F-250

[Steve Heywood]

Originally Posted by Minnie's Mate

Well it is time for a fuel filter change anyway. My dealer (consider the source maybe) recommends changing the fuel filter every 20,000 miles. Does that sound right to everyone else? This is my daily driver and I am just over 20K miles.

Ford says a new fuel filter every 15,000 miles.

[Minnie's Mate]

Originally Posted by Steve Heywood

Ford says a new fuel filter every 15,000 miles.

Well, my regular shop hasn't recommended one yet, but I plan on taking it to my Ford dealer for the next oil change...found out they are about $50 cheaper for the filter and oil change!

How much is the fuel filter? I forgot what the dealer quoted, but it seemed tremendously high, like maybe $100 or more.

[wahoonc]

Originally Posted by Minnie's Mate

Well, my regular shop hasn't recommended one yet, but I plan on taking it to my Ford dealer for the next oil change...found out they are about $50 cheaper for the filter and oil change!

How much is the fuel filter? I forgot what the dealer quoted, but it seemed tremendously high, like maybe $100 or more.

They ain't cheap. I buy mine at Napa and IIRC they are around $45-50. I know that the NAPA Gold Oil filters are right at $20 for the oil filters. I buy oil by the 55 gallon drum around here. We get Rotella for around $3 a gallon that way. But I am sure it has gone up since the last time we bought any. Sam's Club sells the gallons by the case.

Aaron

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Originally Posted by overlander63

F450 is supposed to be 1 1/4 ton, and F550 is supposed to be 1 1/2 ton, but you know how Detroit can massage numbers to make anything look good. Once you get over the F550 and into the Medium-duty truck market (which the F550 used to be considered), you can spec out a truck to change its payload drastically.

Hi, overlander63. Ford medium duty trucks were F-650 & F-750s. The F-450 & F-550s are a relatively new creation. These came out when or after Ford sold it's larger trucks to Sterling.

Bob

[clancy_boy]

Originally Posted by Minnie's Mate

Well, my regular shop hasn't recommended one yet, but I plan on taking it to my Ford dealer for the next oil change...found out they are about $50 cheaper for the filter and oil change!

How much is the fuel filter? I forgot what the dealer quoted, but it seemed tremendously high, like maybe $100 or more.

I could back your dealer up on the 15K fuel filter change. I replace mine every 15K which is every 3rd oil change (5000 mile for oil). Buy the Motorcraft oil filters at Wally World for $9.99 (FORD PRODUCT?) and get the filter replacements for fuel at Autozone for $20. READ THE "O" ring installations carefully, still my Ford guy says there will be an "O" ring failure on the fuel filter 1 in 4 times it's replaced. Been my experience that this is true. No matter how carefull you are - I had one fail in my garage at startup after 4 months in use, 1.5 gallons instantly on the floor. BTW - the replacement in a generic box from Autozone had the same manufacturer as the pricy Ford Dealership filter I removed.

I have had a real bad time with fuel and now only fill up if possible at major truck stops where the diesel is in the tanks for a minimum amount of time - high turnover rate. Mom and Pop stores don't do the volume and the fuel "gets old". Lots of particulate build up clogged my fuel filter - really dropped my fuel milage.

Wally World will stock the air filters - I had to ask and bought 4 of them to show an increased sales volume - FRAM. I believe it was about $17.

All three of these are do-it-youself maintenance items.

[LI Pets]

Originally Posted by wahoonc

They ain't cheap. I buy mine at Napa and IIRC they are around $45-50. I know that the NAPA Gold Oil filters are right at $20 for the oil filters. I buy oil by the 55 gallon drum around here. We get Rotella for around $3 a gallon that way. But I am sure it has gone up since the last time we bought any. Sam's Club sells the gallons by the case.

Aaron

I have a '99 E450 with 185K on it it runs like a clock. I do all my own work don't trust anyone else.

Oil Rottela every 3-3,500 miles, at $8 gal that's only $32, filter every other, oil filter 7-10 depends.

