2011 Ford F 350 Review



Remember when a "work truck" and a luxury car were on opposite ends of the vehicular spectrum? Well, those days are long gone...and the ultimate example of that is right up there above this paragraph...the Ford F-350 Super Duty.

When lines get blurred...especially lines that far apart, its usually because something...often core principles and competencies. But not in this case. Somehow, this is all work truck and all luxury vehicle.

It starts closer to its work roots. At the base price of $49,410 for the 4X4 Crew Cab in Lariat trim, you get a rock-solid truck capable of towing 12,500 pounds.  And it comes with a nice, large, but somewhat plain interior:

As trucks go, thats not too shabby. But the tester Ford sent our way was loaded. It had the King Ranch package. Which means the interior looked like this:



They also slid the 6.7 liter V8 diesel engine under the hood...which makes 800 pounds per foot of torque. 800!  Between the engine upgrade, the King Ranch leather and chrome, the six-speed automatic transmission, the electronic locking axle, moonroof, navigation, satellite radio, and a few other goodies, the bottom line of this Ford truck was....


Ready?

Are you sitting down?

$64,770.

If Im not mistaken, its the most expensive factory-built Ford Ive ever heard of. Certainly the most expensive Ive ever driven.

And the thing is, it really doesnt make any compromises. Okay, sure, there are things you wouldnt do in a $64,770 "work truck" that you might in a less expensive one. But if youre talking about towing horse trailers, or race cars, this is like doing it with a luxury car. And in terms of luxury, no corners are cut because its a truck. In fact, there hasnt been this kind of room in a luxury sedan in I dont know how long. About the only compromise on luxury is mastering graceful entrances and exits in evening wear.

Its not for everyone. But, contrary to the opinions of people who suggested "no one" needs a truck like this, there is a market. Its a really nice truck, and if youve got a healthy bank account and a half dozen thoroughbreds, this is your ride. The only downside I can think of is parking it (an issue that pops up for me with the HD versions of Ram, Chevy and GMC trucks, too)...but Im guessing thats something you get used to.  There are worse problems to have.

Removing and replacing the clutch on the Mazda

First untwists bolt to grip the tube and disconnect it. To do this, pull the latch in the direction indicated in Figures 1a and 1b. Figure 1a (for the F35M-R) Figure 1b (for the G35M-R) Disconnect manual transmission. Remove the clutch with the clutch and applying a small force in the direction of the axis, check it for soundness, sticky, or any resistance. Next, disconnect the hood and disconnect the plug on the clutch. Establish «SST» and weaken nuts "watercress on a cross" on one turn up until spring pressure does not abate. After that, remove the clutch basket with a disc. If necessary, remove and guide bearing. Holding the flywheel bolts evenly untwists "criss-cross" and remove it. Collect strictly in reverse order. In this case, the flywheel mounted on the crankshaft. If screws were used repeatedly, they cleaned the thread with a special compound. If new bolts, then dispense with this composition. Hand-tighten the flywheel locking bolts, then put it «SST» to the end in order intersecting tighten the bolts. Tightening torque should make LF from 108.0 to 116 nm (11,1-11,8 kgf * m), and Z6 from 96.1 to 103.0 nm (9,8-10,5 kg * m). Guide bearing set with «SST», as shown in Figures 2a, 2b, 2c. When you install the cart was originally set «SST», then in the intersecting direction slowly and evenly tighten the bolts. Torque for Z6 must be from 117.6 to 26.5 nm (1,8-2,7 kg * m), and LF - from 25.0 to 33.0 nm (2,6-3,4 kg * m). Position of the clutch disc also govern with a tool «SST». Coupling can not be cleaned with steam or special fluids, because it contains grease. If necessary, change it. When installing pipe coupling retainer return to the position as seen in Figures 3a and 3b. Pre-test the integrity of the cuff of the connector. Then directly inserted into the connector tube clutch and pull itself up, to make sure it is inseparably. If the manual transmission has undergone perebiraniyu, before its installation are checking for the presence of deviations in the work.

NHTSA Watchdog Or Lapdog

As the heat gets turned up on Toyota, The Washington Post in its Friday editions reports growing criticism that the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration is partly to blame for essentially rubber-stamping whatever its told by manufacturers, rather than acting as an independent overseer of....um...highway transportation safety.  An interesting read.