I just purchased a 1994 F150 XL short box. It is in excellent condition with only 50,000 miles on the clock. I bought it to pull my boat which weighs 6000 lbs. It is a 300 cid six with an OD trans and 3.08 rear axle ratio.
I have been told that the trans needs a rebuild and I am not sure what to do.
Should I keep the six and rebuild the trans?
Or should I swap the six for an eight?
Or change the rear axle ratio and keep the six with a rebuild trans?

Thanks in advance for the info.
Chuck

 

Chuck, My last truck was a 93 f150 4X, long box super cab. I towed a 28' Travel trailer (7850lbs at the scales) without too much of a problem, However I would recomend replacing your rear gears with 3.55 or 3.73:1 and up grade your clutch to an 11". You can reference a f250/350 with a 6 for the PN# My 6 out pulled 302's carring less weight and got around 11-12 mpg highway while towing. Worst case was 7 mpg up hill and strong head wind.

 

keep the 300 six its an excellent motor for towing.

 

Get the tranny rebuilt by a good tranny shop. Tell that you plan on towing the trailer. They can beef it up a little and give you firmer shifting. Also get the biggest tranny cooler you can. Heat is the worst enemy of auto trannies. The cooler you keep it the longer it will last.

BTW, you would have to go up to the 351 if you were to swap engines. The 302 would not give you any towing gains over the I6. The 300 makes as much torque as the 302, but has a flatter torque curve. Also, keep out of overdrive when driving in the hills.

Sven

 

3.55 rear sounds like a good idea. If doing that, what about putting in a Limited Slip carrier while its opened up, to help get that 6k load up slippery boat ramps?

 

Frankenstein: You towed a 7850 lb travel trailer without much problem, but my '95 supercab 300 I6 with a 5 speed manual, towing a 2000 lb (loaded) travel trailer in 4th gear will go 75 mph on level ground, but in a headwind or up steep highway hills can't get past 65. I have a 3.08 rear gear, but find it hard to believe that is the problem since it turns about 2500 RPM at 70 mph. A 3.51 gear would kick it up to 2850, but I prefer to keep the revs where they are. I guess the 6 speed manual from the Superduty would help as I could downshift at 70 (with this 5 speed if I downshift into 3rd I'd be turning 3750).

I read a book called something like the Ford F-Series Pickup Truck Owners Bible and the author supported the message above about the 300 I6 being a stronger towing motor than the 302 V8.

 

My old Taz did rather well for speed with the Travel trailer until I got into the High altitudes of Utah ,New Mexico and western Wyoming then I was faced with 65 on level -55 on any grade more than 2%. ...:-)

 

I in no doubt believe the 300 is a better puller at low rpms, but in higher rpms the 302 will out pull it, and the 351 will out pull both.

***********PASTMASTER***************
1993 XLT 5.0 E40d 3.55LS Normal Cab/Long bed Loaded from the factory with aid of...MSd 6a ign/s.p. wires, blaster coil, Hypertech Chip, K&N filtercharger, Cat-back dual exhuast w/o mufflers, 3.5", echo tips, Accel distributor cap, Dark Mocha over light mocha. 5% Dark tint, Alpine Cd player/remote, Pioneer speakers.

 

A few weeks ago I towed close to 8000 lbs. with my 86 300 I6 with 3.08s and 4 speed manual. It pulled it much better than I expected at 65 mph (flat ground and no wind), and I'm sure it would have gone faster.

Gary

 

Replaced my 3:08 with 3:73. Worked great with my t-18 4 speed. I get 13 mpg, its a 4x4, but revs are at 3200 at 68 mph. got over 166000 miles and still strong.

 

What kind of gas milage do you get on your 300 sixes? I have a 1993 F150 automatic, extended cab, with a shell...i never tow anything with the truck. Most of you say that you get 10-12 mpg while towing....then why do I get that same gas milage without towing? As a daily driver its getting hard to keep up with rising gas prices...what can i do?

The idle is kind of rough...i've recently replaced the spark plugs to no avail and also the fuel filter. It hasn't been checked for timming, and i think they said the sensors are okay. I've never brought it in for code checks and the engine has not been tuned up regularly. Just the normal oil change is what my dad has done for the past 7 years. MAN! 12 MPG suck for a 6 cyl. I have frends with 351s with the same gas milage!

 

At 10-12, you've got a problem. My '96 gets 14 around town and 19 highway. I've got 3.08 gears, so that helps on the highway but hurts the around town mileage. You need to get it properly tuned and checked for bad or dirty sensors, etc. Simple truth is that the 300 is NOT an economy engine, it's a workhorse. If you wanted fuel economy in our generation of F-150, you got a 302

 

I had a I-6 in my 1/2 ton and I was only able to get 9 out of it on the highway. It was cheaper on gas for me to swap to a v-8.

 

naturally you will get better gas milage with the straight six especially if its a 4x2. 4x4 trucks are not as good on gas milage no matter which engine. as far as towing and power i like the v8. i had a straight six and it had very little towing power. i towed the 27ft camper weighing in at 7250lbs with both a 4x2 f-150 300 standard tranny 3.55 and a 4x4 f-150 302 standard tranny 3.55. the latter out pulled it by 20.02%. the only downfall was the reliability and economical benefits of the straight six. i really dont know where eveyone gets their data from on the pulling power, i got it from experience. i think that you should elaberate on whether or not it 4 wheel drive or and automatic. also you will get better gas milage on a standard transmission too and most likely more pulling power? i dont know.