1987 Ford F600 from North America - Comments

Not much has gone wrong with this Dump Truck. A new clutch replaced from regular wear and tear.

Excellent truck! Two words sum up 95 and older ford trucks... work horses! This baby has 900000+ miles and she is still running strong.

For some reason I don't believe this review. You say "Two words sum up 95 and older ford trucks... work horses!" Yet, this review is for a 1987 F600. And second. 900,000 miles is just a little extreme. I seriously doubt there are ANY cars in the world with that many miles. And third, you "claim" to have had the truck since new. Yet, you don't talk about any of the repairs you've done. Be it regular or not. And surely, if you have 900,000 miles on a truck things wear out. Things such as brakes, clucthes, batteries, tires, etc etc...

I agree it sounds a little sketchy. Sure 900000 miles is possible on a diesel with a rebuild or two, but I think a rebuild would be worth mentioning.

Please help, I have just purchased a f600 where can I get repair info online. guydrag8@aol.com.

I was just about to buy a Ford F-600. How much should I pay? Owner says it only needs some brake work. I started it and each time it starts right up. Engine is very smooth running. It has 316,000 miles. Then hoist works fine. All lights are working. The owner was asking for $2500 but I want to offer $1800.00. Thank you for your response.

If you take good care of a truck like that, it can reach that far without a rebuild.

Yes you can get that kind of mileage on an over 21 year old truck.

I've got 2 of these Fords.

One a 1987 Ford Cargo 6000; same motor and running gear, just a different cab design, and a 1989 F800; same as the Cargo, but with different cab more like the pickup types.

My 87 had over 935,000 km when the speedo cable broke back in 2005, and I average about 40,000 km/year. So yes it is possible. Mostly these trucks are used for inner city use.

It has the turbo 6.6 litre Brazilian engine and it still starts with a bit of ether down to -31 C without a block heater, so the compression is still good.

It has the air over hydraulic brakes.

The only problem I have with the brakes have been in the rears due to brake cylinder leakage. Check the rear inspection holes at the bottom of the drum plates and you will see a puddle of brake fluid leaked out onto the tire rim.

Usually it will drain the entire master cylinder overnight if it is cold out.

The problem as I understand it, is that the rear brakes are of a British Lucas design, and require a British type brake fluid like Lucas or Castrol dot 3/4.

The normal North American type brake fluid will eat the seals on the rears in less than 6 months (I have replaced the wheel cylinders on both of these trucks numerous times) but strangely it will not affect the fronts which I assume are made by Dayton. After using the British brake fluid for over a year I can say that it works, no more leaks. It is a little pricey but worth it. Oddly very similar to my British cars, which do the same thing.

I would check the brake system out on the truck you are interested in, and look for stains on the rear tires or rims from leaks.

I got my truck used for $ 1500.00 CAN, so I would low ball the guy.

There is always going to be lots of small things to fix from wear and tear, so factor that in.

These trucks are great in that there are no electrical computers and sensors to go wrong, and stop the truck dead in its tracks.

These things could take a major EMP surge and just keep on running, plus they will run on bio diesel or veggie if you want to spend the time to convert them.

Another plus is they are dead simple to repair.

Go on the internet and check out FleaBay; they always have used manuals for them, you just need to continually check. I got mine for around $ 40.00 US used; all 1400+ pages of it.

So if you can get it reasonably cheap and it runs half decently, buy it, do some quick repairs, beat it into the ground and pick up another when something major breaks, and keep on trucking.

900000 miles out of a Ford is not uncommon, I know someone with an XB Falcon, done over 1.5 million kilometers on the same engine (may have had rebuilds but still has matching numbers), was driven at least 300 km every weekend. Fords love the highway driving! Old Fords never die. I wish I could say the same about the new ones :(