I sold my 01 F250 CC 4x4 5.4 Triton. It sucked the gas from me for 8 years. Great truck, don't get me wrong, but towing a 4500 lb tandem axle trailer around town I would get 6.5-7.5 mpg consistently. If I babied it, I MIGHT get 8 towing. Best I EVER got was 11.8 doing 65mph on the interstate.

THAT BEING SAID, I sold it and am looking to replace it. I stumbled across a great deal on an 02 F550 Reg Cab 2wd with an 11' flatbed. It has 220k miles, and all new brakes, tires, and injectors. And a stack of work history. It was used to pull enclosed trailer all around the country. Anytime it needed something, it was fixed.

I am already DOT registered, as they have cracked down on lawn guys in my area. SO, the F550's 17,500 gvw doesn't bother me. I will replace the 11' flatbed with an 11+5 Landscape Bed (11' flat and 5' dovetail) and do away with trailer towing.

One main question is, I have a Meyers Classic Mount plow and I'm wondering if it will convert over. According to their website, a 17112 and 17113 mount (difference of two vs three height mounting holes for A frame) will go on an F450 2wd, but they don't mention an F550. Are the frames different for these trucks?

Also, other than larger tires and brakes (which I'm good for at least 2 years on both), what are the other major differences? I had looked at on 03 6.0, and it also had new injectors and plenty of work done, BUT, it also had a tuner and lots of mods, but NO egr delete OR head studs done. At 165k "tweaked" miles, I didn't feel like gambling with head studs at $2500-$3000 repair on top of the truck.

HELP? Any advice? I don't want to pass up a good truck, but also don't want to regret either!

 

The F -450/550 trucks are identical except for the rear axle. Brakes are the same, tires are the same. Both should have a 4.88 gear ratio. If you like the truck and it works for you then get it.
Top cruising speed is your only concern. 65 mph has the engine right about 2500 RPM.

 

For a business where customers were relying on my truck showing up...

I'd take the 2002 7.3L, with up to 500,000 miles

ANY DAY OF THE WEEK

over a 6.0L of any kind, especially a chipped one.


As for the F-550... The frames are the same as the F-450 up front. In the rear, the frames can be different, depending on wheelbase, cab axle, and GVWR.

Since your concern was the snow plow, don't be concerned. The frames are the same.

As for the difference between your friend's F-450 2WD and your potential F-550 4WD, the frames and front springs are the same also. Unlike the F-350 chassis cab 2WD that used coil springs in that year, the F-450 2WD used leaf springs up front, just like the 4WD. The monobeam axle of the 2WD is dimensioned similarly to the front Dana drive axle, and is attached to the springs in the same manner.

 

The 450 and 550 differed a bit more than that.

The frames ARE different, once you get past the front frame section.

The aftmost rear leaf spring hanger shackle cleats are merely stamped and riveted in the F-450, and only to the web of the frame.

On the other hand, on the F-550 these same aftmost rear spring shackle hangars are cast steel, and bolted through both the web AND the bottom flange of the frame with metric class 10.8 or 12.9 bolts with prevailing torque flag nuts, with the brackes cradling the frame on two perpendicular surfaces instead of just riveted to one surface. There were some F-550's with stampings for rear spring hangars instead of bolted cast pieces, but most F550s got the heavier bolted design, and most 450's got the lighter riveted stamping.

Another subtle difference between F-450 and F-550 frames are L channel reinforcements on the F-550 frame. These vary in length based on Cab Style, cab to axle, wheelbase, and GVWR. These L channel reinforcement differences are visually subtle, but they are functionally HUGE, doubling the frame thickness in key stress areas, and they are exclusive to the F-550.

Another subtle difference between the F450 and F550 during 1999-2003 is the rear brakes. They are not exactly the same. The brakes had different shielding, different caliper orientation, and other subtle things that changed over the production years. It is pointless to try and list them all, because it depends not just on model year, but on the month built.

And the F-450 was available with a 4:30 ratio in the Dana 80, not just a 4.88.

And the F-550 was available with a 5.38 ratio with a V10.

Rear shock mounts differed for some of the early years.

