MJD, like fordfan said before he was talking about the old trucks that was his entire point!. the ridouclous generalazation that ford has never made a good gas engine is absurd. back it up buddy. show me why all of fords gas engines arent that good. as for the interiors, after owning several i have found that the interiors do not fall apart. my 66 interior is in like new condition and i havent touched it, another false stament. You need to stop making false staments about other vehicles, if your going to ciritse another vehicle at least state why you think its junk. as far as dodges diesel engines go, i have heared more problems with them then the 7.3L. ive heared of countless times when the dodges fuel pumps go out, and left people stranded. also which twin beam traction supsion are you talking about? if your talking about the twin-I-beam front supsension used in 1960's light duty trucks then again youre wrong. ive got one in my truck and it rides great with no problems even in heavy towing condtions.
Eating chevys and @&!*)^@% dodges!

 

OK, First I did not mean that Ford Gas motors were junk, they just were not very competitive with Dodge and Ford gas motors. I think that some Ford gas motors, including the 460 and 300 six, were pretty good. The 351M and EFI 302 and 351 were very unimpressive motors.

As far as interiors are concerned, I was talking abou the 1980-1996 pickups. The older ones are good no matter what brand because they are made of metal instead of plastic.

Cummins diesels have a much better track record than the 7.3 PSD did. The PS had injector problems, glowplug problems and does not last as long as a Cummins.

Twin traction beam suspension is found under 1980-1996 4X4 Ford pickups. It is similar to twin I-beam. It had steering component troubles and was notorious for eating up tires.

 

how do you mean that Fords engines were not as competive as the gm's and mopar? if you mean horsepower and torque wise, then thats not true either because they were very competive. For instance the FE family(my personal favorite family of engines) were extremenly powerful. in 1960 ford made a 360 HP 352 ( more hp than the chevy 350), all though they downrated the horses after that. every FE (with the exception of the 332 and 352 after 1960) beat chevys with smilar size engines in hp and torque. you are right about the PSD problems however these were fairly minor engine problems, and they outsold the cummins by a long shot because the PSD simply had more horses and torque. I know several guys with 7.3L that have 500,000-700,000 miles on them with no rebuilds and no problems. we had a 95 F-250 that we had for 7 years and never had any interior problems. rock solid. but what we do have is a 1990 dodge truck with an inteior bareley reconizable. all im saying is bascilally all three companys made some fine vehicles and they had theire scew-ups as well. dodge did make some good vehicles, but thier trucks up to 94 were there major screw-up. not because they couldnt build a good truck but because they were darn cheap! one result of dodges cheapness is the u-joints. i have to replace them so many times i cant remeber them all, thier u-joints are not bulit properly, and left me standed on the road. look, to be honest the big three really dont have that great of quailty. the Japense and Germans make far better and more relaible vehicles than the American vehicles. despeite this fact im still partaial to ford trucks.

 

Well let's see, my 93 F150 4X4 has 112K and the interior is not falling apart, the tires last 40K+, there is nothing wrong with any steering components which are all original heck the shocks are even still original, the original 302 has 180-190lbs dry compression on all cyls, the AOD trans is original and has been flawless. Maybe MJD is not impressed but I must say I am pretty darn happy with my Ford. If you want to hear about how good GM (Generous Motors to me I am a tow truck driver) or Daimler products are then you are on the wrong site.

Bob

Oh and just what major engine problems did Ford have with the 302 in the thirty five years the were made?

 

More jargon here. I used to have a '84 F-150 with a 351W HO, had 220hp stock, and it was VERY potent on the roads. The 302 was a very reliable little engine. It could be understood that the Ford 302 was the equivalent of the Chevy 350 in terms of sales and work duty. Most pre-97 F-150's on the road have 302's in them.

The Cummins has had around the same problems as any other diesel on the road, the Cummins I've seen personally have had problems with their fan pulley and electrical systems. Still others have had bad injectors and pumps.

Interior quality? That's a load of crap, mine looks great other than the thick layer of dust on it. Sometimes I think the dust is like a protectant. It's the same stuff used in them high and mighty Dodges.

The TTB 4x4 system is not perfect, but with proper maintenance, will last longer than a standard IFS setup. The worst problem it has is alignment and camber adjustments. But that will be solved after I replace the tires it has that have 50,000 miles on them.

 

people like to pick on the TTB front end for some reason i had an 89 f-150 with 6" of lift and 35's. it never ate up tires. it was tough and wheeled really good. rode excellent, better than the chevy IFS trucks I've rode in. I'll match any 70's ford interior to any dodge or GM interior that have been equally taken care of. ford just holds up better. face it. ford also had the best factory off road front ever offered from the factoy. the coil spring solid front axle.

 

Ford current 4.6 is getting beat to death each day in Police cars all over the US! Its a good solid engine!

KC

 

My pickup has 113000 miles on it. I bought it with about 78,000 miles. At that time, the dash board was already loose. Now the interior panels and headrests are also falling apart. I ate up one set of tires with the frontend and then needed to spend the money to replace the tires and the front springs (the tires were cruddy Toyos, so they were worn out anyway). The auto tranny has been good, no trouble so far. The 302 has had some minor problems and the front and rear main leak oil, but it has only left me stranded once. Really, my pickup has been a pretty good vehicle.

