Anyone ever proposed starting a forum on the F53, motorhome chassis. Mine has 310HP V10. I've made several upgrades. Would like to hear from others.

 

The F53 is kind of an orphan here... if you have a V10, there is the V10 forum. There's not much (if any) difference between the F-series (250/350/450/550) and the F53 chassis versions.

There was never enough interest to require an F53-only forum.

Since the F53 is basically a F450/550 chassis without a cab (I said, BASICALLY!) you can talk about it here in the Superduty forum, or if you have specific engine-related stuff to talk about, do it in whatever engine forum you have.

Oh, and WELCOME to FTE!

 

8 or 10 cylinders, spark plugs or glow plugs, motor home, pickup or van, 2 wheel drive or 4 wheel drive, bring it.

We'll ridicule you regardless.

 

Thanks for the reply. I'll keep checking in as suggested. Its just so difficult finding information. Can't even find much from Ford. Thanks anyway.

 

What do you need to know? We have lots of Ford techs who post here...

And the occasional weirdo (like me) who would look through their service manuals for F53 info

 

Yes ,I live with a F53 ford tech (My son) what do you need to know about on the chassis?
He works at a large rv dealer as a chassis tech.

Rich

 

What I was really looking for is a more comprehensive list of service recommendations. I purchased a 2002 motorhome in Janurary. Its almost time for 25000 mile service. As a DIYer who has always done my own vehicle service and repairs, I would still like to have some refererance materials. I have the owners manual, it suggest to change the oil and filter. I was hoping to find something with a little more info. I'm not looking to rebuild an auto trans, but do enjoy working on trucks. I can't even find a place to buy a service manual. Any help would be appreciated.

 

If it were me, especially a used vehicle, I'd change every fluid I could reasonably do myself.

Why?

Age... not mileage.

A 2002 is in the 6-year range already, and with low miles, it's been sitting for long periods of time, OR - like my 2001 with only 27K on it, been going stop-and-go most of it's life instead of on the highway. I've on my third set of tires, even with the low miles because of all the acceleration and braking. I've had to change my fuel filter (it should be at around 20K anyway) and clean my MAF - it's seen at least 80K in fuel and air going through it

Also, I'd go over EVERYTHING in the brake system. My 2001 already has had the brake pads rot/corrode to the caliper bracket, locking up one pad on both sides. The rears were getting there too. I had to go over the entire braking system, even though I didn't need any new parts besides pads.

U-joints can get tired around now too.

I wouldn't go so far as to flush the brake system yet, but it might be a good idea if you can find a shop to do it - with ABS, I wouldn't suggest flushing/bleeding the system unless you have the right tools.

 

I've got a 1989 Coachman on a John Deere chassis with a 460. I've found that RV's are a strange lot. Most are unique with alot of non-standard parts. Many parts counter workers' eyes just glaze over as soon as you say "it's for a motorhome". I have found that just going to a dealer that services that particular brand of RV or the manufacturer's web site is your best bet.

Scott Johnson
2001 F-350, 6637 mod., Remote Start, Rancho RSX

 

when did ford start building the new f53 v10 set up? everywhere i look it saying no 98 just 99 up but the mh i'm looking at has a frame build of 12/98 so does that make it a 98 or a 99? also how big of a problem is this plug blow out thing? from what i'm getting only a certin number of heads had the short threads? or are the heads the same and some are just doing better than others? (which is what i believe) did ford offer any kind of fix for this problem?

 

I think the confusion is MODEL YEAR 99 - which we all know starts in 98

For instance, my Superduty was built 10/2000 - but it's a MODEL YEAR 2001

 

yeah finally found the info, job one was in sept of 98, and i'm sure some was even built before than, so why wasn't the late 97's marked 98? this is when they moved the plant to mexico.......just trying to get to the bottom of the vibration problems, to see if it was a build issue, or a engineering problem.....

 

now back to the vibration issues, seems it's a 8-lug rim w/too large of bolts holes, and or centering hub. has anyone installed aftermarket rims to correct this? ford went too the metric 10 bolt to address this issue but what about the rest of us?

 

Have you visited http://www.rv.net/forum/ ? Maybe they have folks there who have more experience.

 

Are you saying that the wheels you have now flop around on the hub?

If I'm reading this right, they aren't stock rims then.

They're supposed to be "hub-centric" - or centering on the hub itself instead of the lug nuts.

Do you have flat nuts? Please, more info