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2000 Ford F-250 Super Duty Problems and Solutions
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Comments
I don't know how many bolts or how difficult these things are to reach on Fords, but the master cylinder is on the firewall and the slave on the transmission. One or both are probably under, behind, or jammed up against something to make working on them awkward, however. Both the master and slave in my Toyota are held on by only two bolts and the master was a breeze. The slave was partially hidden behind the frame and a crossmember, which made it hard to get an open end wrench to and once you did required short movements. It took a while to disconnect and reconnect it, and, of course, you will need a second party to help bleed the air out of the system once it is in place.
Another issue: When I turn left from a stand still, my steering makes a whining sound. The truck is only a couple months old and has 5000 miles. It seems to be getting better (less whining) as I drive it. Anything to be worried about? I want to make sure all issues are resolved prior to 3/36k.
The fact that you only get the steering pump noise in one direction indicates it's a problem that needs to be fixed, i.e. it's not just that the pump is a little noisy at all times.
puffs out some blue smoke right after starting up. It only has 5600 miles on it. Anyone else seen this??
to smoke now. Has not done it up to this point.
P.S. Re: ALL CAPS......... please don't shout!
thank you again
I've got an '01 V10 with 18K miles on it. The first year I'd notice an ocaissional blue puff on start up, but that was only if truck sat for more than a week (not my daily driver). I figured a little of the really "thin" 5W20 oil had seeped past the rings while it sat. It was only a momentary puff, then no more. I can't honestly say I've seen any in the last 18 months however. I'll be away on business for a week, I'll try to remember to look for it when I get back. As other poster said, you might have to wait for engine to break in a little longer. I recall that when I got to around 8000 miles, my mileage went up by about 1 mpg and truck just seemed to run a tiny bit smoother. Hopefully this is just a transient problem
Ever since finding out the Powerstroke needed a coolant additive I have been reluctant to buy a used one.
http://forums.thedieselstop.com/ubbthreads/postlist.php?Cat=&- - - - Board=2003Drivetrain
It's like drinking from a fire hose over there.
I don't have a diesel, our resident expert is Jim Mullins - he can add a lot more than I, but I can still answer some of your questions from hanging with buddy who has a ''99.5 Powerstroke. The coolant additive is called RMI-25 - it prevents cavitation; where bubbles form in the water jacket next to the cyclinder walls. When the bubble bursts (implodes?), it causes the "pitting," - it's kinda like a mini depth-charge going off in the coolant. If allowed to go unchecked for a long time, it can cause problems. I think additive only needs to be added once a year, and at coolant changes. If you're looking for a used Powerstroke, you could invest a few bucks in coolant additive test strips (, forget what they're called off the top of my head). If you find a truck you like, test the coolant, if the additive is detected in adequate quantities then I wouldn't worry too much about the motor.
As far as cackle, I believe that's a feature of the old Powerstroke (a problem with injector #6) only. It's pretty obvious if a motor has it. New 6.0 motor has had some early production issues, but from reading posts it seems that the birthing pains have been smoothed out after the first year. One of the biggest issues is the "drone" - some sort of vibration noise from the engine. Another is described as "the romp-romp", some sort of computer/ tuning/fuel issues. Read up at the diesel-stop.
Personally, I love the V10 gasser - (even though I have a light exhasut flutter at 2000 rpm.)
The cavitation is caused by tiny air bubbles forming on the cylinder walls, on the coolant side obviously. A diesel engine has soooo much compression that the cylinder walls will actually expand outwards as the piston is on its compression cycle. Once the fuel charge ignites and the piston is forced back down and into the exhaust cycle, the cylinder actually contracts somewhat. This contraction momentarily produces a low pressure area immediately around the cylinder wall, causing the air bubbles to form. As the piston then moves from its intake to compression cycle, the cylinder wall begins to expand again causing a high pressure area immediately around the cylinder wall. This high pressure is great enough to cause those tiny air bubbles to collapse on themselves resulting in a fairly violent and destructive implosion. The coolant additive not only prevents cavitation from happening, it also aids in tranferring heat from the various engine parts to the coolant, thereby making the coolant more efficient.
I don't know what your budget is, but I'd go for an '01 or '02 7.3L. But that's just my opinion.
