Hi all, looking for a interim truck up here in Alberta Canada. Found the above mentioned and its a beauty. Been a 7.3L and V10 guy with prior trucks. 460 is old school lol. Don't know the gear ratio yet.

Give me the good, bad and ugly from your experience with the efi 460. Will be the chief trailer puller(mid 80's 24 ft, 5 to 6,000 lbs), sled hauler & hunting rig.

My searches say its a great puller, likes fuel though(more than a V10?). The numbers suggest similar HP & Torque to my 97 7.3L auto CC that I had.

Can a guy expect up to 15 ish MPG empty and 12 ish pulling? The 99 f250 V10 2wd i used to haul the trailer last year got that, averaged 12 pulling the trailer mentioned above. Of course the 7.3 did better then that.


Thanks guys, looking for an interim truck for a few years till the 2012 style 6.7's get more affordable up here.

Ed

 

No. 10 ish empty (maybe 12 with a manual trans and if you have 3.55 gears). And 9 towing (maybe 10 - 11 with the manual).

 

15 empty? Ha! I hear people get 10 empty, but I barely get 8.

 

I did get close to 15 mpg before in my old 460 with a 5 speed. That was doing 55 mph with very easy take offs. Some downhill was probably involved

 

I noticed the OP is Canadian, All the replies I assume are talking American gallons.
I am looking at a 250 standard cab 4x4 with a 7.5/460. I hear all the stories about terrible mileage.
I would like to find what the factory specs are for litres per 100 kms.
I can usually get as good or better than factory as I'm and old -art, and drive pretty conservatively.

 

Good point on the Imperial vs. US gallons. I forget that anyone ever used a worse measurement system than the US. For anyone wanting to keep score:
8 mpg = 9.6 mpg Imperial = 29.4 liters / 100 km
10 mpg = 12 mpg Imperial = 23.5 liters / 100 km
12 mpg = 14.4 mpg Imperial = 19.6 liters / 100 km
15 mpg = 18 mpg Imperial = 15.7 liters / 100 km

As to factory fuel ratings for a '97 F-250HD, I don't think there was such a thing. As far as I know the "factory" never did that, at least on their own. In the US the EPA mandated it for cars, but I don't think trucks over half-ton needed it back then (not sure if Canada required anything different).

And I drive like an old man to get the 10 mpg (US) I get in my truck. But it does have an auto and 4.10 gears, neither of which helps mileage.

 

Good info as always here. Yes we have to consider gallons don't quite match up but the rumors are true, they like the fuel wether a U.S. truck or Canadian lol. I know the old carburated 460's i grew up riding in were bad on fuel, was hoping the EFI made a better difference Darn nice truck too, might as well go look at it and talk to the owner about the numbers he gets, see if he is honest lol.


Thanks all.

Ed

 

I've been trying to find some honest truck to truck comparison figures. I need more jam than I'm getting out of my 96 4.9, I tow a small travel trailer and it bags out pretty quick.
The truck I'm looking at is an auto with 3.55s. I hear of people getting anywhere from 6 to 15 US gallons.
Does it make any sense to wait for a truck with a 5.8 or a 5.0.

 

Most would say that you do NOT want a 302 for towing / hauling, although it does have higher torque and horsepower numbers than the 300 and there are a few people who say it's better. Personally I have a 302 in my Bronco and I think it sucks for towing. My 2500 lb boat is more than enough trailer for it to haul comfortably. But I've never had a 300 so I don't know if the 302 is better or worse than that.

I've had a couple 351s, and that would be my preference. Neither got great mileage (~12 overall average, 14-15 on the highway empty, ~8 towing) and neither could keep up with my 460, especially towing. But I was satisfied with the performance (even loaded) and 20% - 40% better mileage empty is well worth the drop in performance in my book. I've heard others say that a 351 is all of the fuel use of a 460, with the towing capability of a 300. But that hasn't been my experience. I will say that towing there isn't much difference in fuel consumption between the 351 and the 460, so if I towed all the time I might feel differently. But for a truck that's mostly driven pretty empty but still needs to be able to tow, I like the 351.

For a truck that will tow all the time I'd take a turbo diesel. My only personal experience was with an '02 PowerStroke. It got about 13 mpg overall average, and since diesel cost quite a bit more than gas when I owned it, it cost as much to put fuel in as my 460. But the mileage didn't drop off much when loaded (11 - 12 mpg) and the performance loaded was much better than my 460.

And for reference, "loaded" for me means about 2500 lbs in the truck (in the form of a pop-up slide-in camper) and towing about 4000 - 4500 lbs (my Bronco). So as they say, your mileage may vary,

 

there seems to be a strong tendency for people to smoke crack just before they report their mpg's ... in my 1989 f250 4.9 4 speed standard cab 2wd I was probably getting about 16mpg, empty, imperial gallons, driving like an old man with time on his hands.

 

that's better than i get with my diesel trucks.should of kept it.gas is cheaper fuel to boot as well as maintenance.you had a very special 460.

 

My 96 F250 has a 460 with a C6 trans (no overdrive) and 4.10 gears. Normal trailer weight is about 4200lb. Almost no highway, county roads and in town. I normally get around 7-8mpg.


Running empty/very light load and some highway miles I have broke 10 but that's better than I expected.


It doesn't get great mileage but it will pull almost anything!!!


Todd

 

I was very easy on the throttle, shifted it under 2k rpms and went 55 at the most on the freeway. Driving the same ways with my 7.3 IDIs i regularly get over 20 mpg

 

I like to grandpa around if I'm not in a rippin mood, but damn....that takes some discipline

 

I try so hard to grandpa around.... Usually only happens when I'm really low on gas haha