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Ford Super Duty - Continued
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Comments
To all, thanks for info on gas mileage, for those of you whom are new, I should be getting my f250 v-10 3.73ls sc auto at the end of the month. I plan on a BORLA exhaust with Generation II air-charger element. I am now even considering a "chip".
Cowboyjpm, I enjoyed the story of "trying" to get the truck stuck. I ran into a guy at the local Menards, and he DID get his truck stuck during our last 13" blizzard New-Years eve. It would seem he had a few brews, and buried it in a ditch into a drift taller than the hood. Had to have the township snow-plow tow him out. Of course, he did have some "Street-Radials" which probably did not help.
Dygertauto, sorry to hear about your miss-hap, have you found any more specifics? Truck wreck, hydraulics fail, fall off the truck...gives me the shivers to think about it.
...time for the nightly VOPC call.....
But, quite frankly you all know this, and I'll get off my soap box. What I do know is that I think that these trucks - when properly equipped and driven - will do us all proud in mud and snow. And I can't wait until I intentionally try to see how far she can go. **Note** on my own land so I don't have to worry about tearing up somebody else's field - and with a buddy close by with a tow rope attatched to my 4x4 John Deere.
Thanks all, and enjoy.
Crazyelvis in Tampa.....
However....I did grow up in Danville, Illinois...Saw my fill of snow!!!!!! I'll have to to with my 4x2 on my trip to the Daytona sand!!! See all of you Northern "suckers" around....hey isn't it gettin' cold up there already???? ha ha.....
Van Halen is also pretty cool......Oh well...I guess I'm going to get busted for not talking about a truck topic so here goes.......
CHEVY SUCKS!!!!!!!
I did find out that the order number that I was given was a salesman's code. I left her a message to give me the correct order number and hope I'll be on board soon.
I also asked her to see if we could upgrade my priority status from 15 to a 1 or 2 !!!! How did everyone else get it?? From what I understand the best any dealership can request is a 10. Looking for suggestions. Once again Thanks, Porky
I thought the topic was "Ford Super Duty"!!!
Moderator... you're not doing your job! YOU'RE FIRED!!!
PS. I thought that topics are candidates for splitting when they reach approximately 500 posts because of site integrity?
Most of the cold weather I encountered on the trip up in January was in Canada (British Columbia and Yukon Territory). I live in Anchorage. Our winters aren't too bad. We get about the same amount of snowfall as Denver and winter temps are usually in the 20s, although we do have a few cold snaps. The midwest gets nastier weather. The problem with the winters in Anchorage is that they are lengthy. Temps now are in the upper 30s at night and close to 50 during the day.
When I hit those cold temps in Canada in January, the truck started up in the morning after sitting for 8-10 hours without plugging in the block heater. The engine let me know it wasn't happy about starting, but start it did. People were leaving their diesel engines running all night in the parking lot.
As far as getting stuck, my duallys handle great in fresh snow. However, if I try to go off the beaten path into some snow with no hard gravel or pavement somewhere under it, I don't make it far with the duallys. I tried to follow a friend across a lake in March. He had a 95ish F-250 4x4 shortbed with a snow mobile trailer on the back. He had no problems getting to his cabin. My shovel and I got quite a workout. I finally had to give up and take the road in the long way. Like I said, it handles great on the road in fresh snow, even as much as a foot or so, but the duallys aren't all that effective for off-roading.
crazyelvis, I graduated from UCF in the mid 80s. I also spent four years up in Fort Walton Beach in the early 70s.....and 4 1/2 years in Southern CA, four years in Ohio, last year in Dallas, about 20 years in Anchorage, and I was born in North Carolina.
keep to the gas... remember 100K warranty is only on the engine, not the driveline.
-Anyone else having problems with the torque converters?
-What about the shift on the fly? Seems like I read something about them awhile back...
Thanks in advance....
Everyone else......great to know you and keep on keepin' on!!!!!!
