Ford F250 fwd 351 1992 auto

I am contemplating buying an f250 FWD automatic for some beach work ,ie pulling a 16 foot fibreglass boat behind me.I have been told that the c6 auto in these trucks are prone to failure in this sort of application.I not a mechanical person but is there anyone out there that can put me straight on whether these autos are up to the job.I would greatly appreciate some come back thankyou.

I
Reply to
moss
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A couple thoughts:

First, you're talking about a 14 or 15 year old vehicle. The tranny has a right to need attention by now. :-) If you do have tranny trouble, remember that you usually have no idea what the previous owner may have done with a used vehicle. Check the condition of the transmission fluid closely. If it's dark or smells burned, beware.

Second, any vehicle that is used for towing needs to have additional precautions taken on the transmission. First, you must have adequate tranny fluid cooling. Even if it has a factory cooler, I'd add a larger aftermarket one. Heat is the enemy of an automatic transmission.

Last, I really like the C-6. Until replaced in recent years, it was always Ford's most durable heavy duty automatic. It's only a 3 speed, so you don't have all those growing pains experienced with the early overdrive transmissions. I'm pretty sure it's not computer controlled, which is better for that era. The best part is that they're much cheaper to rebuild or replace than any of the other more complicated heavy duty automatics.

CJB

Reply to
CJB

That would be 4WD, not FWD. FWD means Front Wheel Drive, and there is no such thing in the F250.

Expect the 351 to deliver in the range of 12mpg.

As for the transmission, I was told that the C6 is the good one. It is all manual operation, and is both reliable and repairable. The later models are electronically controlled, and these have problems that are difficult to fix. I had the C6 in my motorhome, and it worked great. The downside of the C6 is that it hasn't got overdrive. It is strictly a 3-speed unit. The electronic units have overdrive, which (in theory) should give better fuel mileage.

Reply to
Jeff Strickland

I agree completely. The C6 is the way to go, IF one is willing to give up overdrive and live with slightly lower fuel economy. Having said that, a 3/4 ton truck is never going to deliver very good fuel economy numbers, overdrive or not.

Reply to
Jeff Strickland

You may want to check the trasns model. If it is a 3 speed, it is probably a C6 which I do not recall as being available behind the 5.8L in the '92 year model. If it is a 4 speed auto, it will be an E4OD. These transmissions did have problems but, are still a good choice for the vehicle. If the trans was built in later years, it should have had at least some updates done since many of the original parts were not available after a couple of years. Properly built and updated, the E4OD is a good trans. If you, in fact, have a C6 you have one of the best gearboxes Ford ever built with pretty rough fuel mileage these days. In any case, if either of these transmissions are in good condition, there will be no problem towing a 16" fishing boat. Hell, I could do that with my Crown Vic if it weren't for the beach part of it.

Lugnut

Reply to
lugnut

Or the boat launch ramp part ...

Reply to
Jeff Strickland

..

My 91 had a E4OD, I don't think the C6 was available, at all, in 92

Reply to
Ralph E Lindberg

So you'll know, if you have C-6, it's strictly a 3 speed. If it has an OD cancel button anywhere, most likely on the column shifter, it's a 4 speed. On an F-250, the 4 speed would almost have to be an E4OD. If it were an F-150, you could have a 4R70W

Reply to
CJB

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