Going to ask this, because I am curious. I have a 95 E350 and a 96 F 250 both with the 5.8L. They are both marked HEAVY DUTY ENGINE, FOR HEAVY DUTY APPLICATIONS. Are these simply emission changes, or did certain internals get beefed up with the higher GVW? I feel stupid asking this, but i cannot find the answer

 

Those are there to indicate that the vehicle is exempt from emissions standards. Vehicles with a 8500lb and up GVW rating (F250HD, F350 and E350's) were exempt from the standards. Internally, I believe they are all the same.

 

L Ward. I was thinking it was emissions related, but wasnt sure

 

They are NOT exempt from emissions, hence why they still have a CAT, Air pump, EGR and the like. It is just some wording from an enginere

 

They were not totally exempt, however they did not have to meet the same standards, and in some cases were totally exempt from certain parts of the standards.

1990 - 1994 Tier 1

Tier 1 set a new NOx standard that ranges between 0.6 and 1.53 gpm depending upon the weight of the truck.

 

OP said 95 and 96 i think

 

Introduction

Two sets of standards have been defined for light-duty vehicles in the Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) of 1990:

• Tier 1 standards, which were published as a final rule on June 5, 1991 and phased-in progressively between 1994 and 1997.
• Tier 2 standards, which were adopted on December 21, 1999, with a phase-in implementation schedule from 2004 to 2009.

Tier 1 standards applied to all new light-duty vehicles (LDV), such as passenger cars, light-duty trucks, sport utility vehicles (SUV), minivans and pick-up trucks. The LDV category included all vehicles of less than 8500 lb gross vehicle weight rating, or GVWR (i.e., vehicle weight plus rated cargo capacity). LDVs were further divided into the following sub-categories:

• passenger cars
• light light-duty trucks (LLDT), below 6000 lbs GVWR
• heavy light-duty trucks (HLDT), above 6000 lbs GVWR

<table class="data" width="90%"><caption>Table 1
EPA Tier 1 Emission Standards for Passenger Cars and Light-Duty Trucks, FTP 75, g/mi</caption> <col><col span="12" width="7%"> <tbody><tr><th rowspan="2">Category</th><th colspan="6">50,000 miles/5 years</th><th colspan="6">100,000 miles/10 years¹</th></tr> <tr><th>THC</th><th>NMHC</th><th>CO</th><th>NOx†
diesel</th><th>NOx
gasoline</th><th>PM‡</th><th>THC</th><th>NMHC</th><th>CO</th><th>NOx†
diesel</th><th>NOx
gasoline</th><th>PM‡</th></tr> <tr><td>Passenger cars</td><td>0.41</td><td>0.25</td><td>3.4</td><td>1.0</td><td>0.4</td><td>0.08</td><td>-</td><td>0.31</td><td>4.2</td><td>1.25</td><td>0.6</td><td>0.10</td></tr> <tr><td>LLDT, LVW <3,750 lbs</td><td>-</td><td>0.25</td><td>3.4</td><td>1.0</td><td>0.4</td><td>0.08</td><td>0.80</td><td>0.31</td><td>4.2</td><td>1.25</td><td>0.6</td><td>0.10</td></tr> <tr><td>LLDT, LVW >3,750 lbs</td><td>-</td><td>0.32</td><td>4.4</td><td>-</td><td>0.7</td><td>0.08</td><td>0.80</td><td>0.40</td><td>5.5</td><td>0.97</td><td>0.97</td><td>0.10</td></tr> <tr><td>HLDT, ALVW <5,750 lbs</td><td>0.32</td><td>-</td><td>4.4</td><td>-</td><td>0.7</td><td>-</td><td>0.80</td><td>0.46</td><td>6.4</td><td>0.98</td><td>0.98</td><td>0.10</td></tr> <tr><td>HLDT, ALVW > 5,750 lbs</td><td>0.39</td><td>-</td><td>5.0</td><td>-</td><td>1.1</td><td>-</td><td>0.80</td><td>0.56</td><td>7.3</td><td>1.53</td><td>1.53</td><td>0.12</td></tr> <tr> <td class="tNote" colspan="13">1 - Useful life 120,000 miles/11 years for all HLDT standards and for THC standards for LDT
† - More relaxed NOx limits for diesels applicable to vehicles through 2003 model year
‡ - PM standards applicable to diesel vehicles only

