I am dreaming of a future purchase of either a 250SD or 350 with the power stroke diesel. I was wondering if there are any members out there with F-350's who might be able to enlighten as to what the advantages/disadvantages are to going with an F-350 over the F-250SD. I would be looking at the single rear wheels. I don't necessarily need the extra weight/towing capacity of the 350, but I want heavy duty and there to be no sagging springs after 30 or 40,000 miles.

 

If you dont need the exttra towing/payload capacity of a 350 then you dont need to get a 350. I routinley pull, meaning almost every day, 9 to 10 thousand pounds with my 250 SD PSD Ive yet to have any sagging springs and Im at 43 thousand miles. My truck will do just about anything a 350 will barring the dualie. If your looking for truck that is "Heavy Duty" then the 250 isnt going to dissapoint you.

 

In 02
Ford started putting the same springs in both
the only difference between the 2 is
In a 4x4 the F250 has a 2" block in the back
the F350 has a 4" block so they sit higher
The difference in load rating is made up by
the F350 haveing 265 tires
While some F250's have 265's (it's a upgrade) they are all
rated with the 235 tires
they are the same truck
they use the same axles, brakes and springs and frames
There's a very long thread over at Ford diesel on this
If you don't need the larger GVWR to be legal
why pay 800 bucks more for the same truck?

 

manx is right. there was a huge discussion over this at fd.com. it came down to 2 differences: the 2" v. 4" rear blocks and the F250 v. F350 badge (on SRW only). pretty weird.

 

If there is that little bit of a difference in the 2 and you get a 250 4x2 just go to FORD and get some 350 badges to put on it since they basicly are the same truck.

 

The differences of the two is mainly internal such as the carrier of a F250 is a 2 pin and the F350 is a 3 pin which means a slightly stronger rear end. I have not checked the brakes but if you can carry/pull a bigger load then you probably need slightly bigger brakes, calipers or even power booster. Couple of other things to check is the front end minus it having a D-60 and the frame such as extra supports.
Ill probably get shot down on this but call Ford and ask for a rebuild kit for the carrier and they will ask if you a have a 2 or 3 pin carrier. Also ask for other parts as they seem to be built the same but internally they may differ such as larger bolts, parts, extra parts ect...
1/4 ton difference is quite a bit to just have 2" or 4" blocks and a set of badges

 

The PSD trucks all come with the 3 pinion rear. All Crewcabs have the 3 pinion. Only the F250 with gas engines (except Crews) got the 2 pinion. That's what I read back in 1999. Who knows what Ford is doing now.

 

Truetruck,
As far as the rear ends go
It's the motor that decides that
And all SD 4x4's now have the Dana 60 up front
The tires are the only thing that limit your load carry ability
Yes there was a time when a 1 ton was totally different then
a 3/4
But times have changed
There the same truck nowdays

 

He He, 3/4 vs 1ton
Just trying to bring out the fact that a couple of 4" blocks and a set of badges fall a little short of being a 1ton.
Maybe what we need to do is get a F250 and F350, 2 kegs of beer and some women in bikinis to figure this out.
bottom line I am happy with my truck, it has hauled 1 1/4 ton of gravel with no trouble, pulled several other trucks out of the mud, gets 12mpg and my insurance is actually cheaper.
The only thing I dislike about it is the LS in the rear which I have a fix for that. Anyone interested let me know and Ill post my solution and how it works out.

 

I'd be interested in hearing your LS story. Post away!

 

The 350's are in high demand, I would get one if I buy a new one, If you can get a good price on it opt for the 350...

It has higher weight hauling capacity, better suspension, HIGHER resale...

Now if you just want to cruise around in a nice kicked back truck then the 250 will give a little better ride..

 

Well I bought a LS rebuild kit from Randy's ring and pinion. It is the ford kit but about $20 cheaper. I ripped apart the rear end and it was not pretty. Only 16,000miles and the discs and clutches were turning a burnt black color, too much slip in the Limited Slip My rebuild worked out ok, took me 2 days to do it as I had to play around and find the magic set up for the cluth/disc/shim. Then I had to force the clutch pack and gear in and use bolt/washer/nut combo to compress it to where I could insert the spider gears. This along with I had to take the whole carrier out of the rear end to do this, not pretty.
Once I put it together (wife had to help, need a second set of hands) I was sceptical about the whole thing.
How do is it work you ask?? It is ok I would not waste my time on this again. I left one tire on the jack stand and the truck pulled right off with no spin. drove around for a while it did not change the driveability of the truck even in corners. In the mud it worked good both tires pulling when one was on hard ground
Few things I found out on my 2001 F250SD
1) the carrier is marked 10.25- yes I saw it with my own eyes and looked several times 10.25 10.25 10.25
2) not too hard but you need to have either the right tools or a great imagination to get it back together.
3)stuffing 6 clutches into a 5 clutch set up is not hard but it is a pain in the ***
4) check you oil as mine was a light grey color
5) if I get decide to trade my truck in I will stick with open rear and get an aftermarket locker.

 

Thanks for the replies, guys! I will definitely go check out the other forum and see what is said there. Sounds like the 250SD may be the better buy. What glorious, big honkin' trucks they are!