All I can think of at the moment

 

reps be flying. lots of cool info above

 

My sentiments exactly! I've searched and searched for a good 7.3, and can't find them that aren't trashed or just massively overpriced. Just wasn't looking for a 550!

I had sold my F250 with the intent on buying an Isuzu/GMC W3500 with a landscape body on it. I feel this 550 will do the same job (ok, with a lot larger turning radius than the cab over) BUT, my plow setup will go right on there, whereas I was looking at spending about $1500 for conversion stuff to plow with Isuzu. And I've steadily seen snow more and more sporadic here in Louisville since I began snow removal 12 years ago.

Not to mention the fact that this 7.3 will run circles around the 4 cyl diesel in the Isuzu. AND will last much longer.

What kind of mpg should I look to get on this? I haven't asked the current owner, but he didn't drive it much, a crew in TX did. So he will just be speculating....

Thanks for all the great info so far guys!

 

If you're in Louisville Kentucky, and run a business that serves local residents, then it makes good business sense to stick with a Ford Super Duty. I really like those Isuzu trucks for work vehicles, but if you roll up onto a customer's lawn in a GMC W anything, and that customer's brother, father, and granddaddy all earned their living at KTP, you might not get the bid!

I get 10 mpg with 4.88's rolling 11K lbs. More like 9.8 to remove any sunny side up rounding.

I used to get 11 mpg before the fuel formulation changed to de-supherize it back in 2005/6.

Pulling an 8 foot tall, 8 foot wide enclosed box over the Teton pass in Wyoming, I got 8 mpg. I don't expect you'll get that low with your trailer-less plan, and even if you do decide to pull a trailer, it won't likely be that high and wide. Frontal area makes more of a difference than weight. Speed makes more of a difference than frontal area. Reduce speed and reduce frontal area, and I don't think you will notice more than .5 mpg difference empty or loaded with weight. That is the difference between a diesel with deep gearing, and a gas with tall gearing. Weight alone will make more of a difference with the latter than the former, in my (limited) experience.

Reading what you said about you bypassing the decent 7.3's that aren't trashed made me wonder what you meant by "massively overpriced"? What kind of numbers are you talking about?

 

have you priced out a PSD F-250 lately?

a tore of up 7.3 truck has ludicrous pricing on it. it's amazing what people think they can sell those things for because of what they read on the internet.

conversely, the same NEWER version of that truck with a 6.0 or 6.4 is much more reasonably priced IMO. I'd rather go spend $2-3k more money and get a 6.0/6.4

 

LOL!

"Ludicrous pricing" gives me no better of an idea what "massively overpriced" means.

Yes, they are both synonymous concepts, but as yet are not concrete in terms of numbers.

And yes, I can very easily shop for a 7.3L and see numbers. However, any number I find still wouldn't tell me what you and Beverlylawncare consider to be ludicrous and massively over priced.

I'd still like to know what price (in terms of dollars, I got the adjectives down) you guys feel is too much for a 7.3L.

I hope that made better sense this time!

 

gotcha

2001 CC XLT w/ 180k miles - $18k
2003 CC XLT w/ 130k miles - $20k
2002 CC XL w/ 213k miles - $13k
2003 CC XL w/118k miles - $16k


vs.

2005 CC Lariat w/90k miles - $22k
2005 CC Lariat w/110k miles - $20k
2005 CC Harley w/ 131k miles - $20k
2006 CC XLT w/131k miles - $18k



trend continues. you see XL/XLT 7.3 trucks listed for the damn near the same price as a 2005/2006 trucks in Lariat trim. Besides the obvious XLT vs. Lariat differences, the 05+ trucks are just so much better riding and interior quality.


btw, that was stock vs stock comparisons with CrewCabs only. I didn't look at any lifted/modded trucks. Cental Texas (where I'm from) is my area of comparison. Strangely didn't find but 1 or 2 99-04 Lariat trucks. And they were beat to death and priced <$10k. Only suitable as farm trucks in their condition

 

I picked up a 99 F550 7.3 pick up bed this year with 228K. Now has 238K. I could not be happier. I was a bit concerned with the 4.88 dana 135 but milage is acceptable. Actually got 15 MPG empty flat ground hiway.
around town 12 to 13 empty babying it. Normal 11 to 12.
Tylus
I don't know where you are seeing those prices but your right they are way out of line. Must be dealer asking price.
By the way 1999 CC xlt 228K paid $7K. Clean truck needed tires. Add $1100 for new shoes.
As for the 6.0 or 6.4. There is a reason they are priced lower. Go with the 7.3 and the F550 and stop worrying about the engine and the GVWR.
Just my opinion
Oh and the frame is 34" unlike the F350 at 37" I had to modify a torque lift hitch I took off my F350.

