WOW, nice message board !!

I have spent the last few days reading many of the posts in alot of the sections and must say most people appear to be very knowledgeable in the areas.

My situation is that I do alot of boating and towing and soon I will be looking for a new SUV/PU to pull my boats. I currently have a Chevy which has never done me wrong but would like to try something different next time around. Maybe a Expy, Excur or F250. My questions relate to customer satisfaction regarding the enormous amount of posted problems. Has Ford stepped up to the plate to solve most of these problems that have been talked about?. Are the 2001 vehicles non affected by these common problems?. The last thing I need is to be headed out to the lake and find out the motor quit.

Please give this Chevy guy the reasons to switch to Ford.

 

First off, Welcome to the Board. Hope you find the information and help that you need.

Actually, there aren't all that many problems with our trucks. It just seems that way, but if you did a statistical analysis, you'd see that relatively few of us are having problems. It's just that the few problems tends to generate a ton of messages!

As far as customer satisfaction goes, on a scale of 1 to 10, I'd rate Ford and my local dealer a 9. I would never give out a 1 or a 10 since there's always something worse or something better.

Of course, if you've read some of my posts, there's a very good reason why I'm satisfied. I'm very loyal to my dealer and they repay me by giving me excellent no-questions asked service. Walking into the service department and being placed at the top of the list and having the best mechanics working on your vehicles is worth the fact that I didn't get the bargain I would have gotten if I had shopped elsewhere.

I'm a firm believer in buying service first. You can buy a great product, but if you can't get it fixed when it breaks, then what's the use?

As for your needs, I'd say out of the three vehicles on your list, the ultimate tow vehicle would be the Excursion with the Powerstroke diesel.

If you think an Expy is enough to tow your load, then I'd suggest you look at the Navigator too. More powerful engine. More stuff like 4 wheel load leveling is standard and it will tow 8,000 lbs, I believe. Longer and better warranty too. The Expy and Nav are way more maneuverable than even the F-150 SC SB and even better than the F-250 and the Excursion.

If I had a choice and didn't care about the size, I'd choose the Excursion with the diesel and get a chip from Mike Troyer. Setup right, the Powerstroke Excursion is FAST! FAST! FAST! Not to mention hard to beat fuel economy, especially considering how much the thing weighs!

 

I recently have had the unfortunate task of an unscheduled to visit my service department. The engine in my 97 F-150 ext. cab shortbed has sezied up. There is no apparent reason at this time. There was no water found in the oil, the oil has been changed at the req'd times. I am the original owner and the truck has only 87,000 miles. About a week ago, when we had the cold weather I was down wind from the exhaust and when I started the truck I smelled anti-freeze. A week prior to that the rad. had run low enough so that the heater was blowing cold air. I was about 1 gal short on the anti-freeze, this should not have been the case due to the fact that I had a new rad. in thetruck with new anti-freeze less than 3 months ago. There was no visable signs of a leak. I was thinking a blown head gasket. Any suggestions would be deeply appreciated. P.S. I had 211 miles left on my extended warranty. (whew)

 

As an ex-GMC guy I not so sure I would stay with Ford. My S/C frame flexes and jiggles over bumps (I climbed underneath and it definately thinner than I remember the GMC), has so-so idle quality, and rev's to 2000 rpm at startup and you can hear the engine components briefly starved for oil (even with synthetic oil). Not good. I have never heard of such engine issues before - either older Ford trucks or GM. I was at the dealer when I guy was on his second engine and having problems. The first seized. I think the paint quality is better on the GM trucks.

On the bright side the truck handles well, better than the GM trucks. This is the first truck I have owned where the stock suspension is just right. It has some nice features like stone guards around the fenders, tie down cleats in the bed, roomy ****pit. The long stroke motor makes a lot of torque and is very smooth at speed. The transmission is well thought out and from what I have read is durable. Its an easy to live with truck.

 

Thicker isn't always better. It also depends on design and composition of the metal. We've heard a few horror stories on this board about Chevies with bent frames from being cinched down on transport vehicles.

I have a '99 SC SB 4x4 and believe me, I beat the hell out of it when I go 4 wheeling. It's still as tight and rattle free as it was when I first took delivery.

It's survived several trips over rock strewn rutted washboard dirt roads. I've probably driven this kind of road several hundred miles at up to 45 mph over the two years I've had this truck.

I've also had the truck airborn a few times. No problem. It's a tough truck. It's much tougher than me or my passengers.


[This message has been edited by Dennis (edited 01-12-2001).]

 

Dennis,
AIR??!!! at least i'm not the only one.

