Chit chat

[michigan2500hd]

After changing the oil on the Ford ( read winter beater) I can't understand how there can be people who actually think Fords are better. I can't think of one way they could possibly be better...I may have even invented a few new swear words.

 

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[Colossus]

They are better at breaking down and crappy reliability after 100,000 miles.. Which is why their resale value is always the worst.... Great vehicle if you want to own one for 3-5 years but after that.. HA!

[Jsdirt]

I can't rip on Ford. I've owned plenty over the years, along side my GM products. GM does it's own share of stupid crap.

 

If your window switch fails in your '07 and up, can you just replace it with a new one? NOPE! Requires a computer reflash to work! Same with your FPCM - replace it with new, and the vehicle won't start! Reflash required. So if you're a DIY'er, you're paying $400 or whatever the part costs from GM .. then you're paying a shop a minimum of $120 to perform a reflash .. PLUS a tow since it won't run! You might get a Ford done cheaper since the subscription fee is less. Also, GM is famous for bricked ECUs if a reflash is interrupted. No recovery possible. Mostly on the early 21st century trucks. Real nice!

 

The software to download from GM if your happen to own a J2534 pass thru device: $55 for 2 days. Ford charges only $32.95 for 3 days. By way of comparison, Kia is $19. Toyota copied GM, BUT, their service data is 200% more open - they tell you everything and hide nothing. GM likes to keep too many secrets ...

 

Just for the cost of reflashing alone, I'd buy a Ford over a GM. I have to fix my own vehicles, remember.

 

 

I'm still driving my 31 year old FoMoCo product we've owned for 14 years. 239k miles, not a hint of blue smoke, original fuel pump & power steering pump, rear end has never been touched except for axle seals & maintenance, & transmission maintenance only too. Only things that fail after that length of time are plastic parts. They all dry up, become brittle, and crack.

 

[Colossus]

Back in the 80s when Ford built simpler vehicles, they were not all that bad.

[michigan2500hd]

My dad has a few Ford trucks when I was growing up and one Chevy. He always bought old, used vehicles and wasn't brand loyal. As I remember the 72 Chevy pickup was very cool. Great styling, etc. The 77 and 78 ford were ok looking but I liked the Chevy. Seems like Ford has some design issues that they never seem to take care of. Their truck exhaust pipes always looked awkward..exiting oddly.

 

Electrical gremlins, corrosion on wires and goofy sounding starters.

Had my fair share of issues with the "twin-I beam" front suspension and king pins too.

Before I new better I bought a 1990 f150 with a 302 and a 5 speed. Nice looking truck and the it was cheap but they thing was so gutless I couldn't keep it at 70 on the expressway without down shifting lol.

I think reading too many off-road magazines at the time and being young and energetic lead me to thinking I should swap the engine out. My dad had a old 77 Ford LTD wagon with a 400 ci big block sitting in the weeds that he let me have.

Out came the 302 and in went the 400. Opps the motor mounts won't fit and the transmission bell housing needs to be bigger so I picked up a C6 trans. ( yeah I should have known that ahead of time)

I bought a NP 205 ( gear driven) transfer case because Four Wheeler magazine said they are almost bulletproof. Fabbed a new cross member because the original wouldn't work along with new driveshafts front and rear. Rebuilt the 400 with new everything except the crank, and installed a floor shift B & M shifter because the linkage location had changed.

My dad told me he counted 13 times that the engine went in and back out of the truck lol.

I guess long story short I learned I didn't like working on Fords and after all that work guess what..It still wasn't a Chevy ;)

 

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[Daryl LBZ]

Just signed up for Sling TV, so far I like it.

[Chris]

Just signed up for Sling TV, so far I like it.

You missed the window but DIRECTVs competition for sling had more channels and was $5 cheaper

[Daryl LBZ]

You missed the window but DIRECTVs competition for sling had more channels and was $5 cheaper

 

 

Figures, maybe they'll offer it again. What's the name of it?

