Right now I have a 1999 f250 with the two valve v10 201,500 miles. Im looking at getting a newer 2008-2010 truck (Preferably the v10, but am also interestend in the 6.4 diesel, which looks like a great engine). My reason for the new truck is my current one is a 2wd.

Im looking at a 2008 lariat with 103,xxx miles, but im not sure how long the newer 3 valve v10 lasts. also, is $19,500 a good price for a michigan 2008 lariat v10? the dealer it is at was originally asking $22,000 but after it sat on the lot for about 3 months, i made them an offer. i would like to stick with the v10's because the reliability ive had with mine, also, the thought of a repair on a diesel is enough to scare the crap out of me however ive always admired a good diesel truck. I would use the truck for my lawn service and landscaping business and i havent hooked the v10 up to anything it cant handle. so really my question (beside how long the engine should last) is has anyone converted from the 6.4 to the v10, why, and what do you like better?

 

I will add that if the 08 is a late model 08 you would have 1 piece plugs, which come out without breaking normally.

There is a fellow V10er that has over 400k on his 3v so I would say its capable. Maintenance is key!

 

okay, it looks like there is a lot of maintenance involved with the diesels. not that i mind the extra work, its just i dont think i can afford it should i forget or miss any prevenative maintenance. also, i wouldnt be able to get an added warranty because of how many miles are on the diesel i was looking at. thanks for the input, i just like to get another opinion when making big purchases.
measure twice, cut once.

 

Had an 08 6.4, loved loved loved the truck and drivetrain, however i do not tow heavier that about 8k. Maint cost killed me for the year i had it ($1500+). Traded for an 07 V10. love this truck as well. Have an 07 36ft winnebago with the same eng/trans and it can pull my coach with car trailer with no problems. Maint cost and fear of mechanical costs plus the higher payment did not make the 08 a good choice for the way i use my truck. Both are awesome vehicles.......
Roger

 

You already have a v10 with over 200k, so you know the newer ones will last that long easily with proper maintenance. A'08 with 100k is just broken in.

 

I'd try to beat them up on the price a little more at that mileage. Just going off of what I paid, but that was near Cincinnati area. Are there many to pick from? I know there wasnt when I was shopping for mine.

 

I know I replied in your thread in the Super Duty section but thought I'd add this. A fellow landscaper owned an 08 6.4. He wants nothing more to get rid of it asap as the warranty will be up soon. He's actually upset he sold his 5.4 F250 because the 6.4 has caused him tons of problems. Maybe all the stop and go? He only tows a 16ft landscape trailer with 3 walk behind mowers....and "needed" a diesel??

 

I also replied in your SuperDuty thread, but thought I would reply here, too.

I purchased my '08 F-250 V10 with 116k miles on it about six months ago. I cant imagine this truck ran better when new. There might as well be 16k miles on it.

Do yourself a favor and get the '08 V10.

 

The '08 6.4 diesel has a "soot bag" and goes through a "regeneration" phase every once in a while to burn out the carbon buildup in the sootbag. The mileage on the 6.4's sucks cause of the regen and if the sootbag doesn't get totally cleaned, it will make the sensor stop the truck from running. Also it costs $2,000 for a new sootbag. The 6.4 was the last engine that International and Ford went together on and the "08 was the first year for it. I wouldn't touch one; it's almost as bad as the 6.0 leaker but not quite. The V-10 is a monster engine and has almost NO TSB's since 2005. Go read the TSB's for the diesels, pick any of them and you will find out what I am talking about.

 

I thought that the 6.4L diesel was a good engine to so I bought a brand new 2010 F350 back in July 2010.
In just over 1 1/2 years and with 24,000 miles on the truck, it had left me on the side of the road dead 4 times. I decided enough was enough and traded for a 2007 F250 with the v-10 back in April of 2012.

