My F-350 is pissing me off

[garyahouse]

Ah yes, the Ford vs Chevy dilemma (not to mention Dodge or Toyota). Son in law recently bought the Chevy. He did some extensive reading and comparing. Being a doctor, he likes to do his research before investing his hard earned cash. His results: he chose the Chevy. One big factor was that he got more for his money from the Chevy dealer. Adding options and comparing costs led him to get the Chevy, he said there was no comparison, Chevy won hands down. Does that make Chevys better? Maybe cheaper, but more reliable is a different animal.

However, this reliability discussion has been going on in a million garages, farms and coffee shops for better than 60 years. Men in general talk a great deal about this stuff. And since the 80's when Consumer Reports and JD Power began providing reliability info, and more recently with the addition of the internet, we've got even more info about just which is the better choice.

But when you add it all up, America has voted, hands down, for the Ford. Sales don't lie. Does that prove they're better? Maybe. But for me, it settles two things right away. When it's time to fix the old truck, there are more parts available for the Ford. Junk yards, parts stores, whatever, Ford parts are easier to come by. Then when it comes time to sell the old girl, the Fords are easier to sell. They're more popular, plain and simple. We can't argue with that fact.

Gary

darksider #44

 

[pegscraper]

I believe a lot has to do with the year and make. I bought my 1998 F150 Lariat 5.4L during the last year for that style of production and have over 140k miles on it. Never had an engine problem and had the timing chain/belts and shocks changed once. I thought of buying a new GM 3500 and top it off with a camper but the $$ scares me so I am eyeballing the '17 FJR instead.

 

[bigjohnsd]

Loving my 2014 F150 with 3.5 Ecoboost.

I change the oil every 5,000 miles, rotate the tires and she runs great. 45,000 miles in two years, 12,800 towing my 24 foot TT. Mileage has not been as good as I expected, I get 17 mpg avg when running on the OEM tires in the summer and 15 mpg Avg when running on M&S tires in the winter. I'd buy another one.

BTW, today's Ford 5.0 is nothing like your old Mustang 5.0! Totally different animal.

 

[08FJR4ME]

Well I am happy to report the big beast made it home today. It currently runs like new and my wallet is quite a bit lighter now. The drivers front rim was nice and hot by the time I got it home. That caliper has been toast for a while and needs replacing ASAP. Looks like I might be sinking another $300.00 into it soon. The good news is I started to buy them from AutoZone with a lifetime guarantee along with lifetime pads. So hopefully the next 2 wheels will be the end of buying calipers & pads and having to pay for them. I don't enjoy crawling under and around vehicles like I used too. The body parts don't bend so well anymore. My body parts that is. As an FYI the truck had 473 miles since I did the last oil change back in the beginning of December.

I am getting to old for this crap, LOL

Dave

 

[Cyclepath]

Interesting. A few years ago I bought my 3rd used Dodge Grand Caravan (we have 4 kids), and only about 10,000 Kms into my ownership, the rear disk calipers were not releasing.

Forced me to replace the rotors, and as I did it, common sense told me to just grab a file and wear down the crude casting Chrysler assembles them with.

Seriously stupid, this mistake on their part. Took me about 5 mins of careful filing on each side, and voila', problem solved.

I thought long and hard about taking that company to task over it, and in the end, the rotors weren't terribly expensive, I did my own labour (and solved the root cause of it), and knew I'd be forced to write letters, take time off work to go argue about it, if I did persue it. So, decided to choose my battle (this time).

As usual, YMMV...

 

[HotRodZilla]

Well I am happy to report the big beast made it home today. It currently runs like new and my wallet is quite a bit lighter now. The drivers front rim was nice and hot by the time I got it home. That caliper has been toast for a while and needs replacing ASAP. Looks like I might be sinking another $300.00 into it soon. The good news is I started to buy them from AutoZone with a lifetime guarantee along with lifetime pads. So hopefully the next 2 wheels will be the end of buying calipers & pads and having to pay for them. I don't enjoy crawling under and around vehicles like I used too. The body parts don't bend so well anymore. My body parts that is. As an FYI the truck had 473 miles since I did the last oil change back in the beginning of December.
I am getting to old for this crap, LOL

Dave

Best vehicle I've ever owned, hands down, was my '99 F150. Had it until March of '16, when I replaced it with a new F250. The guy I sold it to is pretty cool, and calls me every now and then to brag about the truck he bought. FWIW, he also has a 2015 Dodge 2500 with a Cummins. Lol.

My point, sorry, I got distracted: A few years ago, the brakes started acting funny. Had it to two Ford dealers and no one could figure out what was wrong. Finally, I decided to do the brakes myself. I bought the expensive Auto Zone high carbon disks and the pads that went with them. About $300, but they worked great. Problem solved for some dumb reason. Those high carbon disks are black, because of the carbon content and don't rust.. Lifetime warranty on all those parts, so if I'd kept the truck, I'd have to do the work, but no money out of my pocket. Don't know if you've done it, but brakes on those trucks are super easy!

 

[08FJR4ME]

The dealer did it the first three times under warranty. I have done it three time myself. So this will be the forth coming up for me. I believe the one now was done by the dealer. I agree there is plenty of room to work on it. It's just an hour or two of my life that I would rather be doing something else.

Dave

 

[rbentnail]

Sorry to hear of your troubles. I got nothing but good out of the 2001 F150 5.4 I used to have. After 10 yrs/215,000-ish miles everything on the engine was still factory. Door switches, electric motors, starter, alternator, water pump- everything! Never a problem with the brakes except normal wear part maintenance. The front rotors were a bit of a pain but nothing ever locked up. I just replaced the rotors every 22,000 miles and had the take-offs turned when I started to feel that little pulse in the brake pedal. Sold it to a co-worker back in '11 as a knockabout wood hauler, it's still doing fine.

