I concur with the previous post, one way to tell is to drive in left lane on an interstate, it is sloped to the left. If your vehicle still pulls right, it definitely needs realigned. Another way to "test" this is: on a 2-lane roadway, where you can do so safely, straddle the center line. This should negate the effects of the center crown. If the vehicle doesn't steer straight, it is probably out of alignment. Of course, probably the absolute best way to tell, is take it to the dealer and have them realign it!
those are my thoughts too. we live on a dead-end so traffic is nil. the road is straight with little crown... shb able to tell something but haven't gotten around to it. also the interstate I95 is within a half mile of us so really don't have much excuses.
Now need to give it in "bunches" in regard to our trip. First, we averaged 12.7 mpg pulling at mostly 65mph & 12.9 at 55mph. more on that later. all of this pull was right at 20k gross so we were pleased with that aspect of the trip. we paid anywhere from 1.28 to 1.68 for a gal of diesel. the highest right here in FL and the lowest in the deep south. Up north was about midway (1.48 or so in NJ). interestingly, FL was the only state where diesel is just a few pennies below supreme gas. Everywhere else, diesel was the cheapest by at least a dime! as diesel comes off the barrel b4 gas, what's going on in FL? The truck & fifth wheel were "tested"... and fifth wheel and 15K fiver hitch had the problems.
Off the beaten a little, but the following is somewhat relevant to this board. We pulled such a steep hill in NH that it actually bent the front cross rail of that hitch. It seems as though Reese is not building enough beef into these rails as the truck's chassis is about a foot wider than the connection points of the hitch to the rails. This allows a lot of upwards (attempting to withdraw (tensional)) stress to be applied at those connection points... which is obviously more than enough to attempt to separate the front rail from the bed! Our front rail pulled up about 3/8" from being straight. Note that this hill was at least 40 degrees and about 150 yards long. However, our coach weighs in at 11,500 pounds... well below the "alleged" capacity of the hitch. Obviously Reese wasn't planning on an SD pulling 40 degree hills. Our thought is to add some additional bolt down's on the inboard side of the rails, thereby preventing the "middle" of the rail from attempting to pull up. But... there's no cross members between and perpendicular to the truck chassis rails anywhere near the area of hitch mount. And the fuel tank runs right down through there making the addition of those rather impractical. The solution has to be in the rails the way I see it. Any suggestions are certainly welcome. -Lee
Just an ignorant question: Would the DRW have anything to do with tracking wheel ruts and maybe "steering" you around a little? Where do you drive in the lane? More left or more right? My SRW tracks straight pulling my bumper pull coach at about 7000#. Good luck. Also, I'm in the process of getting my axles "flipped" on the trailer for more height so it won't drag and so it rides right behind the F250. 4x4.
Thanks for the info, I haven't gotten through to Paxton yet though.
Hey jimveta, What is your system costing. Also what is it costing for the install or are you doing it yourself? Can't wait for your results.
About tire pressures: I do have the 4x4 & tt package. Unloaded I run about 54 up front and 50 in back. Does anybody have a thought as to what the lowest pressure could be before the tires might start "cupping"?
lilelmo... no, nothing's steering the truck except the driver (stability, "wandering", isn't an issue). I've decided to let Ford have a look at it as the first 12k is a free alignment anyway. I'm really not certain that a problem exists as our Caddy was recently aligned (by a top-notch front end shop) and it exhibits the same tendency to turn right (as the truck). It could very well be a slight crown on these roads around here... so will drive the truck on the LEFT side & see what happens (it ought to of course, pull left). and back in Oct,99 or so I posted a whole bunch of stuff related to the topic of axle "flipping" and fiver "yanking" in general (had plenty of research time waiting for the beast to be built AND "delivered")... may be worth a look at some of those archived posts.
btw, about 8200 miles on the truck now and 2 oil changes (shell rotella "t" is the way to go here).. after changing the filter (pre load it with 2 quarts), a full 4 GALLONS is down the hatch. also, on that 4k trip? NO oil was added (the psd's stick is 2 quarts to add when it shows low). it's not a bad idea to change that oil every 3k and so that's what we're going to do.
and where IS everybody? there's used to be 15 20 posts a DAY in here. must be on vacation! -Lee
Still stop in once a week. Seem to find more information at ford-diesel.com whenever I need it. They fight a bit more over there though. Got 6000 on the "tank" (this is what my father-in-law refers to it now). Getting around 12.5 in town, up about 1.0 mpg since new. Really starting to enjoy the truck now, maybe I'm like bess, and don't have any problems to report. Any who, talk at ya later. y2k f250 sd sb cc 4x4 v10 4.30ls 5sp esof harvest gold, and lovin' it.
I have found that the drw is hard to predict in ruts. (luckily I still have a "compact" suburban for serious off roading) The front makes/follows the path, but the rears then have to make two paths that are centered on the first. Often get a little fishtailing as one of the wheels tries to fall into the groove. I've never noticed it on pavement though. A friend has a deuce-and-half army truck that used to have duallies. He converted to 16" wide singles all around (front too) and found it did much better off road.
i can't wait either $3850 for the supercharger and $600 installation it'll still spend some more time at the shop for other stuff .. i'll try to take and post pics when it's all done
Anyone experiencing slight rpm "surging"? that is, brief rpm surges as the transmission shifts, as if there's total torque converter slippage for a short while before it engages (i don't mean lockup, but this seems to happen too when unlocking).. because i found a TSB on this:
4R100 auto trans shift flair; 99 F-SuperDuty: An intermittent rise in engine RPM's at 2-3 or 3-4 shifts on certain calibrations may be caused by reduced fluid control pressure in the solenoid body. There is a new solenoid body-- F81Z-7G391-CB --and a revised computer strategy to correct this. TSB#99-8-1
i'm planning on having this checked out (before s.c. installation) and am wondering if others have experienced and/or corrected this? interestingly, when i installed a superchip, the chip greatly exacerbated the problem.
also, if anyone's interested, i've compiled a list of tsb's and people's views and possible causes & solutions, especially on the "clunking"/cab creaking noises, from this board and mostly at ford-diesel at: http://members.tripod.com/jimveta/truck/tsb (i.e. f250-clunk.txt) of particular interest to me at least was the second post surrounded in asterisks:
"I had a loud clunk in chassis behind rear of cab when entering driveways -- similar to that reported by other posts. Service tech. verified it and found found a stripped body bolt. After replacing the faulty bolt, noise is now gone
OK guys, here is the scoop! The noise was coming from the two bolts at the rear of the cab, below the rear seat in my crew cab. Apparently they were not torqued down enough, so the bushings wore off, or they were never there at all. The bushings and bolts were replaced. That was the problem with my truck, but they said it might be different on others.