I do miss the fuel economy but the reliability is great! Even when running synthetic oil in my 6.4, I was still needing to change it at 5500 miles because of the fuel dilution from the regens with the dpf..

My v-10 just had an oil change. I drained the Mobil 1 extended performance 5w20 out and sent it in to Cat to be analyzed. With 8900 miles on it, it cam back in awesome shape and I was told it could have been run till at least the 10,500 mark before being below 50% life..

 

I went from a 7.3 to a V-10 and still not looking back. I spent over $5,000 maxing out the 7.3 mods to get 400 hp and I got the same hp from my V-10 with $600 of mods, plus in 116k it has never left me on the side of the road, nor has it been in the shop except for a plug change at 90k. Pulls as good if not better than my 7.3 and I don't have to worry about burning up the engine or turbo going FOT.

 

I just made the move from a 2001 Excursion with the 2V V10 to a 2008 F250 CC LB 3V V10 and am loving it so far. I can feel the power difference and have already put 500 miles on it in the first week I had it. It had just over 131,000 miles when I bought it but it had regular maintenance and a clean carfax and everything looked good on it so I'm feeling good about it and I can't wait to hook the toyhauler to it Easter weekend and see what kind of difference the 5 speed auto, 3V, and 4.10's make against the 4 spped, 2V, and 3.73's the Ex had (plus the heavier duty springs the truck has vs the Ex).

 

Make sure it has the one piece plugs, If you are going to buy an ’08 or newer do yourself a favor and hold out for the one piece. You can tell two ways, a white engine build date sticker on the drivers side valve cover ( It should be 10/09/2007) or newer) and most importantly short of pulling a plug, check the spark plug bootdirectly below the black coil over pack directly over the spark plug. On the new one piece plugs the plug boot will be a dark brown color rather than black. If it doesn’t have one piece, pass on it.

The ‘08s and newer are amazing trucks, from the bigger tow mirrors to the interior layout, the bigger brakes, to the improverd rigidity of the frame they are fantastic vehicles as long as you can afford the gas. Here is another reason to pick the mighty v10 over the 6.4. Engine weight! The V10 weighs 780lbs less!! And that’s all over the front wheels!! It makes the truck feel like a sports car in comparison. Speaking of sports cars I am a big fan of theTOW/HAUL button for the transmission. I don’t just use it for towing. I call it the HAUL azz button. When you combine the function of this switch with fact that the v10 is a drive by wire throttle, using this mode on twisty hilly roads makes the truck work like a race car. It seamlessly will down shift for you as you approach a descending turn when you lift off the throttle, and as it down shifts it perfectly matches the engine rpm to the vehicle speed. I was told it is basically the same system that Subaru developed. This feature is not really the same on the diesel. Additionally another annoyance is the diesel noise and smell. My V10 is very quiet and I can listen to and enjoy the excellent sound system without having to compete with the clatter, clatter. Diesels are great for driving 3 to 4 thousand miles a month. But for a land scape business , multiple stops, slow speeds, low monthly miles it’s the v10 hands down.

 

The guys in the 6.4 forum say that it is a very tempermental motor. Almost to the point of being **** with the maintenance. I cant see doing that much just so I'm not left beside the road. I'm getting a v10 because I've heard alot of good and its less expensive all the way around.

6.0 and 6.4- big black eye for Ford.

 

I think the most important thing to understand is that each and every motor in every truck will have some sort of shortcoming whether it be maintenance, mpg, power, intial cost, etc.... Which ever motor someone chooses I think you must fully understand this. If you absolutely need a diesel for tons of heavy towing just understand there are more maintenance items to consider (not necessarily costing much just things you need to do) and possible expensive repairs, I said possible diesel owners. Even towing a lot with a gas motor you still need to keep up on maintenance. If you buy the gas motor understand that it operates differently than a diesel and will more than likely get horrible mpg.

I'm always confused when someone buys something, after getting all the feedback beforehand on the purchase, and then complains about stuff they were duly informed about......