FWIW the 2010 F150 I had and the '13 F150 I have now all have the same 20,000 miles front rotor warp thing. I figure it's my style of braking. I'm still using the same rotors I used on the 2001, best $75 spare parts I ever bought!!

 

[lnewlf]

some "mechanics" do not take the stainless steel pad slides off the carrier and clean the rust off..rust buildup under the slides forces the slides out and causes the pads to bind and not retract and the rotors to overheat and warp.. a knot wire wheel on an angle grinder does a good job and some anti rust compound delays the eventual rust buildup..

I buy most of my parts from Rock Auto...Advance and AutoZone and Pep Boyz are bandits...

 

[user 6393]

Ford has had brake issues since about the time they started making Exploders.

We had an '08 F350 diesel; the WORST consumer diesel engine ever produced by any manufacturer and no, Ford did nothing to acknowledge or compensate. The passenger cabs are comfy and roomy tho, and until 2015 they didn't look too bad, but I think we have had our fill of Ford.

That said, we currently have an old Dodge Ram 2500 5.7 hemi with 424,000 on it and it just won't die. It's Norm's daily driver in the woods and has never left him there (can't say that about the Ford). We also have a '03 RAM 3500 that went to Norm's son with 320,000 on it and is now well over 400,000 and going strong.

I have never been a Dodge fan, but the stats of our personal experience(s) with them has us keeping an eye on them.

Buying an F150 new would never be an option, as up here there are soooooo many, they are like cockroaches and have no trade in value.

So, I am stuck with mine. Just glad it's not a 5.4 Triton.

 

[Frushlorton]

Sorry to hear about your issues. Just sold a 2002 F150 with the 5.4. It did well. However, heard they switched to the "new" style plugs in 03 that tend to break off during plug change. Was told by my mechanic it would be $100 per plug if they break. Ford makes a special tool to remove the broken pieces.

On my third GMC:

92 Z71 5.3 over 160K still running great when sold in 2005 w/no rust (I beat the hell out of that truck)

01 Yukon XL 5.3 198K, still running when sold no issues...ever

14 Sierra 1500 Crew 5.3, 20K, no issues yet. Don't really like the variable valve timing but enjoy the 19-22 mpg.

 

[SmashVol]

Just like others I have a F150 from 78 still on original motor etc. and drove F350s for quite a while in my job and put 100s of thousands of miles on them with mostly good luck and we had Chevy's that we had bad luck with too, sooooo, to each there own!

 

[08FJR4ME]

Its mostly my own fault since I don't use it that much. I use it out in the woods for gathering my wood for the winter. It is also my alternate transportation when I can't use the bike.

 

[Kelvininin]

Sorry your having trouble with your F-350. I am on my second F-150 with the 3.5 ecoboost. Damn thing pulls like a diesel, it makes quick work out of towing my 9000 pound camper. Both my F150s have been trouble free. I can't say the same for the GM products I have owned in the past.

 

[08FJR4ME]

I have been looking at new ones this morning. Not sure if I will pull the trigger or not. I am going to stop by the dealer after work and see what gives. Right now it is fixed by the dealer and is running good and no more noises out of the engine. I noticed they have a 6.2 gas engine which is pretty much old school type. Cast iron block without all the fancy advanced timing ******** I have on mine. From reading the reviews there are no negatives other than being an old school motor.

Dave

 

[Klubis]

In trucks, I'm not convinced that "old school motors" are not desirable.

 

[HotRodZilla]

I have been looking at new ones this morning. Not sure if I will pull the trigger or not. I am going to stop by the dealer after work and see what gives. Right now it is fixed by the dealer and is running good and no more noises out of the engine. I noticed they have a 6.2 gas engine which is pretty much old school type. Cast iron block without all the fancy advanced timing ******** I have on mine. From reading the reviews there are no negatives other than being an old school motor.
Dave

Dave, my F250 is the 6.2L gas. I couldn't justify the extra cost of the PS when I bought it. We pull, but not nearly enough. Just turned 10k, and it pulls really well. We ran horses from here to Las Cruces and back, setting the cruise on 75 and not worrying about it. Same on the way back. We pulled our camper tandem with our jet ski, and our mileage kind of sucked, but there was no lack of power. We took the camper back to storage a few weekends ago. Again, set the cruise on 75 and it never varied more than 2mph +/-. Got a whole 10mpg. Haha...

So, if I was pulling like that all the time, a diesel would have been the way to go. For the intermittent weekend trips we make, the 6.2 is doing just fine, without all the diesel shenanigans.

 

[08FJR4ME]

I spent over 2 hours at the Ford stealer yesterday. I knew going in this place would most likely jerk me around and it did. I test drove a 2017 6.2 V8 with a plow and It was really nice. They came up to my price after I asked for my keys to my truck back and was walking out the door. Now if they would have done that up front and not wasted all that time I might be driving a new truck.

See you later Mr. stealer,

Dave

 

[Fred W]

I hate the car dealer haggling game. There is a big dealership up in Bow (Grappone) that has no haggle pricing. What you see is what you get. And their price is usually what you'd get the others down to after hours of checking with the sales manager routine. Our son and soon to be daughter in law bought a Tundra there and got a nice used truck at a great price. I'll be shopping them the next time I need a vehicle

 

[rbentnail]

Yeah, that haggling thing sux. I used to work for a company that made parts for Ford so we got a nice discount. No haggling, no back-and-forth sales people, just managers. Walk in, hand them a PIN, they verified and poof! you got the price. Bought two F150s that way, saved a bunch.