The 302 guzzles gas. It is hard to beat 12-13 mpg with it, and I drive slow. My dads GMC has a 350 and it can get 16 very easily. The mileage wouldn't be a big problem, but the thing does not have any power. A Dodge 318 would probably use as much gas, but at least it would have decent power for a 1/2 ton. The twin traction beam has no real advantage over the straight axle in the Dodge or the IFS in the Chevy. I know quite a few people with Ford pickups who have needed to replace pitman arms and ball joints when the pickup had relatively low mileage. I do not care what every one else has to say about Ford interiors, I have never seen a broke in 80-96 Ford that has a dash that doesn't not rattle and shake.

One thing that I do think that Ford has always did very good on was the body and sheet metal. The Ford doors always shut easily (unlike Chevy) and the sheetmetal is thick (when compared to Dodge). I also think that the Ford pickups look good. I like old 1970s Ford pickups.

KEEP IN MIND, I am not trying to say that Ford pickups are junk. I got a little carried away and I am sorry. I am just sick of some of you ignorantly saying other brands are junk, when the Ford has its share of problems.

 

its not that unusual for a 302 with 113,000 on it to get much better mileage than that its not too bad considering the fairly high mielage theres probably something you need to fix on your 302 it should get at least 16 or better. of course make sure all the filters are new and you tires are up to specs. personally ive seen more bad chevy interiors than anyone else. from my experience it seems ford is a little better in the fit and finish area than the other 2. just because your dash, interior panels and headrests are coming apart doseant mean ford interiors are crappy. at one time or another somebody probably screwed around in their for something and didnt put them back right cause most dont come apart like that. if you dont care what other people have to say about thier interiors than i dont give a @#*! what you have to say about yours. thats what the FTE forum is all about!!!

 

Actually, I do not know anyone with a EFI 302 that gets any better than 12-13, just like me. The filters are good and the tires are pretty new. It could maybe be an O2 sensor. As I said, most 80-96 Ford pickups that I have driven or rode in have a dash that bounces up and down and loose panels. The dash in my pickup is actually broken (I can see where some fasteners are cracked) and I do not feel like tearing it apart to fix it. Chevrolet interiors are pretty good, especially if they are pre-1988. My dads 89 GMC has 186000 miles on it and the interior is in much better shape than mine is. This pickup was used for work for a fair part of its life, when my pickup wasn't.

 

Posted by FERacing66;

personally ive seen more bad chevy interiors than anyone else. from my experience it seems ford is a little better in the fit and finish area than the other 2. just because your dash, interior panels and headrests are coming apart doseant mean ford interiors are crappy. at one time or another somebody probably screwed around in their for something and didnt put them back right cause most dont come apart like that.
___________________________________

My 98' F150 2wd XLT 4.2L 5 speed, has been about as good to me as any half ton can be expected to be for the work I do, but I know from personal experience that Ford interiors do come apart.

Here's the list;

1.) Both plastic mudsills stripped and fell off the truck.
2.) Radio **** fell off.
3.) Shift lever **** comes off in your hand (super glued 3 times)
4.) Headboard lining coming down at the windshield.
5.) Rearview mirror fell off and I had to glue it back in place.
6.) Drivers side sun visor came off - (screws holding it in stripped -out the clips)
7.) Power door locks quit working, and key won't open the drivers side door lock from the outside.
8.) Passengers side power window switch fell right through it's recess in the armrest.
9.) Heat/AC **** stripped off - requiring needlenose to use either
10.) lightup reflector lamp fell out of drivers side door panel more than once.
11.) Cigar lighter no longer works. (not a fuse)
12.) Aux power outlet no longer works. (not a fuse)

Keep in mind I do work this truck hard- I actually use it, but I would expect overloads and abuse to cause a possible problem with the suspension/drivetrain components- not interior electronics and fittings. My truck almost never gets a bath, but I do maintain the engine/drivetrain - I don't go out of my way to abuse the interior - but these things have happened. Also, I bought this truck brand new- so I know on one has pulled anything apart on it.

 

well, mjd i know for a fact that a 302 EFi especially will get 16 or better. heck, larger 352's and 360's properly tuned can get 14-15 easy with a carbetor. and any interior will come apart with age my frineds 94 GMC's inteior is practically non-existent. all ***** came off within a year. radio doseant work with the headslights on. inteior panels all loose and comming apart. and the headliner is loose, doors dont close right. and when its in park it doeseant hold. some radio buttons missing, A/C doeseant work the list goes on and on. another intersting fact you said eariler that pre 86 inteiors all were good because they were steel. that is not true at least with my 66 ford. its got vinyl dash, carpet, and a plastic headliner. the only stell i have is the inside of the door. the doors close perfect, latches, locks, and every inteior swiich and **** in place and working fine.

 

My EFI 302 gets about 14 driving around town. Just after I got it i went on a 350 mile trip and got 19 driving at 60 mph. It has 3.55 rear with 31x10.50 tires.
Bob

 

I said pre-80 interiors. The 80-86 were probably the worst years. The older pickups did have materials besides steel, but it was used more sparingly and not where damage could easily occur.

And NOBODY screwed around with the interior of my pickup. It has been broken from wear. Like I said, I have seen some other pickups like mine with the same problems. I have driven our neighbor's 96 Powerstroke and it seems to be much better than mine, which means that the problem may have been fixed in the later years.

I drive the speed limit, which is 75 on the interstate and 65 on other highways. Of course I do make better mileage going 65, but it is not very signifigant. I do not drive too hard, but I do not always try my hardest to get the best mileage that I can either. Shouldn't have to.

 

MJD, my Father has a '88 club wagon with a 302 and gets 16mpg hauling his tools around..... Your O2 sensor is probably toast due to a bad fuel pressure regulator.