1990 F-450?

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Stelth

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This afternoon, I expect to go look at a 1990 Ford F-450 (I think they were called F-Super Duty at this time) with a utility body. The seller says it has 163,000 original miles. He also says he's changed the oil every 3000 and it passes smog with flying colors. If these things are true, that would indicate to me that the engine is probably in decent shape.

My understanding, gleaned from some google searches, is that this should have a Dana 80 rear axle with disc brakes? Will the transmission be an E4OD?

Is there anything in particular I should look out for on this truck, other than the fact that it's old and well-used?

I'm expecting 8 or 9 mpg or so, does that sound right?
 
Rear disc brakes, yes. Dana 80, not sure. I think there may have been a few different axles available. The parking brake uses this weird drum thing on the back of the transmission, which prevents the whole rear driveshaft from turning, which of course prevents the rear wheels from turning.

E4OD? Possibly. I think the C6 was also available. Easy way to tell is E4OD is an overdrive trans, C6 is not.
8-9 mpg sounds about right.
 
Which engine, 7.3L IDI diesel, or 460 gasser? The 7.3's tend to get where the glow plugs are iffy. I have a co-worker that has one he only uses infrequently, and he just plugs in the block heater the day before he uses it rather than fixing it. :-/
 
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If the smog rules are looser for > 10k lbs registered weight it could still pass easily, yup. Plus it probably gets the tar rodded out of it whenever it's driven.
wink.gif
 
Yeah, it's a 460. I thought I put that in the original post, but I see that I didn't. I had a '78 E-350 with duallies and an enclosed service body that got about 6 mpg when I bought it, but got around 8 mpg with a new carburetor and tune up. It would be nice if the EFI engine would do a little better, but I realize a 460 will be a gas hog.

Right now I'm driving a 2001 GMC Savana 1500 with a 4.3 V-6, and it gets 11-12 mpg. Plus it won't haul everything I need to haul. So the F-450 doesn't look too bad. I should be able to check it out this afternoon.
 
Rear gears will be 4.63 or 5.13 in, yes, a Dana 80. Might be drum or disc...front axle will be a beam on leaf springs. Should have 235/85R16E tires and a GVWR of about 15k. Brakes are, IIRC, hydroboost.
 
Originally Posted By: exranger06

E4OD? Possibly. I think the C6 was also available. Easy way to tell is E4OD is an overdrive trans, C6 is not.


Correct, you could still get the C6 in 1990. The truck could have either one.
 
Well... I went and looked at it. Looked OK at first glance, not pristine obviously, but not too banged up, working tool boxes. The seller started it up, and it sounded nice and rumbly like a 460 should, and I thought I'd look under the hood. Looks OK, wait.. where's the AC compressor?

"I don't see an air conditioning compressor," says I to the seller.

"Yeah, it doesn't have A/C," he replies.

Deal breaker. Even if it non-working A/C that could be repaired, I'd have considered it. Too bad, because it was a tank otherwise.
 
A/C was technically optional on at least some Ford trucks up to 2001, maybe a little later. Someone on a Ranger board had a nearly identical twin to my 2001 2.5L, but his truck (sold new in NJ) did not have A/C.

Even in 1990, it was rare to see one without though, especially in most of CA.

I don't blame you on passing that one up. When you work out of your vehicle, A/C is important.
 
It's rare to see A/C in one, mine doesn't have it either. Unless you were planning to spend a fortune on gas, it's a good thing you passed-I can wring 11 MPG out of mine if I baby it,& it has 3.73s & overdrive!
 
Originally Posted By: bullwinkle
It's rare to see A/C in one, mine doesn't have it either. Unless you were planning to spend a fortune on gas, it's a good thing you passed-I can wring 11 MPG out of mine if I baby it,& it has 3.73s & overdrive!


3.73 gears? I've never seen them taller than 4.63s...and some have 5.13s!

I managed about 12 from an F550...7.3 PSD and 4.88 gears, about 11,500lbs empty, 19,000 loaded.
 
Originally Posted By: bullwinkle
Here's a photo of mine, after the '90 rust free cab & doors were installed & it was painted-
photo7-1.jpg




Nice looking truck. My '78 E-350 had a similar utility body, although not as tall. The trouble with trucks of that vintage is that, here in California, they are subject to smog check rules. That seems to mean that you have to buy a carburetor every two years, at least that was my experience.

I also had a 1967 P-300 step van with a 300 ci six and a New Process 4-speed. I don't really want to try to use anything that old as a work truck any more.

I guess I'll concentrate on F-250 and F-350 utilities, as they seem to be more likely to have A/C. Or maybe look for a recent E-350 with shelves.
 
Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
Originally Posted By: bullwinkle
It's rare to see A/C in one, mine doesn't have it either. Unless you were planning to spend a fortune on gas, it's a good thing you passed-I can wring 11 MPG out of mine if I baby it,& it has 3.73s & overdrive!


3.73 gears? I've never seen them taller than 4.63s...and some have 5.13s!

I managed about 12 from an F550...7.3 PSD and 4.88 gears, about 11,500lbs empty, 19,000 loaded.


His is a diesel, though. Probably the diesel can't handle the higher RPMs that would come with 5.13s on a ~31 or ~32'' tall tire.
 
I drove a 1992 F-Super Duty delivery truck for many years (15ft cube box)
it had a 7.3 diesel, 5-speed manual and 5.13 gears on ~31 or ~32'' tall tires,
3800 rpms all day long on the highway!
 
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