Hey all! New to the forums and also these trucks.
Today i purchased a 93 F250 XLT 2wd with the 7.5 460. Has 184000 miles on it and seems to be in good running condition. Only issues were a couple loose bearing in the steering column (have parts and instructions to replace), needs 3 new gears in the driver side power window and takes a bit to start which leads me to believe the battery may need to be replaced.
I plan on using to truck mainly for towing (car hauler and eventually a boat and camper).
Questions are:
What kind of oil do you all recommend running in these?
What upgrades besides exhaust and intake do you all recommend?
What are some good plug wires, cap, distributor, spark plugs etc?

Thanks y'all!

 

Welcome to FTE


I like to use Castrol GTX 10w30 motor oil in my 7.5L.
My area gets temperatures between -10F in the winter and sometimes over 90F in the summer and 10w30 weight has always worked for me.

As far as plugs, wires, and distributor, I've been told it's best to stay with Motorcraft whenever possible.

 

Oil weight is supposed to be dependent on temperatures in the area the vehicle will operate. I live in WI and use 10w40 Havoline oil all year. The oil debate could go on for years though.

For plugs, use copper Motorcraft plugs. They are the best for these old engines because they were designed to use them. Any other fancy gimmick plugs will just make your wallet lighter.

I use Ford Racing plug wires. MSD wires are also good. I also use MSD caps, rotors, and coils. They've always done well for me.

For upgrades, there isn't a ton of support out there for the 460, unlike the 302 and 351w. Long tube L&L headers would be a good improvement, a free flowing exhaust system would help. Put a good quality filter in the intake, but don't put on a cold air intake. It won't help any. Lastly, if you don't have 4.10 gears in the rear differential, you should find an axle that does and swap it in. That will be the biggest increase in power you'll get for the money.

 

bump the timing up a bit. I don't believe it gives more power but it give you more seat in your pants feel.


Personally I run autolite copper core plugs but in my experience only autolite or motorcraft copper cores do good in these trucks.
Trav

 

Thanks everyone! Going to pick it up today and going to be doing a tune up on it this week. Any good websites for parts? Looking to redo the interior.

 

bronco graveyard sells a good bit of interior parts for these trucks. there are a lot of sites out there to look, I don't know how the graveyards prices are relative to others so better fish around.

 

10W30 or 10W40 will be fine. Modern oils don't have much ZDDP so I'd use an oil designed for flat tappet engines with added ZDDP.

A tad more timing won't hurt. Most any name brand ignition parts will work good… you get what you pay for but buying a $35.00 dist. cap when a $12.00 will work doesn't make sense. Autolite or Motorcraft plugs will be fine but I have had good luck with Bosch platinums, too.

Spending big $$$ on intake and exhaust mods on a daily driver will only lighten your wallet IMHO. Same for those 'cold air' intakes…


Good luck.

 

Well tomorrow the work starts. Got some 10w30 for it, Lucas Heavy duty oil stabalizer. Also going to replace all the plugs, wires, cap, rotor, air filter and possibly the battery and alternator. I will also be checking the fuel filter to see how it is.
May need some tires soon too, so im going to be looking for some new rims as well so im open to suggestions.
After i get the tune up done ill be looking for a new steering column. The shaft has some vertical play in it around the steering wheel so ill need to get that replaced.
And once that is done I will start work on repairing the rust under the rear cab corners on each side.

 

Get aluminum rims with a weight rating suited to your truck. Any cheap steal rims won't be able to support the load the F250 can handle. Summit has some aluminum rim for just over $100 each which is pretty cheap.
I wouldn't bother checking the fuel filter, just replace it. They're inexpensive.

 

Don't worry about the Lucas snake oil. Just run the 10w30 and see how the engine likes it. Motorcraft filters are probably the best for the price.

Factory aluminum rims would probably be the way to go. E-series vans kept the same bolt pattern for the 8-lug rims up to 2014, so there are a few more places to look.

When it comes time to do the front brakes, 2008 and newer E-series have thicker rotors, better brakes. You might be able to retrofit those onto your 2wd truck. Not completely sure of the years that would be able to do this. Would need new rotors-calipers-brackets and probably hoses.