Hello All,
I just purchased a 1997 Ford F250 HD with a real nice MM Fisher Plow. Plane Jan, Auto, No A/C and No Power Anything. It only has 70,000 miles on it, that the good point. The problem is that it sat for a while prior to 2010. The truck drives great, engine runs strong and tranny shifts as it should. The bad is that I have a bit of work to do (being help by mechanic friend) to get the truck inspected and road worthy.

Here are my issues and then I have a few questions...
The front cab mounts need to be replaced.
The rear leaf spring perches (brackets) need to be replaced.
The oil pan is rotted out and needs to be replaced.
In addition, I plan on replacing all of the brake and fuel lines also. That's for starters.

Does any one know if the mounts / perches / brackets are still available from Ford or is there an after market source?
Will it be less expensive to have a welding shop fab them? (any members on the forum that sell them, fab'd)
For the front cab mounts, I found some (non-rubber) kits on-line, are they worth installing or should I go OEM, if available?
Is there an after-market oil pan for this model?

Thanks all!

Joe
Southern NH

 

Joe,

If you pack up a and move south like I did, all of your rust woes will be gone. After growing up in Maine and moving to the south I was amazed at how you can find an old truck with no rust. Anyway, on to the point.

You should check out LMC truck, you should be able to buy some of the stuff you need there cheaper than from the dealer. You should be able to find the oil pan you need there, as well as the poly body mounts. You should be able to find the spring hangers aftermarket online, I do not think LMC carries them but others do, it will be cheaper than the dealer or having them made.

The one thing I am unsure on it the actual steel body mount perches on the frame, I do not recall ever seeing them for sale, this does not mean that they are not available, I just have not come across them. When I used to have to do what you are doing, I always fabricated the mounts myself, they are just a simple piece of bent metal with a hole in it.

 

I will 2nd LMC. I have had good luck with them. Only bad thing I have to say is that they use a TON of packing peanuts in their boxes! But anyway, I use them for a lot of odds and ends.

As was stated though, they do not sell the forward cab mount brackets.

I find it handy to have one of their free catalogs on hand too.