Come to find out that Ford has a device for isolating chassis noises. It is kind of like hooking up an EKG. The tech sticks listening sensors around the area, then puts on headphones and drives it. He calls it an ear test. He can isolate each sensor with a switch until he finds the loudest one. Then he moves them all closer to the noise until he finds the culprit.
What they need now is a device that finds the noise that disappears when you take it to the shop!
Good Luck and I hope you get a quiet ride."
(unfortunately, i didn't make note of the poster, but's i found it on www.ford-diesel.com) i want to have this check out as well.. if any of you have gotten rid of your cab noise/clunk, i'd appreciate it if you please let me/us know.
hey, i am looking at a F-350,drw,ext. cab, auto, 4x4, what type of engine should i get, power-stroke or v10, what gears. i am a full-time rancher in texas, and i pull a trailer about three months and it does get pretty wet out there i have always had a 2x4 460cc srw ford. what would ya'll suggest, any pros, cons, and opinions would be great, thanks
i have almost no diesel experience, but if i may offer my humble suggestion would be for heftier configurations like the one you're considering (1-ton, drw) and with serious hauling/towing, to go with a diesel. note that 2001 powerstrokes will have a slight increase performance increase.
also, 2003 year models, i presume available late 2002, ford will be releasing their navistar diesel being more powerful, cleaner burning (can you believe ULEV?!), lighter, and get better mileage some info i got from blueovalnews on this 6.0L: +70 hp, +50 lb-ft weighs 210 lbs lighter tow 14,000 lbs ~ +1 mpg also new 5R100 auto transmission by that time as well as 3V gas engines
so if you're willing to wait 2 more years.. i'd recommend this option. but if not, and you ever want more power, i've heard a lot of good things about performance chips (makes a much *bigger* difference for the turbo diesels than gassers) and other aftermarket solutions.
Paul, if you like the way your 460 quickly responds to your right foot then stick with the V-10. The diesel simply will not give you the same responsiveness.
As to what gears depends on your load. I pull 7000 lb camper with 99 F250,sc,4x4,V10, 3.73 gears. The only thing that slows me down is Mounteagle. Thats in Tenn. if you don't know (ask any trucker and he'll have something to say about it)! I lived in Texas for 5 years, I don't think you have any hills that will bother you at all.
One other thing to consider is your other equipment. Do you have a tank sitting their with gas or diesel fuel already. It may save money if you can buy all the same kind of fuel.
First, as you already know, both engines are great choices, so really you can't go wrong no matter what you choose.
Some thoughts summarizing many different opinions on both engines: Diesel pro: Tow anything, and gets good mpg while doing it. (13 city/towing, 19 empty/highway) Those are the extreme ranges, your would probably be between there somewhere. Fuel costs differ depending on where you live, some places diesel is priced lower, some places higher. (someone mentioned if you already have a tank of diesel that you've bought, but be aware that its against the law to run off-road diesel in this truck that is meant for on-road use). Diesel engine's tend to last longer before needing rebuilt than gassers.
Diesel cons: Some folks think they make too much noise, and that they smell. 15 quarts of oil required for an oil change, and a $10 filter. Fuel filters need more frequent replacement.. Generally, it is slightly more expensive to maintain a diesel, but the end result is a very long lasting engine. High initial cost of the diesel.. Some folk will quote 'you can buy alot of fuel for $3500'. In the calculations I've done, you get that back eventually (100k miles +/- 30k) in fuel cost savings, (higher mpg).
I've heard some complaints that in muddy situations off road, the diesel's tend to sink a bit more because of the additional weight of the engine.
V10 pros: Just as much towing capacity as the diesel, (if you get the 4.30 rear end ratio). Better 'seat of the pants' feel. This is because the engine has decent amount of torque, and alot of HP. Lower initial cost than diesel
V10 cons: Some folks will say mpg is bad. The range seems to be between 9mpg (city/towing) and 16 (highway/empty). Those are the extreme's, your mileage will likely be between there somewhere.
Generally, if someone is going to do alot of towing. (ie, towing heavy loads, more often than not), then I think the diesel would be a better choice if you don't mind the other 'cons'.
all of this information is a huge amount of help. another thing i have heard from mechanics are bad oil leaks in the new powerstrokes, have ya'll heard anything about this...thanks again for the info -paul-
Two cents from a 2000 SD CC 4X4 V10 owner. Love the 3.73 gearing when not towing over 5000 pounds in Idaho. Had a chance to tow 6000 pound 9 foot + tall trailer for 2000 mile vacation and wished for the 4.30 gearing. Mountian towing and high head winds force me to drop it out of Over Drive with the 3.73 at 65 mph (I think with the 4.30 I could of pulled in O.D. 90% of the trip vs 40% I logged). Towing mpg range with trailer air drag (weight at approx.7000 pound) was 8.4 to 10.4 on a round trip from Boise to Yellow Stone.
If you buy a V10 to tow over 4 tons alot think about the 4.30 gearing. If you plan on only towing two times a year you can get by with the 3.73 and live with towing with the O.D. turned off. Have fun.... note unloaded with auto trans it getting 10.5 to 15.5 mpg city to hwy....... EEE
On June 26th I ordered a 2001 V10 Sc 2wd.XLT Steel-chromed wheels now are standard and dealer has no idea what they are like.Anyone Know? Better to switch to Alum? Don't really care for the rnd holes. Also my 97 F150 had auto headlight on & off but they say not available 250's-can this be retrofit? Info appreciated.
I had a MOST interesting experience today. I took part in a focus group held for Ford. I test drove a V10 CC,4x4, in two versions. One was standard, the other had four wheel STEERING. It (the rear steering) apparently was drive-by-wire and was meant to address the low speed maneuverability problems like parking and high speed towing stability vs. the standard CC.
It was really nice, but just a touch squirrelly at 70 mph with a 5000# box trailer behind it. I didn't notice the difference (it was that good) until I looked in the rear mirror on a turn and saw the rear wheel angled out at about 25 degrees. That was shocking.
