It takes a lot of money but it can be done man:

Diesel VW Caddy



With a 1.9 TDI swap, you can rock that 40mpg truck in all of its 90hp/156torque glory all day long.

And if you notice the asking price on this one, probably a little meth or coke or something...

 

Or you can just buy a 1984-1986 ford ranger with a perkins 2.2l turbo....it gets 40 mpg in town and 50 on the freeway, its gutless without the turbo, but i know several people who own one.

 

Might get a VW Caddy myself!! Haha

 

My experience.
I had a '99 V10 f350 cc sb 4x4. It was lifted 4" on 315s with flow master exhaust, Doug thorley headers, cai, and 4.56 gears. It was mostly reliable, save for one plug popping incident back in 2003 but other than that, it never failed me. 8mpg was the regular, towing a 7k load netted 4 mpg. It was GUTLESS. It could barely get out of its own way. I drove other V10 trucks of the same year and they all were the same as mine. Any incline on a road warranted a drop to 2nd gear at what seemed like any speed. It has no high end torque, no low end to mention either. The mid range was great but after 65mph, the mileage was reduced by half.

I now have a '95 F250 psd. Worlds different. Don't let them cheat you buy saying that they are more expensive to fix. If you don't have to fix them, they aren't expensive to fix. Mine has 208k on it, i bought it with 170k. Previous owner had it since new and only replaced filters, brakes, glow plugs and the cps. Cps is $25 and the fuel filter is $15 for a OBS psd Yes, oil can be slightly expensive but if you invest on a bypass oil system, you can run oil for 20k. Torque is immediate and tows 7k like its not hooked to it. I've seen 19-20 mpg unloaded several times, drops to about 13 with 7k behind it. I'll never go back to gas. With the money you spend on trying to get the gas truck to perform the way you want (except fuel mileage as you'll never get that) you could have just bought a diesel.

Stay away from the 6.0. Most dealers in VA/DC/MD area will not even take them on trade anymore.

 

I'm sure your diesel gets 20mpg lifted 4" on 315s with 4.56s and towing uphill... Prolly gets 40 too if you build it right.

 

Why the flack? You mad? Btw, i never claimed 40. I have a hyundai for that

Even unlifted that v10 never got over 12 with the 3.73 ratio.

 

First thing first, I loved my 6.0 diesel when I owned it, I got solid mileage out of it too averaging around 15.5-16.5mpg Straight highway mileage about 18.5 on long trips.

I love my v-10 most of the time I avg 11.5-12 straight hwy about 13-13.5 once in a great while a tad higher.

But then you had the initial buy in for the diesel, roughly $6000, 15 qts oil, $10 oil filter, $45 fuel filter, $53 air filter (but OE air filter will last long time. Great air filter)

V-10 $500 buy in, 7 qts oil, $4 oil filter, it pulls as good as my diesel minus the turbo when passing pulling a 31 ft tt. Know many guys who have as much mileage on v-10 as on diesel.

Overall in my eyes lesser maintence cost and initial buy in cost. Either is good, whatever you like.

 

That only applies if you buy a new truck.

 

The V10 doesn't sound like a V8. It is difficult to get a growl out of V10 exhaust pulses. I am seeing a trend here lately. Lots of new folks that expect the V10 Superduty to be the equivalent of a Viper because they both have a v10. It is a great engine with lots of torque to haul stuff and pull loads. It is not in a race car and that torque comes with a price, gas. It's strange how it is accepted that a Viper can get poor mileage and not be able to haul anything yet the Superduty is expected to get 15-20 MPG. Not reasonable. The Ford V10 is one of Fords best kept secrets as far as general all around reliability and a very capable engine in a heavy large truck.

 

This thread is bound to be closed......

I love my V10 and hate the mileage but thats why I bought a very cheap used Taurus (combined was still cheaper than just buying a similar diesel by thousands). Getting 27mpg with that puppy while the V10 pulls a trailer to help make money and for fun trips. I've never personally pulled with a diesel but was in my buddies 02 Cummins when we pulled an enclosed trailer with mowers and other equipment. It pulled it, just like my V10 would. Yea its got gobs of low end torque but the 3V V10's aren't shabby in that department. Yes it revs higher but if the V10 "redline" was 6k and it revs to 4500 and a diesels "redline" is 4000 and revs to 3000, isnt that what they were designed to do and both operate near "redline" if pulling hard one is just lower than the other?? (Disclaimer: made up numbers so dont get your panties in a twist, either side) And of course he got better mileage. He tuned it and had injectors and man I will say that thing moved. But I feel my V10 "moves" when I floor it.

Face it there are 3 kinds of people in the SuperDuty forum. Diesel die hards, Gas die hards, and people like me who are in the middle and just picked one. Maybe in the future I'll be in a diesel but I plan on keeping this truck a loooonngg time.

To the OP, make sure it is a 3 Valve V10. Just dont, never, ever, never expect any good mileage out of it, although the reg cab will get better. If mpg's are the biggest concern stay away you'll be disappointed. Can you work on either a gas or diesel motor? It seems that some diesel repairs or maintenance can be high if you need to pay for it. V10's can have issues with spark plugs, popping out 99-03, or sticking in the head 05+. Exhuast studs can rot off leading to leaks that can be expensive to fix unless you fix it, but is a pain to do from what it seems. Drive both so you can decide on your own. Read the threads in this V10 forum and also in the diesel forums to get an idea what each has to offer. Also don't just decide because of the motor. The rest of the drivetrain, wearable items (brakes, u-joints, ball joints), noises, rust, etc... can also be expensive to repair on these trucks no matter a V10, Diesel, or hamster power.

 

Another thing I've noticed in the V10 forums recently are the amount of more recent posts about oil consumption and piston slap. Mine had both well before 160k, I'm sure it can be attributed to the PO not changing the oil as often as they should have. I bought the truck with 90k on it, I dont think that it should have had piston slap at 90k. My truck would also eat 1-2 quarts between 3500 mile oil changes.

I did like the truck though. It did have barely enough powert to tow (mine was the 275 hp engine) and the truck looked great. I just felt that it had a huge crutch with the V10IMHO.

 

I've been reading some of those things to. I just wonder the year of the motor, the care, driving it like you stole it, and all the above. With the current diesels it seems that of you are slightly neglectful you're in for a world of hurt. Nothing is perfect unfortunately.

 

I'm new here, but I thought I'd toss in my opinion too. First off, the 6.8 v10 and the 5.4 v8 have the "same" block. The rods and pistons are interchangeable, so most of the info you find about reliability on the more common 5.4 will apply to the 6.8.

I have a 1999 F150 that I swapped a V10 into. I get around 16-18 MPG on the freeway and I haven't calculated city yet, but I think it's around 12. The V10 has a lot of bottom end compared to the V8, but has ZERO top end. I think this would be an ideal farm truck as I think it's going to be more forgiving on cold starts, and excessive storage time compared to a diesel. However, I may be talking out of my rear because I have never owned a diesel. I just know they are generally more expensive to initially purchase and maintain.

Like all of the modular family, it has been my experience that if you are an oil change slacker, they will not be very forgiving - compared to my imports and other domestic vehicles.

If for some reason you plan to add forced induction to the V10, beware that they have a split pin crankshaft which could be a weak link.

 

Pics of the F150? And welcome!

 

Oh yes... I like pictures. Sorry to hijack the thread...