F250 Advice

[Ray Cecil]

I have a 69 chevy for sale. A guy wants to trade me an 89 F250, 460, Automatic, 4x4, regular cab. Looks like solid front axle.

Im not too familiar with a 460, or the F250s. Anything I should really watch out for other than the obvious condition of the truck?

It was a work truck, and he took the toolbox off and put a bed on in. Said he rebuilt the 460 .030 over with an rv cam.

He has looked at the Impala, and wants to trade. It'll be saturday before I can get to the truck.

[salans7]

Sounds like it's pretty well built, and looks like it's been restored. Provided the engine sounds clean and feels clear, and the transmission shifts well, you might have yourself a solid 3/4 ton.

Btw, definitely a TTB D44HD under that truck.

[Ray Cecil]

Sounds like it's pretty well built, and looks like it's been restored. Provided the engine sounds clean and feels clear, and the transmission shifts well, you might have yourself a solid 3/4 ton.

Btw, definitely a TTB D44HD under that truck.

Is the Dana44HD the better axle? Im not well educated on axles.

[Angelo Voltura]

Is the Dana44HD the better axle? Im not well educated on axles.

Depends on what you want it to do. They ride a lot nicer than the straight axle. As long as you keep up on the maintenance they do fine.

[Ray Cecil]

Depends on what you want it to do. They ride a lot nicer than the straight axle. As long as you keep up on the maintenance they do fine.

Thanks Angelo. Yeah, its just going to be a hauler if I end up with it. I have a 99 Z71 I usually tow with, but it is at 349901 miles as of this morning. It was my fathers truck. I need to restore it. So trading a project car, for a useful truck....well....might be a good idea.

[Gary Lewis]

Thanks Angelo. Yeah, its just going to be a hauler if I end up with it. I have a 99 Z71 I usually tow with, but it is at 349901 miles as of this morning. It was my fathers truck. I need to restore it. So trading a project car, for a useful truck....well....might be a good idea.

Angelo - I disagree on the ride. In my opinion a TTB F150 rides well. And a solid axle F350 rides OK. But a TTB F250 rides poorly. Which is a big reason Big Blue is getting a D60. (Solid axle, Ray.)

Ray - Having said the above, I think it would be a good trade with what you have in mind. The 460/F250/auto/4x4/long bed will tow your trailer much easier than the 300/F150/manual/2x4/short bed. But, it will be thirsty. As my brother said of his 460, it gets 10 MPG by itself and it gets 10 MPG towing. It don't care.

But, don't expect it to ride nicely. However, if it has sway bars disconnect them and it'll ride less badly.

[Ray Cecil]

Angelo - I disagree on the ride. In my opinion a TTB F150 rides well. And a solid axle F350 rides OK. But a TTB F250 rides poorly. Which is a big reason Big Blue is getting a D60. (Solid axle, Ray.)

Ray - Having said the above, I think it would be a good trade with what you have in mind. The 460/F250/auto/4x4/long bed will tow your trailer much easier than the 300/F150/manual/2x4/short bed. But, it will be thirsty. As my brother said of his 460, it gets 10 MPG by itself and it gets 10 MPG towing. It don't care.

But, don't expect it to ride nicely. However, if it has sway bars disconnect them and it'll ride less badly.

Thanks for all the advice. I couldnt care less how good it rides. If I wanted a cadillac, Id buy one. None of these trucks ride that well anyway.

If I trade, this truck will be a tool. It wont be thought of as a toy, or a family vehicle. I wont drive it everyday either. It would only be used to haul really heavy loads on the 16' car hauler.

[grumpin]

Angelo - I disagree on the ride. In my opinion a TTB F150 rides well. And a solid axle F350 rides OK. But a TTB F250 rides poorly. Which is a big reason Big Blue is getting a D60. (Solid axle, Ray.)

Ray - Having said the above, I think it would be a good trade with what you have in mind. The 460/F250/auto/4x4/long bed will tow your trailer much easier than the 300/F150/manual/2x4/short bed. But, it will be thirsty. As my brother said of his 460, it gets 10 MPG by itself and it gets 10 MPG towing. It don't care.

But, don't expect it to ride nicely. However, if it has sway bars disconnect them and it'll ride less badly.

I’ve owned two other F250’s an 88 and a 94. The ride is not good if you’re looking for one. I'm not, it’s a truck.

If it has the C6 automatic, that’s good, a tough auto IMHO. If it’s the E4OD, could be troublesome behind the 460. However, I’ve had no problems with the one in my Bronco.

Something I find interesting is that I feel my 86 carbed 460 has more power than my 94 EFI 460 did. And it had 4.10 gears, my 86 has 3.55’s.

My 88 was a 7.3 diesel with the ZF5. Neat thing with the C6 is if you put it in second it will go to second gear and stay there, good for slippery situations.

I like them, they are “built Ford tough!” Although I rarely admit it to my wife, the Suburban we have is a beast! And built stout. But for awhile I didn’t have a truck, and I missed having an F250.

[Rembrant]

That's a decent lookin' old truck Ray. If you don't have any immediate plans for the old car and can use the truck, that sounds like a great deal to me.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Thanks for all the advice. I couldnt care less how good it rides. If I wanted a cadillac, Id buy one. None of these trucks ride that well anyway.

If I trade, this truck will be a tool. It wont be thought of as a toy, or a family vehicle. I wont drive it everyday either. It would only be used to haul really heavy loads on the 16' car hauler.

That's not an '89, it's an '87 like mine.

At least it's got an '87 (carbureted) engine in it.

D44 HD..... I'll be stripping mine and replacing all the bushings and balljoints next week.

The D50 has bigger (350 size) hubs.

The 350 has a Dana 60 straight axle.

The D60 in the 350 rides better and has a tighter turning radius.