I parallel parked both vehicles, did U-turns, and did a "garage entry" What a difference, but it's not going to be worth the $2000-3,000 premium for it.
I stood and watched someone else maneuver the truck around in the parking lot. It was really bizarre to watch both ends of an F250 SD CC steering a 15' trailer into a space at 90 degrees to the road. But, boy did it make parking that trailer a snap.
Go Ford, go. Oh yeah, I got $125 to do it. What a hoot!
lilelmo... Amazing! I've seen this on some experimental car or another, pretty cool! Just what we all need. BTW, how do you get picked for a test group?
I bought a 2000 250 4x4,CC in February. I've responded to all the surveys and said "yes" when they ask if I'd do more. I got a call from Morpace International (based in Detroit area) who does market research for the auto industry, I guess. They asked me a bunch of qualifying questions such as age, income, did I drive the 250 more than 50% of the time, etc. obviously profiling me and I suppose I fit for this test.
When I got there, it was like an all male, class reunion from the 70's. It was hilarious to be so typecast. One woman of the same apparent income, age group, etc. finally came in driving a 250 CC to do the test. They did a similar thing at the same time for 150's, but I didn't see if they steered all four wheels.
When I checked out, they asked me to do another group tonight for another $100. Nothing like fun for money.
A while back, a few of us were commenting on the 'flutter', which can sound alot like pinging, spark knock and other things. Rumor had it (from service reps at ford) that the cause was some type of 'standing wave' in the Y pipe... You know, the junction of the left/right to a single pipe before the cat.
Well, I just read on ford-diesel.com (gasser forum of course) a message ------- Got rid of that crazy rams horn y-pipe and no more flutter. The V-10 dosn't sound like a big block V-8, but more like a BIG in-line 6. -------
I have a '99 SD250 4X4 SRW SB X-cab 4.30L-S which produces a droning noise at approximately 2300 rpm. The dealer suspected the rear axle or the driveshaft and replaced both, which didn't help. The noise occurs in all gears, going away as the rpm increases past 2300; however in OD the road noise makes it difficult to hear beyond 67 mph where it begins to drone. As you might imagine, Detroit was absolutely no help. Any ideas? Also, has anyone had experience with both the 275hp and 310hp V10s? I had planned to keep the '99 beyond the lease, but now I'm wondering if the newer version is enough better to warrant dumping it and getting the newer model when the time comes. It doesn't seem Ford is very proud of the 275hp engine because they've changed virtually the whole engine. Thanks.
We took delivery of our 1999 F350 CC LB Lariat 4x4 V10 3.73LS on Nov. 20, 1999 after an 8 month wait. Truck now has 40,000 miles on it. Repairs covered under warranty were a power steering pump leak and warped front rotors. Took the truck in to the dealer at 35,900 and had the cold engine piston slap documented. My engine is an early version and will be replaced with a new longblock (complete with heads). Engine was ordered in May and is not here yet. Engine plant said it was shipped. Dealer will get a second engine in a few days. I like the idea of getting a new engine at 40,000 miles. Only downside is the 3 days required for the replacement process.
Have been using Purolator Pure One filters and switched back to Motorcraft. An increase in oil pressure was realized. I will only use Motorcraft on the replacement engine.
FYI mileage highlites - 14MPG at 70 to 85 MPH empty, 11 to 12 city. 7 to 9 MPG towing 5000lb travel trailer at 60 to 80 MPH.
All season Firestone R4S II's will need replacement around 50,000 miles.
Thanks bobh12, I found the item in the accessorie catalogue and am trying to get a price and infor on installation. Another question! Way back there were some discussions on priority numbers on orders. I gathered they were assigned by Ford when the orders were placed. I checked on my order placed June 26 and it showed pri. 12. Asked about it and dealer said he assignes priority based on orders ahead. example he has 2 ahead and when one is booked for production he will go in and change mine to 11 and then to 10 when the other one is scheduled. Said it made sure a later order get there before one placed prior to it.Also that he can have only one 10 in the system at one time. Does this make sense? I didn't push because I had to furnish him with the ordering info and then the pricing Info before he could order it (Thanks to Town Hall & Ford Diesel and you good people)and figured he might say the H with it and give me a 16. This is really a info site and good source.Thanks
2001 2wd SC XLT SB V10 ordered to pull a 28 ft fiver-hopefully all over the country.
Im wondering if theres an allotment issue at work there. Allotments have been discussed here alot in the past. Bascially they change often (monthly? or quarterly?) and are unique to each dealership. There are several categories for allotments such as engine type, crew cab, dually, etc.. Basically a dealership knows how many trucks a month they are alloted, and what the configuration % breakdown is.. For example, a dealership may be alloted 12 SD's a month. Also the allotment category % may be. 5% V10, 10% 5.4L, 85% PSD, 15% dually, 25% crewcab etc..
So, for a particular month, only 5% of 12 can be with a V10, (note that this is less than 1). So it would take 2 months before the dealer even has allotment for this 1 truck.. (btw, this was a real world example for a particular dealership around 10/99).
So, even if your priority is 12, its possible for you to get your truck quickly if the dealer has allotments. However if the dealer allotments are low, you might have to wait a bit..
Your dealer should be able to tell you: - how long it has taken similar trucks to arrive - If the truck is scheduled for a build date yet.
You can also ask about their allotments. You might just get a grin for a response, but they may also have something meaningful to say.
Great shot. Only question in my mind was whether or not all those Chebbies were broken? :-)
Fordtuf-Good meeting you too. I did my trip to Tifton after the focus group. I got 14.7 mpg at 75 mph on cruise. V10,CC,4x4, 3.73 ls, 265 tires.
A few things I wish I had mentioned in the focus group. I wish I had mentioned the four plug wire socket on the factory trailer wiring. It's backward to all of my trailers. I had to buy an adapter. I also wish I had specified pull out cupholders in the back seat front and a cutoff switch on the right side air bag. There's not one in the CC. Also, front seatback pockets in the CC would be nice.