[KARNUT]

This brings back fond memories for me about how easy it was to swap around chevy engines and transmissions in the 70s and 80s when I was doing it a lot. I was an impala nut mostly, just finished putting a 454 in a 74 impala. At the time we had a salvage yard and came across a 77 nova 6cylinder that was clean. That weekend pulled the 454 and installed in the nova with very little effort. A week later a 78 camaro comes in that's wrecked with a good 350 with headers that gets installed in the impala. Fun times. Couldn't do that that easy with fords or dodge. You could have two different 351s with ford depending on where it was made. Dodge you had to change a k member to go from 6 to 8 cylinders. GM trucks were easy too

 

My dad has a few Ford trucks when I was growing up and one Chevy. He always bought old, used vehicles and wasn't brand loyal. As I remember the 72 Chevy pickup was very cool. Great styling, etc. The 77 and 78 ford were ok looking but I liked the Chevy. Seems like Ford has some design issues that they never seem to take care of. Their truck exhaust pipes always looked awkward..exiting oddly.

 

Electrical gremlins, corrosion on wires and goofy sounding starters.

Had my fair share of issues with the "twin-I beam" front suspension and king pins too.

Before I new better I bought a 1990 f150 with a 302 and a 5 speed. Nice looking truck and the it was cheap but they thing was so gutless I couldn't keep it at 70 on the expressway without down shifting lol.

I think reading too many off-road magazines at the time and being young and energetic lead me to thinking I should swap the engine out. My dad had a old 77 Ford LTD wagon with a 400 ci big block sitting in the weeds that he let me have.

Out came the 302 and in went the 400. Opps the motor mounts won't fit and the transmission bell housing needs to be bigger so I picked up a C6 trans. ( yeah I should have known that ahead of time)

I bought a NP 205 ( gear driven) transfer case because Four Wheeler magazine said they are almost bulletproof. Fabbed a new cross member because the original wouldn't work along with new driveshafts front and rear. Rebuilt the 400 with new everything except the crank, and installed a floor shift B & M shifter because the linkage location had changed.

My dad told me he counted 13 times that the engine went in and back out of the truck lol.

I guess long story short I learned I didn't like working on Fords and after all that work guess what..It still wasn't a Chevy ;)

 

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[Jsdirt]

I really miss those days. Can't believe how crazy the prices have got on even 1980's vehicles. Ridiculous.

 

I should have filled my yard with cars from the 60's to 80's. People couldn't give 80's cars away fast enough in the late 90's. A dime a dozen in the local want ads. Used to see several of my Grand Marquis' for sale for $800. Now $4k if they run and drive. Monte Carlo, Grand Prix, Cutlass for $1k or less ... now seeing some for $8k and up!

 

Maybe I should start stockpiling the rolling tupperware that's on the road today. If history is any indicator, even this crap will be worth quite a bit in a couple decades. Will be here before we know it. My truck is already 10! Can't even wrap my head around that. Got friends with kids approaching their 30's - where did the time go!?!

[KARNUT]

Grand marquis is my all time favorite Ford (I like big cars) I know it's a merc. The reason is you could use mustang go fast parts and no one would know they would just see tail lights. I used to have a blast with my impalas.

[Jsdirt]

Yeah, the only visible difference between the 2 engines is the intake plenum faces the passenger side on the Fox, while it faces the driver's side on the Panther. I've always wanted to do that upgrade, but it's my wife's 3-season commuter car. She's content with the 140 HP / 230 Ft.Lbs..

 

I always said I'd hot-rod it when the engine grenades. A nice 351C if I can find one, carb, and aftermarket ignition. Been waiting 8 years .... still hasn't happened! It's like the Energizer bunny ... only blue.

[StinkyCheese]

So I somewhat inadvertently grabbed a hybrid truck at work today. I didn't even know we had them here yet. What boggles my mind is it runs only on electric, so when the battery dies you have to pull over and wait for the gas generator (or whatever, sounds like a generator) to charge the battery. They said it goes about 100 miles. Yeah not on the highway it doesn't. Used 40%+ battery for a 30 minute trip that was only 20ish miles. Took over an hour break earlier since I was down to 5%. Taking another break now to charge it again. I've only done 55.5 miles so far and I've used probably 80% battery. Good old brown doing stuff that doesn't make sense. Also it's super weird being in near silent vehicle, and quite unsettling for me. Especially with how loud our diesels and even our gasses are.

 

[Daryl LBZ]

Electric vehicles are definitely not ready for prime time.

[KARNUT]

That's great work 15 Hrs get paid for 8 while it charges every hour. Hey wait a minute, what's charging it a gas generator?! I must have read it wrong!