7Mary3

Unfunded pension liability is not a big deal for GM or Ford. The feds. keep changing the pension rules, and with the depressed state of the stock and bond market (where the bulk of that pension money actually is) a large company can get substantially in the red overnight. Both companies have enough cash on hand to cover what the government says they owe. When the markets pick up, these problems will go away.

Wow, a B series Cummins turning a 1250 gpm pump. Wonder how long that would last. My guess not long!

Sorry to hear of your problem. First off, the loaner vehicle should be the equivalent of the vehicle being worked on. Second, if they can't find a camshaft, tell them you want a new engine or a new truck, period. I would get a lawyer at this point.

I hope Ford does improve engine accessability on the next generation Super Duty (whenever that's going to happen). The current Super Duty is a poor design, the inner fender supports, along with the radiator core support are a welded structure that in turn is welded to the cab firewall. Not only does this design limit access to the engine, it can be a real mess in an accident. The front end components on GM and Dodge trucks are still bolt-on, and removing the front clip for engine work or crash repair is still possible.

In my area, they are still primarily orange and black GMC's. Looks like they bought a load of Topkicks before they stopped building them. Never seen a Asplundh Sterling, and since those have been out of production for two years now I don't expect I'll be seeing many. And that brings me to another point: I wonder how much the discontinuing of Stering has affected the sales of Ford F-650's and 750's. Most all the Sterling dealers in my area were also selling Ford mediums.

That's about the way I understand it. Ford told International they wanted a medium duty truck that used a Super Duty cab, and International obliged. International says they are a supplier to Ford, but they do own 75% of Blue Diamond. I guess that means the plant more than anything. I have been told that there is no future development work going on at Blue Diamond, and if that's true it means Blue Diamond will come to an end someday. But, I don't think that someday will be anytime soon.

I have been told salt use has increased substantially in some states in recent years.

1997-2001 F-150's also have issues with the frames rusting at the upper rear shock absorber mounts, and cracking on the left rail where it is welded to the front suspension crossmember behind the steering box.

Doubt you would be able to use one. It doesn't look like the plastic oil pan has a threaded hole in it for the plug. It is a quarter turn yellow plastic thing.

Sounds like someone needed to design a better crankcase vent system to keep condensation down. I really don't mind the 'composite' (plastic) oil pan so much as the plastic drain petcock thing. Ford should have used a threaded insert and a conventional plug. I can see that plastic drain swelling up and sticking after a few years. A lot of manufacturers have given up on plastic radiator drain plugs. Completely useless! By the time you need to drain the radiator the plug will be stuck so bad it will break when you try to open it. I'll bet the aftermarket will have an oil pan for the 6.7L Powerstroke pretty quick.

Tell me I didn't see this!

I have 3 with Cummins, 1 with a Cat. By far the biggest problem is electrical issues. Even though the International 4400's multiplexed electrical system was troublesome, the Ford system on the 650 and 750 is also a problem. Making matters worse is the service information for these trucks is not the greatest, so locating shorts and opens can really be time consuming. I see a lot of chafed-through harnesses and intermittant blown fuses. We had a no-start on the Cat powered one once and it turned out to be a blown fuse for the engine ECM. The fuse was in a cheap in-line holder located (in all places) the battery box! Come to find out International was using the same design on some school bus chassis, and had to recall them for stalling issues. Guess someone forgot to tell Ford. We get a lot of driver complaints about excessive noise, and often you will find bolts have vibrated loose in the battery boxes, fuel tanks, and exhaust system. A/C system leaks are pretty common, but easily fixed. We had a number of issues with the transfer pumps on the Cummins powered units. I chalk that one up to Cummins, they mounted the pump behind the engine ECM on the side of the block, and the pumps got too hot. Cummins has a nice kit to relocate the pump- problem solved. We have found if you repeatedly slam the doors close with the windows rolled up the back window will pop out (it is bonded on the pickups). Buying parts for these trucks is always an adventure, it seems like neither Ford nor International wants to deal with them.

It is true, most all the Japanese builders except for Hino are walking away from anything larger than class 5. Dodge's lead on Ford in class 4 and 5 continues to grow, we will see if Dodge can hang on to it as 6.7L Powerstroke production ramps up. As for the F-650 and 750, I wonder if Ford's obvious lack of marketing these models is really holding the sales back, or if it is because these trucks are probably the worst mediums you can buy right now. I have 4 in my fleet, and the numbers are not good. They are proving to be in the shop more than 9 year old FL60's with 4 times the miles on them. Our driver's don't like them due to poor visibility and noise/vibration issues, not to mention they are 'down' often. That having been said, the 650 and 750 are attractively priced, and that alone should sell them to those medium customers that are one, price sensitive, and two, not that hard on their vehicles. That's a substantial market! As I said, I don't see 'Blue Diamond' going anywhere now. One of my 'insiders' recently confimed this, and with the economy going to way it is I just don't see Ford or International doing anything right now. I am hearing that some other manufacturers are making some big plans for when business does improve. Look for some very interesting joint ventures and perhaps even a merger or two. I think that Bob Rosadini is right on the mark with his prediction that the long-haul class 8 market will fade with increased competition from rail, and the real growth will be in medium duty, vocational, and regional/short haul. Watch and see certain manufacturers start to postion themselves for that shift in the heavy market.

