I just had a child, so it was time to give up my beloved '71 International and get something with a bigger cab ... so I bought a '96 Ford F250 Super Duty Diesel 4x4. Pretty cool truck.

I gotta be honest, though, I'm not sure I'm too excited about the twin beam front axle which leads me to my first question: The truck has 130k miles and I get a pretty good shimmie at about 65 mph - Is this common with these axles, is there a particular bushing that tends to wear? Does this eat up shocks with that heavy diesel and the two leaf springs?

Second, I'm assuming there's an aftermarket free-wheeling hub conversion?

Third, what's the best way to check the auto trans oil (Electronic Overdrive)? I checked it with the engine running and in neutral and I think I may have overfilled it because now it leaks out the pan ... should this be checked engine off? Also, the guy lost the owner's manual and I don't know what the oil capacity is.

Any help would be great. Thanks.

Mike

 

FYI it was not a Superduty until 99. The only Superduty trucks pre 99 were the F450s and were 10 lug 2wd cab/chasis only. What you have is just an F250.



No, that is not normal, and the bushings have probably worn out in the front. If you're not mechanically inclined enough to do the work yourself I suggest you take it to a shop. It could be the bearings are a little loose or worn out, ball joints bad, tie rod ends bad, or beam pivot bushings shot. It should not eat up shocks, if it does something is not right. Check your frame around the area of the spring mounts for cracks as that has been a problem due to the design.



You mean manual hubs? Yes there are kits, but they're over priced. If you have manual hubs I suggest buying just a set of Warn manual hubs. After that go to your local pick and pull junkyard and find another D50/D60 axle with manual hubs (shouldn't be hard) and take the spindle nuts and washers out. Basically less than $5 worth of parts that the kit charges out the nose for.



If you need a manual you can get one from Ford. To check the fluid you need to check it hot. When its hot right before checking cycle the shifter through all the gears, then check the fluid. I can't tell you what the capacity is off the top of my head. If you overfilled it and you blew out the pan seal you have other problems going on. There is a breather on the trans that allows excess fluid to blow out in case of situations like this. Are you sure its leaking at the pan and not running down from somewhere higher up? What color was the trans fluid when you checked it? With 130k on the truck that old E4OD may be getting close to the end of its life so you'll have to be careful with it.

 

No, that is not normal, and the bushings have probably worn out in the front. If you're not mechanically inclined enough to do the work yourself I suggest you take it to a shop. It could be the bearings are a little loose or worn out, ball joints bad, tie rod ends bad, or beam pivot bushings shot. It should not eat up shocks, if it does something is not right. Check your frame around the area of the spring mounts for cracks as that has been a problem due to the design.


Everything he said... great advise... it won't eat shocks but it will prolly EAT TIRES...more than likely the inside of them

 

Ahhh the fun of your front axle. It is a Dana 50 TTB. That stands for twin traction beam, and while not as tough as the solid Dana 60, it still is ok. A good alignment shop can get you fixed up. If you say TTB to the counter person and get a blank stare, walk away, it's an axle that takes some knowhow to get right.

Three screw auto hubs? You need to get the converion kit to change to manuals. Not hard, and I run the Warn standards. If you want a metal ****, go for the Warn premiums.

Adrianspeeder

 

Thanks guys ... excellent advice. I already learned that I don't have a Super Duty ... always thought "Power Stroke" and "Super Duty" were synonomous.

I'm going to try new shocks to see if it buys me some time. I can tell one of the shock bushings is bad on the right side.

Yeah, I'm watching the trans ... turned a corner the other day and it kicked out of gear ... plus the shift into direct (3rd) is a little slushy ... kind of like my old powerglide.

 

Head on down to the basement of the site and do some reading on these old body style trucks.

Also, start savin to get that E4OD rebuilt. Could be next week, or could be next year.

Adrianspeeder

 

Well like I said, the conversion kit is not needed and is an unneeded expense. They charge $40 for literally $5 worth of parts. You're looking at an 8x markup on parts plus shipping. These parts can be gotten from pretty much any pick an pull, and if you're lucky you might even find a set of Warns out there. I have seen a couple sets before, but never had the time to get them off the trucks.

Unless you're taking the truck offroad the Warn premiums are not worth the extra cost. The standards hold up just fine and at substantially less. Keep in mind that if you somehow have a D44HD TTB front axle (which I think was discontinued in the early 90s, but Warn lists a PN for it in 96) instead of a D50 TTB you need part number 9790. The D50 needs PN 11960 which is about $150 for the standard.

 

40? I've never had to buy it, but I thought I remember reading it was like 15.

Adrianspeeder

 

its just marketing lingo

F250's and F350's made prior to 1999 are no less capable than the newer ones

if you want to get technical, the 1998 F250/350's had the jargon "heavy duty"

there was also the "F-Super Duty" which is the equivalent of the F450 now, it debuted in I think 1989 or so

just a higher rated F350 cab and chassis...

 

Yes, but if you walk into a parts store and tell them you need parts for a 96 F250 Superduty theres a good chance they'll just hear Superduty and start looking at the wrong model (F450). I know its just marketing lingo, but when he has to go to the parts store or anywhere else he really needs to drop that as it will confuse some people and cause undue headaches.


Adrian, the conversion kit is needed if you have auto hubs as the spindle nuts they use are not the same as the manual hub versions. I checked the price online yesterday and the average going price was about $40 + shipping.

 

Oh ok then, my bad.

Adrianspeeder

 

There was no 1998 F-250HD or F-350. F-350's didn't have the heavy duty either. Only the 1997 F-250 HD's had the Heavy Duty on it, to distinguish them from the 1997 F-250 LDs (F-150 Body style). In 1999, F-250HD and F-350 all became the Superduty.

 

I took a look at the transmission and it looks fairly straight-forward to remove. Since I don't have any manuals yet, what transfercase am I running? Is it gear or chain-drive?

As for the suspension, I'll probably get one of those urethane bushing kits and be done with it ... unless they're not any good.

 

I don't know why you're in such a hurry to remove the transmission. It does not have to be removed to do any of this work. If you indeed blew out the pan seal the pan needs to be dropped, but thats it. Check the breather and everything up higher for traces of fluid.

 

... definitely not in a hurry. It's the lack of a hard shift and popping out of gear when turning a corner that's bothering me. The leaking I can deal with.
My wife ... well ...