I have had a 1986 Ford F250 4x4, 460, C-6, 3:55 gears for 10 years. I have put 60,000 miles on it since buying it. I would say about 20,000 of those miles are pulling a travel trailer, 14,000 a 7,000# travel trailer, 6,000 a 10,000# travel trailer.
The cost to keep this Ford running just in parts alone is just getting crazy. I keep good records of repairs etc. The cost per mile of this Ford is the highest of any truck I have ever owned by over double. When I bought this truck it had a new tranny installed. I bought an 1988 Dodge D250, 2wd, 360, 4sp, 3:54 gears a little over a year ago. I paid $1,200 for it with a nice covered Utility Box, & 95,000 original miles, (the F250 when I bought it had 123,000 original miles). I paid $5,900 for the Ford. I have driven the Dodge 23,000 miles since buying it. I have around $4000 invested in it (includes tires & $200 in parts from a wrecking yard to fix sheetmetal that I damaged in an accident). I went through it as I did the Ford when I bought it. Replacing hoses, belts, fuel lines, regular maintenance stuff.
Anyway now you have a little history. Everytime I turn around this Ford has something broke. The latest the alt. took a dump. This will be the second alt in 10 years, 60,000 miles. The A/C failed a month or so ago. This is the second time the A/C has been completely replaced in 10 years, 60,000 miles. The tranny is suffering from morning sickness. which means it's only a matter of time and I'm looking at another rebuild. (This tranny is serviced every 25,000 miles). meaning 2 tranny rebuilds in 10 years 60,000 miles. The list is so long of parts it would take 2 full pages to mention.
This Dodge has gone 23,000 miles and all I do is regular maintenance. So I'm seriously considering parking the Ford for good and replacing it with the Dodge as my pulling truck & general all around truck. I hate to say it but this Dodge is a way better truck than my F250. The GVW is 8600# on the Ford & 8550# on the Dodge. If I fix the A/C on the Ford it will cost me about $500, The tranny will be around $1100. For an added $1500 I can put a brand new 408 crate engine in the Dodge. I don't even need an engine. The Dodge uses less oil than the Ford ever has. The mileage with the Ford is 9.5-10.5MPG. The Dodge is 10.5-13.5MPG. I seldom use 4 wheel drive.
So the day is getting closer to seeing a Ford being replaced with a Dodge. I like my F250 but it is just TOO COSTLY TO KEEP.
This is my RANT for today. I have decided to pull our trailer 30 miles in spring and I'm going hook it up to the DODGE to see how well it pulls it. I know the Dodge 360 4BBL is a good runner, one of the better small displacement engines stock.
I will stay on board with you guys but won't be driving a Ford much longer. SORRY GUYS.
Craig

 

Do what you want. I don't think your comparison is quite fair -

You've got 200,000 on the auto Ford against 120,000 on the stick Dodge. Pulling a trailer is hard on any truck. In my opinion, it's hardest on automatics (although I'm sure draw fire for that statement).

I'd say pull the trailers another 40,000 with the Dodge and then compare your experience. When it gets up around 200,000 see how its doing maintenance wise.

I don't think you can complain about a 200,000 mile truck that needs parts from time to time.

BTW - in addition to my Fords, I drive a '97 D2500 Cummins Turbo Diesel 5 spd 4x4. I like it but it doesn't have the chassis stability my '88 F250 460 ZF5 4x4 Ford had.

 

im going to take issue with your comment about the trannys.. i have a ford trans that has 155k on it and i abuse it.. in the past ive had rebuilts on other cars /trucks from my fleet and i found that some rebuilders are just crappy.. i had one dope on a dodge just replace with korean rebuild kits just what was wrong on an old caravan the transmission broke again within 5000 miles.. that 93 caravan went through three transmissions in a year in fact my dodges have gone through more trannys than any fords ive owned...
repairs are only as good as the mechanic and the quality of parts put in when something breaks..when a truck gets older in excess of ten years, all kinds of little things are going to happen i dont care if its American Japanese or from mars its gonna happen... yeah your ford is falling apart and costing more to run than a dodge that is newer with alot less miles its kinda comparing green apples to red apples theres a little wrong with the comparison

 

I agree it's not an equal comparison considering the difference in mileage between the two. But if I had two trucks and the older higer mileage one was costing way more to maintain, I wouldn't let brand loyalty interfere with the decision of which one to retire.

I have an '81 F250 and I'm disappointed that Ford won't provide parts support because it's obsolete. My dealer can't even look up the correct parts for what they do have. They insist on trying to give me distributor parts for a Dura Spark II ignition when even the emissions sticker under the hood clearly identifies it as an EEC III ignition system! $110 for the incorrect parts from Ford vs $32 for the correct parts from NAPA.