Has anybody seen the new color "True Blue" yet? My dealer says it is the same as on the new sport-trac. What about the new green? I hope its not as ugly as the current one.(no offence to green truck owners)
It's been awhile. I went out camping every weekend for about two months. For those who aren't familiar, my truck is a 99 F-350 Supercab 4x4 dually V-10 auto trans, AT tires, 4.30 rear end. I have a 4000 pound truck camper (99 10'11" Bigfoot 3000). With tanks and gear loaded, I weigh around 11,700 with me in it. Mileage is consistent. The 4.30s cost me a couple mpg, but I wouldn't trade them since my trips having me climbing through some mountain passes. I live in Anchorage Alaska. The mpg running empty is 10-10.5 in a 50/50 city/hwy mix. Straight hwy is just under 12. With the camper in the bed and the speed in the low to mid 60s, I get 8.5-9.
We've discussed the gas vs diesel issue before. The V-10 is great and has plenty of power. On the other hand, the mpg difference is probably 5-7mpg. Depending on your driving habits and who you talk to, the financial breakeven point between initial cost of diesel and increased routine maintenance vs mpg is 80,000 to 180,000 miles and likely lies somewhere in between. The diesel will give you more grunt near the top of the long climbs with a load.
When I bought my truck, I considered a diesel, but couldn't justify it for my intended use. I currently run about 500 over GVWR with the camper on. The extra 700 pounds for the diesel would have made that more. I was also getting ready to move back to Alaska and figured I'd be living in town, so there would be a lot of short trips without extended warm-ups.
Well, things have changed a little. I'm definitely back to stay, but I put a deposit down to have a place built about 40 miles out of town. My daily commute will be 50 miles one way, so that's 100 miles roundtrip. I'll be putting about 30,000 miles per year on the truck. My current plan is to hold on to this truck for 2-4 more years and then I'll buy a diesel. The target date for me is the second production year of the new 6.0L. With over 300 hp and approximately 550 ft-lbs of torque, it should be quite the engine. The commute miles will also make the mpg breakeven point come about sooner.
There is one thing that I'm hoping Ford is working on. Rumor has it that the new Chevy will have a 12,000 pound GVWR. Since campers are all getting heavier, it would be really nice if Ford would consider doing that as well. My 1 ton handles the load great, but I am running over GVWR.
NEED SOME ADVICE! I have found a dealer who will sell me a '00,F250 SD,CC,XLT,V10 at invoice. Problem: This is an out-of-town dealer. Will drop ship to any local dealer for $250. Local dealer (my choice) does the prep. Can anyone explain how this works and tell me of any problems I must be aware of. Many thanks for your help.
Just got back from 2 week vacation. Now have 12k+ miles on 7 month old 2K, 250, v-10, auto, CC, 4x4, SB, 3.73ls Lariat. Still love the truck.
Had a minor mishap while on vacation .... tried to go up a very old and narrow road near Marquette, Iowa on the Mississippi River ... it was at a very steep angle so was in 4-low. With deep ruts and small logs over the path, I managed to jam a log into the steering dampener (that shock absorber you see when you look under the front bumper toward the front axel on the passenger side half) .... anyway, it didn't cause any other damage and only cost $65 part and labor at a Ford Dealer in Decorah, Iowa. Seems Ford could have protected that part from getting smashed in .... suppose they would argue that only a dummy would attempt a road like that ... and they may be right. Other than that we did a lot of 4 wheeling and the truck worked great.
While driving back yesterday ... playing CD's ... after about 3 hours the CD player died a couple times. I've heard others mention problems with their CD players overheating, etc. I guess I have the problem now. Hope the dealer takes my word for it cause it appeared to be intermittent with no set time frame for failure. If anyone else has had this problem, please let me know how it was resolved ... and did the dealer take your word for it or did they have to duplicate the problem after much time?
I suppose I could get better gas mileage if I drove slower ... but the truck wants to run 80 mph on the interstates. Therefore, mileage with little or no load stays around 12.5 mpg at 80 mph and the same for around town driving.
Sorry if this is windy ... hope everyone is doing good and in good health .... happy motoring!
I got my local dealer to arrange a similar deal. They actually swapped for it, I believe to keep their volume up and get future allotments. I had another dealer, a little further away, who didn't want to do this because they wouldn't get credit for the sale (allotments again).
I actually got my 99,F250,sc,4x4,V-10,XLT below invoice & EXTRAS! I got color matched cab steps, the color matched floor mats, they swapped mirrors(I like the small ones) and I got 2 hats from the catalog.
The one I passed on was same truck except a Lariat package. They gave me below invoice plus the cost of a plane ticket for me to fly up and get it and money for half of the gas to drive back home! I had it in writing and had already put a deposit down and made the flight arrangements.
A long story to get to a point... I'll bet you can do even better. Go to FORD's website and "build" your truck. Then send it to about 5 or 6 different dealers in large cities, say within 300 miles of you. This is how I got my local dealer to jump through hoops. I actually had 4 trucks to choose from here in the southeast area. From start to finish the whole process took just over two weeks!
About dealer invoice. We all know about "holdback" right? It may be called other things too, it is a certain percentage (3% for Ford I think). Have you heard of "accounting/processing" fees? While I was doing all the looking one dealer mistakingly e-mailed me the whole pricing sheet. This is also about 1 1/2% that FORD gives to the dealers. And there is another dollar figure that represents a volume price for dealers. So don't ever buy the idea that "invoice" is anywhere near what the dealer actually pays.
blueovalnews.com under: FordTech articles that all consumers should read. Down the page under Reported problems and vehicles to watch for: SuperDuty ABS Brakes: Ford literature states that 2000 model year SuperDuty crew cabs are equipped with 4 wheel antilock brakes. It has also been reported that the vehicle's window sticker also has this as standard equipment: however, reports are surfacing that the trucks only have rear ABS.
I called GoodYear, where I have my truck serviced and asked how I can tell to make sure I had them on the front, they said they would have sensors, but you may need a trained eye to verify. I have to wait until 2 pm to talk to my sales person about this. Has anybody else heard of this oversight on Ford's part?
There was alot of confusion early on when initial year 2000 source books were sent to dealers in late 99, istated there that 4w ABS was standard on all XLT packages.
However, Ford changed that and 4W ABS was NOT standard on XLT packages, it was an additional option.. My dealer was still telling me there was 4w ABS when I knew for sure there wasn't because of sites like this.. Plus, I finally did find Ford documentation that said 4w abs was NOT standard on XLT packages for y2k, at which time he believed me.
So it doesn't suprise me that there is confusion in FoMoCo, the Dealers, and us customers on this issue..
