starting courier company and just got a 92 f600 box truck with auto transmission 7.0 efi 45k miles for $4500 1500 lb lift gate after 1st week I've now think I'm not going to be able to afford to use this thing. what options do i have to improve fuel economy...2 speed rear end? or hurry up and sell the truck

 

7.0 EFI. Did they make these? Or do you mean 7.5l (460)? As for mileage, with a truck that big it should be diesel to get any mileage. I'm guessing you'll get maybe 4-5 mpg if you're lucky.

 

Welcome to the forum dvasil!

Ford never put the 460 in medium duty trucks.
429's and 370's are everywhere though.
Same basic engine but the crank snout is massive compared to a car or pickup engine.

If you need a truck that big then that is the price you're going to pay.
If you don't, I'd suggest you sell it on.

ETA; You might want to have a look in the medium duty forum for some more information.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/forum232/

 

Should have bought a diesel. Those big block EFI engines got 10 MPG in an F-250. Can't imagine what they get in an F-600

 

But EFI 429? Just never knew they made those

 

Oh yes.

Many, many, MANY of those!

 

i took closer look today...7.0 liter efi auto trans diff tag reads 683 rear end...can i have a smaller gear installed? what options was avail in 1992 or is this candidate for 2 speed rear end? truck only has 34000 miles and might be worth the investment. otherwise i will put up for sale...any ideas on resale value in ohio

 

For what you might spend on new gears or a gear splitter, you can buy quite a bit of fuel. But doing those things probably won't net you much gain in the MPG department. The reality is you're driving a big, heavy brick with very poor aerodynamics. What are you getting, about 6 MPG? Don't expect much better...

 

i appreciate that input. I had to turn down a 300 dollar load to columbus today cuz by the time i replaced fuel i would have netted 50 bucks for a 4 hour run. it's kinda lookin like i should unload this beast and go another direction

 

Cut your losses. ...sell it then find a diesel.

 

have i got a deal for you guys lol 1992 f600 auto with 34k original miles this cream puff was only driven on sudays by a little old lady

 

Justa FYI. The 7.0 will get about 4-6 mpg

But a diesel in the same truck will only get 10 mpg

Then factor in a diesel truck cost MORE to buy
Fuel is MORE
Oil changes are MORE
and maintenance is MORE

 

Most 2speed rears that I've come across have been lower than the single speed rears.
You can probably find a higher geared rear axle, or maybe just put a taller tire on the rear. Either way, gonna cost some money.
Brad is right. Cost of diesel means you can get less mpg but net the same overall cost to operate. Quick figuring, take diesel price divided by gas price (should be greater than 1) and then multiply it by your gas trucks actual mpg. That is the mpg a diesel needs to achieve to cost the same... Just for fuel. That's not accounting for Maint cost and stuff above what a gas engine costs.

 

Find an older medium duty diesel without 2007 or later emission systems. That way you won't have dpf filters, urea injection, advanced EGR (stay away from Farmall Maxxforce engines), etc. The IHC DT 466 and 530 are very good… CAT 3126E (electronic) or 3116 (manual injection) are also good. You can find 8.3L or 5.9L Cummins in Fords, too.

You can run 50K on an oil change IF you keep your idle down to almost zero. Do oil sampling every 15-20K. A diesel engine is very economical to operate if you stay up on maintenance.

 

"only" 10 MPG. 5 mpg vs 10 mpg isn't just "5 mpg more". It's literally half the fuel usage. Even with the higher fuel costs of diesel, that's a savings of over $3,000 every 10,000 miles.

On a working medium duty truck that's pushing 30,000 miles or more per year, that's over $10,000/yr in fuel savings alone. Realistically, something like a DT466 that holds 25 quarts of oil is only going to need two oil changes in 30,000 miles.

I ain't that good at cipherin', but I think the $10,000 in fuel savings negates the $200 in oil needed.