Ford F-250 common problems

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Whats the GVW on this one? I drove a '90 with the 460. That thing could double for a tank should their ever be need. It was what would now days qualify as the Heavy Duty series, which is basically a measurement of under or over a certain weight (8500lbsI think)

Fords seem to me personally to be more susceptible than most to heater core rot. Smell the coolant and if it seems old & funky ask the guy when was the last time he changed it. If he fumbles & stumbles over the answer, assume it has never been changed and mentally add $1000 to fix the heating system when it fails. Which it probably will. Also check the A/C comes on cold; if it doesn't, add on another $800 or so to fix that.

Other than that I like Fords.

GWE

I'm driving a 1996 F350 2WD 5.8L crew cab. It has 205K and drives like new. Even the paint is still glossy Mine has manual windows and doors, so no problems there. No intrinsic defects that I'm aware of. It's just yer basic truk.

TheDieselStop.com has a few non-diesel forums for Ford trucks. You might try snooping around there. I get most of my technical advice for my diesel F250 at that site.

Some have a fuel crossover problem, in which the check valves of the in-tank fuel pump go bad, causing one of the dual tanks to force its fuel into the other. Only solution is buying a new fuel pump assy, and it's a few hundred to get it done.

Also look into the fuel tanks rusting out, something else that happens with some frequency.

Oil pans sometimes rust thru and leak through pinholes. This is more insidious than the simple pan gasket since you have to lift the engine some to change the pan.

Front ball joints are susceptible to wear, although that's based on my

The engine (351w) is known for being a pretty sturdy machine. I'm not sure about the tranny since mine is an automatic (E4OD).

I agree with the forum recommendation, but I hope you ahve a fast internet connection since I find searching to be less productive using their search tool than most fora.

Dave

I had an '88 F250 2WD which if I am not mistaken is the same as the '94 except for some of the body style. Mine had the twin I-beam suspension. That truck always pulled to one side. Steering was sloppy. A friend had a car with a bad steering idler arm and it steered better than that truck. That truck was the worst vehicle I've ever owned. As it got much older I had to less repairs on it. To be fair it is still on the road, I've seen where it is parked.

Wayne D.

I have a '91 F250 4x4 extended cab with 460 and 5-speed manual that I purchased new. Only things I've done besides routine maintenance (fluids, filters, spark plugs, and brakes) is to replace the starter relay. It has never disappointed me. I once used it to extract a bus filled with tourists from a mud hole in Panama.

I give the F250 a thumbs up.

The GVW is 8800 pounds, which I think is due to the tow package, including a 10,000# capacity hitch. That might scare me off if I were going to be driving it every day, but most trips are made in the car. I've been averaging less than 7000 miles per year in the Nissan lately.

Ned Simmons

Thanks, Grant, I'll check that.

It seems to work fine, though cold air blowing it's probably not a great diagnostic in Maine in December. I don't really care about the A/C anyway. When it's hot enough to need it you'll find me swimming, not sitting in traffic.

Ned Simmons

This one's pretty basic as well, which I like. Considering my limited use, even A/C and a radio are frills. Only 80K on this one.

Ned Simmons

And Fords have another problem associated with the heater cores - on some models you have to disassemble the entire dashboard and interior to change the stupid thing... What should be a one hour job is turned into an all day fight, thanks to brain dead engineers who prize speed of assembly and minimum unit cost, totally ignoring speed or cost of repair.

If it has the Marvelous Twin I-beam front axle, turn around and RUN!! Or prepare for the horror of watching it eat through perfectly good front tires at a ferocious rate. 25K max and a set of front tires is toast, and that's after you rotate them regularly and flip the tires on the rim halfway through. The geometry makes the tires change camber and track on every bump and will scuff the tires to death - even when aligned properly they tend to eat the inside edge, so flipping the tires puts the inside edge on the outside.

And if you take turns at speeds and attack angles anywhere close to the edge, the camber change with hitting a bump in mid turn can make the handling get skittish. Which is not a nice feeling.

Other than that, if I could find something better suited for my needs than a Ford, I'd buy it.

Have you looked at a late-model used Tundra? You'll pay more, but you also get more truck, and more when you go to sell.

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Nah. The way I remember it on my brother's, you just gently nudge it back toward the middle once in a while. It was a lot less effort to let it wander around on its own most of the time. Not exactly a precise feel, that's for sure.

Pete Keillor

On Thu, 21 Dec 2006 20:56:28 -0800, with neither quill nor qualm, JR North quickly quoth:

Bullpuckey, guys. I have a '90 F-150 with twinners and it tracks straight as an arrow with no hands, IF the tires aren't funky.

Every time I get a hard pull I swap tires and it disappears. At $40 a pop, installed (Wally World, cheapies made by BFG), it's no big deal. I've usually received years of use (10-20k) on them by then anyway. I have seen much, much worse problems in Searz, Cooper, Goodyear, and (of course) Firestone tires.

The A/C is pretty simple to fix. I have a '90 F350 Extended Cab w/460. I've had the transmission rebuilt once (I didn't have time to do it myself) and I redid the A/C for R134. So, I'm into it for about 2000 more than I paid for it. Had it six years and put well over 150K on it myself after starting from the 160K it already had. Mine tracks straight, bullies smaller vehicles with imputiny, and is literally a joy to drive in rush hour. Soccer Mom's can't stand the having it fill the rear view mirror.

Now, if I could figure out how to put some deck mounted twin 50's on the front, I could get semi trucks to move out of the way..... I truly believe the sight of the barrels spinning up would be wonderful!

I wouldn't trade it on a bet.

LOL When I'm driving my Z3 sometimes I get some flack trying to merge onto the freeway. But when I'm driving that F350 Crew Cab, I just merge, and pretend I don't see that bitch in the SUV trying to close the gap

Do as the semis do, turn on the signal, count to 3 and then change lanes...