I know the window stickers are printed at the dealer, but I'm not sure who's responsible for all the content, (dealers or factory). If the dealer is, they may be making an honest mistake by believing that 4w ABS is standard on XLT models.
btw: its my understanding that 4w abs is standard on the Lariat package.
My CD player quit on me the first month I had my truck. It would play for 30 minutes, get hot and quit. I took it to the dealer and they popped it out using two U shaped tools with knobs on the end, and plugged in another one. No questions asked. Apparently this is not an uncommon problem. It's aggravating to pay $30,000+ for a truck, pay extra for the CD player and have it be a marginal unit. Good luck.
lilelmo .... Thanks for the info on the CD player. I took the truck to the dealer this morning to get a new cup holder ..... they ordered a new one about 3 weeks ago and it came in ... I was surprised that it wasn't the new design .... I got a new old one ... curses! ... guess this one will have to break before warranty goes away!
Anyway, while I was there, I told them about the CD and they took it out and sent it to someplace .... now I have to wait with a hole in the dash board until a new one comes in .... they said that is the only way they could do it. Your dealer is great if they were able to take care of it on the spot.
Bess .... I think the sticker was on the window of my pickup when it came in on the truck to the dealer. That tells me the build site put it on! ....??? Don't know for sure though ...
Look behind your front wheels. If there are two lines to the caliper you have four wheel abs. One is the hydraulic line. The other if you have it is the wire for abs.
hello all. i haven't posted in a while. hope you are all having a good summer. i think the reason there are fewer posts is that we are all out having fun and because ford has cut way down on the waiting time for sd's.
had a road trip last weekend and averaged exactly 20 mpg over the 500 miles of the trip. my config is a 350 cc psd 3.73 srw sb and i was lightly loaded.
question: filling up is a challenge. in order to fill all the way up, i literally have to gently shake the truck to "burp" the tank. i also think it adds 2-4 extra gallons to capacity, although i don't have the guts to drain it and check my theory. anyone out there have any idea how many gallons are added if you fill all the way up the so you can see the fuel just below the opening?
I saw the true blue color today on a 8x11 sampler and compared it to the wedgewood, it's darker and no purple tint, almost black. I don't like it. The new green looks pretty good though, kinda like the green on 97's.
I have been looking over the center consoles, comparing with the Excursion. I popped the front tray easily from the console (while salesman wasn't looking on the Exc) since they have basically the same one, except for the rear. Btw thay want $215 for a console, but the point is the front tray on the SD console is interchangable with front tray of the Exc. The cup holders are not deep but they will hold a can cooler (cost is $12) I have found the second cup holder out of dash is useless if the kid in the back seat is using power outlet with his gameboy.
Sure do like this truck, 6800 miles, gearing up for trip to Colorado for guided Elk hunt in Nov. 00 woodland green CC 5.4 Lariat 4.1 L/S ARE cap Duraliner slide in. Averaging right around 15-16 on highway with cruise at 70. In town- 13.5.
Everywhere you look, there's CC, not all are being used for towing, people trading in their extended cabs, kids are growing. At this time, there's not a truck on the market that compares to a SD CC.
Hope your all having a great summer....Talk at ya later, I'm going Musky fishin...........
sherwood, try parking with the front of the truck downhill if you can. the fill neck goes in the back of the tank, and if the nose is uphill, an air bubble seems to get trapped at the front of the tank. bowhunt, i replaced my front tray with the excursion cup holder tray about a week after i got my truck. it works better than the old in-dash cup spiller by quite a bit.
Many thanks for your input. Took your advice applied it to my situation. A local dealer needed a sale and after looking over the Fax from my "out-of-town" source, ordered my 2001 F250 SD CC V10 156" SRW and sold it for dealer invoice. Local dealer would not wave FDAF assessment ($160). Kelly Blue Book has good numbers for the 2001 Super Duties. Thanks again for your reply and info. All you guys and gals give great advice and I am greatful. TTYL, Burt
I have y2k F250 SD CC, but I don't know if it has the siton slap problem or not. I purcahsed the vehicle oct 14 of 1999. Can someone how do I go about testing the picton slap?
There was an extensive post on this in http://www.f150online.com which included an audio file. After listening to it (and after what they described), I'm pretty sure you'd notice--it sounds like really big and loud clattering when it's cold. I think people have said it can be heard all around the block.
Just got back from vacation, have about 3700 miles on the truck now. Gas milage was good pulling by boat 12.5 highway, and unloaded I was getting around 14.5 highway. V10 3.73LS 00 CC Lariat 4x4. Have to talk to the dealer yet about the steering wheel being off center. Had it checked for alingment before I left for vacation, the dealer said he had a Ford engineer coming in and he would ask them what they can do to fix this problem. Other than that I have had no major problems with the truck. It runs great and I like the amount of space that is in the CC.
does anyone have a leak in there truck? my truck has a water leak on the right side next to the glove box under the dash. everytime it rains or i wash my truck i notice a small amount of water on the floor nothing major i cant find where it's coming from and i do notice a rust spot under the dash where the glove box meets. any help would be great i'll bring it in to the dealer as soon as i can. 2000 f-250 sc 4x4 lariat island blue v-10 auto 5,600 miles
I am looking at purchasing a new Ford Super duty PS diesel, Auto Trans., 4WD, EXT cab, LB, with the trailer towing package. I own a bobcat service company and my bobcat trailer, when loaded, weighs just over 9500 pounds and has a tongue weight of 825 pounds. When I tow it, I'll use a weight distribution hitch. My question is - should I buy the F250 or the F350. Is it worth the money to get the 1 ton? Will it give me a noticeable performance difference, or will I be happy with the 250? Any input would be appreciated.
Comments
Now need to give it in "bunches" in regard to our trip. First, we averaged 12.7 mpg pulling at mostly 65mph & 12.9 at 55mph. more on that later. all of this pull was right at 20k gross so we were pleased with that aspect of the trip. we paid anywhere from 1.28 to 1.68 for a gal of diesel. the highest right here in FL and the lowest in the deep south. Up north was about midway (1.48 or so in NJ). interestingly, FL was the only state where diesel is just a few pennies below supreme gas. Everywhere else, diesel was the cheapest by at least a dime! as diesel comes off the barrel b4 gas, what's going on in FL? The truck & fifth wheel were "tested"... and fifth wheel and 15K fiver hitch had the problems.