Theres my two cents.....maybe three!!
crazyelvis... 'ain't you got your hands on that truck yet?
our 2 cents worth in regard to this board. we'd not change a thing. if you're looking for info in regard to most any aspect relating to the sd's this is the place. if it does split, though, the moderator needs to keep all past posts available as there's a wealth of info contained within if you've the patience read same.
There were some problems with the ESOF when the trucks were first introduced in early 1998. Ford made the fix at the factory in late Spring of 1998. I took delivery of my truck in October of 1998. I have had no problems with the ESOF through the first 23,000+ miles and have used it in extreme temps (Dallas heat and Alaskan/Canadian winter).
ESOF
For:
Finger tip control.
Easier to use 'on the fly'.
Auto/Manual Hubs. (this is a plus because if the vacuum fails, the hubs can be locked manually).
Against:
Extra cost (minimal).
Two more things to possibly fail (vacuum and electrical connection).
No 'Neutral' position, therefore no PTO and the inability to have the vehicle towed easily with all wheels on the ground.
Manual
For:
Less complex.
Positive engagement.
Lower cost (minimal).
Manual hubs (less complex).
Neutral position available (PTO/towing etc.)
Against:
Big ugly lever :-)
No 'shift on the fly' unless hubs are pre-engaged.
Did I leave anything out? In spite of the above, I still lean toward ESOF, probably for the same reason that I'll go for a Lariat rather than an XLT.
Would 4:10's get better mileage pulling a 26' travel trailer because you could possibly engage the overdrive?
Thanks again...
What a truck - it was woth the 5 month wait. I already put on a SnugTop Expo shell and BedRug today.
Happyquilt I have a psd cc 3.73 F250 and the lowest mileage so far was 14.51 the best was 15.9. I was pulling my boat for part of the 14.51 tank. (2700SCR Maxum 10,000# + on trailer) so I would expect lower mileage. Turns 2100 RPM at 71MPH.
Don't get me wrong here... I'm not whining but being very serious here. I come to this site to find out about possible problems, upgrades, and fixes to the SD's. It's very informative and almost everyone has a mature attitude, which is a refreshing change from most message boards. It's just that, for some reason, this topic is almost all about people waiting for their ordered truck with post like... "Only 2 more weeks, I can't wait", "It left the plant yesterday!", "It's on it's way!!!", and "Still waiting...". This kinda takes the "Informative" part away from these great message boards.
I also look through the Dodge Ram and Chevy topics, and they don't even come close to having this many messages like I mentioned above. They're more to the point and informative on their subject.
Gaining information on how to track a truck being built is well within the topic, but having to "drudge" through tons of uninformative postings gets kind of annoying at times.
I know there will be people bashing my comments mentioned above, and that's OK. I'm definitely not trying to upset anyone, just bringing up an issue. That's all! If most people feel otherwise, then I will drop the issue completely. But I felt it at least needed addressing.
All-in-all, I have gain a lot of valuable info in this topic. I think it's great!
Bad information is worse than no information.
mac24: ESOF does not limit PTO use or towing with all four wheels on the ground. True, there is no "neutral" position on the ESOF switch, as there is on the manual shift lever, but placing the transmission in neutral will obviously disconnect the engine from the wheels. As far as the ESOF vacuum system goes, if it breaks, all one has to do is manually switch the hubs to the "lock" position. The dash switch will still control the transfer case.
not4scuba and newf3: If you want tons of accurate, up-to-date information on the Super Duty Power Stroke Diesel, and lots of opinions about it as well (especially in comparison to the Cummins), you owe it to yourselves to check out www.ford-diesel.com; look in the Forums section under 1999 and Up.