 

This is at the rear? I was told front frame width is same. I measured plow mount to tow hook area where it mounts, then about 15" back on the frame and it seemed consistent with my F250.

Y2KW57: Here's some of my examples:

OBS (96 or 97, don't recall) 2WD ext cab with 170k miles and needing a clutch $6800

OBS 97 Ext Cab 4x4 with interior pieces missing (no ash tray or pass door handle, center console missing lid and mounted on 2x4s to floor, etc), rust on Ext Cab panels, frame rust like it came from Maine, and 170k miles $7500

99 CC LB 4x4 XLT w/carpet delete, 217k miles. Body decent and interior decent. $13,900

00 CC LB 4x4 XLT (was formerly Pennsylvania truck) with bed rust so bad your hand passes through it, frame was so bad I'd be afraid to tow more than an aluminum fishing boat with it. 180k miles, $10,000. (WHICH I'd give if it were not for frame rust / brake lines / etc rusting out.

Thats my definitions of overpriced. Good trucks with average miles (99-03 with 150 +/-) are running $14-18k! I could have bought my buddy's 03 6.0 with 160k and new injectors, no egr delete or head studs though, for $10k. EC SB 4x4. Just didn't want to take the chance on the head studs with that many miles and been tuned for 7 years of that.

 

You are correct rear frame is 34"

 

Tylus & Beverly... ok thank you, that gives me a much better idea of what you guys think is ridiculous (had the throw a third adjective in the mix).

My idea of overpriced was way different than you. I thought you guys were finding the clean, unmolested 7.3L's priced over $30K when you were using superlatives like massive and ludicrous (is that spelled right?). Yes, I said over 30K.

Because a new F-550 chassis Lariat crew cab is $67K full boat. And that is assuming the the 6.7 is reliable. The reality is the 6.7 in the chassis cabs is a little bit different than the 6.7 in the pickups, and according to some diesel techs who work on them, they are replacing turbos and solving problems in the chassis cabs more than the pickups.

But that is all covered under warranty right? Of course it is, as long as the water in fuel DTC didn't set. If that happens, it's customer pay repair, sometimes to the tune of the cost of the entire 7.3L truck you've been finding. But that is negative thinking. Let's say Ford steps up with warranty coverage. And gives you a loner F-150. Your BUSINESS is built around that 11' flat bed with 5' beaver tail. All your tools and equipment and livelihood are centered around that bed. Your plow is on that frame. A shovel or two tossed in the back of a loaner F-150 is revenue lost, no matter how nice the interior is.

(PS... I really really like the 2013 interior Platinum edition. Wow. NICE! But my first name isn't guinea, and my last name isn't pig)

(BTW... Front frame section IS THE SAME DIMENSION between pick ups and chassis cabs, so rest assured, and worry not).

So let's skip the sales tax, registration and insurance on the new $67K chassis cab (saving $10K right off the top), and leave the richer folks who trade for a new truck every year and the fleets with many trucks to chose from to sort out the new drivetrain for a couple more years.

Now we turn to the used market. The cost of anything is market determined by it's VALUE.

There is no value to me in buying a truck for business that has to have illegal modifications (EGR Delete, DPF Delete, etc) and non standard modifications (chips, programs, tunes) and costly foundational modifications (ARP head studs, Bulletproofing, etc).

In the case of the illegality, I don't need the headache of looking over my shoulder, rebuilding the trucks emissions system every year for annual inspection, sweating bullets when pulling through a scale for random inspection, emission sniffing transponders, etc. I don't want some computer database with my business name on it having record of a fine or citation for fouling the environment. I don't want fines from the EPA to the tune of $10K a day.

