I have one of those 1997 Ford F-250 Light Duty pickups that uses a 7 lug rim. Why didn't they just use an 8 lug on these trucks instead of some rare configuration? I have found that buying many parts of this truck is a challenge due to the model year transition.

Does anyone know any place to find wheels/rims pretty cheap? I am looking for a steel rim or ANYTHING for a spare. I called a couple places dealing in used tires and wheels and they have never heard of the 7 lug rim and thought I must be mistaken.

Conor

 

Thought one of FORD's Better Ideas was designing "7 lug" style wheel covers to put on 8 lug wheels?

You sure you've got "7 lug" wheels?

 

First off let me say "Good Luck"! Try searching online junk yards. I had trouble finding a wheel fo a Fusion with about the same results you're having. The only place I found in the USA was Basic Car Parts in Monroe La.- 877-259-4097 Extension 2164. It was a black woman I talked to and she was really great at finding what I needed and she located it someplace in New Jersey.

 

How do you post pictures? I will take a picture of the wheel off the truck. Yep, 7 evenly spaced holes. I guess this is rare....

Conor

 

The F-250 LD and the F-150 7700 both had 7 lug rims.

They are not as common but out there.

 

Conversely, FORD design 7 lug style wheel covers, over 8 lug wheels, are extremely common.

 

Yeah, I called several locations and they indicated that a lot of good parts for vehicles of my vintage were destroyed by the "cash for clunkers" program. I guess the government required running these cars without oil to destroy the engine but it is too bad they required the rest be crushed so that parts couldn't be resold for those of us who choose to drive older vehicles or "clunkers". Mine is more of a farm truck to haul wood and such so I don't care if the mileage is bad. I have an S-10 and a 3 cylinder Geo Metro for mileage. The Metro is incredible on gas. Better than a Prius and super simple to work on.

Conor

 

Actually 'Cash For Clunkers' program only destroyed a tiny percentage during its brief run. Suggest you Google 'Motor Grenade' for the spec on how motors were to be rendered useless. Better double check about "they required the rest be crushed so that parts couldn't be resold". Many conspicuously marked 'Clunkers' were available to pick for parts in big area Self Serve junkyards. Saw a couple of nice Club Wagons, 1 was a sin to 'Grenade'.

The years of high scrap metal prices & economics of a Throw Away Society actually "crushed" more Gas Guzzlers. Melt down a 5000 lb full size & roll it back out as 2 Micro Cars, run 'em both, have gas & steel leftover.

Also keep a couple of 3 cylinder, 5 speed, 2 door Chevy Metros. It goes 3 times further per gallon of gas than my F150.

Good luck w/unobtainium 7 lug wheels.

 

My 2005 HD F150 came with 7 lug wheels. They're out there but sort of an oddball.

 

Yeah, I would say that the 7 lug wheels are pretty hard to find. Worst case, can the wheel hubs be changed out with those from a different model?

I looked up the cash for clunkers engine destruction and watched a couple videos. I had seen this before and some are pretty dramatic. They just run the engine until it blows! This F150 has to be one of the better ones! Many just grind to halt but not this one.
I also looked up the scrapping policy and it looks like anything but the engine and main chassis/frame can be resold. It also sounded like many "junkyards" didn't like the program and didn't accept the junked cars as the engine is the most valuable part to resell. Either way, many perfectly good cars were destroyed. Only the government could come up with something like this.

My 3 cyl Metro also gets like triple the mileage of my F250. They are good little cars to have around and remain desirable even though they are getting up there in years. I find it funny that such a simple little car can beat a Prius which takes a rocket scientist to repair due to the complex systems.

I will let everyone know if I can find a good wheel for my truck.

Conor

 

Just how many years/models has Ford put the 7-lug wheels on? Curious...

 

Where are you located. My son has a set.

 

Considering this thread was dead for almost 3 years lol. They ran from like 1997 to 2005 or so. Rare bird but one capable truck. 5.4l triton v8 and 4r100 transmission.

 

eBay seams to be the best place to find rims. That's my experience. It's quite difficult to find the 7 lug rims anywhere else.

 

I have a 98 250LD with the 7 lug wheels. Good truck. Drives like a half ton, chassis can handle more than the engine can pull.

the rims are unobtanium around here as well, glad my truck still had its spare tire!