What is Super Duty?

Hello to everyone.

I just bought a 1990 F-350 4x4 diesel to use as a work truck. It needs a bit of work, so I was looking for shop manuals. I see that some of the manuals (at Helm), are for Super Duty, and some are not. What is Super Duty, and how do I know if I've got one?

I apologize for my ignorance concerning what's probably basic knowledge about Ford trucks. Thanks for any help.

Reply to
August West
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Your truck is a Super Duty. Ford makes two lines of pickup trucks and an

1999 F-350 with a Powerstroke is in their Super Duty line.

Reply to
Merc

Thanks for the reply, but I've got a 1990 F-350. It's not a Powerstroke, which I think didn't come out until 1994. Are all the F-350 diesels (including 1990 models) Super Duty?

Thanks again.

-AW

Reply to
August West

Short answer, No. There were no Super Duty trucks in 1990. They all used a common body style that year.

Reply to
bomar

There was an F350 Super Duty in 1990. It was technically an F470 but, it had F350 badges and the Super Duty on the badges. It was used extensively for cab/chassis applications such as tow trucks and ambulances. The VIN is the key. If it is a pickup, it is not likely a Super Duty.

Reply to
lugnut

Dude, I don't know the answer to his original question. But the thought that the Super Duty is a different body style is so far out in left field that you can't even see the ball park from there. All years of Super Duty styles are indistinguishable from the so-called standard trucks, as far as body style is concerned.

Simple answer is that the Super Duty trucks are beefed up in certain areas to handle a heavier payload and/or towing capacity, without being called "Towing Package" or anything similar, and without paying for unnecessary items that you may not need but that would be part of a Towing Package. I do remember that the original marketing push for the Super Duties was towards contractors and others that had a need for hauling on a very regular basis (i.e. 8 hours/day, 5 days/week, 50 weeks/year (2 weeks off for vacation)).

Your best bet may just be to visit your local FoMoCo dealer and have them run the VIN so that they can tell you just what you have.

Bob

Reply to
Bob

"Bob" wrote ... (2 weeks off for vacation)). : Yes, I've a super duty No, I don't know the answer to the fellers question - hadda '94 F250HD, and the manual refers to HD and LD (heavy and light duty) but no super duty (for what that's worth)...

I was just reading the responses and got to wondering what the hell's a vacation?

Dave

Reply to
David Ward

My bad I guess I need glasses. A 1990 model is just an F series truck.nothing else.

Reply to
Merc

Late model Super Duties have a different body style than the light duties. There were some years that FoMoCO produced those idiotic "light duty" f250's that used the F150 body.

The only common light duty/super duty body part is the tail gate.

Light duty:

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Super Duty:
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Reply to
bomar

That's the same thing the dealer told me when I was getting some parts.

F250 = beefed up F150 F250 SD = real truck

-Skramblr

Reply to
Skramblr

You may get a lot of confusing responses to this, because the definition of Super Duty has changed since your truck was built. So, just incase knowledge is voting against ignorance by numbers, I'm going to add my vote.

In 1990, Ford was producing a different truck that was called F-SuperDuty. Your F-350 is NOT a Super Duty. The F-superduty is NOT an F-350. It was more heavy duty than an F-350, with a solid beam front axle like an F-700, but built low, and it basically filled the gap between pickups and the "medium duty" trucks (what traditionally you might call a 2-ton or 3-ton truck).

When the F-superduty came out, it was just the right size to make rollbacks out of, and that's commonly what they're used for. Heavy duty enough to carry your truck at 3 tons, but still low enough to scrape it off the pavement.

Today, the F-450 and F-550 are the products that are in that same market space. So just think 1990 F-superduty equals F-450 today.

Reply to
Joe

Again that depends on the year...

For many years The F-250 and the F-350 shared all drivetrain components, axels, springs & brakes. The "Superduty" name is a marketing ploy. It has no specific tangible parts that make it so... Recently, Ford uses it to distinguish from their half ton line of trucks...

Reply to
351CJ

Ummm...mine say SD after the F250.......

Unless that means "sexual deviant" but then they would have had to know I would buy the thing....lol

Reply to
My Own Little Universe

Reply to
bomar

When people start their posts with "I don't know the answer to your question, but" that's not a good sign.

Reply to
Joe

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