Which Ford F-250, 4X4?

Arborist Forum

Help Support Arborist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
stihl sawing
Joined
Feb 16, 2008
Messages
47,431
Location
Across the bridge.
The 86 looks rough. the 88 looks exactly like mine.

attachment.php
 
winland

winland

ArboristSite Operative
Joined
Jan 24, 2012
Messages
368
Location
44883
The black '88 is definitely a 302cid. Do not know if it is a replacement engine.
Will probably go with it. Hope it will haul a big load of wood with a trailer and not get get stuck in a frozen corn field
 
John R

John R

Addicted to ArboristSite
Joined
Oct 16, 2010
Messages
1,460
Location
Michigan..................In The Thumb
The black '88 is definitely a 302cid. Do not know if it is a replacement engine.
Will probably go with it. Hope it will haul a big load of wood with a trailer and not get get stuck in a frozen corn field

If it does get stuck you can get someone with a Chevy to pull you out. :hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange:
 
srb08

srb08

Doesn't play well with others
Joined
Sep 13, 2011
Messages
3,066
Location
Mid Mo
I had an 88 F-150 4x4 with a 302. It didn't have enough power to get out of it's own way. Mine was a four speed manual and was an absolute dog. It was reliable but not worth a damn for hauling anything.
 
stihly dan

stihly dan

Addicted to ArboristSite
Joined
Mar 6, 2012
Messages
2,840
Location
nh
Buy them both. try them out hauling wood. Keep the one you like best, sell the other for 50% more than you paid for it. Win, win.
Maybe a package deal, $2,500 for both.
 
Last edited:
brenndatomu

brenndatomu

Hey you woodchucks, quit chucking my wood!
Joined
Feb 25, 2012
Messages
2,510
Location
NE/Central Ohio
I have a 95 F150 Supercab 4x4 with a 5.0 v8/auto trans, I've had it loaded down with 2800 lbs of gravel, half cord of green oak oak, various other "overloads", practically dragging the rear bumper on the ground, it does fine as long as you aren't trying to win a drag race against one of them jacked up, chrome stack, black smoke belchin hot rod diesels the kids all drive now! I used it to haul my 950 lb. Yukon furnace home, truck still pulled 15 MPG highway on the way home, try that with a 460!
If I'm loaded down and pullin a trailer in a soft field, I just shift the transfer case down to low range, she gots all the power you'd ever need!

Decide which one you want, buy it, go cut wood, don't look back! If ya pay too much attention to these guys your head will be spinning in circles! Nothing takes off quite like a "what is the best truck" thread here on AS! :laugh:

Heck, on second thought, where's those babys at? I may want whichever one you don't buy!
 
Last edited:
deerehunter

deerehunter

ArboristSite Operative
. AS Supporting Member.
Joined
Dec 9, 2008
Messages
268
Location
Clifford, MI
I have had a ton of trucks over the years, one being a 90 F250 with a 302. This year I bought a 93 F350 with a 460 big block that you may have seen in the classifieds for sale this spring (I bought it and fixed a few things before flipping it). I preferred the small block F250 as during everyday driving it seemed to have as much get up and go as the 460. Obviously the straight axle front end F350 was a heavier duty setup and the 460 had more torque for pulling but that 302 will do fine. EFI and carb'd 460's really arent that impressive in stock form.
 
Whitespider
Joined
Nov 17, 2010
Messages
22,803
Location
On the Cedar in Northeast Iowa
If I'm loaded down and pullin a trailer in a soft field, I just shift the transfer case down to low range, she gots all the power you'd ever need!

When ya' need to really pull something nothing beats gearing... all the engine in the world won't beat gearing. That's the really nice thing about a 4x4... the low range side of the transfer case. Yeah, she might be geared a bit high for fuel mileage, making it sort'a a dog... but drop that transfer case into low range and she'll pull a house over if'n it can find traction. Like I said, the 460 is a gas pig and unless you need that much "highway" horsepower 70-80% of the time, go smaller and drive slower when pullin' a load... 6-8 MPG makes for some awful expensive firewood if'n you're driving any distance for it.
 
Speed

Speed

ArboristSite Operative
Joined
Nov 4, 2012
Messages
407
Location
Michigan
We had both of those back then. You couldn't give me the 302. About the only thing it was good for was riding around drinking beer, as long as you weren't going up hill. Take the 460, it'll still be doing its job when the 302 is in the junkyard. Also, the fuel usage difference was nearly the same. I never understood how Ford could get a 302 to burn that much gas, while producing so little power.
 
Top