Ford Super Duty

The Ford Super Duty is a series of heavy-duty pickup trucks produced by the Ford Motor Company since the 1999 model year. Slotted above the consumer-oriented Ford F-150, the Super Duty trucks are an expansion of the Ford F-Series range, from F-250 to the F-600. The F-250 through F-450 are offered as pickup trucks, while the F-350 through F-600 are offered as chassis cabs.
Rather than adapting the lighter-duty F-150 truck for heavier use, Super Duty trucks have been designed as a dedicated variant of the Ford F-Series. The heavier-duty chassis components allow for heavier payloads and towing capabilities. With a GVWR over, Super Duty pickups are Class 2 and 3 trucks, while chassis-cab trucks are offered in Classes 3, 4, 5, and 6. The model line also offers Ford Power Stroke V8 diesel engines as an option.
Ford also offers a medium-duty version of the F-Series, which is sometimes branded as the Super Duty, but is another chassis variant. The Super Duty pickup truck also served as the basis for the Ford Excursion full-sized SUV.
The Super Duty trucks and chassis-cabs are assembled at the Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville, Kentucky, and at Ohio Assembly in Avon Lake, Ohio. Prior to 2016, medium-duty trucks were assembled in Mexico under the Blue Diamond Truck joint venture with Navistar International.

Background

Previous use of name

In 1958, Ford introduced the Super Duty engine family as big-block V8 engines for trucks, offered in 401, 477, and 534 cubic-inch displacements. The 534 is one of the largest gasoline V8 engines ever produced by Ford. The Super Duty engines were some of the largest mass-produced gasoline V8 engines in the world.
To showcase the engine launch, the "Big Job" conventional truck variants of the F-Series were rebranded as Super Duty, a name added to other Ford trucks as well. Alongside the Ford C-Series and H-Series cabovers, the N-Series conventional adopted the Super Duty name. Though its poor fuel economy proved uncompetitive against the increasing popularity of diesel engines, the durability of the Super Duty V8 kept the engine in production until 1981.
In 1987, for the 1988 model year, Ford revitalized the name for a Class 4 truck badged as the "F-Super Duty". Manufactured solely as a chassis-cab vehicle, it was slotted between the F-350 and F-600 at the time, and was offered either with a 7.5L gasoline V8 or a 7.3L diesel V8.

F-Series change

In response to the changing demographics of pickup truck buyers during the 1980s and 1990s, as part of the redesign of the F-Series for the 1997 model year, the model family began a split into two model families, introducing the 1997 Ford F-150 as the first of two distinct F-Series lines. While still functioning as a full-size pickup, the F-150 adopted car-like aerodynamics and convenience features to expand its appeal among consumers. To appeal towards commercial and fleet buyers and owners who tow, the F-250 and F-350 were developed as a separate, dedicated heavy-duty truck platform. By expanding the model line into two separate but related platforms, the inevitable compromises inherent in offering a wide range of load-carrying capacities were avoided.
Prior to the release of the Super Duty series, the previous-generation F-250HD and F-350 carried over for 1997.

First generation (1999–2007)

Beginning production in January 1998 for the 1999 model year, the Ford F-Series Super Duty consisted of the F-250 pickup truck, F-350 pickup truck and chassis cab, and introduced the F-450 and F-550 chassis-cabs . The Super Duty trucks were produced with three cab configurations—a two-door regular cab, 2+2 door SuperCab, and four-door crew cab. The SuperCab configuration of the Super Duty marked the introduction of two standard rear-hinged doors on the extended cab, a feature also adopted by the F-150 and Ranger/Mazda B-Series for 1999. The standard-cab pickup was produced with an 8-foot bed; SuperCab and crew cabs were produced with a 6 3/4-foot bed, with an 8-foot bed optional. Chassis cab models came with more and different bed length and wheelbase options, but with the same cabs. Two-wheel drive was standard, with four-wheel drive as an option; on F-350 pickup trucks, DRW models with four-wheel-drive became available for the first time. Unlike the F-150, while the SuperCab name was carried over, the Super Duty trucks did not even adopt SuperCrew at all.
Styled by Andrew Jacobson and Moray Callum, aside from taillamp lenses and the tailgate, the Super Duty shared no visible parts with the F-150, even the interior itself. But on the powertrain side, only the base-equipment 5.4-liter V8 and 4R100 transmission were shared. Also sharing the similar aerodynamic cab design of its smaller counterpart, the exteriors of the Super Duty trucks are much different forward of the windshield. While the front-end styling is an influence often compared to the second-generation Dodge Ram, the Super Duty also derives elements of styling from much larger Ford trucks, including the Ford LTL-9000 and Aeromax, with a raised hood line, large grille, and low fenders. A feature drawn from 1996 redesign of the Louisville/Aeromax was in the design of the side window openings; the front portion is lowered, allowing for increased side visibility. To improve aerodynamics over metal-framed mirrors, manual-telescoping trailer-tow mirrors were available as an option. As an industry first, two large, complete, ring-style front tow hooks were included. A minor update occurred in the 2002 model year, which received a new instrument cluster with a digital odometer more similar to that of the updated 1999 F-150, in addition to a new headlight design. For 2004, Crew Cab models gained headrests on the rear outboard seating positions.

