i am a ford man they are just built better. also, just wanted to say my other truck is marion costom pumper with a spartan chasi

 

I am a true Ford man at heart, like many of you I too have a fascination with older pickups and well as old cars. When it comes to the old stuff, they were all good in my book. They were all built very solid, built to last. I have favorites from all the big 3: 67-72 Chevy pickups, Blazer, and Suburban , 72-80 Dodge pickups, Ramcharger, and Trail Duster , and pretty much every year of Ford Pickup and Bronco. The new vehicles today are just so flimsy compared to their all steel predecessors. Now companies all seem to be focusing on building trucks with different things in mind. Chevy- ride, comfort, luxury, speed Dodge- style, uniqueness, comfort, toughness with new HD models Ford- classic styling on Super Duty, toughness, reliability, safety. That's why I stick with older vehicles, I know I have something good no matter what I buy.

 

I think it is unfair for so many users just to say Chevy is crap. I happen to own a chevy and I find it very much to my liking. Certainly I would never say Ford is crap cause it would be a false and uneducated statement. For someone to say they will only drive a Ford and would rather walk than drive a Chevy is ridiculous. It's ridiculous to have such loyalty to a company. I am searching for the best deal, no more, no less. I have owned 2 Chevy Silverado Z71's, a 99 and now an 02. When I handed the 99 back the only problem it ever had a was blown fuse and that's with over 50k miles on it including several trips to CO where I did off-roading. However, my dad had a clutch go out on his Ford. Does this mean I think Fords are crap? Hell no. He probably just got a Ford that was made on a Friday . The Chevy certainly doesn't lack power with a 5.3L V8 for anything I do. I would love a HEMI though. One thing that worries me though:
http://www.dynoperformance.com/searc...ils.php?ID=488
The torque seems a bit low, do you think Dodge inflated the numbers on the HEMI?
On looks: I like the look of the 99 model Chevy and the recent Ram and the new Ford. I HATE the look of the 03 Chevy. I can't speak civillywas Chevy thinking?
I guess the point of this post was to tell you that this whole company loyalty crap without even opening your eyes to other possibilities is stupid. I drive a Chevy, it's true. However, my mom is looking at getting a new Ford and I encourage her to do so because right now it's the best deal around here and ultimately that's what matters. Or maybe everyone here is made of money??

Dustin

 

iam not loyal to ford i will take the best deal i can find . i use to own a 70 k5 blazer buillt to the hilt i built it my self every thing ground up many bucks that truck went through mud up to the door handels and never got stuck that deep cause it had 4 inch lift plus a body lift and 38 mudders that was 24years ago and i will allways miss that truck it went every were and never had trouble with it wes

 

heres my line up FORD #1 ill never change dodge far off into # 2 and chevy there back in the boneyard along with GM

 

Come on you guys: What's the raving? I appreciate Ford Trucks! They are good! However, my worst vehicle was a Sable!!!! Second worst, was a tossup between a dodge or an oldsmobile. I've had an F350 under my RV for 43 years -- just standard maintenance. I've go a 25-year-old Cadillac diesel that's virtually trouble free. I've got a 10 year old Ram 3500 dually diesel automatic that runs like a top. None of them have less than 150K (and thats miles). (And by the way, I also have an 18-year-old K-car (that needs a bit of body work) that has 435,000 miles behind it). And I didn't buy them with those miles on them!
To change the subject: Why I entered this site:
Because of the age of the 6-hole, 16-inch dual wheels on my RV, I would like to be able to replace them with newer 8-hole, 16-inch dual wheels. When Ford changed from 6-hole to 8-hole configuration, they made sufficient other changes to the front end of the F350 series that going to 8-hole for my unit is extremely complex. (It's just a mater of changing the rear-end combo for the back end).
My questions: Since Dodge/Fargo and International in those years used basically the same wheels that virtually were interchangable with Ford; a) Did they go to 8-hole at the same time as the 1-Ton Fords -- c1966? b) If so, were the 8-hole wheels still interchangable with one-another and with Ford? c)If so, did they still use the single I-Beam front axle for a time after the wheel bolt-pattern change? d) And if so, is it possible to change the front axle from one of those other 8-hole 1-Ton trucks to the F350 Ford of a vintage just prior to the change?
Thanks.

 

Let me start off by saying that i have always loved Fords, that being said i bought a Dodge 2500, I can't stand chevy's and owning a foriegn truck is just down right blasphemous. Ford left me no choice though, they do not offer a manual in their F150. Ford has got some really nice trucks no question about that. In fact they are almost too nice, i gould see myself wanting to baby that truck. I really wish Ford would put a manual in there F150's, i would buy one tomorow.

 

When did they stop offering a manual? I thought they were still putting the Mazda M5R2 transmissions in the F150's. Or do they just don't offer it as an option in all the trim levels?

 

...Welcome to Ford Truck Enthusiasts! Please read the Guidelines, and all Read First: at the top of each forum... it will help you to navigate through and understand this site.
See you on the boards. ….

 

Its funny all the negative things about dodges, chevy's ect.... No body talks about the Fords problems - taboo.

I own a 2000 Dakota 5.9 46re, currently have 93k on the odometer, and still have every orginal part on it except plugs, tires, battery, filters and exhaust (now have a 40 series flowmaste cat back). Put 68K on the first set of orginal tires, still have orginal breaks, hoping to make it past the 100k mark like my last Dakota. I've ran it down the 1/4 mile drag at least 50 times in its life time so it is least babied out of all my vehicals. I run the --- out of it and drive it every day.