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http://a1060.g.akamai.net/f/1060/597...b/ff6165cd.gif Dr.(wife says i'm spoiled) Jones.
2000 F-150 5.4L
AUTO,SC-sb 4x4-XLT, 3.55LS, 8.8 front- 9.75 rear, sidesteps, sprayed in liner, 17"wheels ORP, trailer-tow pkg, CD, Cpt chairs, 4whl ABS, Keyless Entry, Airbox silencer removed/K&N, Amsoil(transfercase, motor, rearend), 3" custom dynomax ultra flow catback, as an anniversary gift. With a best of 18.5 MPG.
kjones02@elp.rr.com waiting for the 275hp PSD

 

Oh yeah. Major air. Several times.

Took a visiting friend on a sightseeing trip. Had a 1:00 appointment for an exclusive tour. It was something that I had to arrange for weeks ahead of time and even then, it's one of those things where you had to know somebody.

Anyway, we were a bit late. The tour site was about 5 miles off the main road. All dirt and gravel. I was hauling a$$ at about 55 mph in 4Hi. Hit this hill a bit too fast and didn't hit the road again until we were at the bottom of the hill.

You shoulda seen the face of my friend. I mean, this guy flies heavy commercial passenger jets for a living. He flew missions in Desert Storm (Navy). I thought he was gonna puke. LOL.

I took the long way home which consisted of around 30 miles of the most God awful road you can imagine. Dirt. Rocks. Mud. Potholes. He couldn't understand why I drove faster on the dirt roads than I did on the paved. I guess he has no idea what FUN is! His eyes got big everytime I threw the rear end around a hairpin turn. I swear, the fingerprints in the grab handle didn't fade for at least a weak.

 

Hey, great to hear the frame is holding up under a good beating. Its probably plenty strong. The "jiggling" I feel on certain roads could be body bushings or something else that would allow some movement.

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'99 f150 S/C 5.4L
Tow package, L/S, 3.55

 

There is a "jiggle" that happens on certain kinds of roads, depending on how the truck is loaded or setup. Some have described it as a bounce that happens when you drive over freeway joints. It doesn't happen with all trucks. On mine, it only happens when I have two cases of beer back near the gate.

Ford has a TSB or some such about it. They will mount a damper under the truck and it's supposed to get rid of it, but I hear the damper weighs 90 lbs, so I've never done it.

 

>>fastoffshoredude<< Go for the Excursion, V10. This would be better for pulling that boat, besides, more room for the family. I wouldn't get the diesel, smelly with attached garages. Make sure you look into possible power assisted breaking in the truck.

 

I personnally think you should go for the diesel. Better torque and better fuel economy, with the lack of a little more noise and the smell of diesel. After driving tractors for many years, I have grown attached to the smell of burning diesel, much better smell than bad gas.

 

One thing that has not been brought up is on-line support. Ford has it, GM (and any other manufacturer) does not. While there are excellent Ford truck sites out there, the other manufacturers are not nearly so lucky. Try to find a good message board on GM trucks. Good luck.

What this gives people is a place to share ideas, tips, and moral support. It can be a soundboard for problems, or a place to share the love of your truck (yes I know it sounds silly). Most of the people are excellent, and pretty much everyone will go out of their way to help you.

Also, realize that this is not the only good Ford board out there. There are many. However, I tend to believe this one is the most civilized (with a few exceptions).

As far as the trucks go...... drive them all. Make your decision based on what YOU like, and how YOU are going to use your truck. Once you have made a decision, I am sure that you will find many people here who will back you up on it.

Oh, one other thing, the Ford aftermarket is huge. Any shortcoming you feel your truck may have (since we are all so different), the aftermarket is more than happy to address.

After all, its only money.... right?

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Gloria
94 Lightning, daily driver
93 EB Explorer, 1000 RTI

 

01sl

I guess I should of mentioned to everyone in my original post that a Diesel powerplant was not an option. The diesels are nice but the soot from the exhaust would damage my very expensive boat. I have seen many boats and RV trailers covered with that nasty soot.

No offense but if the new GM Duramax with the allison tranny pans out as good as everyone is saying, I may look at that since it is said to be very low on emissions. Otherwise a diesel is a no no when towing expensive toys.

As far as the note about noise and smell, I think you are about half right. The diesels are VERY loud and VERY smelly compared to a gas. A contractor I deal with just traded his PS diesel van for a V10 van. He got tired of the noise and smell. He said he could not even order fast food or make a bank deposit without shutting the motor off to talk and listen.

I thank everyone for their responses and will continue to search and enjoy this message board.

 

Well, whatever your choice, I hope you enjoy your purchase. Like I said on the diesel, the smell is better too me, more fuel efficient, and fuel is cheaper in most cases. But, I understand your point with the soot on the boat. As long as you give you boat a bath after every tow, you wouldn't have to worry about the soot, but that would be time consuming and get expensive. I think you should go with the lightning, plenty of power there .