1987 Ford F250 XLT - Lariat 351-ho from North America

Faults:

Nothing major (engine - trns.- rear) 140,000 miles. A/C problem - evaporator (Florida).

General Comments:

It has been the best investment in a vehicle I have ever made. I drive it hard & put it away wet. I tow a race car all over florida & previously N.Y.

Gas mileage is low (must be the way I drive).

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 29th June, 1998

3rd Jun 2001, 11:47

I have an F-250 1988. I love it.

Can anyone tell me about the 460 exhaust leaks? What do you do about the exhaust manifolds?

It goes away after about 5 miles of driving.

19th Jul 2002, 19:56

To the writer of the comment, if it goes away it sounds like the manifold to head bolts need to be tightened. To the person who wrote the review, my 87' went 240,000 hard miles before I traded it in for a new one.

16th Aug 2009, 20:41

I have a 87 Ford longbed and it has a 7.5 litter and its the best truck I ever had.

In reply to 3rd Jun 2001, 11:47

14th May 2016, 16:15

From experience I'd say the best way to fix leaky exhaust ports is to remove the manifolds and have them resurfaced at your local machine shop. Should cost ~$150 max for both.

Then reinstall them using proper metallic gaskets and a smooth coat of aerosol copper sealant - it helps greatly with heat transfer, thereby preventing future burnout. If you have room to install studs instead of bolts, then use hardened exhaust studs with longish stainless steel nuts and lock washers. SS nuts are plenty strong enough to withstand the heat and won't freeze to the studs in case you have to redo the manifolds in 100k miles (if you have a carburetted engine, it'll probably need to be redone someday).