New F250 advice

[sportscar]

I have posted a similar request for info elsewhere, but....

I have excluded all other makes. I am looking a 2001 SC 5.4L 4WD auto to replace my 2000 Dodge 1500. The dodge is a POS. I dont want to get burned again. I need to tow about car and trailer weighting about 4000lbs. The questions are;

1. Is the 5.4 auto enough to pull 4000lbs at 70mph for about 300 miles?

2. Will I be dissapointed in build quaily agian? The Dodge is junk.

3. I only need 4WD for New England winters. I am on call often and need to get to work (hospital). Not question really, just trying to justify I guess.

Thanks,Steve

[outpost22]

Sportscar,
My experience with my 2000 F350 Single Rear Wheel is that I bought it last August and have 5800 miles on the V10 4x4. I haven't had any reason to take it to the dealer yet (no problems)and quality control seems good except for 2 very small paint runs.
I think you may want to think about the V10 in a 4x4 for the extra power. You shouldn't buy either engine (V8 or V10) if you want Yugo mileage [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]
You may want to spend the extra $600-800 for the F350 as you might want to upgrade someday and it gives you a 9700 GVWR (4x4) over the 8600 of the (4x4) F250(?). This is the most common lament that I have read in different forums, wishing that they (the purchaser) had spent more for the F350.

My F350 with supercab,4x4,long bed, etc. weighs 6750 empty with one passenger and 3/4 load of fuel. The extra 1100 pounds of payload (F250 vs. F350) for such a small amount of money is a bargain for me. They don't ride noticeably different (I've driven both).
As far as mileage reports go, I've read that the V8 and V10 get between 1-3 MPG of each other. However, under towing or fully loaded condition, my experience with other engines is the larger engine gets BETTER mileage when forced to work hard than the smaller displacement one. You really have to push the smaller one to keep up and your mileage goes down, down, down.
The V10 has a "flutter" issue that has been beaten to death in this forum. It's an exhaust resonance at 2300-2600 RPM and almost all have this noise. Some are loud and others are moderate. Ford is trying to reconfigure the "wye" exhaust pipe to cure this. It is not a reliability issue, but more of an annoyance noise. Check it when you test drive one at this RPM range. Good Luck

[F-250 Hoss]

I'm gonna have to beg to differ on the flutter issue. I don't think that almost all of the V-10s have the flutter. As I understand it, it's actually pretty rare and mostly occurs on trucks with California emissions stuff. My V-10 has never made any type of flutter sounds. [img]images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/laugh.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/crazy.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/cool.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/crazy.gif[/img]

[robsd]

Well I'm gonna have to beg to differ with you hoss and agree with outpost. Everyone that has let their fingers do the typing here (except you) have stated they have some sort of flutter. I had it and really didn't know it until I read about it here (mines not that bad but is there). My truck is a 99 Texas truck.

Actually I think someone took a poll here a while back and everyone that responded said they have it. Like I said mines not that bad. I heard a sound clip that someone posted here and mine is nowhere close to that loud. I believe the 01's are a little better than the 99-00. Mine occurs at 2100-2200 and I can't feel it at all when I'm up to highway speeds in that rpm range....weird I guess. That rpm range puts me at about 75.

If you don't have it hoss then your the lucky one.

see yall tomorrow.
Rob

[crewzer]

For what it's worth, guys, my brother's Y2K F250 SD 4X2 XLT CC SB V10 AT 3.73LS here in Virginia doesn't have the flutter problem...

[iweb]

I have to beg to differ too as my 2001 V10 with 4,000 miles does not have flutter at all and I just filled up and got 13.8 mpg of mixed driving!

[outpost22]

Regarding flutter:
I drove three v10's when I bought mine and ALL THREE had it. It just isn't that significant a problem for me though. Mine does have CA emissions, but the other 2 didn't and they sounded the same.IMHO [img]images/icons/crazy.gif[/img]

[NoMo]

Overall, I'm pretty happy with the truck. It's had more problems than any other NEW truck I've owned, but it's still fun to drive. Performance has been good while towing and in bad weather (snow).

As for the "flutter", both '00 trucks (mine & another) had/have it. The '01 I drove the other night didn't have it. Until driving the '01, I didn't think the flutter was un-bearable. Now, I want it gone.

[F-250 Hoss]

First of all, welcome aboard!!!! This is a great site with a lot of great info. Stick around a while and you'll learn lots of cool stuff.

If you're going with the 5.4L, I'd suggest getting the 4.10 diffs. That truck is going to weigh between 6,500 and 7,000 pounds. If it were me, I'd seriously consider the V-10 or the PSD. Lots of people are using the 5.4L and most say it pulls the truck fine, but I like the extra power in the V-10 myself. It gives quite a bit of extra pep. Assuming you don't want diesel (although I highly recommend the diesel if it fits your needs), the V-10 is only about $600 more and it's got considerably more power. Gas mileage isn't as good as the 5.4L, but in my opinion it's not terrible. I get a constant 11 mpg mixed driving and a little over 14 on the highway.