I also live in a more environmentally protective state than Texas, so your experience may vary. But suffice it to say, if it's gonna be a 6.0 or a 6.4, it would have to be stock. But those motors fail in stock formation. Often enough for Ford and International to severe a once very strong and profitable relationship (during the 7.3L years) and sue each other for a half billion dollars in warranty claims. Not even the Yugo failures cost that much.

And so a little more research indicates to find a later built 6.0, or perhaps a 6.4. Ah ha, how about a stock 6.4 with only 29K miles, nice plush interior, clean clean truck. Bone frickin stock. Balance of factory warranty too, 7 years 70,000 from first in service date. You regulars know where I'm headed with this... just 35K miles later, KA FLIPIN BOOM!

Sir, that will be $18,000 dollars please, your motor grenaded with a star pattern on the piston. How'd that hot chip feel? What chip? Ah... the previous owner plugged and played the fun programs, and the next buyer paid the price. Read the story right here, on THIS forum, which qualifies as reading it on the internet!

As a business owner, which is more important? That newer XLT interior instead of an XL? Or a truck that is in service, not in the service bay?

That is the VALUE of the 7.3L. There is more margin for error in that motor. There is less risk of catastrophic failure statistically. Yes it is older, yes it is slower in stock form, yes there are going to be more miles on most of them on the road now, and yes they are going to go for more money relative to a linear depreciation metric that only considers time and mileage, not intrinsic value.

That is what I see in the 7.3 compared to the 6.0/6.4. Value. There is value in having a truck to work, not a truck to work ON. That is worth the 2 or 3 more thousand that you guys are finding them for. I see this situation playing out first hand with a good friend's paving company. They are running and reviving and LOOKING for 97-03 model year 7.3L chassis cabs, because they can't keep the newer 6.0's on the road and make money. There is value to associated with that higher price... it isn't just the model year and the carpet, it is the utility and potential service life.

Everybody wants to pay as little as possible, and sell for as much as possible, but getting hung up on model year when determining value. When the new body style 68 Corvette came out, everyone had to have one. So sleek, so modern, so clean of lines... the funky looking 60's Stingrays fell out of favor. I even had a model car of the new 68.
But look at what a 1963 split window sells for today. 50 years later, they sell for 50 times more than what they cost new.

If Neil (a member here) decided to sell his 13 year old 7.3L with all of 26,000 miles, and he asked $30K for it, I'd think it to be a reasonable deal. No, his truck isn't made of gold... it is made of UNOBTAINIUM. You can no longer buy a Ford cab (value, the roomiest of the big three) with a reliable diesel motor that isn't bugged up from first and second generation attempts at better diesel emissions controls. There is value in that.

Over 2 million 7.3L motors were manufactured, and the installed user base is so numerous, so informed, and so enthusiastic, just about ANY problem encountered with the 7.3L can be fixed under a shade tree with the first page of Google search results. Youtube videos, a plethora of parts resources, and lots of experience abounds. There is value to that.

In the hotshotting LTL freight hauling world, some dispatchers won't even load a 6.0 or a 6.4. They need the load to get there, not get stuck cab off at a Ford dealer along the way.

There is no doubt that the 6.0 and the 6.4 will straight walk away from a 7.3L, stock for stock. There is no doubt that the steering and front suspension and the interior appointments are nicer in the 6.0 and 6.4 than in a 7.3L. But there IS doubt about those newer engines, and there always will be. There is value in removing that doubt from the equation, when it comes to a work truck. Anything of value costs money.

 

very valid points from a pure business standpoint. and it's obvious you are a 7.3 or nothing kind of guy.

The real problem is maintenance. People keep treating the 6.0/6.4 like it's a 7.3. They aren't fire and forget motors. I'd place 50% of the blame on owners first, and the other 50% between International/Ford for the awesome EGR/Oil cooler fiasco. Ford has used millions of the 6.0 and 6.4 motors. The motors that do have problems are a minor statistic. I hate saying it that way, but it truly is. It's overblown by Dodge/Chevy guys looking to score a point over Ford, and sadly by the 7.3 guys as well. Nobody likes having something new and shiny taking it's place.

either way, lets agree to disagree on this subject about value for the 7.3L PSD. We've digressed enough from the OP's question as it is.