Wednesday, September 14, 2011

1999 Ford F250 Powerstroke

In 1999 Ford redesigned their f-series pickups from the F250 and up, but excluded the F-150 in the redesign because it underwent one in 1997. The body of the pickup was a new start in comparison to the earlier F250's. A couple new features were included in this body design that became innovations in heavy-duty pickups. A big innovation was the mirrors. The new mirros could extend out from the pickup, if need be, to provide greater visibility for pulling trailers. Along with the mirrors, the front of the doors were cut out for greater visibility of the mirrors and the road. These subtle details made a big difference improving the visibility for the driver, especially while pulling trailers. The F250 was now new and improved.

While there were many new to the industry features, Ford changed some existing features for the better. The already used 7.3 liter turbo diesel, which is known for its longevity and reliability, was modified to have an inter-cooler. An inter-cooler is like a radiator for the pressurized air coming from the turbo, cooling it before it goes into the engine. Cooler air means that the air is denser, which means that more horsepower is produced. Another change that was made was the removal of the TTB independent front suspension. TTB stands for twin traction beam, and had been standard in Ford pickups since the 1980's. The TTB front suspension had many design flaws that made it hard to align the front differential for proper tire wear. Ford replaced it with a stronger, Dana 90 solid front axel, even though it was older technology. The 1999 Ford F250 Powerstroke, in my opinion, is one of the best and long lasting work pickups created.

2 comments:

93margaret said...

the powers strokes rock! I agree with that!

Mrs. Rohla said...

I have heard these are very good work trucks. Perhaps in the future you could include a picture?