Gas update: Atlanta area yesterday Reg. $1.45/gal., diesel, $1.35 gal.
Bottled water: $.99/liter
lile1mo "nerf bars" are the tubular bars for stepping into your truck. Its just another fancy name for them.
I got the CC and long bed. We have a 9 yr old and 6 yr old. They will not be petite when they mature. A SC would work for a short period but since I hold on to the truck for 10 plus years I want one that will do it all for quite a while. I got tired of the 2 door Bronco and kids climbing over the seats instead of sliding them forward. It's a big truck but it's manageable (and GREAT!).
I suppose it may take a day or so to completely empty the rail-cars. Then, I hear, they may sit in a yard for the car-haulers to arrive. From the day my SD arrived, it was then three days later at the dealer. (Saturday morning!)
You are probably a day or so away (I hope). Can you ask your dealer to check with the car-hauler? My dealer was able and going to, but it arrived before they were able to check.
I hope this helps. Good luck. What did you order?
1. clunk in front end (ordered bushings 5/23,not here yet)
2. Clunk in rear under acceleration from a stop or slow speed (says not found, normal)
3. Low on power and poor gas milage (2nd time, 1st they reflashed prom, this time replaced Mass Air Sensor, no change still 10.5 on the hwy)
4. Cuptosser broke
5. Recalibrate the speedo for 285's (wife just got a ticket for 78mph, she said the speedo was on 70)
6. Alignment, pulls to right (not even close)
7. Change oil (Well I guess one out of seven ain't bad)
If anybody knows of a GOOD Ford dealer in Cen Texas, please let me know. The ones I have been to are poorly staffed.
BTW the service guy at my place was nice as pie, just didnot fix the truck.
Maybe I ought to just sell it and try again.
I went thru the whole SC vs. CC debate before ordering my CC. I upgraded from a F-150 SC. Yes, kid seats do fit in the SC but adults and rear facing child seats don't fit so well, especially if you have a bench or 40-20-40 seat with the middle section up. As I had no real need for the full size bed, I decided to make my life easier by ordering the CC. I have no problem jumping in and out of the back seat twice daily when hauling the 1 year old to daycare. My 10 year old loves the room. Friends and visitors are much more comfortable in the CC than the SC. A good buddy has a SC and hauls two kids. After seeing the ease of loading and unloading kids in my CC, he is going to upgrade to CC in the near future. Your truck is your choice but I strongly recommend the CC over the SC, especially if a SB suits your needs.
jepsonfam - Where's that ARE dealer in MD you mentioned
2000 white F-250 XLT 4x4 PSD auto 2.73ls (great truck)
last tank was 15.4
a really sweet ride, at first i did notice a drift in the steering but its gone or i got used to it
Hopefully this is an isolated incident, but I highly recommend those Super Duty owners with gas engines check for this discrepancy on their trucks as it is a potentially dangerous condition.
I'm glad I perform my own maintenance or who knows when this problem would have been discovered.
By the way, I'm taking a 500 mile trip (one way to northern CA this week. I'll report my MPG when I get back. Again, I have the 2000 SD CC V8 Auto. shortbed (no 4WD). So far, it's a great truck. (Just the drift problem I hope to get resolved tomorrow).
What does the dealer say the ETA is? It may change week-to-week. My SD came 1 week before ETA.
Can I lower the pressure in the rear to be the same as the front pressure? Around 55? Does this give me a little smoother ride (empty)? Will this affect tire wear or handling at 55 lbs. or at 80 lbs? Would I want to lower the pressure in front from 55 down to ?????
Most of my travels will be empty. When I tow, or carry a heavy load, I suppose I would increase the tire pressure in the rears.
2000 SD CC shortbed Auto. V8 3.73 axle
Thanks for any help.
It is a widely accepted practice that when empty you can run considerably less tire pressure in the rears without adversly affecting wear. It will be a big improvement in the handling of your truck.. I thought I had mentioned this before here.
I currently run 50lbs in front AND rear tires.. (my door jam plate calls for 45front/75rear).
This is also consistant with the advice on ford-diesel.com. Folks with diesel's tend to run a slighly higher front air pressure because of the extra weight up front.
Note: if your hauling a load, then its extremely important to air up the rear tires to the recommended pressure, otherwise they can overheat and risk exploding..