Did ford make a 98 model year F250 or F350.

 

Superduties didnt officially start as a model year until 1999. Alot of trucks were built as "early 99s" with build dates as early as 3/98. But they were still a model year 99 truck.

 

no............

 

Prior to 1997, the F150/250/350 all shared a body style. In 1997, Ford released the new swoopy F150 body style, including an F250 model for the lighter/shorter applications. For 1997 if you wanted a diesel or a crewcab you had to get an "F250 Heavy Duty" or an F350, which were the older body style.

Ford had decided to reengineer the heavier pickups and create the Superduty line, but it wasn't done at the same time... so for the last half of 1996 (normal introduction of 1997 model year) and on into early 1998 they produced the F250 Heavy Duty and F350 trucks as 1997 model year vehicles. By the time the redesigned Superduty line came out in early 1998 they had missed over half the normal model year, so they called them model year 1999 vehicles.

I own a 1997 F250HD which can cause some confusion at parts stores because they usually lump the "F250" with the new body style F150 line. Sometimes I just tell them it's a '96 to limit the questions.

Fun fact: in the old body style line, what would have been logically called the "F450" was badged as an "F-Superduty" for those last few years of production through 1997. So if you hear the word "Superduty" it doesn't always mean a 1999 model year or newer truck. Sometimes they're talking about the older one.

Duncan

 

Duncan,
I am looking at a 2WD dually Ford regular cab and chassis truck. It has the same body style as my 95 F250. The fenders are badged F-Superduty. The owner told me (telephonically) it's a 1998 F450. There is a solid I-beam axle up front with anti-sway bar, automatic transmission, 10 lug wheels with LT235/85R-16 tires on steel wheels, dual tanks, powerstroke turbo diesel, and what appears to be an ABS equipped Dana 80 rear axle with dual piston caliper disc brakes. The rear axle also has an anti-sway bar. The truck has a bench seat, no radio, nor air conditioning. There is no diesel badging on the truck. However, the catalytic convertor was a dead giveaway which I subsequently confirmed by peeking under the hood. I have not met the owner or looked at the title. The cab was recently painted.

Would this be a 97 or 98 F450? I presume an EO4D tranny. The VIN is 1FDLF47F8TEBC2xxx. Without crawling under the truck to obtain the data off the axle tag on the differential cover plate, what rear ratios could I expect to see utilized? Possibly a Power-Loc or Trac-Loc differential?

I've searched the internet and can't find any data/specifications for a 1998 F450 cab chassis...

Thanks! John

 

That VIN shows it as being a 1996 model. (10th digit being the letter T)

It's not an F-450, It's an F-Super Duty. There was no such thing as an F-450 (or 550) prior to 1999.

 

There was no 1998 F-Superduty. The last year for that was 1997. The F-450 Superduty with the new body style went into production as a 1999 model year truck in January, 1998.

 

As texascadillac said the 99 was the first model year of Superduty. I have one, though it was manufactured in 98 according to the sticker.

 

Thanks for the enlightenment. So what class would one place this 1996 F-Super Duty in? Equivalent to a F350, F450, or F550? It is a dually cab chassis.

 

1998 F-250 yes
1998 F-350 no.

The 1998 F250 looked just like the heritage F150 models except it had 7 lug axles.
This is not considered a Super Duty model.

 

If it is a dually, it would be F350 unless someone converted it. Ford has never made a F250 dually.

 

Thanks for the reply. It is not a converted pickup truck. It is a commercial cab chassis w/regular cab. I was wondering if Ford was selling such vehicles that can be classified as F350, F450, F550 type load capacity range? Or were all 1996 F-Super Duty cab chassis trucks rated as F350s? Thanks! John

 

But more to the point there is no such thing as a 1996 Superduty, the name wasn't used until '99 for the new F250+ line. IIRC it was around in the 80's for a short period. Any truck made as a '96 model would be the old square body.

The '98 F250 is denoted as a F250LD. To avoid confusion in '97, when they were still making the square trucks, a square F250 was denoted as a F250HD. There are no square nor Superduties made as '98 models, closest you get is a F250LD that looks just like the redesigned F150.

There absolutely were F450's before '99 (square body style) not sure if they made F550's that weren't more of a cab over style back then.

 

Your correct it is a F450 the dead give away it 10 lug no F550 til '99
the E-brake is on the drive line on these truck also. The badge say Super Duty but there F450. Check these out.


1997 Ford F 450s for Sale | Used on Oodle Marketplace

 

It depends on the GVWR. Trucks have a class rating system based on GVWR that goes as follows:

Class 1: 0-6000 lbs. (Ranger)
Class 2: 6001-8500 lbs. (F-150 and light duty F-250)
Class 2A: 8501-10,000 lbs. (F-250)
Class 3: 10,001-14,000 lbs (F-350)
Class 4: 14,001-16,000 lbs (F-450)
Class 5: 16,001-19,500 lbs (F-550)
Class 6: 19,501-26,000 lbs (F-650)
Class 7: 26,001-33,000 lbs (F-750)
Class 8: 33,001+ lbs. (tandem axle dump trucks, semis, etc)

I believe most of those F-Super Duty trucks had a GVWR of 15,000 lbs, which makes them a class 4 truck or the equivalent of an F-450. However, they may have had different options that changed the GVWR so you would have to check the sticker in the door jamb to know for sure.