IMO, the '80-'86's are caught kind of in the middle right now. They are too old and obsolete for the dealer's to support, but still too new and numerous to warrant a big aftermarket support. Especially for body and interior parts like rubber mouldings and vinyl parts.

Whew! Thanks for giving me an excuse for the rant!

 

Also the ford is allmost an antque.

 

You know what really got to me. Was I owned a 1979 CK20 Chevy 4x4. I pulled with it as much as I have with this Ford. At over 200,000 miles I sold it to a friend of mine & he drove it to 300,000+ miles.
Anyway, I was looking back at the cost of owning that truck & I didn't spend even close to what I have spent on this Ford. Just an example. This Ford 60,000 miles 10 years, 4 Brand NEW fan clutches, The Chevy 1 in 200,000 miles. The Ford this will make 3 NEW alt. The Chevy 1 in 200,000. Starters 2, Ford, None Chevy, steering boxes 1 Ford None on the Chevy, I can go on & on. I have replaced 2 OEM turn signal switches in the Ford none in the Chevy. So now this is maybe a little more of a fair comparison. I had Ford Rangers (4 of them) that in 100,000+ miles never had to do anything but regular maintenance. I keep wondering where is it going to stop. Last night I decided to fix the alt. I'm picking up a Chevy Lumina that we own that is in Nevada it has 240,000 miles and runs great. Needs a battery. Then I'm parking the Ford. I have so much money in this F250 I can't even sell it and come out on it, but yet I'm faced with a few more thousand I have to put out if I want to keep running it. A/C isn't an option here it is a must. We are still in the mid 80s in November. The summers get to 120+ degrees.
Craig

 

The thing isn't that the tranny is giving trouble. It was rebuilt by a FORD DEALER with supposed FORD PARTS. I worked in a tranny shop and 60,000 miles pulling or not with regular service it shouldn't fail that easy. Even a cheap sloppy rebuild will go 60,000 miles. I have serviced it regular & never abuse it.
I agree older stuff takes work. But I haven't only replaced wore parts I have to replace them more than once. 3 dist. In 60,000 miles you shouldn't have to keep replacing the same stuff over & over OEM FORD PARTS. Somewhere you have to figure maybe this truck isn't worth it.

 

I hear you. My 97 F250HD is the most expensive truck I've ever owned with regards to keeping it running. I don't baby the thing by any means, I haul good sized loads, trialers and plow with it. But I've spent a fortune keeping it going, replacing parts I *never* had too replace on other trucks. Bught it w/ 27K on it, and I've had to typical things to get it to 112K, but...

- the tranny hasn't been right since about 60K
- had to replace the exhaust manifolds at 55K (they rusted so bad there were holes in them!)
- had to replace the banjo cover on the rear end
- had to replace power steering hoses, brake lines and transmission cooling lines
- had to replace the oil pan and one valve cover due to rust
- master cylinder
- starter
- 2 sets of ball joints (in 110K)
- ac condensor connections fell off due to corrosion
- door hinges on the drivers side wore out at about 50K
- 2 exhaust systems, including a cat converter
- power lumbar seat died at about 35K
- and more I can't even think about right now

I'll tell you, this truck really hauls a load nicely, but it is one expensive mf to keep. It's like having another wife! I keep telling myself that the amount I'm spending a month to keep it going is still less that a truck payment, but once the two kids are out of school, this thing is history...

 

That isn't many miles for 10 years, So the old adage goes use it or lose it!! These trucks like to work so use it a bit more may help and do not forget to change out
the blood sooner since towing or even just bigger tires are a special operating
condotion and warrants sooner replacement and that goes double for auto tranny
juice!! If you are letting it sit for a month or so be sure to double dose with Sta-bil
and gas line dryer run every now and then may help your mileage figures since old
fuel doesn't burn as well so you will burn more to make up for it.

 

Wow! Is it salt that causes that rust? The underside of my '04 Ranger (Texas) is still shiney.

 

Someone is feeding you a load of caca del toro, you want to know why?

The 1980/89 Ford Light Truck Parts Catalog was last revised in 1994.

Ford revises parts catalogs twice a year, sending out new pages, microfiche slides and CD's to all the dealers.

The line the dealer is feeding you, would mean that for 28 years, the parts catalog has been wrong.

I find that difficult to believe, since I never encountered a similar problem like you are having now.

From 1975 thru 1986, I was a back parts counterman at one of the largest and busiest Ford Dealers in the world.

If something like this had come up, I would have remembered it.

One question. Where was your truck sold new? That makes a difference, because vehicles sold in CA 1980/83 use a different system than the 49 state vehicles had.

