Monday Mileage Champion: 2001 Ford F250

Steven Lang
by Steven Lang

755,507 miles.

This Ford F250 has truly lived up to all the rigors of what a long lasting truck represents. Mileage beyond the moon. Scuffs aplenty. Vinyl seats. Not to mention an engine and powertrain that truly stood the test of time.

Speaking of which, can you guess what engine it has?

We’ll give you a hint. It’s in plain sight. Ford offered some unconventional engines in their heavy-duty trucks back in the day. This particular engine has seen duty in more than one Ford with a truck chassis. But it’s not a common one. Not in the slightest, and I doubt that Ford will ever bring it back given the CAFE regulations of the day.

You may need to squint a bit to find this one. But it’s there in plain sight.

Steven Lang
Steven Lang

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  • Mikeg216 Mikeg216 on Sep 17, 2012

    These engines were great, sure if you are driving boats down to Florida for snow birds every day or towing at the limit over the rockies daily. Buy a diesel, otherwise this was the best buy for day to day work.. That's what's an f250 is for. This engine was a $695 option vs $7000 for the corn binder, plus the fuel is 40 cents a gallon cheaper. Once you factor in the fact the parts for this engine were 60% cheaper and a rebuild was $4000 less it all makes sense. That's why they have been reintroduced in the f550 and above, and they run great on lpg or natural gas.

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    • Danio3834 Danio3834 on Sep 18, 2012

      @Maxb49 You hit it on the head in your second paragraph. Emmissions regulations and controls are killing the diesel advantage and preventing the consumer from getting light duty diesels from other markets. With particulate filers, regeneration, reductant systems, and complicated EGR systems, fuel economy has taken a huge hit as has reliability and cost to own. Maintaining a modern diesel will eat any fuel cost savings and then some. Not to mention the up front cost, usually ~ $8-10,000. Having worked extensively with modern light duty diesels over the past few years, I typcially steer people shopping for a truck toward a gas motor. The conversation usually goes something like this, "So you're looking for a 3/4 ton or bigger truck? How big is your trailer?" If they say; "What trailer?" = V6 or base V8 1/2 ton. "Less than 10,000lbs or 30 feet" = 5.7L HEMI, 6.0L GM/LS or 6.2L mod. "More than 10,000lbs or 30 feet" Ford 6.8 V10, 8.1L BBC, 7.3L Power Stroke, maybe a 5.9 Cummins of the right year. "I MUST HAVE DIESEL NOISES" = VW TDI for you

  • FJ60LandCruiser FJ60LandCruiser on Sep 18, 2012

    A diesel would have been gummed up by our new low sulfur fuel by now. The most common GM and Ford V8s will run forever. I'm surprised that's the original tranny, if you tow, you'll go through one every 200-300k miles.

  • MarkP MarkP on Sep 18, 2012

    I just traded a 2001 F250 4-wheel drive with the V10 and 140,000 miles, and I was happy to see it go. I averaged about 10 mpg in suburban driving and once got close to 12 on the highway (unladen). The front suspension was shot when I got it a couple of years ago. Repairing it added $3,000 to the price. It was also getting ready for some more big-time repairs. I think it might have been able to go another hundred thousand miles, but I shudder to think what the cost would have been. I might consider accepting this truck if you gave me $1000 and I didn't have to drive it home.

    • See 1 previous
    • MarkP MarkP on Sep 18, 2012

      @mikeg216 The engine actually gave me no problems. It didn't use oil and showed no signs of problems. But I can't say the same for the rest of the truck.

  • Mikeg216 Mikeg216 on Sep 18, 2012

    Yeah if ya sorry out the front end with Moog and Timken parts it helps a lot.

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