2005 update

For the 2005 model year, the Ford Super Duty trucks were given more minor exterior and interior updates. For the exterior, a new grille, front bumper, and headlights were introduced alongside the introduction of a locking tailgate for all pickup trucks. Under the skin, updated Triton gasoline engines were introduced with higher engine output and larger alternators; in response to the increased power, all trucks were given four-wheel disc brakes. To accommodate the larger brakes, 17-inch wheels became standard, with 18-inch wheels optional ; forged Alcoa wheels were an option. The long-running Twin I-Beam front suspension continued on two-wheel drive trucks. The 5R110 five speed automatic transmission, once exclusive to the 6.0 Powerstroke turbo diesel powertrain, became available with the 5.4 and 6.8 Triton Gasoline engines, replacing the four speed 4R100.
To the interior, several changes were made to improve functionality for end users. Along with the addition of a driver-side glove compartment, the truck added the option of dashboard-mounted auxiliary switches ; these are switches that were typically user designed. For users who tow, a new option was Ford TowCommand, a trailer brake controller built into the dashboard, allowing it to integrate with the ABS system and engine computer from the factory.

Mechanical details

During its production, the first-generation Ford F-Series Super Duty was sold with two gasoline and two diesel engine options.

Gasoline engines

Replacing the overhead-valve engines used in previous F-Series models, for the Super Duty, Ford transitioned to the Triton overhead-cam engine family.
At its launch, the standard engine in the Super Duty was the 5.4L Triton V8. Producing and of torque, the SOHC 16-valve V8 was shared with the F-150 and Ford E-Series. During 1999, the engine was retuned to. For 2005, the cylinder heads were redesigned with three valves per cylinder, converting it to a 24-valve V8 with variable camshaft timing ; output was increased to and of torque. The 5.4L V8 was only offered on the F-250, F-350 SRW, F-350 DRW pickup, and F-350 DRW chassis-cab.
As a replacement for the long-running 7.5L/460 V8, for the Super Duty, Ford introduced an all-new Triton V10. A SOHC 20-valve engine, the V10 produced and of torque. In 2005, the V10 also received three-valve-per-cylinder non-VCT heads, increasing its output to and of torque.
Both the V8 and V10 Triton engines are designed with a fail-safe cooling system to protect the engine in case of major coolant loss. If the engine overheats, the engine will continue to operate on half of its cylinders. Alternating back and forth between each set of four pistons, the set that is not receiving fuel and ignition is operating to pump air through the engine to lower its temperature. Although engine output is limited, dependent on upon vehicle load, outside temperature, and current road conditions, the system is designed to allow the vehicle to travel a short distance to receive service or to reach a repair facility.

Model	Years	Type	Power, torque
Triton SOHC V8	1999	16-valve V8	,
Triton SOHC V8	1999–2004	16-valve V8	,
Triton SOHC V8	2005–2007	24-valve V8	,
Triton SOHC V10	1999–2004	20-valve V10	,
Triton SOHC V10	2005–2007	30-valve V10	,

Diesel engines

Available in all models, the F-Series was sold with optional Power Stroke V8 diesel engines produced under its joint venture with Navistar International.
At its launch, the F-Series Super Duty was sold with the 7.3L Power Stroke V8. Initially producing up to 235 hp/500 lb-ft of torque, the engine was retuned in 2001. Versions equipped with an automatic transmission produced 250 hp, while manual-transmission examples produced 275 hp; with either transmission, the engine produced 525 lb-ft of torque. As the 7.3L V8 was no longer able to comply with noise regulations for diesel engines, it was discontinued midway through the 2003 model year.
As a running change during the 2003 model year, the 6.0L Power Stroke V8 was introduced as the replacement for the previous 7.3L V8 in left-hand drive markets supplied with the American-assembled trucks, while RHD ones supplied from Brazil kept the 7.3L until 2005. As before, the engine continued to be produced by Navistar. A 32-valve pushrod engine, the 6.0L V8 featured a variable-geometry turbocharger. While a smaller-displacement engine than its predecessor, its output is higher than the 7.3L, providing and of torque. Due to problems with the head bolts, Navistar redesigned the engine with reinforced heads, more torque and power, releasing the new design in 2005–2006. The 6.0L was replaced by the 6.4L as part of the Super Duty redesign for the 2008 model year.
The 6.0L Power Stroke was the target of a class-action lawsuit, alleging the engines were defective. Ford settled the lawsuit with owners and former owners of 6.0L diesel-equipped Super Duty trucks and E-Series vans in 2013, by reimbursing them for the cost of repairs to the exhaust gas recirculation system, fuel injectors, and turbocharger, which were common failure points.

Model	Years	Type	Power, torque at rpm
7.3 L Power Stroke	1999–2003	16-valve turbocharged diesel V8	1999–2000: at 2,600, at 1,600 2001–2003 : at 2,700, at 1,600 2001–2003 : at 2,700, at 1,600
6.0 L Power Stroke	2003–2007	32-valve turbocharged diesel V8	2003–2004: at 3,300, at 2,000 2005–2007: at 3,300, at 2,000