Followup To 1995-1997 Ford F-350 Gas Vs Diesel

1206SWMO

Well-known Member
Well,heres what I ended up with...Its a 1997 Ford F-350 XL crew cab with a 460 and a 5 speed....Its a rust free
123,000 mile truck from Texas...I found it on the Dallas Craigslist and met the guy half way.....Finding a truck
just like I wanted wasn't as easy as I thought it would be....Probably 70 % of all 1997 Ford F-350's are diesels
and most of the gas burners have automatics..There just aren't lots of 5 speed trucks period,gas or diesel..

The truck has numerous little dings that don't show from 30 ft...The previous owner admitted that he caused
them because of a bad temper which is silly...The interior was a little rough but $100 at a junk yard took care of
that..I looked at some 1997 diesels but they were nearly twice as high in price with lots more miles and most
were automatics...Coming home at 75 mph it got 12 mpg..I haven't pulled my trailer yet but hopefully it will do
OK..Everything works on it,heat,AC,both fuel gauges,radio-etc..It has brakes out of this world..
5f2a89.jpg
 
Owned several 460 powered trucks in years past. That one likely has the 4.10 gears. Makes for a very strong hauler. Congratulations on finding what you were looking for.
 
Its replacing this 1988 F-350 that had 4.10 gears...The tag showing the ratio is gone on my 1997 rear but it runs 75-80 so easy I'm wondering if it has 3.73 gears..It has a limited slip rear and the following is on the tag for it..

S 169 S
L10 10 2 7E 12

The engine,tranny,and rear are fine on my 1988 but the wiring is a mess...The 1997's wiring is so much simpler...
13z8mqq.jpg
 
It could have been ordered with 3.73; but: Standard gearing for an F350 with manual transmission is 4.10; unless ordered otherwise. I had an 87 with high gearing. Would run 90 mph without overdrive but was very lacking on power with a load.
 
'95/'96/'97 only had two-three ratios available, 3.55:1 & 4.10:1, the F-350 duallies also had 4.88's available.

Ford didn't start offering 3.73's till the Super-Duties in '98 as '99 models.
 

Nice.

I was considering a 460 5-speed 97 F250 4x4 excab 8 foot box. Seemed like a rare truck, but didn't figure I wanted to put gas in it....

So didn't get it....

Put a bid on an F-Superduty with 460 5-speed a couple years ago,

Didn't get it....
 
I'm sure hoping that it has 4.10 gears...It just seems like it runs 75-80 mph at too few of rpms when empty....The cover has been off the rear end....My 1988 has a good 4.10 rear end if needed.....Below is the link to an F-350 that I would have sure been interested in if I hadn't already bought a truck..I gave less than that for mine..
F 350
 
With 4.10's you should be turning about 2300 rpm at 65 mph in 5th gear. 4.88's would be a bit over 2700 rpm @ 65 mph.
 
Does it have the carburator updated on it? The one we had would run 10 or 15 miles and die. Would have to get out and pound on the side of that dam carb then you could go some more. Had it to several ford dealers and independent mechanics, local GM mechanic finally fixed it. I think we put 3 tranny's in it before it went away. Good luck.
 
Blaine I dont look at this forum often so I missed your first post but nice looking truck, I like those 92-97 Fords and wish I had time to go south to shop. The 460 will tow well but I like the diesels once you get to 94 and the 7.3 DIT that became known as Powerstroke in 95. That F360/460 will serve you well. My preference is the F-Superduty for heavy towing for a number of reasons, my current Super Duty is the red one 97, PS diesel 5 speed, 5.38 gears, US Gear splitter and 30% overdrive. The green one is a 92 7.3 IDI 4x4. 4.10 gears 5 speed. You will notice there is NOT a fifth wheel ball on the 92 with non turbo IDI? As you said, pretty guttless for heavy towing, LOL.
2gy0wtj.jpg
 

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