>Rob...you're a man after my own heart..I did the same
>math..and as much as I LOVE the sound of a Diesel it's just
>didn't compute for what I am going to use this truck
>for..(I'm waiting impatiently for the truck to come in)...so
>what's stopping you from joining the 350/V10 club?
>Lisa

Just bought an Expedition for the wife last year after we had our first son; she and I refuse to own a mini-van. We don't want to have more than two vehicle payments at the same time. I figure I will have my truck in a year or two.

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 30-May-02 AT 11:49 PM (EST)]Gary's 99 V10
https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gallery/displaythumbnail.php?&photoid=4669&.jpg
I can buy a lot of gas for $5,000. + the cost of the maintenance + you got to shut down the PSD at a drive through or they can't hear your order.

 

 

Just wanted to say i have had my 2003 v-10 for 6 years, i got 203000 miles on it, and towed my broke-down-a$$-brother-in-law's PSD to the dealer for a scan twice.......$1000+ repair cost, (just parts) with him and myself doing the work! no offense PSD owners, i love them diesels, its just that if it dont make me money, i dont need it! the v-10 with the banks power stinger system pulls my 37' 11500LB 5th wheel just fine......oh, and thank GOD, i have not suffered any major break downs. 2003 F-250 XLT FX4 auto, manual T-case, CCSB Yeah, pullin 3500-4000 rpm, uphill with all that 5th wheel at 70mph is cuase for a BSEG.
Just my opinion based on experience.

 

* The V10 is more reliable.
* Diesel is at least .40 more than diesel per gallon which negates the small mileage difference.
* (As mentioned) The V10 costs less to purchase and can pull almost as much.

 

Wow a thread revival from 12 years ago.

 

Couldn't resist, "What's the point of V-10" stirred my curiosity! Just had to show my main "point" is that I have 203000 miles and still going strong!

 

Don't you just love it, the V10 is still worth fighting for.

 

When I was looking for my van, the choices were 5.4 V8, 6.8 V10, or 7.3 PSD. The 7.3 PSD is legendary and supposedly quite bulletproof (as compared to the later 6.0 which was far more powerful but also much more prone to issues). I wanted tow capability and my 1 ton E350 with the v10 should be adequate for what I will do. The V8 would have been more efficient around town, but only a couple mpg. Like others, I don't do that much driving, even in my DD. I put less than 10k mi/yr. I like the idea of fuel economy, but if I really need to save money I can drive my FIAT X1/9, which gets like 35mpg. Best of both worlds -- big tow vehicle when I need one, little fuel efficient runabout when I want one.

I like the idea of the PSD (I was actually looking at 2004-2006 Dually CC trucks at one point but decided I needed the extra people space); but the reality is that it's more motor than I really need and the extra cost is very hard to justify, since I tow only a couple times a year.

Biggest advantage of the v10? It's dead smooth and quiet.

 

Thing I love about the F-250 V-10 manual I have is the control with having a manual. Also drifting the crew cab extended bed is super fun on off and on ramps. And my boss likes that when I pull up to his house my truck doesnt wake up the family like his deisel does. Also use it as a ladder to pick fruit trees at my buddies house. Hahahah

 

looking at older excursions with v10 and surley everyone is screaming diesel but I couldnt justify the price difference even in a used unit. $5000 to$9000-v10 $1400 to $2100 diesel. Low driving 7 miles every other day family hauler and on occasion boat. THANKS FOR 12 YEAR HISTORY AND FOLLOW UP!!!! Going to pickup a V10!!

 

Yes, mine is and has been a very reliable truck! You should really enjoy it. Just make sure you get a classy exhaust system (Stainless steel, I tried the local exhaust shop stuff and I had breakage and rust, had to replace it the next year), big, deep sound is what you want. A good cold air iintake is a good investment too!