Unless you get a lemon or something, you won't be disappointed with the build quality. These are some great trucks.

Hope this helps. I'm sure there will be several other guys along shortly to assist you with your decision. My best advice is to go test drive everything that you think you might want and then buy the truck you want. You'll never be happy with it if you know there's another truck out there that you would have rather had. Also keep in mind that it's better to have more truck than you need than not enough truck to get the job done.

[robsd]

Unknown to some the v-8 will pull the truck and trailor. Maybe not as well as other engines but it will do some work. You didn't mention how often you would be towing the trailor. If it's once a week then you will probably want to spend more money on the powerplant. If it's once every summer then the extra money might not be worth it. The psd will pull anything but the extra cost and it's payoff time may not be worth it depending on your habits. I have the v10 but like many I don't really pull anything. Occasionally a small utility trailor with a 600# atv or just the atv in the bed. I may be pulling a 16' trailor with an 8n on it this weekend. We'll see how that goes. Point is I'm one that a v8 would have been ok for me. I bought the truck used so I really didn't have a choice (very sweet deal).

Good Luck,
Rob

A 4x4 BTW is very cool. Be sure to get the cab lights!

[sportscar]

I hope to do about 10 or more race weekends a year. Most events are 70 miles away. Longest distance is as far as Montreal (from Boston). About 2500 miles a year of towing. Cab lights - got to have 'em!

[F-250 Hoss]

Sorry about starting the whole "beg to differ" thing. I guess I misunderstood the number of trucks that have the flutter problem. I was under the impression that it was mostly those with the CA emissions. My bad . . . sorry guys.

As for the flutter, I've read all the posts about it and listened to the sound clips. Near as I can tell, my truck doesn't have any flutter whatsoever. If it does, I'm not sensitive enough to hear it or feel it (either that or I just don't recognize it). I've run it in several different RPM ranges to see if I could find it and never could. I even turned the radio off and rolled the windows down a couple of times. No flutter that I can identify at least. Runs just as smooth and clear as I'd want it to.

Sorry about the mistake. I guess I misunderstood just how common the flutter is. [img]images/icons/blush.gif[/img]

[robsd]

Dont worry hoss, after my second post I figured after saying that most have it...everyone would post saying what's flutter? Just the way things go sometimes I guess. The replys did confirm that the 01's have little or none. Remember I drove mine for a couple months and never really noticed it enough to complain. It could also have something to do with whether or not the truck is a RC, SC or CC. 4x4 or 4x2? I'll ask my brother to bring by an 01 and let me drive it.

Win some loose some,
Rob

[sportscar]

OK so there is some less than perfect exshaust notes. The Dodge I have now has parts failing and falling off after one year/15000miles. I started doing reshearch (should have in the first place)

The only two trucks in the literature that get good marks are the F-150 and the Tundra. Niether appeal to me. I just want to make sure before I lay out even more $$$ that the F-250 gets as good reliblity as the F-150. There is not much consumers info on 3/4 ton trucks. I am on a budget so gas milage does matter. Again this will be a daily driver that will tow 4000 lbs abut 10 times a year for about 2500 miles total. I want to get 10 years out of a truck and it seems a 3/4 will do better over the long run.
I know the Superduty has not been out to long, but I do not see that there are any real problems as of yet. Anybody out there who uses their truck as a work vehicle with some higher milage on it. Thats what I need to know -- once the miles pile up are these trucks reliable. Thanks again.

[4wheeler]

Sportscar,

The truck you describe is very adequate to pull 4,000 lbs. I think the auto will cost some gas mileage. Mine is a 5 spd. and not towing I get a consistent 13.5 mpg, mixed driving. I tow a 2500lb. travel trailer and get about 11 mpg's. Due to the fact that it pushes so much air, I think it is probably equivalent to carrying a heavier more streamlined load such as a boat or car.

If I was going to tow frequently, I would definitely get the V-10 because I think it would get equal or better mileage towing. Unloaded though, the V-8 will generally do better unless most of your driving is on the highway. There, I think the V-10 is about the same as the V-8 mileage wise.

I have been very pleased with the power of my truck. It is plenty peppy and has plenty of passing power on the highway. I cruise easily at 75, even with the 4.10 axles, which I highly recommend. The 4.10's will allow towing at speed (70) in 5th. gear. I have done this easily, even into a 40 mph headwind pulling my travel trailer. Unfortunately, my mileage dropped to 8 mpg. in that situation. There is one example in which the V-10 would have been superior I would imagine.

Overall, the 5.4L is a great engine, which has much more power than one might imagine.

Regarding reliability, I think much of the truck is tried and true technology, such as the straight front axle (4X4). The engine is relatively new, but I think the new technology there is probably much superior to the old (just my opinion). I am not a good judge of the auto trans, as I have never preferred them over the manual. I have 6000 miles on my truck so far, and have had no problems with my truck, other than fighting with my dealer over poor wheel balance and resulting vibration. Finally they got the wheels balanced properly, after breaking them loose from the wheels and remounting, and the truck rides as smooth as one might expect from a truck riding on 10 ply load range E tires.

Good luck.