I love fords But i am interested in finding out if gm has the same quality problems as ford. such as the leaking right head gasket in the expy.and how they would handle the problem knowing that its a defect in their manufactering of that head, and telling owners that they must pay for the repairs because their warrenty ran out 5 seconds ago. and other such things.

 

My buddy bought a chevy with a 454 and after a little bit the pistons were slapping horribly. Chevy said this was normal and not to worry. When his radiator got plugged from the dex cool they changed his radiator but had to charge him for the cooling system flush. When his heater core busted for the same reason they would not replace the ruined carpet. Now his truck seems to run at 210 degrees or more and its not the thermostat and chevy can't figure out the problem. All of this was under the warranty. Ford is not perfect but don't think that chevy is either. This guy was die hard chevy until he bought a new truck from them and saw how their system works. I bought a used crown vic with the added powertrain warranty. The transmission went out becasue the detent cable grommet broke and my wife chose to keep driving instead of calling me. The only problem was the overdrive was out. I took it in and they rebuilt the whole tranny. No questions, no hassle. Everybody will have a bad experience with a particular brand of vehicle. I have never seen an expedition with a leaking head gasket. I worked at a lube rack and have been under well over 100 differnent ones.

 

Just my thoughts. I work on Ford and Chevys. I have seen intake water leaks, a problem i think is caused by the dexcool antifreeze. Loud fuel pumps, door hinges that are welded to the truck not bolted for replacement. When the ECM goes bad it has to go to the dealer for a reprogram after replacement. Piston knock on a low mileage truck. A heater hose connection to the intake that would rust and brake at the slightest bump. I have to give the GM camp a thumbs up on the spark plug location. We have Ford trucks that use propane and gas. You will have to take the top of the motor off just to even get to the plugs, with all the extra lines tubes and valves. It looks like an eight hour tune up. From what i have read, you wont be able to go to the salvage yard and get a radio, or some other electronic parts, as the vin number is required to be the same as the repaired car or trucks ECM. It will need to be programed with the vin number by the dealer. Just my thoughts.

 

Do I think that Chevy is a bad product? No. Do I think that Chevy is a better truck than Ford? No. I think that both Ford and Chevy offer good trucks, but it depends on what you want from a truck. If you want stop light to stop light power then get a Chevy. If you want power to pull your trailer then get a Ford because of the low RPM torque.

In terms of new 1/2 ton trucks I would buy a Chevy. I think that the 2004 Ford will change my mind though Ford NEEDS to develop a new gas engine to compete with Chevy. Just my opinion.

 

I also do not have a severe disliking of the bowtie brand, my best friend drove a 85 silverado before he passed away, and if i could find one like his, i'd be driving it.

Like christop said, for stoplight to stoplight power, a 350 is a true street engine, a little overdone, its been in everything so far, just about.

But i'd prefer my ford for towing things, and its decent fuel economy, besides its what i've been raised around.

Ford really needs to bring back some of its older engines in a modular format, say a 460, or a 390 in modular format, those would be awesome.

Another improvement would be to give the 04's a slightly more 250 and 350 esque grille and front facia.

other than that, no gripes here!

 

Chevy definatley have issues with a lot of their vehicles. On my Z71 half ton , i had sever water leak in the cab (took 3 weeks to fix), peeling clear coat, (2) computer modules replaced, fule pump replaced, intermitent engine cut out and hard tranny shifts. While all of these problems made me look to another brand for my truck, I have to say that Chevy never onced gave me problems about getting anything fixxed.

 

Like I said in the past "if I got a gasser it would have been a Chevy. I've had better luck with Chevy gas engines over Ford gas engines. But I do like the diesel engines and the Duramax isn't really proven yet to me. The 7.3 has ben around for a while. Oh yeah and I got more options for my dollar with a ford. The straight front axel is another plus.

 

From what I have seen and heard, Ford has much better quality. I was in a Chevy Silverado at a car show and i ws amazed at how cheap it felt. The plastic looked unfinished and there was way too much hard plastic. Controls felt flimsy and were easily disassembled. The body panels were crooked with large gaps and the hood looked a little twisted. That was a show vehicle! What really turned me off was when I went to get out of the truck and the door handle actualy popped off! If the outside was that poorly built what does that make you think about the rest of it?

 

You guys are forgetting that vehicles are subject to wear and tear and no brand, not even Honda is without manufacturing defects, every time you take a vehicle in to be fixed or to have something replaced the dealer reports so that the vehicles in the future are fixed or there is a recall. Save for the tire thing with Firestone, that wasnt the tire it was the inexperienced drivers. To tell you guys the truth I have had the fewest problems with the Jeeps that my family has owned through out the years. I own nine ford trucks from 1968 to 2002 gas and diesel and even a propane one, my dad owns 17 ford trucks from 1935 to 2003. All of them are still running strong.