Abbreviations:
LVW - loaded vehicle weight (curb weight + 300 lbs)
ALVW - adjusted LVW (the numerical average of the curb weight and the GVWR)
LLDT - light light-duty truck (below 6,000 lbs GVWR)
HLDT - heavy light-duty truck (above 6,000 lbs GVWR)


Engines in vehicles above 8500 lbs GVWR, such as cargo vans or light trucks, certifed to heavy-duty engine emission standards.

Model year1988-2003 US federal (EPA) and 1987-2003 California (ARB) emission standard


<table class="data" width="75%"><caption>
Clean Fuel Fleet Program for Heavy-Duty SI (spark ignition) and CI Engines, g/bhp·hr</caption> <colgroup></colgroup><colgroup span="4" width="15%"> </colgroup><tbody><tr><th>Category*</th><th>CO</th><th>NMHC+NO_x</th><th>PM</th><th>HCHO</th></tr> <tr><td>LEV (Federal Fuel)</td><td>
</td><td>3.8</td><td>
</td><td>
</td></tr> <tr><td>LEV (California Fuel)</td><td>
</td><td>3.5</td><td>
</td><td>
</td></tr> <tr><td>ILEV</td><td>14.4</td><td>2.5</td><td>
</td><td>0.050</td></tr> <tr><td>ULEV</td><td>7.2</td><td>2.5</td><td>0.05</td><td>0.025</td></tr> <tr><td>ZLEV</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr> <tr> <td class="tNote" colspan="5"> * LEV - low emission vehicle; ILEV - inherently low emission vehicle; ULEV - ultra low emission vehicle; ZEV - zero emission vehicle</td></tr></tbody></table>
Better?

</td></tr></tbody></table>

 

They all get the same standard to pass here in PA and NJ unless the truck is over 10,000lbs

 

Using the OP's 96 F250 as an example,

§ 177.51. Program requirements.

(3)(F)(5) Following publication of notice of an effective date in the Pennsylvania Bulletin in accordance with § 177.22, subject vehicles registered in the South Central Region will be required to undergo the following:




<table><tbody><tr><td>Model Year </td><td>Test Type </td></tr> <tr><td>1975-1995 </td><td>Gas cap test; visual inspection </td></tr> <tr><td>1996 and newer vehicles 8,500 GVWR and under </td><td>OBD-I/M check; gas cap test </td></tr> <tr><td>1996 and newer vehicles between 8,501 and 9,000 GVWR</td><td>Gas cap test; visual inspection </td></tr></tbody></table>
So in south central Pa, depending on his GVWR he may have to have a OBD-I/M test, where they would plug into the system and read it, OR he may only have to have a visual inspection. Other states may have different standards on what they test for also. Even in the most stringent situations, the federal standards still show what is allowable for the vehicle to pass with NOx, etc. Under the Tier 1 standards that were phased in during the 90s, a vehicle with a GVWR of less than 8500lbs had to meet a certain standard to be considered as passing emissions. Depending on the weight, it can be as low as .4 or as high as 1.1. Once it breaks the 8500lb rating, the standards then moved to Heavy Duty classification, and were allowed to have different levels once again. Thus the reason various information is entered into the computer when doing a "sniffer" test. It is quite possible that while a F150 with a 5.8 would fail the sniffer, a F350 2wd or F250HD with the same 5.8, putting the same emissions out the tail pipe would be marked as "Pass" by the computer.

 

Nevermind

 

Thats not enough beer... need more than that!