I am a Noob to the forum, and have been lurking for a little while here. I purchased a 90 F-250 4X4 Extended Cab this summer to replace the (83 F-250 2WD I had) It had 120,000 on it and appeared to be pretty well taken care of, the paint was fairly new, it came with a Glasstite topper and I paid $3000 for it. I robbed the carpeted bed kit out of the 83 we had, and put it in the 90 to be used as a camping rig for my our young family of 5. I really like this truck and dont mind the styling,(despite liking the 92-96 style better) it looked sharp and drove well, but now 6 months later it is in the shop getting a new E40D rebuild to the tune of $3000+. Now I will be the first to say that you get what you pay for, and I know I am paying out the nose, but wrenching a bunch at this time is not an option for me.

I would like to keep the truck and make a few modifications and see if we cant make a nice modest 4X4 camping vehicle that wouldn't be afraid of towing a trailer with a ATV, or load of wood. The mods I would like to make is custom front winch bumper, custom rear bumper with a expedition style spare holder, and a over the shell carpenters rack for a Roof Top Tent. I would like to modestly lift the truck, 2-3" suspension lift perhaps. Functionally these mods wouldn't terribly beneficial, but I am looking to have some fun also.

However it would seem that the 90's version of the truck aren't terribly popular, is this a style/look? Poor combination of motor/tranny? or suspension setup? Ect.....? It wasn't until I searched the forum that I find much in the way of custom bumpers for this years of truck. Is it the TTB axle on them that makes them hard to switch bumpers on? and can a solid axle setup be realized without braking the bank? Can the 460 be tuned a bit in this year also? The E4OD is Beastly expensive to rebuild, and frankly they seem to be problematic from what I read. Can these issues be justified, or should I look for another year?

Sorry for the very windy 1st Post, but I feel like I will get the best answers from those who know much more about Fords than I. I sincerely send my Thanks to all who read and post with suggestions or constructive criticism.

 

I think you're geting hosed on the tranny rebuild.. unless that also includes removing and installing it in the truck... which is a lot of work all by itself. Make sure the tranny gets all the updates available, this thing should be bulletproof if built properly. This body style is 23 years old now so there are no new products in the aftermarket for it.. and some that were available are being discontinued because a lot of these trucks have gone to the crusher. A solid front axle is a relatively easy swap with leaf spring front suspension, but you don't need that to get a lift, simply adding a leaf to the stock setup will do it. More power from these motors involves uncorking them on the intake and exhaust especially, you can also advance the timing and add some performance parts like rockers and headers. The computer will automatically adjust to these flow increases.. no need for a tuner, but you can only go so far before you reach the limits of the stock computer calibration or the fuel system. Going beyond gets expensive with computer swaps and hardware tuners necessary, but the same would apply to a newer truck too. Good luck with your new truck.

 

Paul,
Thanks for your suggestions and information, that gives me something to go off of.

About the transmission, it was a diagnose, pull, rebuild, and replace deal at a "tranny shop".I feel hosed, it hurts like hell to shell out that much cash at this time of the year. If I wasn't an apartment dweller, had a garage to put it in and leave it, tools, ect, ect.. it wouldn't have been quite as bad. I guess it really pays to know a great mechanic, and have a place to do the work and the knowledge to do it, unfortunately we don't have either at this time.

Retrospectively, I will most certainly be more prepared for the next ordeal. FTE has given me alot to work with, it is always a pleasure to have an audience of knowledgeable Ford folks. I only hope that I can do something positive in return.

Thanks again,
Lee

 

I had a very reputable tranny shop do the whole works on mine for about 1/2 of that and that included a 2 year warranty. Maybe the C6's are easier to work on.

 

As far as rebuilds go RWD auto trannys are all very similar, the OD versions have an extra drum and clutches and such so the parts count is higher, and sometimes the parts will be more expensive. You can't expect a mechanic to work for free, shops have overhead to pay and special trools to buy, and as already stated this is an old truck so who knows what problems they will encounter while removing the tranny, broken bolts and corroded electrical connectors can be a pain. $3k is a big chunk of change, but it may take a guy all week to remove, rebuild, and replace this thing, so that's a lot of hours to cover. I bet if you break it down only about 1/3 the cost is for the tranny, the other 2/3's are labor.

 

$3k is about average for a full rebuild of an E4OD, including a new torque converter and a new set of gears, which it frequently needs. The early ones (1990 was the second year) had very weak hard parts. How mine still holds together is a mystery, but when it comes rebuild time I will not be shelling out that much money for another E4OD.

A solid axle is possible, but you will sacrifice a lot of ride quality. Honestly, unless you're plowing snow commercially or putting on huge tires, a Dana 60 swap is overkill. There are plenty of lift kits out there for the TTB axle, and it works fine for almost everyone except the hard core off-roaders.

A suspension left looks great on these trucks with larger tires. Just be aware that you need larger tires with a lift, and you sometimes need steeper gears with larger tires. It can get expensive fast.

 

That is very true Paul and Thanks for making a very good point, I guess in retrospect, that point in and of itself is what soothes the pain of the bill. It does come with a 2yr 24k warranty as well.

As you mentioned there will always be something else that needs fixing to get a completed job, and when I recieve the itemized invoice for it, I am sure it will reflect this. I know they had to replace some wiring and I am sure that wasn't cheap either.

Now I am trying to justify whether it would be better to upgrade to bit newer or continue to blaze through this truck and finish upgrading it. Paul you also mentioned some engine upgrades, if this were your setup what would you suggest for a stronger and efficient 460? I am not looking to have a top performance rig, but something that is effective and gets the job done.

 

Thanks Andy also. What you all have shared is what I was seeking. I appreciate the direction on the axle swap information, this is important to me as I would like to custom build a bumper someday, not to the likes of a Road Armor for example, but something that when and if I meet head on with a deer, I am not having to rebuild the whole front end of the truck. I would rather wisely protect the front now, and hope for the best.

I will need to do some more research on a 2-3 suspension lift and see what this consists of and perhaps upgrade the springs in the front.

When the truck gets back from the shop, I will shoot a couple of pics and share.

Thanks again for all the kind comments.

Lee

 

If nothing else upgrade the exhaust system, all these trucks got undersized and restrictive systems and respond very well to headers and duals or in your case a large single(3-4").