What are thoughts on the 460 motor?

[Tennmogger]

I put 235,000 miles on a carb'd 460. In that truck with 4:11 diffs I only got 8 mpg. Had dual 3" with Flowmasters, C6 tranny. I really liked that truck but no amount of care in driving would get better mileage. Newer injected trucks do better, but still, if you put a lot of miles on it, be sure to run some numbers on expected costs.

I presently drive a '90 E-350 with the 7.3 Diesel and the C6 and 4:11. These old trucks are cheap and get 10-12 mpg in my experience. That's a large percentage of better mileage and adds up for long ownership of a truck.

When the price of gas climbs again, that's when your decision is going to be important.

(ps, Diesel is the way to go IMHO)

Bob

 

[mustangwarrior]

i dont know much about them but my buddy had a 92 3/4 ton with a 460 and said it was great, he also has a 79 f150 mud truck with a 460 and loves its, but our dump at work has a 460 and is a POS, constantly being worked on and the plugs seem to sieze up in the block and they have snapped off in the block b4 too, i dont kno if thats the motor or the mechanics fault though

 

[logos]

We have a 1990 3/4 ton entended cab long bed Ford 4X4 460 with the 5 speed. It gets 10 MPG empty and 8 MPG towing the horse trailer. Great truck but thirsty is an understatement.

 

[WKCwith5]

I am looking at a F350 with the transmission code as E and the Axle code as CE or CF it is scratched out. Does any one have a Ford owners book to check the axle ratio. I think it is 4:10 but not sure.

 

[strider3700]

based on the mpg numbers being given by others I see no reason to not go with the 460. I've got the 5.8L in my 96/97 350 long box crew cab 4eod with 4.10 gears and I get 10.5 city 12.something highway. Might as well have the extra power when you need it if the fuel use is pretty much the same.

 

[bajajoaquin]

They're my second least favorite Ford engine. Unfortunately in anything reasonably late model (EFI vintage) they are the only large displacement gasser Ford choice. It's not that they are a bad engine, there just were better choices for truck use that Ford let die.

What's your least favorite, and what don't you like about the 460 (and for the sake of completeness, about your least favorite)?

What was a viable alternative in that same period? Why?

 

[Regcabguy]

I had a 460 in my F-250. Super wide powerband,but never met a gas station it didn't like. Intake manifold warped@ 80,000 miles along with a rear main seal.

 

[bajajoaquin]

It seems like the general consensus is that the 460 is at least adequate, and perhaps a pretty good engine (I liked mine in my '70 F250, but I didn't really use it that hard).

So if your decision is an economic one, you should look at how much up front money means versus ongoing costs. Keep in mind that you're looking at the marginal fuel cost, not the cost of gas in each tank.

I don't know the price ranges of the vehicles you're looking into, but for the sake of figuring, I made some assumptions:

Diesel truck cost: $6000
Gas truck cost: $4000
Miles driven (month): 1000
Diesel cost (per gallon): $2.90
Gas cost (per gallon): $3.00
Diesel MPG: 15
Gas MPG: 10

Given these assumptions, it will take 19 months to pay back the $2000 difference in purchase price. Your fuel prices will be different out of California, and there may be other insurance or maintenance considerations that affect this payback time.

I've attached the spreadsheet I used to figure it. I don't know how familiar you are with Excel, but the yellow and red cells are calculated by the program: don't change them. Blue cells are the ones that you will want to change.

 

[ntsqd]

[hijack]

What's your least favorite, and what don't you like about the 460 (and for the sake of completeness, about your least favorite)?

What was a viable alternative in that same period? Why?

Least favorite: Any of the "FE" engines. Stout pieces, yes. For the weight you may as well have a diesel. Maybe two of them.

The 460, IMO, suffers from two inter-related problems when used as a truck engine. Not enough stroke combined with too much bore size. Relatively short stroke says rev-happy to me. Big bore says slow speed use for best efficiency.

The 400 was a better engine design, but it was doomed by late 70's smog carp. It had a 4" bore (better efficiency: crank-angle time vs. flame front speed) combined with a 4" stroke (better for torque & longer than the 460's 3.85" stroke).[/hijack]

 

[WKCwith5]

Thanks for the spread sheet facts. Right now in NC the cost of regular gas is about $2.56 and the Diesel is $2.85. The average good diesel truck is running in the 8K to 15k range due to the demand in this region. There have been some diesels with 200K mileage for around 6k. Most of the Gas jobs are below $4500. The giant dual exhaust trend has really jacked up the diesel market. Every 18 year old wants a diesel to make jiggy. I still hope to find the right truck in #2 fuel, but may have to go gas to start my build this summer and work out all the kinks before next summers Big trip.

 

[bajajoaquin]

Well, I just re-ran it with your gas figures. Even guessing that you get a cheap diesel truck (meaning I kept the values the same), the payoff is now 30 months. At a $8000 diesel, you're looking at 60.

Don't get me wrong: I love my diesel (6.0 Powerstroke). But I recognize that, even with 110,000 miles of payoff, my love is not really balanced by strict financial sense.

Basically, if you're hedging based on cost, I think you should buy a 460. You can do a lot with that $4000 in the next five years.

 

[WKCwith5]

That is good help, thanks a lot. I talked to a expert diesel tech that is retiring from a local Cummins dealer and he encouraged me to go gas and keep the $4000 to put toward the Cummins swap. He has done 2 and said for around $5500. he can make the swap. Plus he is a perfection nut. So that may be away to go once the big block chokes out. I have two 6.0 and one 5.9 in our company trucks and the repair cost are for sure more. but all three motors run cooler, pull well, and have been great for the abuse they take. Thanks for all the help.

 

[redthies]

If you can get a cummins swapped in for $5500, by the gasser now and rock out (make jiggy!) in a cummins ford later!

 

[WKCwith5]

I would love to have the 12v Cummins in a truck. I checked with him today and with the motor work and adapter it will be more like $7500. But that is still a good price for a new motor install. I drove a 5 speed 460 today and it had some clutch issues. I really low balled my offer in hopes of getting a very nice truck body and running gear to build back up.

 

[redthies]

As I said earlier, the ZF5 makes a big difference in my driving. I got WAY better economy with the 5spd than I do with my present auto. Although I can drink a coffee easier with the auto!:sombrero: Low ball and be firm. You never know what you might get.