2008 Ford F-450

BrandonMag

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21? Wow, I haven't heard of 6.0 getting that high of gas mileage.

I'm sure your comment about the lift, bigger tires and a tuner affecting the mpg equation is spot on.

I'm heading back to Portland from Kennewick thru the Columbia River Gorge. It's about 200 miles. I'll report back on mileage.
 

DaveBen

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3.73s are GREAT. I have gotten 21.8 mpg, driving 55 mph. Not likely to do that again...
 

BrandonMag

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One of the down sides to the 450s is the only gear ratios offered were 4.30s and 4.88s. This truck has a 4.30 ratio, fortunately.
 

BrandonMag

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I've now put almost 1000 miles on the truck. I can officially call the mpg indicator in the dash cluster the 'lie-o-meter'. It displayed between 16-17.7 mpg when I hand caculated between 12.6-14.9.

Ah, well. If I wanted good gas mileage I would have bought a Prius. :D
 

BrandonMag

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I'm a little miffed: the oil dipstick tube broke off last Monday and I haven't been able to get it fixed yet.
I ordered and received the Ford service manuals and all the parts to fix the dipstick tube and the radiator, but we've had epically bad weather lately. 10" of snow and temps in the teens and 20s.
This weekend I will get the dipstick tube fixed; not sure about the radiator, thermostats and silicone hoses.
 

SebastIDIan

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The radiator is pretty easy. (Or maybe Ive just done it too many times lol)

I recommend watching dieseltechron's tutorials on it.

About the dipstick I dunno. Hopefully not too hard given the engine bay is crammed like a **** in these trucks.
 

BrandonMag

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I watched the 15-minute video Mishimoto has on their website. The radiator removal and replacement doesn't look that hard, I'm just not sure I want to spend my Sunday bathing in Ford antifreeze in 20-degree weather with eight inches of snow on the ground.

About the dipstick I dunno. Hopefully not too hard given the engine bay is crammed like a **** in these trucks.

I bought most of the Ford service manuals for this truck. I literally have enough information to tear this truck down to the last nut and bolt. Not cheap, but necessary since I plan on keeping this for awhile and don't want to pay a mechanic for the upkeep.

If anyone needs to change the dipstick tube on one of these, don't bother following ALL of the steps Ford recommends. Removing the degas bottle is a bit of a pain; it's molded in with the driver's side battery tray. It's a horrible design that requires you to rotate the whole conglomeration just so to squeeze it between the drivers side fender and the fuel cooler. Once you remove the degas bottle and the old dipstick tube, you can fish the new tube up from underneath without removing the EGR cooler hose or the steering shaft bolt. (Be careful with the clip on the engine to degas bottle coolant hose; I lost mine and had to buy a replacement. The only thing I could find was a five-pack at O'Reillys for $27.99. I'm sure in five years I'll have four of 'em.)
 
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lotzagoodstuff

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I'm a little miffed: the oil dipstick tube broke off last Monday and I haven't been able to get it fixed yet.

Welcome to cold weather issues Brandon ;Poke I forgot about all the things four real seasons and far below freezing temps does to mechanical stuff until I moved back to the Midwest. There's a lot of things that you really have to think about touching when it's genuinely cold, but have no fear: your northwest cold snap should be short lived, then back to rain/moss versus the snow/salt/rust back here.

Good work on getting the service manual and planning on fixing yourself as that's a great rig and should last you decades ;Sweet
 

BrandonMag

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Update: when I bought this truck it had Continental HSR LT225/70R19.5s (stock size) installed with about 10K miles on them. I had a set of Continentals on a BMW 540i; I was very pleased with them, so I was glad to see a familiar brand when I looked at the truck for the first time.

We've had pretty bad weather here lately and I've put at least 300 miles on them driving on a mixture of ice and snow... mostly ice. They're not the best traction winter tires I've ever had; they're not studded. But they are pretty darn good. I'd recommend them, as long as you drive reasonably.

I've gotta head back to the Portland area tomorrow because my jobsite is shut down due to the weather (again). ODOT has seen fit to close I-84 due to the ice, so I'm heading up over the east side of Mt. Hood. In preparation, I picked up some cam-lock chains. I haven't installed those things in at least 20 years. Should be an interesting trip. :rolleyes:
 

BrandonMag

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Good news: I made it back to the Portland area without any problems.

The Laclede chains I picked up at Les Schwab worked great. I've never been a big fan; they are a pain to install and take off and they limit your speed to about 30 MPH.

Winter tires are MUCH better IMHO. But right now, between buying this truck and work getting canceled I don't have the extra $ to purchase tires. Hopefully, if things go as planned, I'll pick up a set of wheels this summer and a set of winter tires next autumn. Then I'll have a set of dedicated winter tires mounted on wheels and I won't have to mess with chains.
 

BrandonMag

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So in the last three months I've put about four thousand miles on the Eff Fo Fiddy. The leather seats were very dry; it looked like they hadn't been conditioned in years. I Lexol'd the hell out of 'em and they look much better. Plus, the cab smells like a baseball glove now.

While doing some research to decide which particular model to buy (350 or 450), the two biggest complaints I read about were the rough ride and poor fuel mileage. After driving a 1989 F-250 for eight years, I can honestly say both of these things are of no concern. The ride is WAY better than the F-250 and the fuel mileage is about the same.

A few small problems/complaints that I intend to rectify in the coming year:

1. I tweaked the B&W Companion fifth wheel hitch in the bed; I think I'm going to upgrade to a gooseneck setup.
2. The OEM six-disc CD changer only works occasionally; I'd like to upgrade to a new aftermarket touch-screen nav unit. Not sure on the brand, I like what Kenwood and Alpine offer. More research needed on this.
3. Occasionally when turning the steering wheel in parking lots I notice a little sound/rough feel, like the bearing is just starting to give up the ghost. Need to investigate.
4. The 4.30 gears are great for pulling pretty much anything but not so great for highway flyin'. I'd like to have a Gear Vendors installed; I'd do it tomorrow except for the cost. This is the last and lowest priority project for this truck.
 

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