Off the beaten a little, but the following is somewhat relevant to this board. We pulled such a steep hill in NH that it actually bent the front cross rail of that hitch. It seems as though Reese is not building enough beef into these rails as the truck's chassis is about a foot wider than the connection points of the hitch to the rails. This allows a lot of upwards (attempting to withdraw (tensional)) stress to be applied at those connection points... which is obviously more than enough to attempt to separate the front rail from the bed! Our front rail pulled up about 3/8" from being straight. Note that this hill was at least 40 degrees and about 150 yards long. However, our coach weighs in at 11,500 pounds... well below the "alleged" capacity of the hitch. Obviously Reese wasn't planning on an SD pulling 40 degree hills. Our thought is to add some additional bolt down's on the inboard side of the rails, thereby preventing the "middle" of the rail from attempting to pull up. But... there's no cross members between and perpendicular to the truck chassis rails anywhere near the area of hitch mount. And the fuel tank runs right down through there making the addition of those rather impractical. The solution has to be in the rails the way I see it. Any suggestions are certainly welcome. -Lee
sdman - thanks for the trailer information. There is one in my future but have to save for my SD first ,, hopefully the new 6.0 PSD in 2002.
Also, I'm in the process of getting my axles "flipped" on the trailer for more height so it won't drag and so it rides right behind the F250. 4x4.
Hey jimveta,
What is your system costing. Also what is it costing for the install or are you doing it yourself? Can't wait for your results.
About tire pressures:
I do have the 4x4 & tt package. Unloaded I run about 54 up front and 50 in back. Does anybody have a thought as to what the lowest pressure could be before the tires might start "cupping"?
Can't wait for the results of the change your making, its sure to be awesome.
btw, about 8200 miles on the truck now and 2 oil changes (shell rotella "t" is the way to go here).. after changing the filter (pre load it with 2 quarts), a full 4 GALLONS is down the hatch. also, on that 4k trip? NO oil was added (the psd's stick is 2 quarts to add when it shows low). it's not a bad idea to change that oil every 3k and so that's what we're going to do.
and where IS everybody? there's used to be 15 20 posts a DAY in here. must be on vacation! -Lee
A friend has a deuce-and-half army truck that used to have duallies. He converted to 16" wide singles all around (front too) and found it did much better off road.
$3850 for the supercharger and $600 installation
it'll still spend some more time at the shop for
other stuff ..
i'll try to take and post pics when it's all done
Anyone experiencing slight rpm "surging"? that
is, brief rpm surges as the transmission shifts,
as if there's total torque converter slippage for
a short while before it engages (i don't mean
lockup, but this seems to happen too when
unlocking).. because i found a TSB on this:
4R100 auto trans shift flair; 99 F-SuperDuty:
An intermittent rise in engine RPM's at 2-3 or
3-4 shifts on certain calibrations may be caused
by reduced fluid control pressure in the solenoid
body. There is a new solenoid body--
F81Z-7G391-CB --and a revised computer strategy
to correct this. TSB#99-8-1
i'm planning on having this checked out (before
s.c. installation) and am wondering if others
have experienced and/or corrected this?
interestingly, when i installed a superchip, the
chip greatly exacerbated the problem.
also, if anyone's interested, i've compiled a list
of tsb's and people's views and possible causes &
solutions, especially on the "clunking"/cab
creaking noises, from this board and mostly at
ford-diesel at:
http://members.tripod.com/jimveta/truck/tsb
(i.e. f250-clunk.txt) of particular interest to
me at least was the second post surrounded in
asterisks:
"I had a loud clunk in chassis behind rear of cab
when entering driveways -- similar to that
reported by other posts. Service tech. verified
it and found found a stripped body bolt.
After replacing the faulty bolt, noise is now gone
OK guys, here is the scoop!
The noise was coming from the two bolts at the
rear of the cab, below the rear seat in my
crew cab. Apparently they were not torqued down
enough, so the bushings wore off, or they
were never there at all. The bushings and bolts
were replaced. That was the problem with
my truck, but they said it might be different on
others.
Come to find out that Ford has a device for
isolating chassis noises. It is kind of like
hooking up an EKG. The tech sticks listening
sensors around the area, then puts on
headphones and drives it. He calls it an ear
test. He can isolate each sensor with a switch
until he finds the loudest one. Then he moves
them all closer to the noise until he finds
the culprit.
What they need now is a device that finds the
noise that disappears when you take it to the
shop!
Good Luck and I hope you get a quiet ride."
(unfortunately, i didn't make note of the poster,
but's i found it on www.ford-diesel.com)
i want to have this check out as well.. if any of
you have gotten rid of your cab noise/clunk,
i'd appreciate it if you please let me/us know.
offer my humble suggestion would be for heftier
configurations like the one you're considering
(1-ton, drw) and with serious hauling/towing, to
go with a diesel. note that 2001 powerstrokes
will have a slight increase performance increase.
also, 2003 year models, i presume available late
2002, ford will be releasing their navistar diesel
being more powerful, cleaner burning (can you
believe ULEV?!), lighter, and get better mileage
some info i got from blueovalnews on this 6.0L:
+70 hp, +50 lb-ft
weighs 210 lbs lighter
tow 14,000 lbs
~ +1 mpg
also new 5R100 auto transmission by that time
as well as 3V gas engines
so if you're willing to wait 2 more years.. i'd
recommend this option. but if not, and you ever
want more power, i've heard a lot of good things
about performance chips (makes a much *bigger*
difference for the turbo diesels than gassers)
and other aftermarket solutions.
V-10. The diesel simply will not give you the same responsiveness.
As to what gears depends on your load. I pull 7000 lb camper with 99 F250,sc,4x4,V10,
3.73 gears. The only thing that slows me down is Mounteagle. Thats in Tenn. if you don't know (ask any trucker and he'll have something to say about it)! I lived in Texas for 5 years, I don't think you have any hills that will bother you at all.
One other thing to consider is your other equipment. Do you have a tank sitting their with gas or diesel fuel already. It may save money if you can buy all the same kind of fuel.
Some thoughts summarizing many different opinions on both engines:
Diesel pro: Tow anything, and gets good mpg while doing it. (13 city/towing, 19 empty/highway) Those are the extreme ranges, your would probably be between there somewhere. Fuel costs differ depending on where you live, some places diesel is priced lower, some places higher.