Fuel filters come two different ways with a cap built into it those are expensive, the ones you shouls get are the inserts, about $3 each, I di mine at 7,500 miles. Make sure you drain the fuel bowl to get the junk out, also add a small hose to the end of it to drain into a pan, or it will splash on the motor and frame.

You also should have a filter before the electric fuel pump on the frame under the driver.

If you really want to know the condition of your engine you can send off a oil sample to Blackstone they will tell you how far you can push the oil.

So it costs about $100 every 10,000 miles.

Not a lot of money to protect a $7,500 engine that can go 500,000 miles.

I also added a HX cross over hose between the oil valleys this gets more oil to the #8 cyl and quite things down and runs smoother. It is about $40.

Lat toy I added was an Evolution programmer, you can set it for three different HP increases. It also gives you any error code get toy, and when switching to TOW mode hang on the old rig will wake up!

[Krazyjohnny]

Alan,

I have a 2000 XLT Crew Cab 7.3L PSD with 77,000 miles on it. I have just started getting gas mileage in the 18 mpg range. It is a short bed and I have the air bags on it in the rear. The rear axle ratio is 3.73. The XLT gives you all of the power options PW, PWR door locks, POwer Seats, etc. I just picked up a 2007 27' Front Bedroom Airstream Safari Se LS Thursday and it pulled like a champ without a weight distributing hitch and bars. The Air bags allowed me to adjust the ride to my comfort as I went down the road. The tongue weight on the frame mounted hitch is rated at 1200 lbs. Newer trucks have a higher weight rating and the really nice on-board brake controller. I have had Vendors who trade trucks every 2-3 years because they use them up in that period of time complain about the 6.0L diesel. Most of their problems were electronics. Both GM and Dodge are making really good products also. The Dodge Mega Cab offers the most room on the market for any pick-up and the Cummins engine in it is a Ford product. Ford bought Cummins a few years back. I am waiting for a Ford truck with a Cummins engine and Allison transmission.

Just my .02

[Rivetedude]

Engine aside, MPG is directly determined by the size (weight) of the trailer and the ratio on the rear end. Most F-250's come with a 3:73 ratio rear end standard. You have the option to upgrade to the 4:10. This will enable you to pull more weight, but your MPG will suffer quite noticeably. With only a 25' you might also consider stepping down to a 3:55. This will give you GREAT fuel economy and still pull the trailer with flying colors. My dad had a 250 in this rare configuration and got 21-23 MPG empty and like 17-18 pulling various trailers. Good luck either way.

[TIMEMACHINE]

clancy boy,

Thanks for the tips on the replacement filters. Good to know.

John

[ALANSD]

All good info folks, much appreciated...on my way to buy a tank of B100 right now....

[SilverGate]

Maintenance schedule
.................................................. .................................................. ....
Got 600 miles on the PSD now…
So it’s now eligible to tow a trailer.
The Retrax cargo cover is on and looks good…
Should reduce fuel consumption by 1 mpg.
My local vet tows 30’ Classic AS with F-350 4x4 over mountains to the desert... Says he changes oil every 3000 miles.
F-250 owner’s manual recommends every 5000-mi. when towing.
I see some here change oil at 5000-mi., others 3000 – 3500 miles.
Like to hear from others how often you change oil,
And do other maintenance items.
Thanks,
Bill

[wahoonc]

Bill,
I have an older 7.3 and change every 5k, I typically drive 40-50k a year. FWIW my GAS engined vehicles typically last 300k on this regime. I also change the tranny fluid, radiator fluid and rear end once a year.

Aaron

[ALANSD]

what about oil consumption? I noticed on my first trip towing which was not that far...we used some oil and trans fluid. The brakes were locking up some on the rear and that may account for extra load on the engine. Getting brakes re-done this week.