From what I gather, the gas V-10 option in the F-650 is being done because there is 1 very major fleet customer wanting such a truck. If there is enough interest (read sales) beyond this one customer, the option may be around for awhile. Otherwise, the gas F-650 could end up like the E-550 cutaway from a few years ago, a one night stand. Notice that Ford has made a sales pitch for the gas F-650, more than a YEAR before it is scheduled for production? As for the V-10, both 2 valve and 3 valve version remain in production, the 2 valve for E series and motorhome chassis, the 3 valve for the Super Duty. I assume the 2 valve will go when the E series is finally dropped (no idea when that will be). My guess is the 3 valve will be replaced by a larger verison of the 6.2L Boss at some point. I don't think another V-10 or a long stroke Coyote are in the cards. Blue Diamond? Rumors were hot a heavy about Blue Diamond's demise, but now I don't think it is going anywhere soon. Reason is that it is doubtful Navistar would continue to supply Ford with chassis, axles, and suspensions if Ford took the 650 and 750 back in house, or farmed it out to another manufacturer. Sure, Ford could design a new 650 and 750 that didn't use the Navistar parts, but that would basically be a new-from-the-ground-up truck, and I think the current sales volume is nowhere near high enough to justify that. Ford would really be going out on a limb on a move like that, and would have to be sure one, medium duty sales will recover soon, and two, Ford would get a decent percentage of that market. The 'double dip' recession that now seems all but imminent could very well put Ford in a cash crunch, and that would very likely curtail spending on projects that do not have the potential of quick ROI. And it is needless to say what a continued recessionary economic environment will do to medium duty sales. I think Navistar at this point will keep Blue Diamond around until they need the plant capacity at Escobedo for their own trucks. Don't forget Blue Diamond is 75% Navistar.

What is this I hear that some 2011 Fords will use Dexcool?

Well, the Duramax got 'serious' mods for 2011, about 60% of the engine is new. I think that story about the Duramax being close to it's limits (incidentally a story spread by GM engineers) was B.S.. No question the Powerstroke is a more modern design though.

Impressive! The Duramax is rumored to get an upgrade in early 2011.

Good riddance! Best of luck to the Chinese. Volvo has not made a good car since the 240's. Trucks were another story, but Ford never got any part of that business.

http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100802/OEM04/308029997/1216

As much as I would like to see Ford offer something like this for sale in th U.S., I say the chances are between slim and none. The market for small/mid-size BOF SUV's is gone, just enough left for Jeep and Toyota. Explorer sales last year were less than 10% of peak back 10 years ago. Diesel? That will push the price north of $35k. Still, would be neat to see.

Encouraging? I remember when Ford sold @30,000 mediums a year. This year, they are on track to sell what, 5,500 units?

One of the many drawbacks to 'Twin-I-Beam' front suspension is that it requires the engine to be mounted high enough to clear the I beams. GM was able to shoehorn the Duramax (albeit without the Allison transmission) into the Savanna and Express full size vans in part because the front suspension was not in the way.

The E-Series is an old platform (1992) and the current Super Duty is starting to show it's age despite a couple of MCE's. Maybe the next generation Super Duty could be engineered in such a way that many components could also be use in a full size van/commercial cutaway.

A few thoughts: E series chassis and load floor is quite a bit lower than a Super Duty's. Should the next generation E series be based on the Super Duty, there would be compromises. Ride height would pose stability and use problems. Might not be anything to gain, as there may not be much commonality. The 6.7L Powerstroke would be difficult if not impossible to install in a vehicle like the current E series, or any full size van. So, unless consumers are willing to go back to a panel truck type vehicle, the Powerstroke is out. Maybe the 4.4L diesel would work? I have also been told neither the 3 valve Triton or the Boss will fit in the current E series. The E-150 really doesn't exist anymore. The current 'E-150' is not really a 1/2 ton full size van, it is a downrated E-350. I don't know why Ford did this, was it to get around emissions or safety regulations for vehicles under 8,500#'s GVW?

First off, that officer was lucky more than anything else. I would imagine he was ejected during the collision, and had there been someone in the passenger seat my guess is there would have been a fatality. Granted, any other car in a similar collision would have been just as bad if not worse. As for the 'idiots' who sued Ford, please remember that a good many of them were law enforcement next-of-kin who lost loved ones in Crown Vic crashes, and think of how you would feel if you had lost someone under similar circumstances. Ford stepped up to the plate in 2005 and fixed the defect, but a problem existed in the earlier models. Two officers in my area were very nearly killed when their 2002 Crown Vic was rear-ended by another car traveling at an estimated 35 m.p.h. on a surface street, not a highway.