Dave
jimsrs -- I've been strugglin' with the ABS for a long time - my dealer swears that it is NOT std. on XLT - my order has $319 in it for this. This has been consistent on all information I've received EXCEPT the Edmunds site. Where did you get your info? Man I hope you are right, but I sure can't convince my dealer - they go off what the factory system tells them. Any solid proof (more than just Edmund's price list) would be great ammo for pressing the dealer. Incidentally, how do you go about checking if your truck HAS 4-wheel ABS???
newf3 -- have not found much 'chest thumping' on this thread like you do on others. As far choosing Dodge over Ford - after the past three years of driving a Dakota, I'll never buy another Dodge truck again. I'm just grateful I leased it so I can dump it. Looking forward to getting back to FORD for the full-size.
ESOF -- has anyone had any trouble with ESOF? I decided NOT to go for it for much that same reasons as gossamar and mac24 stated. Fewer things to go wrong - somehow I just feel more confident turning the hubs and pulling that gear than just pushing a button. Weird quirk I know, especially for a guy who designs electronic systems. Just wondering what kind of luck folks are having with the ESOF. If I was honest, I'd have to admit that part of my decision was to pass on to my sons the joy of getting out in the mud and snow and muck to turn the hubs. Hey, I had to do it on my Dad's Bronco - no reason they should miss out on all the fun!
My 92 F-250 had a different kind of shift on the fly system that was not vaccuum driven. You shifted the transfer case on the floor from the 2wd to the 4wd drive setting (or 4wd low) and then you back up 10 feet and it engages. I could then shift between 2wd and 4wd when I was driving forward. However, if you shift it back to 2wd on the fly and then back up 10 feet (such as in a parking lot), you could no longer shift on the fly going forward, unless you put the transfer case back in 4wd and backed up again. Like I said, it's totally different now.
Ford may have changed their ABS policy for 2000, but in 1999, it's my understanding that the policy was that ABS is standard equipment on all vehicles with GVWRs over 10,000 pounds. That means that it was only standard on duallys and F-450 and F-550 trucks since the F-350 SRW and F-250 SRW have GVWRs of 9,900 and 8,800 pounds, respectively.
Brett, the conversation will shift once this group of people gets their trucks. This happens occasionally when enough people have trucks on order. I started participating in the Pickups townhall in late 1997. The orginal Superduty topic was started in early 1998. That topic maxed out late last year, so they froze it and started this new one. If you can find the old topic in the archives, you'll see that there was a lot of discussion about delivery issues last year when the truck was first introduced. But, then it shifted to more talk about the trucks as people started getting their trucks and giving feedback. The same will happen again.
Like you and everyone else has said, there is still a lot of useful info on this site. Prior to the creation of the Superduty topic, I actually learned a ton from the guys in the Dodge topics and, yeah, even from an occasional knowledgeable Chevy owner.
I have ESOF, and in the few times I've engaged either 4wd high or low since I took delivery of my truck on April 30 this year, it has worked flawlessly. I expect to use it a lot more once the snow starts to fly here in Maine (which could be tomorrow, you never know in northern New England). Ford did have some ESOF issues with early production Super Duty trucks, but a factory fix was devised and those trucks effected were repaired at Ford's expense under either a TSB or SSM (I can't remember which).
For those not familiar with ESOF, there are still dials on the front hubs. Instead of the dial positions being "LOCK" and "FREE" as they are on non-ESOF trucks, ESOF hubs are either in "AUTO" or "LOCK". In the auto position, everything is controlled from the ESOF switch on the dash, using vacuum to lock and unlock the front hubs. For shifting to 4wd high, this can be done on the fly. Going to 4wd low requires coming to a complete stop and putting the transmission in neutral before shifting to low range. Going back to 2wd does not require shifting to reverse and backing up the truck to unlock the hubs as some "shift on the fly" systems do. Simply select 2wd on the dash switch, and watch the 4x4 light in the instrument cluster extinguish.
If the vacuum system for locking/unlocking the front hubs is broken, or you don't like/trust/want to rely on it, you can always stop the truck, get out (or have your significant other get out), and lock in the hubs manually. My old '87 F-150 had manual hubs. I never had a problem with them mechanically, but I don't like to drive around with the hubs locked unless I really need the front traction, and getting out to lock the hubs in every kind of nasty weather got old. Call me lazy, but the relatively minor cost of ESOF was well worth it to me.