I also have a 2003 F150 that is has the rear end going out, (noises, a lot of shavings, ect..) idles bad every once in a while, have to change the fuel filter out every time I service it, breaks that went out at 36K and I am wondering if the exhaust system is going to last the life of the truck. Overall, not to bad but still questionable.

I also have a 98 Dodge quad cab with a 5.9 magnum, my wifes ride, all still orginal except breaks, (second set of those), filters and battery. No issues at all with this truck.

I also have a 93 Taurus, mostly a good car except rust, transmission is losing fluid somewhere, interior is failing absolutely apart, air conditioner is on its second go around. Not a bad car but it only has 98k on it. I recently gave it to my daughter for college.

In all my life, I have owned, dodges, chevys, fords, pontiac's datsun's, toyota's. The dodges have given me less trouble than all of them. The chevy camaro didn't give me much trouble but I didn't keep it very long. Did have some paint issues, heater core but that was about it.

 

FRECSF,

Caution -- As much as a appreciate Fords: the Sable that "killed" me was a '93. The Sable and the Taurus is the same car. It crashed (mechanically) at 70,000 miles. Lemonaide (I've forgotten their webb site) has a whole page on the '93 Sable/Taurus. I do hope your daughter doesn't have that car wreck her college as the Sable (I gave to my granddaughter did hers).

 

Well I was a Ford man, grew up with nothin but Ford. My dads last Ford was a '99 Expedition that had nothing but the ussual Expredition problems, winshield wiper modules eating them selves, ignition modules that didn't last, front rotors that wouldnt come apart after so many miles and a few others thrown in for good measure. He traded that in for a '01 Dodge 2500 cummins and aside from a couple minor issues that plauged a couple of years its been great, going on almost 90k now I beleive with no complaints.

I got rid of my Fords because of simple rust issues, all three of them were turning to dust and one of them was burning a couple quarts of oil between oil changes at 90 thousand miles. When I worked at the local dealership I was disgusted at what I saw. Trucks would come in OFF the TRAILER and be loaded with a decent amount of rust already because the factory junk undercoating would be rubbed off the frame from ASSEMBLY, pretty sad in my eyes in a day when other, better methods are relativily cheap. So this combined with the fact that the cummins is a much more proven design(straight 6, anyone who tries to deny that is lieing to themselves), I also noticed that there frames were powdercoated or something along tho's lines and did not rub off when I touched it, had me very interested. So I looked farther and opened the hood and couldnt believe what I could see, the ground! Open the hood on a ford built after '99 and good luck with that, good luck getting your hand down into anything on the fords. I was there when we did an oil pan on a 3 year old 7.3(again rust) and almost had to lift the body to get the turbocharger hooked back up. So I now own a 2005 ram 2500 cummins, 6 speed manual, and would not turn back.

Would I buy say a 78 or 79 Ford? Oh you bet in fact I almsot did as a project, I love the way they look. Am I still in love with the ol' 300 I-6? yup, Do I miss it, yup I can say I do.. Would a buy a new Ford? Nope not at all.

 

I like the old school fords '96 and earlier. Good practical tough dependable. I like the new F-150, it looks like ford has broke some old barriers in technology, options, design, and versatility. No manual transmission? Real deep box, a little too deep i think. What about the shallow bed that fords provided for decades. Gone. Plastic hood, ok i guess but at least get rid of the shake when your goin real fast. Ford did an excellent job on their motor, the 4.6 and 5.8 modulars. Lower reving than the imports, better low end torque. I dont care who says they are underpowered, i have a good ol 300 six and someone who noes nothing about motors will say it has no power, just because it doesn't go fast. So the 5.4 is not underpowered. Overall the new f-150 is a nice truck. It looks more like an import than a dodge, or you can say nissan looks more american than a dodge. whatever.

The new dodges with the "hemi" are alright. They have some things that ford doesnt offer in their F-150. A little more power, that big rig look that can match up with the f-350s and a nice shallow bed thats accessible. But overall, i really don't like the curvy body style that ford tried to duplicate in some sense in '97 with the f-150. More available options come standard with the dodge. Ford has some changes to make. I see alot of die hard ford fans used to own or still own the good ol cast v8s and inline sixes. Lets see if the newer generation of F-150's will last longer than the previous ones. By the way I've never drivin a dodge truck in my life, never had the chance to, and never had to. Next time some proud dodge owner says its got a hemi, say "whats that"?

 

Over the years, when it comes to pickups and light trucks, Ford has been my first choice. Back in the '50s (or even before), it seemed that Ford got a handle on that type of vehicel. In 1964 I built a camper to mount on a chassis -- they're called Class-C MotorHomes now. I took out Dodge, GMC/Chev, Ford/Mercury to find a vehicle on which to mount it. As a result of experience, research and tests, I chose a 1963 F350 (almost no miles as it had been used temperarily by a glass company) and lengthened the chassis by 8 feet. We still use it annually. It's odometer is approaching its third roll-over. We've travelled from St. John's, Newfoundland to Stewart, British Columbia; From Fort Vermillion, Alberta to Washington D.C.; and much more of the North American continent. I own a '72 F150 and literally wore it out. It's still in the back yard and runs if I need it. I owned an '87 F150 and gave it away to a project that is still using it after 100's of 1000's of miles.

However, since the early to mid '90s there seems to have been a slump. A relative bought a '91 F350 Diesel (used but not high miles) and had to replace the engine a month later and that's the beginning of bad expereinces. Another relative bought a new GMC with duromax diesel and was not happy! As a result, I now have a used '96 3500 RAM Diesel that I've turned to. It's doing well and I am happy. Maybe Ford will smarten up. On the other hand, maybe the other companies i.e. Dodge, has smartened up.