(someone mentioned if you already have a tank of diesel that you've bought, but be aware that its against the law to run off-road diesel in this truck that is meant for on-road use).
Diesel engine's tend to last longer before needing rebuilt than gassers.
Diesel cons: Some folks think they make too much noise, and that they smell. 15 quarts of oil required for an oil change, and a $10 filter. Fuel filters need more frequent replacement.. Generally, it is slightly more expensive to maintain a diesel, but the end result is a very long lasting engine.
High initial cost of the diesel.. Some folk will quote 'you can buy alot of fuel for $3500'. In the calculations I've done, you get that back eventually (100k miles +/- 30k) in fuel cost savings, (higher mpg).
I've heard some complaints that in muddy situations off road, the diesel's tend to sink a bit more because of the additional weight of the engine.
V10 pros: Just as much towing capacity as the diesel, (if you get the 4.30 rear end ratio).
Better 'seat of the pants' feel. This is because the engine has decent amount of torque, and alot of HP. Lower initial cost than diesel
V10 cons: Some folks will say mpg is bad. The range seems to be between 9mpg (city/towing) and 16 (highway/empty). Those are the extreme's, your mileage will likely be between there somewhere.
Generally, if someone is going to do alot of towing. (ie, towing heavy loads, more often than not), then I think the diesel would be a better choice if you don't mind the other 'cons'.
Is this a wishy-washy enough of an answer?
BTW: I have the 5.4L and love it..
-paul-
If you buy a V10 to tow over 4 tons alot think about the 4.30 gearing. If you plan on only towing two times a year you can get by with the 3.73 and live with towing with the O.D. turned off. Have fun.... note unloaded with auto trans it getting 10.5 to 15.5 mpg city to hwy....... EEE
It was really nice, but just a touch squirrelly at 70 mph with a 5000# box trailer behind it. I didn't notice the difference (it was that good) until I looked in the rear mirror on a turn and saw the rear wheel angled out at about 25 degrees. That was shocking.
I parallel parked both vehicles, did U-turns, and did a "garage entry" What a difference, but it's not going to be worth the $2000-3,000 premium for it.
I stood and watched someone else maneuver the truck around in the parking lot. It was really bizarre to watch both ends of an F250 SD CC steering a 15' trailer into a space at 90 degrees to the road. But, boy did it make parking that trailer a snap.
Go Ford, go. Oh yeah, I got $125 to do it. What a hoot!
When I got there, it was like an all male, class reunion from the 70's. It was hilarious to be so typecast. One woman of the same apparent income, age group, etc. finally came in driving a 250 CC to do the test. They did a similar thing at the same time for 150's, but I didn't see if they steered all four wheels.
When I checked out, they asked me to do another group tonight for another $100. Nothing like fun for money.
Rumor had it (from service reps at ford) that the cause was some type of 'standing wave' in the Y pipe... You know, the junction of the left/right to a single pipe before the cat.
Well, I just read on ford-diesel.com (gasser forum of course) a message
-------
Got rid of that crazy rams horn y-pipe and no more flutter. The V-10 dosn't sound like a big block V-8, but more like a BIG in-line 6.
-------
So, maybe Ford won't fix it, but someone can..
Have been using Purolator Pure One filters and switched back to Motorcraft. An increase in oil pressure was realized. I will only use Motorcraft on the replacement engine.
FYI mileage highlites - 14MPG at 70 to 85 MPH empty, 11 to 12 city. 7 to 9 MPG towing 5000lb travel trailer at 60 to 80 MPH.
All season Firestone R4S II's will need replacement around 50,000 miles.
Greg
Another question! Way back there were some discussions on priority numbers on orders. I gathered they were assigned by Ford when the orders were placed. I checked on my order placed June 26 and it showed pri. 12. Asked about it and dealer said he assignes priority based on orders ahead. example he has 2 ahead and when one is booked for production he will go in and change mine to 11 and then to 10 when the other one is scheduled. Said it made sure a later order get there before one placed prior to it.Also that he can have only one 10 in the system at one time. Does this make sense? I didn't push because I had to furnish him with the ordering info and then the pricing Info before he could order it (Thanks to Town Hall & Ford Diesel and you good people)and figured he might say the H with it and give me a 16.
This is really a info site and good source.Thanks
2001 2wd SC XLT SB V10 ordered to pull a 28 ft fiver-hopefully all over the country.
So, for a particular month, only 5% of 12 can be with a V10, (note that this is less than 1). So it would take 2 months before the dealer even has allotment for this 1 truck.. (btw, this was a real world example for a particular dealership around 10/99).
So, even if your priority is 12, its possible for you to get your truck quickly if the dealer has allotments. However if the dealer allotments are low, you might have to wait a bit..
Your dealer should be able to tell you:
- how long it has taken similar trucks to arrive
- If the truck is scheduled for a build date yet.
You can also ask about their allotments. You might just get a grin for a response, but they may also have something meaningful to say.
Fordtuf-Good meeting you too. I did my trip to Tifton after the focus group. I got 14.7 mpg at 75 mph on cruise. V10,CC,4x4, 3.73 ls, 265 tires.
A few things I wish I had mentioned in the focus group. I wish I had mentioned the four plug wire socket on the factory trailer wiring. It's backward to all of my trailers. I had to buy an adapter. I also wish I had specified pull out cupholders in the back seat front and a cutoff switch on the right side air bag. There's not one in the CC. Also, front seatback pockets in the CC would be nice.
Oh well. 20/20 hindsight.
We've discussed the gas vs diesel issue before. The V-10 is great and has plenty of power. On the other hand, the mpg difference is probably 5-7mpg. Depending on your driving habits and who you talk to, the financial breakeven point between initial cost of diesel and increased routine maintenance vs mpg is 80,000 to 180,000 miles and likely lies somewhere in between. The diesel will give you more grunt near the top of the long climbs with a load.
When I bought my truck, I considered a diesel, but couldn't justify it for my intended use. I currently run about 500 over GVWR with the camper on. The extra 700 pounds for the diesel would have made that more. I was also getting ready to move back to Alaska and figured I'd be living in town, so there would be a lot of short trips without extended warm-ups.
