1989 Ford F250 XLT Lariet 7.5 litre

Summary:

One tough doohickey LOL...

Faults:

Heater core.

Minor damage to the body i.e. the bed of the truck and front passenger fender from the previous owner.

No A/C at this time.

General Comments:

Drives as good as a new truck. Can literally pull down a house. Unbelievable power. It's rated from the factory at 225 horses, but was seriously underrated by the manufacturer. Horsepower and torque are more in line with a 500 HP engine. So why it's rated at 225 horses is beyond me. Maybe they did it for emissions? Who knows.

I love this truck, although 8-10 miles a gallon is rough on the pocketbook. It's exactly what I wanted. One tough truck that can tow anything you set your mind to. I have seen them tow a bulldozer, farm tractors, and lots of other heavy machinery weighing 20,000 pounds or more on a gooseneck trailer with a dovetail. Forget about G.V.W.R. Learn to axle as well as properly center and scale your load and you can pull anything.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 28th February, 2016

1989 Ford F250 Custom 5.0L V-8

Summary:

The only vehicle I would trust in a zombie apocalypse

Faults:

Exhaust manifolds.

Various little things due to age.

Rear differential finally showing signs of retiring; will replace soon.

Will be replacing all gaskets/hoses (valve covers and above) and exhaust system at the 200,000 mile mark as preventative maintenance.

General Comments:

The car was purchased new in 1989 by my cousin, who immediately put a 1,500lb capacity lift gate on it. It was then used vigorously for almost two decades before I got a hold of it.

It's been used since then far more vigorously, and keeps asking for more.

Gets 21 MPG on the highway, while still having plenty of hot-rod like power (being a Mustang derived 5.0L engine). Tows surprisingly well too for the engine size.

Drives great around town and on the freeway.

Unstoppable off-road, (it is a 2WD). Completely stock suspension, but still makes it farther than some Jeeps on Jeep trails; go figure.

Hauls a 2,000lb cabover camper and 2,000lb trailer/dirt bikes regularly through the Mojave Desert, usually about an hour's drive off-road on light trails.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 28th September, 2013

1989 Ford F250 XLT Lariat 460

Summary:

Powerful, reliable. Record-breaking gas consumption

Faults:

Replaced the front caliper floater pins after driver's side got stuck.

Replaced the alternator.

Passenger's side power window gear is gone.

Both exhaust manifolds warped and cracked their bolts.

General Comments:

I bought this truck with ridiculously low miles last year.

The above items were mostly caused from age and sitting outside; i.e. the alternator threw a bearing (old), the plastic power window gears got brittle from the Northern Cali valley heat, the caliper pins were rusted. 460's are known to warp exhaust manifolds all the time, so no surprise there.

Bottom line? This truck is a behemoth workhorse. It has never left me stranded. I've taken it across country twice towing a 5th wheel trailer. I have no doubt the 460/C6 automatic combination could pull a house off its foundation.

However all that power comes at a price: towing you're going to get 8-10MPG. Well, actually, NOT towing you get 8-10 MPG. So you might as well tow a 40' trailer, all the time because you're going to get 8-10MPG anyway.

They don't build 'em like this any more. This truck's chassis and powertrain was built to go 300,000 miles and tow 18,000 lbs. the whole while. Too bad gas still isn't $0.89 per gallon.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 28th November, 2010

2nd Apr 2011, 06:53

I had a 460 in a 1986 Ford 3/4 van and I got 8 MPG one time YAHOO!

Boy did that van drink fuel, but it towed great.

Just keep the RPMs low.

When high RPMs are used, like passing, the 460 has a problem with blowing the frost plug out behind the starter... must be a heck of a water pump impeller on those, I've done that on 3 Lincoln Town Cars with the 460. Yahoo, that's fun too!