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Ford 2001 Heavy Duty F-250
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This Ford dealer also has a dodge dealership right next door, when I bought a new Y2K01 durango, I stopped in to see what they could do on a new one since I had boughten my 98 D from them. The 98 D was mainly the reason I went to their Ford D. I had gotten good service from dodge (same family owned). Now they have moved their Dodge dealership next to their ford shop and aquired the ford attitude. I walked out of their dodge dealership vowing I would never buy another vehicle from their dealerships.
I'm certain Ford Corporate has an on-line spot for dealership complaints. Whether or not they do anything about it is another story. I guess the good news is that great threads like this one will get that information out and it makes a huge difference to someone, like myself, who is contemplating his first purchase of a new truck off of the lot. Lots of my friends/clients have given me the scoop on the three dealerships nearest to home and it looks like I will be driving a bit to order my truck when I finally figure out what in the heck I want.
Thanks for the info!
OK all you who have a few years more experience with this truck than I. Questions:
1. Do I have any fuel tank options (local ford service does not think so)?
2. If larger diameter tires are used is the speedo recalibrateable? By me? By Ford?
3. As this is a big tall truck already, I prefer NOT to lift it. Having said that, does anybody have experience with the largest (height + width) tire that will clear the front fender/bumper?
4. Unimpressed with chilton/peterson books...is the Ford service manual worth getting?
5. I will be installing a very complex HAM radio system (75 amp draw on the 12v buss).
The question is: Does anybody have experience with the computers in newer Ford trucks shutting down/dieing due to high wattage RF?(have been told not to go higher than 300w PEP)
Again Bess and all others great board, hope I can contribute more soon. Fred KD5NCO
Ref: shift kits/chips, there are good products and there are garbage on the market. The most bang for the buck (IMHO) are the Gale Banks products. Beware, if you install any "kit/chip" that increases hp/torque and changes the internal transmission line preasures, and then trash your trans. Ford will go out of their way to prove that you caused the failure. Fortunatly you may controll this situation simply by not telling the service shop of the modification(after you have removed the 'kit').
I have never heard any opinions that the chip caused a failure. In fact, many I know, insist that the higher lind preasures insure more positive shifting and lock-up and helps keep trans oil temp down thus preserving and increasing the life of the trans. Heat is a tranny's enimey. Get a trans temp guage with real numbers and keep below 250F, around 280F the fluid will cease to lube/cool and break down and hurt your trans.
Note: Free flow air cleaner (K&N) and less restrictive exhaust will yield slight increase in power and better milage. Changing the ignition and EFI fuel curves(via computer chip) will also increase power and milage. If you choose to go all the way with complete exhaust system change including headers, you will get greater power but lower RPM torque will suffer, and you will loose in the long run if you tow heavy loads.
The reason you bought a Ford truck is the same reason you do not see many performance options in the after market for them. The owners are not asking for them. We are basically happy with the factory capabilities. Most chevy / dodge owners want/need more power, thus the after market makes more options for them. Chevy reconized this and responded with the new power train choices. As much to combat Ford but also their owner base is really not happy about $25-30K for new truck and then $1500-3000 to make it perform.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has decided to proceed with an investigation of more than 800,000 Ford trucks after dozens of owners said they lost steering control. At least 50 owners of 1999 and 2000 Super Duty F-Series pickups have complained about a fracture in the steering gear sector shaft, which makes the front wheels turn when the driver moves the steering wheel. At least 41 crashes and 13 injuries have been reported to Ford and NHTSA.
50 owners complained. making that 0.005 percent of the 1999-2000 trucks. (that's 5 thousands of one percent of vehicles sold)
41 crashes REPORTED(No evidence this steering wheel fracture was the cause found) and that is 4.1 thousandths of one percent of vehicles sold)
So don't get alarmed by this scare tactic post. I'm not discounting any possible issues with the steering gear shaft, just stating the actual percent of vehicles.
But here's a possiblity, a front end collision could provide enough stress to front end parts. And I we all know the steering wheel, and any shafts and gears in between is connected to the front wheels. So maybe this is an effect, not the cause?