Well, things have changed a little. I'm definitely back to stay, but I put a deposit down to have a place built about 40 miles out of town. My daily commute will be 50 miles one way, so that's 100 miles roundtrip. I'll be putting about 30,000 miles per year on the truck. My current plan is to hold on to this truck for 2-4 more years and then I'll buy a diesel. The target date for me is the second production year of the new 6.0L. With over 300 hp and approximately 550 ft-lbs of torque, it should be quite the engine. The commute miles will also make the mpg breakeven point come about sooner.
There is one thing that I'm hoping Ford is working on. Rumor has it that the new Chevy will have a 12,000 pound GVWR. Since campers are all getting heavier, it would be really nice if Ford would consider doing that as well. My 1 ton handles the load great, but I am running over GVWR.
Had a minor mishap while on vacation .... tried to go up a very old and narrow road near Marquette, Iowa on the Mississippi River ... it was at a very steep angle so was in 4-low. With deep ruts and small logs over the path, I managed to jam a log into the steering dampener (that shock absorber you see when you look under the front bumper toward the front axel on the passenger side half) .... anyway, it didn't cause any other damage and only cost $65 part and labor at a Ford Dealer in Decorah, Iowa. Seems Ford could have protected that part from getting smashed in .... suppose they would argue that only a dummy would attempt a road like that ... and they may be right. Other than that we did a lot of 4 wheeling and the truck worked great.
While driving back yesterday ... playing CD's ... after about 3 hours the CD player died a couple times. I've heard others mention problems with their CD players overheating, etc. I guess I have the problem now. Hope the dealer takes my word for it cause it appeared to be intermittent with no set time frame for failure. If anyone else has had this problem, please let me know how it was resolved ... and did the dealer take your word for it or did they have to duplicate the problem after much time?
I suppose I could get better gas mileage if I drove slower ... but the truck wants to run 80 mph on the interstates. Therefore, mileage with little or no load stays around 12.5 mpg at 80 mph and the same for around town driving.
Sorry if this is windy ... hope everyone is doing good and in good health .... happy motoring!
I actually got my 99,F250,sc,4x4,V-10,XLT below invoice & EXTRAS! I got color matched cab steps, the color matched floor mats, they swapped mirrors(I like the small ones) and I got 2 hats from the catalog.
The one I passed on was same truck except a Lariat package. They gave me below invoice plus the cost of a plane ticket for me to fly up and get it and money for half of the gas to drive back home! I had it in writing and had already put a deposit down and made the flight arrangements.
A long story to get to a point... I'll bet you can do even better. Go to FORD's website and "build" your truck. Then send it to about 5 or 6 different dealers in large cities, say within 300 miles of you. This is how I got my local dealer to jump through hoops. I actually had 4 trucks to choose from here in the southeast area. From start to finish the whole process took just over two weeks!
About dealer invoice. We all know about "holdback" right? It may be called other things too, it is a certain percentage (3% for Ford I think). Have you heard of "accounting/processing" fees? While I was doing all the looking one dealer mistakingly e-mailed me the whole pricing sheet. This is also about 1 1/2% that FORD gives to the dealers. And there is another dollar figure that represents a volume price for dealers. So don't ever buy the idea that "invoice" is anywhere near what the dealer actually pays.
Good Luck. Sorry for the long post.
SuperDuty ABS Brakes:
Ford literature states that 2000 model year SuperDuty crew cabs are equipped with 4 wheel antilock brakes. It has also been reported that the vehicle's window sticker also has this as standard equipment: however, reports are surfacing that the trucks only have rear ABS.
I called GoodYear, where I have my truck serviced and asked how I can tell to make sure I had them on the front, they said they would have sensors, but you may need a trained eye to verify. I have to wait until 2 pm to talk to my sales person about this. Has anybody else heard of this oversight on Ford's part?
However, Ford changed that and 4W ABS was NOT standard on XLT packages, it was an additional option..
My dealer was still telling me there was 4w ABS when I knew for sure there wasn't because of sites like this.. Plus, I finally did find Ford documentation that said 4w abs was NOT standard on XLT packages for y2k, at which time he believed me.
So it doesn't suprise me that there is confusion in FoMoCo, the Dealers, and us customers on this issue..
I know the window stickers are printed at the dealer, but I'm not sure who's responsible for all the content, (dealers or factory). If the dealer is, they may be making an honest mistake by believing that 4w ABS is standard on XLT models.
btw: its my understanding that 4w abs is standard on the Lariat package.
Anyway, while I was there, I told them about the CD and they took it out and sent it to someplace .... now I have to wait with a hole in the dash board until a new one comes in .... they said that is the only way they could do it. Your dealer is great if they were able to take care of it on the spot.
Bess .... I think the sticker was on the window of my pickup when it came in on the truck to the dealer. That tells me the build site put it on! ....??? Don't know for sure though ...
Also, are there any sites with pictures of this color? I want to order an '01, but would like to see the color first.
My apologies if this question was already asked. I didn't have time to read thru all previous posts.
had a road trip last weekend and averaged exactly 20 mpg over the 500 miles of the trip.
my config is a 350 cc psd 3.73 srw sb and i was lightly loaded.
question: filling up is a challenge. in order to fill all the way up, i literally have to gently shake the truck to "burp" the tank. i also think it adds 2-4 extra gallons to capacity, although i don't have the guts to drain it and check my theory. anyone out there have any idea how many gallons are added if you fill all the way up the so you can see the fuel just below the opening?
Sure do like this truck, 6800 miles, gearing up for trip to Colorado for guided Elk hunt in Nov.
00 woodland green CC 5.4 Lariat 4.1 L/S ARE cap
Duraliner slide in. Averaging right around 15-16 on highway with cruise at 70. In town- 13.5.
Everywhere you look, there's CC, not all are being used for towing, people trading in their extended cabs, kids are growing. At this time, there's not a truck on the market that compares to a SD CC.
Hope your all having a great summer....Talk at ya later, I'm going Musky fishin...........
bowhunt, i replaced my front tray with the excursion cup holder tray about a week after i got my truck. it works better than the old in-dash cup spiller by quite a bit.
I have y2k F250 SD CC, but I don't know if it has the siton slap problem or not. I purcahsed the vehicle oct 14 of 1999. Can someone how do I go about testing the picton slap?
http://www.f150online.com which included an audio
file. After listening to it (and after what they
described), I'm pretty sure you'd notice--it
sounds like really big and loud clattering when
it's cold. I think people have said it can be
heard all around the block.