The 2005-2009 Ford F250 History: Second and Third Generation Super Duty (Part 6)
F250 Second Generation Super Duty
The 2005 Ford F250 Super Duty received only slight appearance changes, but Ford found that 80% of F250 pickup owners used their trucks for towing or heavy hauling, so the emphasis for the new 2005 F250 was strength. The F250 engine options remained the same as the previous years, but thanks to Ford’s new 3 valve cylinder head design, power was up in both the V8 and V10 gas engines. The 5.4L Triton V8 offered 300 horsepower and the F250 V10 models made 362 horsepower and 457 lb-ft of torque. The F250 Powerstroke returned in it 6.0L form, now making 325 horsepower and 570 lb-ft of torque, but due to extremely high volumes of warranty repairs and lemon law buybacks, Ford stopped offering the 6.0L Powerstroke F250s late in 2006. The standard F250 transmission is a 6-speed manual, but a 5-speed automatic overdrive transmission is available with all engines. The F250 suspension was upgraded to handle the additional power and towing capacity, including new coil springs and a Dana Super 60 differential. F250 4×4 models could select either a BorgWarner manual transfer case or Ford’s electronic shift on the fly transfer case.
F250 Third Generation Super Duty
Ford spent 95 million dollars to improve their Kentucky heavy duty truck plant to prepare for the 2008 F250. The new F250 had the exact same gas engine options as the previous generation, but the 2008 F250 diesel received a major upgrade. After dealing with several years of the heavily problematic 6.0L diesel, Ford introduced their new 6.4L Navistar Twin-Turbocharged V8 diesel. The new and improved F250 diesel offers 350 horsepower and 650 lb-ft of torque, and aside from some minor backfiring, the 6.4L has proven to be more powerful and more reliable.
The 2009 Ford F250 has seen little change from the 2008 models. The new F250 is offered as a regular cab, super cab, or crew cab and with either a 6.75 or 8 foot bed. There are six trimline options for the 2009 F250 pickup, starting with the XL ($25,285 MSRP), followed by the XLT ($28,835), the FX4 ($36,945), the Lariat ($35,150), the King Ranch ($41,090) and finally the top of the line is the 2009 Ford F250 Harley Davidson Edition ($45,790).