The coolant factor concerns me with a used one, although your suggestion of getting the test strips to check it is a good one. Then there's the low or zero percent interest rates for new trucks, higher interest rates for used ones, and the high prices of used trucks, which would all have to be taken into consideration.
I want one with a manual transmission, which isn't nearly as easy to find as one with the automatic, and I really don't need anything fancy for the farm. An XL with vinyl seats and no carpet on the floor would do just nicely, and most folks go with the XLT or Laramie, which is a prettier and fancier truck for every day use. I need a mudder, something I can hose out when I get mud or cow manure in it.
Thanks for the input.
You seem to want a similar truck to what I originally wanted. A good used XL will be tough to find. Most people that buy those will work the snot out of them to the point where they are on their last leg, I found that out when looking for my truck. I got very lucky in that I found a 6-speed XLT without any of the fancy extras. You may have to order a new one to get the truck you want.
I guess I got spoiled. I bought a used 1971
F-250 in 1971 with only 16,000 miles on it. New they were around $6,000.00 at the time, and used 3/4 tons weren't worth much. I got it for $2900.00 and drove it for nearly 30 years to 100,000 miles. Best deal I ever got on a used vehicle. I know what you are thinking. I was nervous about the low mileage and a brand new truck being traded in. I found the guy's name in the glove compartment that traded it in, looked him up, and asked why he got rid of it before I bought it. He pointed to a new, fancier one sitting there and said he just wanted a fancier truck, so I asked if he was in the market for a truck if he would buy the one he traded in. When he said "In a heartbeat," I went back and bought it. I guess I'm still looking for one of those deals--which are gone with the dinosaurs.
Thanks for the help.
Bob
On the local dealers lot, I have noticed the loaded up XLT Crew Cab 4x4 duallies are priced a little bit higher than the comparable single rear wheeled trucks, however they aren't moving off the lot as quickly either. I bet they could be had for the same price or maybe even cheaper than the single rear wheel trucks.
Thinking about it, I haven't seen many duallies on the lots around here, though. Most of the guys use the single rears. That's good advice, though, and I'll check it out.
Bob
This happened with my 00 SuperDuty (5.4L) at around 25k miles. When it first occured, it seemed permanent, however I wanted to get it home, so I just took the highway home (no stop lights etc). Having 5sp tranny made it easy to keep from stalling. However when I got home, it was idling fine. A similar thing happened the next day, so I took it to the shop where they replaced the IAC.
Took my 2003 F-150-5.4-4X4-3.73 to the dealer because of a buzzing/vibration I felt through the accelerator, which was very noticable to myself and the dealer between 55-65 mph. You really feel it when the rpm's drop to around 1600 at around 58-60 mph. The mechanic moved a few lines around(throttle cable and power steering line) but I still feel it. I only feel the buzzing on acceleration and at the cruising speed/rpm's mentioned above. It is driving me crazy trying to figure out what could be wrong. Any suggestions??? Thanks.
1976 F100 302/C4. I need to put rear axle seals on this truck, then drain and refill the rear end. It's tough enough figuring out what seals I need (I havent done the job yet, and I've learned I'll have to take the old seals up to Advance to match them up), but my real problem now is deciding whether or not I have some type of limited slip rear on it. I need to know whether or not to put additive in with the new fluid. The axle appears to be the standard Ford-built unit. Axle code is "12J", which I Googled to death but still couldn't make sense of. I can't find an ID tag on the differential, by the way. Any help is appreciated.
http://www.drivetrain.com/noslipfordtruck.html#Pick-Up%20F100-F15- 0
Scroll to the bottom and it appears to me (as I read it) that you have a limited slip, however I've seen other pages referring the "J" as a reference to power steering on a 71 bronco. 12 could be 2.73 gears, but I'm not positive. Are there any other markings on the differential housing?
Could this be a bent wheel? And, what is the opinion of these Hancook tires? I plan on having dealer swap out the wheels and make them put on BF Goodrich tires.
Any other suggestions? Anyone elso have this problem? Mileage is less than 200 miles.
