Re: would you keep her?

Posted by the tractor vet on November 22, 2021 at 16:08:07 from (108.220.145.239):

In Reply to: would you keep her? posted by ratface on November 22, 2021 at 10:02:38:

I can tell you first hand on a LEMON . Just after Thanksgiving of 1977i bought a brand new 78 Ford F250 4X4 Snow patrol . I had a lot of commercial lots including the Ford Dealer. I needed it NOW . They did not have the truck i wanted , BUT a dealer 20+ miles away had a truck almost the way i wanted . SOOOoo they dealer traded . This was a thrusday evening and the sales manager and i took one of there trucks and went up to make the trade . At one time i had worked in that same building when it was another dealership . The truck was setting in my old four stales . Bob went in to do the paper work while i did a quick check on the truck , like all fluid levels kick the tires , make sure the plow went up and down right and left , and the GAS and lights . The 78's were the first with dual tanks and she had just short of 50 gallon capacity . When i turned on the key the gauge went full and the switch for the change over was on the Main , ok wonder what they are calling main and aux. so i flipped the switch and the gauge stayed on the full mark . HUMMM , in all my years in the dealerships not once did i ever see FULL tanks and If gas was added usually it was sorta Std. to put 8 gallons in let lone darn near 50 . So we will see how far it will go . This was all being done in a rush as oh wait we have a major storm moving in and it is now starting to come down big time . Bob comes out and said ok lets go is the truck ok ?????? well there MIGHT BE a problem as when have you EVER sold or shipped a ca of truck with a FULL tank of gas let lone two full tanks . We laughed and jumped i and out the door pulled around the building and stopped got out and locked in the hubs . Yea it was getting that bad . Left turn down the street another left turn and on to the four lane down to the next exit . To same some time i went straight instead of turning and going thru the small town and i went down past the fair grounds . Made another left past the state patrol post and just past the last entranceto the fair grounds the truck started acting like it was running out of gas and i flipped the switch and turned around to head back into town and fill that puppy up . we made it to the next entrance when she DIED . This is back in the days of NO CELL PHONES . I get out and open the hood when some guy in a V W stops and offer to help So he runs me into the Sohio station in town . I knew most of all there and they gave me a five gallon can full , the guy with the V W runs me back . I offer him ten for his trouble and he refuses . Go to put gas in and figured that i wold split it between both tanks Back tank takes a couple gallon before it is running on my boot , Ft tank takes about the same . I always have some sort of TOOLS on me after trying several times to get this truck to run i pulled the top of the carb off and she was not getting gas . SOOOO with the storm getting worse the truck does not run and it is 8:00 i walk up to the patrol post and have them radio down to my county post to have them call the dealer and get a wrecker coming . I then called the wife to have the owner of the dealership call me at the patrol post ( they had goofy rules about out going calls ) . SO will Bob is freezing in the DOA new truck and i am nice and warm waiting on hank to call he calls , i am Way past the HOT mark and i inform him what has happened and that Dick the service manger Don the parts manage and Kenny the head wrench had best be there when WE get there and NOBODY IS LEAVING till this truck RUNS TONIGHT . We get back to the dealership around 9:30 and they start on it and work on it and work on it and work on it . Now it will not even run long enough to make a lap around the building , it is NOW 4:30 AM and the snow is piling up i am and hour and a half BEHIND . Hank is still there and i tell Hank best get me the keys for the black one i have to get started NOW . So i took the black 250 that was a four speed and went plowing . Wish i had a bale counter on the clutch pedal . I got caught up around 11:30 and went back to see how they were coming . Dick tells me SHE IS DONE , i told him get in we are going for a ride and i am not going to be the one WALKING when it stops . Out of the dealership left turn down the big hill out to the gravel pit and turn around and start back . at the base of the hill is where it died . the look on Dicks face was priceless . Tow it back and all that day and into the night they worked on it . This small problem was crud in BOTh fuel tanks . I dove the black on for another day adding more scuff marks to the plow . got mine back swapping blades . It made it till the next Sunday when the next storm hit . This time the alt. went south . this was and all new alt. and bigger then the rest , to get me going once again the black truck was used for the alt. till they could get one in on a unit down . it ran another week when the trans went out with under a 1000 miles On the odometer as backing up really would take miles off . and this was just the beginning of the nightmare of the 78 F 250 with lots more to come , like 7 Alt. , 5 power steering pumps ,five traction loc rearends, two engines , and FIVE transmission . All in the first year not counting trans #6 that i built that one lasted 6 years . engine #3 i built , we dumped the 400 M and i dug thru my old stock of 385 parts ordered in some new parts and hand built a 460 and stuffed into it . way more power , lot better gas mileage . out of the first 12 months the truck was in the shop 7 i got to drive my 10218.36 truck five months . Back then they only had a 12000 mile or 12 month warranty. I have had two SUN KISSED FORD lemons .

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