Look on your trucks Warranty Plate for the DSO code. 71 or 72 is CA born and raised.

>>> Here on FTE, I use the exact same parts catalog your dealer has. <<<

Here's another factor...parts personnal have become extremely lazy over the last 15 years. The quality of many of the ppl has also changed. Today, there's no passion, it's all about a paycheck. Gone are the car/truck nuts that were a staple for decades.

Ford now uses the VIN system. When the VIN is entered into the computer, all the parts are listed for whatever the request was made for. So, the person behind the counter only has to do two things: pull the parts from the bin, and type up the invoice.

So today, you may get an "I don't give a scheiss type," and there are 1000's out there, who don't want to bother even attemping to look up part numbers.

Did'ja ever wonder when you ask for an older part, how someone can say the part is obsolete, without even looking in the parts catalog?

Some are just plain stupid, what we used to call "bodies" and know very little about the vehicles and the job.

They spend a long time (sometimes on purpose) trying to find an illustration of a requested part, because they don't know basic part number one.

I worked with one clown in the mid 1990's that would wait on a customer, then go out the back door, walk around the block, then come back in and wait on another. He lasted three weeks, and would have been gone long before that, but the parts manager was on vacation.

Rant concluded...for now.

 

Yea, we need to rant every so often. I haven't found it hard at all to get parts from the dealer. May times they have to order them, but in most cases I have them in a few days. I find that some dealers aren't as easy to work with. The dealerships with "old school guys & gals" I have never had a problem getting a part if it was still listed. Once I needed some brackets for my radiator & they weren't available anymore. I had real good luck in Elko NV when we lived there with GALLAGHER FORD. Terry their partsman many times knew the numbers off the top of his head for the older stuff. If I ever decided to buy a new truck I would get in touch with them & give them a chance to have my business. AGAIN I WAS ALWAYS TREATED VERY WELL BY ALL THEIR PEOPLE. I USE TO HAVE TO WALK THROUGH THEIR SHOWROOM TO GET TO PARTS AND THEIR SALES STAFF WAS ALWAYS VERY FRIENDLY, WOULD STOP & TALK WITH YOU. I EVEN HAD ONE SHOW ME THE NEW SALEEN MUSTANG THEY JUST GOT IN, & SHE KNEW I WASN'T LOOKING TO BUY. JUST BEING FRIENDLY. BOY DEALERSHIPS LIKE THAT AREN'T ON EVERY CORNER.
So I've RANTED & COMPLAINED. Now I'm trying to RANT a little about GOOD EXPERIENCES.

 

Bill, the dealer parts counter people I have encountered at Toyota dealerships are even worse. These are not "car and truck" people, but those sent to trade school for a certificate in using the computer. Fortunately, near where I work in Long Beach, the old-line Chevy, Ford, Dodge and even BMW dealers have good parts departments.

As for Ford automatic trannys, that is the main reason I'm driving a Toyota right now. We have had several go bad, with different drivers and no towing, all go out right around 110,000 miles, 1988, 1989 and 1991 Rangers and the 1994 F-150. The '94 going out again in 40,000 miles was the last straw.

Jim

 

Thanks, Bill. Yes it is a California emissions vehicle with the EEC-III engine. My experience getting the right parts was the first lesson in my education on EEC-III. Most information on that is lost or swept under the carpet. DIY manuals never even mention it. I was able to find out quite a bit about it from a Michel Manual in the public library. I've been able to help out a few others with it here on FTE. Most want to ditch it for DS-II. Not an option in California as you so well know. Actually EEC-III seems a very good ignition system. It's just not well documented or supported.

 

You have a very good point. I have always tried to drive it at least every other day. About once a week I will travel on a 40-60 miles run. I know short drives are harder than long road runs, Of all the stuff I fix I have only had to replace I believe only 1 starter. But maybe that proves your point. It gets used a lot. I don't know I really like this truck or I wouldn't of put up with it this long. I got the alt fixed. Turned out to be "who knows what". Yesterday The electric choke quit working so I go get my volt meter. For the heck of it I decided to check voltage at the battery it was 12.61V. That isn't a good running voltage, I'm thinking, the electric choke works off of stator voltage.So this morning I pulled the Alt off took it to AutoZone to have it checked. I'm standing there when the young gal set it up & tested it. Everything showed good. So I came home reinstalled it, put a little electrical grease on the contacts & wow, 14.68V electric choke works fine now. Took it for a 6 mile drive 14.25V. Meter in truck working also. So was it dry connections was it a gremlin, who knows. It's without a doubt a FORD, and in recent weeks it is "FIX or REPAIR DAILY" FORD.
CRAIG