Thanks
Have they done a dynamic spin balance of tires or just a static balance? Do they have the system that allows them to spin balance tire/wheel while it's mounted on truck? That will usually rule out any imbalance in tire, wheel and hubs. (Unfortunately, most dealers can't do this and would have to send you to a specialty tire shop.)
Is the truck a 4x4? If so, does it have automatic or manual hubs? Could front hubs be locked, without having front transfer case engaged? Might be feeling front shafts turning. When my F350 was brand new, 4x4 drivetrain took a while to break in, could feel vibrations etc. Within a couple thousand miles gears broke in and meshed better resulting in less noise/vibration.
Hancooks are an okay tire from what I know, they're just a aftermarket brand; not outstanding tires but generally competent tires. Probably as good as OEM tires that Ford puts on the trucks.
These problems can be maddening, especially when you just plunked down a large chuck of change for a brand new vehicle. Good luck.
Walt
There was no sign of trouble before the problem started. Has anyone else had this problem? Does anyone know if it is bad enough for Ford to have issued a recall?
Also, I stupidly got the 4.6L engine and was wondering if it still would be okay to tow a small horse trailer. I can't believe I didn't get the tow package. The 4.6 is terrible on gas, so I can imagine what the 5.4 would be like, and I think the bigger V-8 is what the tow package usually comes with. But, Ford suggests that I only tow a max of 2000 lbs., which I find hard to believe. Would it be worth it for me to get the auxiliary engine cooler and heavy duty shocks added?
Do you know what the gear ratio is in the rear axle? If you've still got the new car sticker, it should show it on there somewhere. It should read something like 3.23:1; that's the number of revolutions the driveshaft makes for each turn of the rear wheels. Small number = less torque & less towing capability. Higher number (4.30:1) = loads of torque to rear wheels, increased towing capacity. F150s typically have smaller numbers.
If you're going to tow with it, definitely upgrade the engine cooling. Will it take a bigger radiator? You can add fans, etc.. Also get an auxilliary cooler for the automatic transmission - tranny takes biggest beating when towing, overheating. it can be extremely expensive. Better shocks would help too. Look into at getting (at least) a Class III hitch and a wiring harness. Depending on how heavy trailer is you may want to also get an auxilliary trailer brake controller.
You should be able to do a single horse trailer reasonably well. (1200 lb trailer 1000-1500 lb horse plus tack & gear.); think you'd be overly ambitious to try to pull a double. Either way I probably wouldn't want to be stuck behind you when you're pulling that trailer up a steep hill. It'll get there, but it won't be quick.
As far as bumpiness. Is this your first truck? It's not gonna ride like your car. Is this a 4x4? Four wheel suspension may be a bit less compliant and feel bumpier. Only other thing I can think of is possibly they put extra air in the tires when they shipped truck to dealer. Make sure tires are at the proper pressures as recommended by the sticker on the pillar inside the driver's door. Don't underinflate though - that can cause blow outs from excessive heat build up.
The 5.4 won't be much worse on mileage. I don't have one, but everyone that I know reports about the same mileage as I get when driving my dad's truck, 15 around town and 17 on the road.
Walt's post above covered most everything about the ride quality not being carlike. However, let me throw one more suggestion as to the bumpy ride. The wheelbase length and the spacing of any frostheaves in the roads you travel could be setting up an oscillation in the suspension when you drive 20-45 mph. You can try different tires and shocks and some improvements may be noticed, however you could make the ride worse.
You mentioned the "horrible" General tires. A lot of people don't like them, but I have been using them for about 20 years with only one blowout to date.
I have a '03 250 Crew Cab 4X4 XLT Long Bed. My engine is the 7.2 Diesel and the rear end on it is a 377 with positraction. I now have 16000 miles on it and I am disapointed by 14 mpg. I was expecting closer to 19 and am concerned about the cause of this low mileage. I am worrying about nothing or do you have suggestions? Thanks in advance for your input.
Erik
Other thoughts on the 7.3 - cleaned/replaced your air filter yet? Could be getting dirty at 16K miles and robbing you of a bit of mpgs. Does your engine have the "cackle?" There's some small design flaw with injector #7(?) that makes funny noise and robs some mileage.
Thank you for your information. I will remain calm for 20,000 more miles. I appreciate your help
Erik