I'm thinking of "retiring" my 97 F250 and downsizing to an 05 or 06 F150. I bought had my diesel 10 years and 258k miles ago, back when diesel fuel was cheaper than gas. I appreciate the diesel power but operating costs including fuel are eating me up. It's a work truck so I'm wondering if any of you have gone this route and if the F150 with the 5.4 engine is a viable alternative. Any comments or experiences would be appreciated.

Skip

ps - The diesel would become our camper vehicle...so it would stay in the family.

 

Depends on what kind of "work" you'll be using it for. It can be a good option, or you could wear out the suspension & brakes in no time.

 

Check out the weight ratings on the F-150s. They are pretty decent compared to what they used to be. They also ride smoother and are a little plusher some times (Don't know how a new SD rides)
Downside is they won't make a diesel very soon. I heard they would have a diesel 150 when the Scorpians came out, but with the medias "economic downturn" and their troubles they probably won't go out on too many limbs.

 

i am really thinking my next truck is going to be the new F150. I went and test drove one and I liked the fact that the cab size is comparable to that of the super duty. tow mirrors look cool too.

It just kills me what the tree hugging bunny humpers have done to diesels. We will never see diesel cheaper than gas like it used to be. And the economy of the new diesels are horrible thanks to DPFs and the like. lets plug up one of their asses too and see how efficient they'll be.

As much as I love my truck, I do not really need it. Hopefully, I will have it for at least another 3 years before I look to retire it.

 

You don't want to work on a 5.4. Check out the F150 5.4 forums. My own experience on the 3 valve Titan motors ,the new spark plug design is crap. they have a habit of seizing in the head and breaking off. then its lots of praying and sweat and tears. Buy a special tool to extract the pieces and hope. Other wise the heads have to come off and the motor has to be removed to pull the heads. The older 5.4 weren't much better. Some engineer decided that you only need 2-3 threads to hold the spark plug into a aluminum head. The plug will blow out of the hole leading to again, special tools to bore and rethread the head and or head replacement. This same senario aplies to all the Ford modular V8s, 4.6 5.4 and 6.8. I've been a Ford guy along time but if I had to drive a gasser, I'd buy a GM 6 liter.

 

Well, here's something to consider... Gas is on its way back up. Jumped 20c here in a week. Not sure when diesel will go up again, but I'm hoping there's a delay in the prices going back up to give gas a chance to catch up.....

I'm holding out here. I love my truck and its size. Think of it as equivalent to the last of the good big blocks from the 60s before the tree huggin' peace queers got their hands on them...

 

that is my other option. My friend just bought an 08 crewcab silverado, 2wd, for an even 24k off the lot.

only reason i am thinking is my truck is almost 10 years old.

 

I would say if you don't need the truck for work any more and you can't afford to operate it then park it and get a 150. But for me I have no use for my truck for the farm now we use the 97 F-250 for most the work now and farming has all but dropped off since last year. I keep and drive my truck because I want to and I love my diesel it is my hobby.

 

I mentioned the idea of a F150 to my wife and she laughed. She said if I got one every time I would pull up next to a SD I would regret buying it. Then after pricing a new F150 vs F350 I realized if I have a hard time justifying a new F350 for $45k there is no way I can justify a F150 for $40k. At least the SD can make me some money if needed.

 

Good call. AND you can work on the diesel yourself MUCH easier than any modern gasser (or diesel, for that matter, with the whole "take the cab off to work on it thing!!! ).

 

We have a remodeling company...would put a shell on the bed and haul tools mostly.

Skip

 

Bfife,

I have checked the other forum. The spark plug removal problem is well documented. Most everyone says get the plugs changed out before taking delivery. There is also a lot if talk about the engine ticking...apparently it can be silenced by using 15w40 (diesel) oil. Having said that, I really like the F150's looks, interior room and fuel economy.

Appreciate your opinion. Will keep looking and pondering.

Sjip

 

Skip,
You bring up a point I've been thinking about here. My wife's gasser truck runs runs 5W-30 oil. But I've been thinking that I could run syn 5W-40 diesel oil in it and buy only one kind of oil. I know you CAN run diesel rated oil in gassers without problems (meets gasser specs), and actually, I think it might even be better because of the extra detergents in it. Anyone think about this??

Also, I've read posts by the V10/5.4 guys that the spark plug issue is fixed when the dreaded "diesel vs. gasser" threads come up. Is that not true? Are there still issues even with the new engines with their plugs?

 

These days if you need to buy a new vehicle, IMO, it's hold your nose and pick whatever evil you want/have to live with.

 

My previous truck had a 5.4L in it, a 98 model. I put about 75K of the 125K miles that were on it, traded it for truck I have now. I didn't have any major problems with it. Had to change out one coil pack, other than that. It ran really strong. Definately likes to turn high rpms though. I have though about down sizing myself at times, but we like the big trailer too much to go to anything smaller.