As I say, I have owned two Ford trucks and my Father one, and we have loved them. No junk in those trucks.
Like you, I also prefered the SuperDuty over the F150 for the extra interior room. I've had the wife and 2 kids on long trips several times now and there's plenty of room for everyone..
When I was looking at trucks, I drove them all, F150's, F250's, Dodge 1500's and 2500's and Chevy 1500. At that time (late 99):
Dodge1500: I didn't like the ride. It felt like it wondered on the road and I didn't like the steering feedback.
Dodge2500: same as the 1500, only alot stiffer.
Chevy: Even the SuperCab chevy had a pretty decent back seat, and it did ride nice.. BUT, it didn't have 4 doors at that time, and the local chevy dealership's customer service was considered very poor by several of my co-workers.
F150: a little smaller interior than I wanted.
F250: everything that I wanted in a truck. good size, nice ride, and a good price (400 under invoice).
00' F250 SC 4x2 5.4L 5sp 4.10LS
My neighbor (who owns a bricklaying company) has SuperDuty and a new Chevy (both crew cabs). He says the Ford is a better work truck, but prefers the smoother ride of the Chevy when out with the family.
Thank You,
Dan Watters
Tucson, AZ.
Two questions,
A) Would like to know of any other platinum owners/locations.
What can we expect in fuel economy highway driving and travel trailer towing.
Any help would greatly be appreciated.
Swoosh
When I haul my 5800lb air dam travel trailer @60-65 I drop to 10.5mpg. When he trailers his horses @7400lb he drops to 14.8mpg @65-70mph. Both of us plan to add trans shift recalibrator (probably Gale Banks method) as we both feel the auto tranny has mushy shifts.
BTW we both turn off the overdrive in the hills as the 7.33 gears seem to require a whole lot of extra gas pedal foot. The powerstroke hauled a 2300lb load of wet sand this weekend, about 15 miles of mixed driving and told me this morning that he didn't even know it was there.
Bucharoo3 - Thanks. I found a company that makes gas tanks. I will post the URL later as I don't have it close right now. Basicaly the have two products for the 2000 and up F250's. The have a 30 gal that goes where the spare hangs and is fed through the left rear wheel well. And they have a replacement tank, exact duplicate of the factory setup but 55 gallon. Uses all the same plumbing and wires. Both are fairly pricy though.
I have used JC Whitney and Auto Zone ones and would really like to put a better one in my new truck. Thanks all
Bought it at the local RV shop, (www.drawtite.com). Ford makes it real easy to install. Took about a half hour to install it on my 01 F250 SD CC 4X4.The hardest part was deciding where to put the darn thing. Your SD probably came with the 30 Amp fuse and Relay 'Kit' that just plug right in under the hood. The wiring harness just plugs in under the dash. That's it.Why pay eighty bucks to have it installed when, like I said before, Ford did all their homework on this one. I pull 27 foot Prowler TT so I like the slide adjustment feature, the 'brake on" LED, and the sync control features. Had a Drawtite 5100 on my 95 F150 and it never gave me any problems. Allows you better Truck/Trailer synchronous braking. Anyway, better get back to work. How do you like your Platinum SD?
I agree that Ford did a good job with the pre-wiring of this truck, in fact when looking around, I found several places where the wire terminations for various options were taped up and out of the way.
We plan on several additions: transfer my ham radio, GPS system, voice controlled cell phone, Larger fuel tank, bed liner (sprayed in), and I am have convinced myself that the Banks' trans command controller is a good idea. We love this truck and went the opposite way from our normal truck buying. We usually bought trucks to be "rural home owner" work horses with minimal frills and extras. This rig has it all in the power and creature comfort departments, plus definitely the toughest 4X4 method. Great bang for the $. Of course the Platinum trim is unique enough that we won't be prone to expend any $/energy "customizing. Big Grins :>) every time we use it.
As a V8 motor head most of my life I was a little leery of the relatively small displacement V10. However, here in central Texas there were plenty of cattle ranchers and construction companies with the diesel and V10's for me to pester with reliability questions. Nobody had anything bad to say other than their personal bias on the gas/diesel debate. As I am anal on preventative maintenance, we expect this truck to last a very long time, given my bent to abuse/use our vehicles.