Dave
Dave
Also, I don't get the priority order number status. My new F350 was ordered on 9-15-99, priority 16 and will be here nov, 8th. My dealer is a truck dealer only. Maybe that has something to do with the quick order time. Gonna stay with the gas V10 though.
Crazyelvis, no truck yet. damn. can't believe how long it's taking them to get that truck out of the yard! and just how do they do that? these trucks don't fit on those tractor rig carriers for the most part, do they? at least not the dually's as they're 95" wide & no way those carriers are too (maybe they use flatbed "towing"). We also didn't get our DORA stuff yet (8 days since placing our order). but changed the mirrors from 54Y to 54E. (actually, Ken already had them changed as he remembered that we were "pushing" for them). Ken mentioned that the order had definitely been placed & they're just a little slow 'gettin the DORA out... probably early part of next week.
and Brutus is certainly keeping us abreast of what's happening with his truck. he's got his dually loaded to the max with a large camper slide-in & he's driving that psd around in an environment that can be pretty awful. Brutus, keep up with your informative posts (please, I'm not "slighting" anyone else here).
... and the dunkin-donut post was most certainly the case in regard to the quality of this board... just a wealth of information. and for those that may be tentative in regard to questions? just post the thing! we all gain from the experience even though the data may not be one hundred percent correct in regard to same. we must remember that some of our answers may be opinions that are not intended to be set firmly in concrete. in fact, we often learn from opinions that differ from our own as it may very well be a "fresh look" at the subject.
and we've got a question: we've ordered a short bed & thus, a 29 gallon fuel tank comes with it (that's one of the downsides of the sb). however; what are the options to increasing fuel capacity? an extra tank, of course. but where to find one? noted Aero, something or other out of CA but they don't have anything posted in regard to the y2k SD's. does anyone have knowledge?
Lewac, I also would be interested if there was an additional fuel tank availability. My better halfs parents live in the middle of Minnesota(8-hour drive), so additional cruising range would be great!!
Very interesting reading on the ESOF stuff, it would appear as though maybe ford figured something out.
..now a question for the group....I am considering some HUSKY floor liners for the front and supercab area. Does anyone lucky enough to have a truck have these? If so, do they work good, does stuff get caught on the 2" lip, colors match up with the interior?? The pictures in the catalogs don't do them very much justice.
...one more question....any ideas on one of those new "under-rail" tonneau covers. I thought I seen something in an earlier post, but can't find it.
for smccarthy....I also had to pay for the ABS system, it showed up on my DORA sheet as my order was placed. Kind of cool watching the sales-dude punch your order into the computer. As far as checking, I think you would just have to wait till it came in and check the window sticker to see whether it showed up as "standard-equipment" or in the "options" list.
..thanks in advance for the above questions....
Major bummer about your truck....let us have a moment of silence for crazyelvis......
Not that I want to show my "ignorance" but what do you mean by "Cat Back" in regard to the exhaust gossamar????
If any of you have looked under the SD, ford has put a MONSTER of a converter under there. DynoMax makes a universal fit converter that is more "free-flowing". We all know that the better the exhaust flows, the more power we make. Can we EVER have enough power? I don't think I will be upgrading the exhaust system to that extreme, at least not yet.
Dygerauto, congrats on new new arrival. Tell, us boy or girl??? Do you have a garage BIG-ENOUGH?? The weekend I brought the "test-unit" home, I had about 2-inches of clearance going into the door, and the beast took almost 1/2 the garage up. I have a 24x30 garage also!! Might I ask what type of snow-plow you are putting on your truck? I did order mine with the plow package, but might wait a bit before deciding to put on the truck. Right now I am on the "snow-team" at work, so I really would not be able to make any money as I would be stuck plowing at work rather than for me. Around here WESTERN seems to be a popular choice.
Well...time for lunch