-jeffro

 

Since everyone is adding to a 12 year old thread, I guess I can, too. I bought my '04 back in '09 and before I bought it, I added up the pluses and minuses of whether to buy a gas or diesel anything. I had about $15K in my budget, but figured if the right truck came along, I'd pay more, and I did. My want list looked like this:
1) It had to be a Ford. I had owned lots of Chevys and not one was built very well, and two of the last three saw more tow-truck time than they should have.
2) It had to be a 4WD. Just preference, I don't go off-road much, but enough.
3) had to have more under the hood than my last tow vehicle, a small block powered Suburban. I've had enough struggling up hills at 40 mph towing a trailer with my foot to the floor.
4) Big enough to use as a family car, since the Suburban it was replacing was.
5) Reliable. No compromises here, I have had enough of cars and trucks that you can't trust.
6) I have to like the way it looks. If I'm making payments on a vehicle it's going to be have to be easy on the eyes.
7) Nice interior.
8) Liveable mileage. If I can live with the Suburban's 13 mpg/9 mpg towing it has to match that.

Diesels are great engines, you simply cannot argue that point, but I drove my Dad's Dodge for a week when he had it for sale. He offered it to me for $12K (he sold it for $15K) and it was a great truck. It got great mileage, had lots of power and did what a truck was supposed to do. But it had a cloth interior, it was ugly (sorry Dodge guys), it was an extra cab, not a crew cab and it was 2WD. But the worst thing was that despite the 18 mpg, it was a loud, rattly, smelly diesel. You couldn't hear yourself think at idle, it always smelled of diesel exhaust and no matter how hard I tried I couldn't duplicate the 20 mpg's my Dad claimed it got. Here's some more stuff that drove me to the V10, oil changes are about $85 for a diesel. I can do mine for about $25. Diesel was about 35 cents more than gas at the time of purchase, more or less the same now. My Dad's 2WD diesel got only about 3 mpg's better than my 4WD V10 gets driving the same way. Add in the higher fuel cost and the added cost of oil changes and it's not very clear which is cheaper. Toss the extra money to buy a diesel and it's not even close. Then there's the simple fact I couldn't afford a truck new enough to be under any sort of factory warranty. My Dad's truck killed a fuel pump early on and even though Dodge covered it, I was horrified to see the cost was about $2500. I replaced a starter right before he sold it and that was over $200. Diesel parts cost big money was what I took from that. Newer diesels are worse yet, they are pricey, but even worse, my Dad has had his newtruck to the shop no less than 8 times to fix the DPF The days of high mileage diesels seems to be a thing of the past. My truck has about 125K on if and has not even had a check engine light yet. Except for kicking one plug out (cost just under $200 to get it fixed) the thing has been maintenance free. It also has lots of grunt for pulling or hauling whatever I've needed. I recently moved from Northern California to Oregon and made lots of trips with my brother's 20ft enclosed race car trailer loaded over some steep, twisty hills with zero problems. Didn't hold up traffic, either. It's also comfy and quiet enough to take trips to SF, I don't have to shut it off to order my burger and aside from keeping the pump jockeys from putting diesel fuel in it at the pumps (can't pump your own in Oregon) I can't think of too many things I don't like. Buy what suits you and your needs and budget and you'll be fine.

 

my v10 2009 blew up at 53000 miles lost oil pressure and seized but was replaced under warranty, for the most part v10's last almost as long as 7.3's and usually outlast 6.0's by a big margin, they suck fuel but have great torque for towing, if you look around a majority of f series tow trucks from 03 up use v10's vs diesels. I have seen well maintaned v10's hit 300k-400k with nothing more than plugs, coils and waterpumps and belts. Granted i have seen 5,7 chevs do that too but not like 6.8 fords. When my truck blew up towing my 30ft toyhauler a buddy picked me and my trailer up and towed me 180 miles with a 200k v10.

 

Costs less to maintain and fill up. And fuel doesn't turn to a gel if I don't drive it for a while. Just a better choice to my family.