1997 F350 with 460?

highrollintj

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 13, 2005
Location
Rolesville
i mean i know it should do pretty good at towing but one of my neighbors has a 1997 f350 xl 4x4 srw, 4 door, long bed (which needs to be replaced because it is rusted through) with the 460 big block in it and it has 125K miles on it. he had it up for $4000 but i guess no one wanted it so he has dropped it down to $2000. just wondering if it would be worth buying to have for a tow rig and if anyone else has a similar truck and how they like it. also curious about gas mileage, but this truck would more than likely be used strictly for towing
 
have a buddy with a 460 ton truck that he uses to tow with and haul stuff.... loaded or not, it gets about 12 mpg and even loaded with 5 tons of gravel it had plenty of getup... its carb though so might be a lil diff
 
I have a 460 in my e250, carbed, and happy with it. ANd as mentioned above, gets about the smae mileage pulling or unloaded.
 
yeah i need to go back over and take a look at the engine when the owner is there and test drive it, but i am assuming it has 4.30 gears in it, and it also has that plow package which would need to be removed, but for $2000 it would serve its purpose until i could get a diesel
 
Hey,

the white F250 longbed at the shop has the 460 in it. as mentioned it gets 12mpg pretty no matter what. if i recall we've used it to pull a trailer with 2 jeeps on it to uwharrie. did just fine. it's no diesel but it gets the job done.

later,
bigmac
 
I had a 94 FI460/auto and it towed the 68 bronco on an 18 ft trailer all over the place. One summer I put 28,000 miles on it just towing from the Hammers, to Dakota Territory Challenge, Moab about every other week, Rubicon, Surprise Canyon, CO, Farmington, etc. (best summer of my life)

I don't think you mentioned the tranny, but if it is auto, be sure to run synth lube, put on the transgo shift kit and upgraded springs, and a big aux cooler and you'll be fine. Change it every 30k/year.

The 350/460 combo never came with 4.30 gears (chassis cab only AFAIK), so I would assume 4.10 gears. You can help out with mileage a bit by going to a taller tire like a 285/295/315 that should fit without a lift.

Like someone else said, you will get about the same towing or empty; I was actually commuting to school 150 miles round trip down the canyon in UT with the 460 one year. I found with the tailgate down and keeping the speed/rpms down, you could sometimes get 13 mpg. Typically, it was 225-275 per fill up (8-9) average when towing the '68 Bronco on an 18ft heavy trailer and doing 75+ on the interstate in the mountains, so you should get a bit better here at lower alt and no mountains.

You can tow and pass just about anything except gas stations! Sounds like a bargain to me if it is in decent shape and the AC works.

HTH,
Shannon
 
yeah i dont know about the ac. and yeah know that i think about it, the older 1 tons came with 4.10s and the newer model trucks are 4.10 with gas engines, f250 with the diesel get 3.73's and i think the new 1 tons get 4.30's
 
I bought a 87 f250 4x4 extra cab for towing and it does great.stay with gas if its not going to be driven much because diesals hate to sit,and are pricey to work on.
 
I have the same truck, 8mpg towing and 12 empty. Doesn't have enough power for me, but for 2k you can part it out and make good money.
 
I just bought a '97 F-350 SRW long bed crew cab, but mine has a PSD. Is it a better truck? Probably, but I paid $10,000 for it. If you're only towing your trail rig with it you really can't go wrong for $2,000. It's not a PSD, but if you only have occasional towing needs it will be great. In '97 that one would have had 4.10 gears. Go buy it.
 
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