As a long time nissan owner, I spent a lot of time on the research for this $30K expense. GM and Dodge couldn't convince me. I also payed great attention to the fact that there is a rural Ford dealer in a small town near me that always has 75-80 big trucks and maybe 30-40 cars. When I asked, the general manager told me they sell twenty to thirty F-250 Super duty to every lesser truck or car. Most of his sales are to construction crews and ranchers. Pretty good testimonial in my book. BTW, I am retired Army and a Disabled American Veteran (DAV) member. I was eligible for X-plan pricing, and pretty sure I got a "deal". ;>)
Average with mixed city/highway 15.5mpg. This is what I get 99% of the time..
Average with highway only 17.6 (on 2 different occasions), at only 60 to 65mph or so.
Your mileage will be a little less if:
- you get auto instead of manual tranny
- you get 4x4 instead of 4x2
- you drive over 65mph alot..
I really like the 4.10 rear end with the 5.4L, the truck is about as lively as those with the V10. However, if you do alot of highway driving at 70mph or higher (like folks out west do alot), then the 3.73 would work fine..
thanks
Jerry
I have basicaly same interest, do a search here at Edmonds as I think there are some old discussions on Borla vs Banks but don't remember where. Between Nov 2000 and now I think.
Also check out www.ford-diesel.com, there is a gasser section with good info on all things big and heavy (FORD) ;>)
Seems most folks with deep pockets prefer the Banks system and the eternal "best deal" guys generaly suport Borla and others.
Lots of knuckle knashing about warrenty concerns. Some dealers claim no coverage to the powertrain if aftermarket added, others agree that EPA/CARB approved aftermarket mods will not "automatically Void" the warrenty.
I personaly hope my dealer/service dept has enough common sense to know that a header and air filter should not cause an engine to fail or break. Though I can see where Ford might be on pretty good ground to void warrenty if engine / tranny computers are altered to boost power or increase trans shift points/pressures.
Fred
3putt2
You sound like me I ordered my F350 on 28 March. Got a VIN a couple weeks later and was told that my SD would be delivered on 5 May...Well, I'm still waiting. I keep getting told by customer service/dealer that my pickup is sitting in Louisville waiting to go to the railhead in Shelbyville so that it can be shipped to Atlanta and finally to the dealership here in AL. I've offered to go get it but they won't let me.
Maybe our pickups are sitting next to each other? What color is yours? Mine is True Blue.
What bothers me more than the time is the deception and the run-around they give us.. especially when you call Ford Customer Service and give them your Vin # and they have no record of it and you've already waited 6 weeks after order! How does that make you feel?
Good Luck!!
What I've found with Ford Customer Service is that it depends on the Agent that you get whether they have a clue or not. I've talked to a couple there that were first rate and could tell me all about my truck and others that were clueless. I sat on hold one time with an Agent while he was "doing some research" and found out that he was on hold with a call to the dealer to find out where my truck was!! He was a bit of an idiot.
I had seen a TSB out at nhtsa about the steering wheel not returning to center maybe that could be the problem? Of course, now it has disappeared from the site.
Called my dealer around noon today...he said that they had just gotten off the phone with Ford Customer Service and were promised that my F350 would be leaving KY in the next day or so. An hour later, the dealer called me back and said that my pickup had just pulled into the lot!!!
I find it really hard to believe that a company like Ford would have little or no clue as to the whereabouts of a 21' truck but obviously they don't.
Anyway, I am now happy and can stop whining about not having my truck. Now I just need to know all the things that are wrong with it so I can go get the dealer to fix 'em.
My fingers are crossed that your truck will too be showing up soon. Frank
I've got a 5500 lb trailer I tow at least half the time, and a boat maybe once a month with my F 150, it hadles it well but mileage goes down below 10 MPG. I'd like a CrewCab so I'm thinking about Diesal.
Yesterday was 12 weeks for me and they still can't tell me when it will be here. After reading your last message I'm not sure they know where it is!!
So tell us about your truck,,how do you like it? first mileage? any defects?