Hello,

I presently have an Isuzu Rodeo SUV ,4 x 4 which has served me well since 1993 and a 1977 1 ton flat bed Ford which I use for hauling water for our home and crops. The Rodeo is used to transport a 10 foot tilt trailer.

I am thinking seriously on obtaining a single vehicle that would do all my chores. I believe a 3/4 ton 4 x4 with an extended cab will adequately do the job of both vehicles .A lo-boy trailer with 2-3 axles would be used to haul the 725 gallon tank and pump I am presently using on the old Ford 350.

My electrician informed me that his newer Ford pickup had a stick shift and the shifting arms on the column wore out. They were factory replaced under warranty and when they later wore out again, the replacement cost was so high he changed to an automatic transmission.

Obviously I have not purchased a vehicle in a long time. I will be willing to pay up to $10,000.00 for this used 3/4 ton pickup. I am retired. In a serious note I would appreciate input as to what those funds might be capable of purchasing in todays market and I want to avoid any years where there were engine or transmission or 4 wheel drive problems with a 3/4 4x4 truck. I really would appreciate your experienced insight in regard to a vehicle that falls into the cost factor I have mentioned. I am sure this new vehicle will provide better gas mileage than my two older ones, which are 10 and 8 mpg, respectively.

Thanks in advance, very much.

 

A 7.3L is what you need for the reliability but for $10K it will have to have over 200K miles and the rest of the truck could start costing you. Might be able to find a lower mileage (100K-150K) mid '90s square body 7.3L PSD for that but even clean versions of them bring over $10K in most cases. You could go newer with a V10 and be very reliable but the mileage won't be much better.

 

I think you are on to something, clearly you can find one to replace two with the facts you present.

I find you electrician buddy's comment odd:

My electrician informed me that his newer Ford pickup had a stick shift and the shifting arms on the column wore out. They were factory replaced under warranty and when they later wore out again, the replacement cost was so high he changed to an automatic transmission

"Newer"??? The last column-shifted manual transmission was 1986. And that would have been a 3 speed.

So don't worry too much about that.....

 

Hello,

I double checked my facts and found this out; In 1996 Ford went to shifting levers which were plastic and they wore out in that model year. This was not a column shift system, and logic dictates they certainly had to have fixxed the problem by now.

So, my questioning was primarily about engine-transmission- 4 wheel drive mechanisms for any particular years where Ford had recall issues or it was noted that something was wrong with one of these items and the public was aware that an issue existed.

I found out that in the case of my 1977 350, when we went to replace the engine we found out that quite a few v8's were available that year and coming up with the correct componentry was a real headache. This was compounded by the fact that the old engine in it was made ten years before the model year of the truck. The jump from 352 to 390 was a step in the right direction when hauling 5,000+ pds of water in the tank.

Thanks for the update,

Gene S.