[Minnie's Mate]

Originally Posted by Krazyjohnny

I just picked up a 2007 27' Front Bedroom Airstream Safari Se LS Thursday and it pulled like a champ without a weight distributing hitch and bars.

Would love to see photos of inside and outside of your new Airstream. What differs from the 25' FB? Is it just more wardrobe space or are there other differences?

[Minnie's Mate]

I have a tendency to let the oil go a little farther than the manufacturer recommends. With my F-150, the manufacturer recommend every 3,500 miles, IIRC. I changed the oil every 5K and it is still going strong with 180K+ and doesn't use any oil. I put approximately 300 miles per week on a vehicle.

With my F-250, I will be getting its third oil change this week end with approximately 21K miles, +/-. I want to take good care of the diesel since it is designed to last even longer than the gas engine in my F-150, but I don't think the extra 2K should hurt it.

I have been concerned that my regular service center hasn't drained the fuel/moisture seperator. The light hasn't come on, but I don't want to get on the road towing the AS and have it come on and not be able to get it drained or have a place to drain it myself. I typically don't do my own service, BTW. Not that I'm lazy, I just don't have a convenient way to dispose of the oil, etc.

[ScottW]

We pull our Safari 25'FB with a F-150 crew cab, 5.4L with tow package. No problems and it gets 14.25 mpg. The F-250 will certainly haul any Airstream.
Bev & Scott

[Steve Heywood]

Originally Posted by SilverGate

Maintenance schedule
.................................................. .................................................. ....
Got 600 miles on the PSD now…
So it’s now eligible to tow a trailer.
The Retrax cargo cover is on and looks good…
Should reduce fuel consumption by 1 mpg.
My local vet tows 30’ Classic AS with F-350 4x4 over mountains to the desert... Says he changes oil every 3000 miles.
F-250 owner’s manual recommends every 5000-mi. when towing.
I see some here change oil at 5000-mi., others 3000 – 3500 miles.
Like to hear from others how often you change oil,
And do other maintenance items.
Thanks,
Bill

International (the builders of the 6.0 Powerstroke diesel) specs a 10,000 mile oil change interval for the VT365(http://www.internationaldelivers.com...t365detail.asp) (the medium duty truck version of the 6.0). The biggest difference between the 6.0 and the VT365 (besides the torque and HP figures) is that the VT365 has a 19 qt oil capacity compared to the 15 qt for the 6.0.

Based on how I use my F250 (daily driver, tow vehicle) I change my oil every 7500 miles. I know that Ford specs the oil change more often (when towing), but I don't tow that much with my truck. Besides, if a 10K oil change interval is good enough for a MDT with the same engine then 7500 miles is good enough for my engine.

[wahoonc]

Originally Posted by ALANSD

what about oil consumption? I noticed on my first trip towing which was not that far...we used some oil and trans fluid. The brakes were locking up some on the rear and that may account for extra load on the engine. Getting brakes re-done this week.

Alan,
I typically use about 1 qt between oil changes. When towing that can go as high as 3 quarts if I am towing and towing heavy between oil changes. I don't use any tranny fluid at all.

Aaron

[ALANSD]

I pulled the rear drums today and the brake hardware was the problem for my lock up. It was broken. Springs cracked, pieces basically falling out when the drum was removed. Yikes. No wonder the other side smoked when I was towing the Sovereign. So new hardware, organic shoes, new drums, and we should be good to go, also I installed the Prodigy yesterday. My stops on the trip to the Forums rally next week ought to be much smoother.

[tpi]

I pull an 05 25' Safari SS with a 1999 F250 diesel super cab 2wd six-speed. The truck has about 110,000 miles on it and burns about a quart of oil per 5000 miles since new. The truck has been reliable. Towing has been good except for one problem which I suspect is pretty universal: freeway bounce on some of CA's worst. Usually it smooths out at above 62 MPH or below about 45 MPH.

On a trip from Orange county to Gilroy towing, I got just under 15 MPG @ 60 MPH in both directions, including a crossing of Tejon pass.