After comparing, bought an F-550

[jenkinsph]

No, not at all, but the trans is just very dumbed-down compared to the Allison 1000 in my '07 GMC. No 6th gear, no manual shift feature. No lock-up in middle gears. Even the shifter stalk is whimpy. Looks more like a turn signal stalk.
The engine has me worried. I don't trust it.

In tow haul mode mine will hold the speed in the middle gears with my backhoe behind me on a steep grade. Usually if I touch the brake pedal twice it will downshift and hold the speed to the bottom of the hill. If you shift into 3rd gear instead of Drive at a full stop it will lock up in third, it won't down shift to take off either. So these trannies will lockup in middle gears.

Don't know about the newer shift levers, mine are all the same on the '99, '02 '03 and '05.

 

[Builder]

Really?
If MMSMC, my '99's had shift levers with a button on the end for OD. My '08 looks much shorter & smaller with a tow/haul button instead.

When I say "lock up", I don't mean into a specific gear, but instead mean lock the torque converter in the middle gears like an Ally will.

 

[Builder]

I just brought home a new '12 F-450 pickup. Only way I can afford a new truck is trade every 4 years. Really didn't want to get rid of my '08 F-450 but the 6.4 powered trucks are taking a hit since the introduction of the 6.7. It ran perfect but I still wasn't going to keep it past the 5 yr powertrain warranty. Even with only 50 miles on it, I can really tell a difference in power from the 6.4. No turbo lag at all. The 6 speed auto makes a difference, too.

Lets see it. Please let me (us) know how it runs and give us updates. May be doing same thing next year.

 

[JESSE1]

My first impression of the 6.7 is that it's a very powerful engine, no turbo lag, quiet but still has a good sound to it. The 6 speed trans must have been configured a lot like the Allison. This trans will hold any gear and you can manually shift it also. Engine has an exhaust brake. I'm anxious to try this out because the system on my '08 worked very well with the integrated brake controller and downshifting the trans as you use the brake. The F-450 pickup comes standard with diesel, 4x4, wide track front axle, crew cab and 4.30 axle ratio. Rated at 33,000# GCWR, they are one serious towing machine. I really liked my '08 and almost didn't buy this truck. I do wish they still used the 19.5" commercial tires and wheels on the F-450 but the 17" wheels look good.

 

[Dmace]

I gotta admit, I like the white grill versus all chrome. It doesn't look so over done. Very nice! :thumbsup:

 

[Builder]

My first impression of the 6.7 is that it's a very powerful engine, no turbo lag, quiet but still has a good sound to it. The 6 speed trans must have been configured a lot like the Allison. This trans will hold any gear and you can manually shift it also. Engine has an exhaust brake. I'm anxious to try this out because the system on my '08 worked very well with the integrated brake controller and downshifting the trans as you use the brake. The F-450 pickup comes standard with diesel, 4x4, wide track front axle, crew cab and 4.30 axle ratio. Rated at 33,000# GCWR, they are one serious towing machine. I really liked my '08 and almost didn't buy this truck. I do wish they still used the 19.5" commercial tires and wheels on the F-450 but the 17" wheels look good.

So the 450 with 4.30's is rated at 33,000 GCWR?
I had to go to a 550 with 4.88's to get my 33,000 GCWR.
Do the 550's have 17" rims instaed of 19.5's, too?
It's about time they integrated an exhaust brake.

 

[RollingsFarms]

Builder,

I am no expert on the 6.4 powerstrokes, but after doing some reading on forums and talking to a friend that owns one the biggest complaint I've been hearing was/is fuel mileage. haven't read or heard about many issues with these engines. from what I've been told you can get some serious power out of them, and if you ever remove the EPA junk your fuel mileage is quite impressive. not sure if you're planning to go that route or not. when I was truck shopping I found some decent deals on some 6.4 equiped trucks but the fuel mileage thing kept sticking in the back of my mind. I knew if I did buy one I didn't want to spend the extra $$$ to make it get acceptable mileage for a diesel. I was acctually surprised of the issues your truck had but after doing a google search, these don't seem to be all that common that I can find. you should be good to go, hopefully.

 

[Fordman1981]

I have an F-350 truck with work body on back pulls 16' enclosed trailer most if the time 7,000 lbs or so and have 98,500 miles on it today no problems at all so far. Though I will agree mileage sucks 10.5 pulling 13.5 just work body same setup on 02 7.3 would get 17 regularly when pulling and 18 just work body though it had the advantage of being a straight drive transmission. Good luck with your new truck.

 

[Rancher Ed]

So the 450 with 4.30's is rated at 33,000 GCWR?
I had to go to a 550 with 4.88's to get my 33,000 GCWR.
Do the 550's have 17" rims instaed of 19.5's, too?
It's about time they integrated an exhaust brake.

Builder - While the 450 pickup and chassis cab were basically the same in 2008-2010, for the 2011s with the new 6.7 diesel they are quite different.


F-450 pickup. Has the same tuning and turbo as the 250 and 350. Has 17" rims. GCWR is 33k with 4.30 rear end, and GVWR is 13,300.

Chassis cab. All 450 and 550 have 19.5" rims. Has a differently tuned 6.7 with 300hp and 660 lb-ft (the pickups have 400hp and 800 lb-ft) The turbo is also a little different and I have heard that is has quite a bit of lag. There is a guy on here and I can't think of his name right now, but he has several of the chassis cabs for work and has quite a few problems with them. From what I have seen, the 6.7 in the pickups has been good, but with the different tuning in the chassis it hasn't been doing so well.
For the 450, GCWR is 30k with 4.30 and 26k with 4.10 rear end. Its GVWR can be either 15,000 or 16,000. For the 550 the GCWR is 35k and you only get a 4.30 rear end. Its GVWR can be 17,500 to 19,500.

I personally think they should have kept the 19.5" wheels and higher GVWR on the 450 pickup, but they didn't. So, it is kinda catch .22 now. You can have a pickup bed, nice engine, and a low GVWR with small wheels, or you can have an engine that isn't doing quite as great, but you get a much higher GVWR, good 19.5 wheels, and the bed or your choice. Hopefully that makes sense and is helpful.


Ed

 

[Builder]

I think I'd rather have my truck at this point. The cost per month is crazy for a new truck and I don't see that much advantage.

I'm at a crossroads:
I can keep the truck bone stock and spend $2,500 on an extended warranty to 200,000 miles.
OR
I can spend $2,500 on modifying the engine to run right improve mileage, but void my warranty.
OR
I can do nothing, let the factory warranty run out in 1+ yr.

I would love to add a Banks brake. My service mgr at local Ford dealer doesn't think that would be a problem with warranty as long as I remove it, but doesn't want to see anything that adds power or removes emmissions.