1985 F150 4.9L 6 cyl with manual 4 sp transmission

First of all , can you post a pic of yourself nekid ?

Noddy

Brigitte wrote:

Because it is a manual, Ford rates these lower than an F150 with an automatic. I am not sure of the exact number, but usually Ford rates the manuals at 2000-2500lbs.

Is the info not on the door frame somewhere?

Thanks, Brigitte

hmmm, I'll have to take a look and see if that information is on the door fram.

Thanks, Brigitte

I'll try to download the manual, since the nearest Ford dealer is a 2 hour drive. :)

Thanks, Brigitte

Just tried the website you mentioned, but it only goes back as far as 1990.

Thanks, Brigitte

Brigitte,

I had an 87 four speed F150. It was not what you would call a stout truck. Mine had a low GVW, but I thought it would serve my purpose. I also expected to get decent mileage with the straight six. I was wrong. My suggestion would be to look for a small V8. If you can correctly handle a stick, I feel it's a better choice than the auto. I replaced mine with a 90 D-150 Dodge

318 V8, automatic, only because it was inexpensive. It was a much better truck for occasional hauling, and got better mileage to boot. My first Ford pickup was a 53, and I've owned a lot of them. The 87 was my first bad one. All the others were great trucks.

Al

Thanks for your comments. I have to agree with you on the mileage, it sucks on this thing.

Currently it is a 3rd extra vehicle for me. I only use it when I need to haul something, which hasn't been very often. It runs great, but the low mpg issue keeps me from driving it much.

I let it sit for a Nebraska winter, without starting it, but come spring it started right up. Not sure I could say that about any of my other vehicles. If nothing else, it is reliable.

Brigitte

Nice. I like the look of the 80-85 trucks.

I have a '93 with the 300 (4.9L; fuel-injected) and 5-speed manual transmission. Mine isn't actually rated to tow anything in the owner's manual, although it had a ball hitch in the bumper when I got it. The reason mine isn't listed in the tow ratings is the 2.37 ratio in the rear differential. The 3.03 (or is it 3.08?) is rated for ~1800 lbs. OTOH, my old (1990) BroncoII (2.9L V6, 5-speed) with 3.73 gears is rated for around 3600 lbs, IIRC.

What is the gear ratio in your differential? If you give me that, I'll see what my 1993 manual says for the 5-speed with that engine.

-D

Here is some info from the '81 owners manual:

for a Class I trailer, max trailer weight is 2000lb using the 4.9L engine. Ford recommends not using a manual transmission for pulling a trailer, only an automatic. The engine should have a HD cooling package and the gross vehicle weight should not exceed 7600lbs for the short wheelbase, or 7900lbs for the long wheelbase. What that means is the truck fully loaded with people, equipment, loaded trailer......every thing. You probably have the light-duty truck without a trailer package. I don't think I'd go much above half the weights if it were me. Make sure you have a good/tight suspension/shocks and very good brakes....very good brakes. Trailer brakes would be something to think about.

Hope this helps a little.

Dave S(Texas)

Thanks to everyone that replied. I did a little investigating and found that GCWR for this truck is 6,450. This number apparently represents what the truck will pull, including the truck's own weight and its contents.

Thanks again. Without your combined help I wouldn't have known how to find this information.

Brigitte

>

That is pretty pathetic for an F150. Manufacturers must be getting a lot less conservative lately.

I had an '86 F150 w/4 speed manual. It was a great truck and was probably the best I have had over the years. The

6450 GCWR does include the weight of both the truck with it's passengers and payload and, the towed unit weight. The biggest reason the truck is rated so low is the propensity of the front bearings in the trans to fail when pulling in 4th gear because of the rather marginal design of the trans. The big six has a sledge hammer power stroke at low RPM which results in great bottom end torque at the expense of the bearings. OTR Diesels have experienced the same kinds of failures in years past before transmission were developed that could take the high torque/low rpm abuse and electronic controls to prevent drivers from abusing them. The automatic trans will not allow you to inflict this kind of abuse into the transmission/drive train. Friend of mine learned this the hard way hauling hogs to market - several times. If you religiously avoid 4th gear when towing and keep the rpm up, it will handle more while getting less fuel mileage which you may not be able to afford.