Looking at used F350's w/gas engines for a plow truck. Leaning towards v10 vs. 5.4 v8. Are the v10's reliable, long lasting engines?

 

The V10 is a proven platform with plenty of HP and TQ to manage decent sized loads. That being said, there's some things you should know.

1999 V10s are very, very weak. They have intake and exhaust ports the size of a fifty cent piece. It wheezes up high in RPM and is limited down low because of it. The wiki page claims 305HP/425FTLBS, but it's actually closer to 275HP/405FTLBS. They also have issues concerning the composition and quantity of spark plug threads, and the relation to plug ejection. These trucks have 3 threads, made of aluminum holding a steel bodied spark plug in. This is a recipe for disaster. After awhile, corrosion forms in the threads and weakens them. If not properly removed and anti-seize lubricant applied, this could happen. They also are susceptible to ignition system misfiring due to the low-tension C-O-P design, and the poor moisture seal between the boot and head. Other than that, these are decent engines, capable of lasting a very long time, if maintained properly.


2000-2004 V10s with "performance improved" cylinder heads are just that... "performance improved". A significant boost of HP and TQ (310/425) helped the engine with better low end performance, but also affected fuel mileage a bit. These engines are also affected with the spark plug ejection and COP failures of the previous 2v V10.

2005 brought on the 3-valve V10 with a whopping 362HP and 457FT.LBS. This was a huge improvement over the 2v v10, and the engine also got a huge update int eh transmission dept, with the introduction of the 5R110 5-speed automatic transmission. This slushbox helped manage the increased torque while at the same time improving furl economy by making better use of the engine's power. The downfall to the 3V V10 was the two-part spark plug design that plagued all 3V modular engines, where when attempting to remove the plug, it would separate and leave the threaded portion stuck in the cylinder head.

Personally. I've owned a 5.8 OBS F250, a 2001 5.4 F250, a 1999 V10 F350, a 7.3L OBS F250, a 2004 F250 V10 and my current 2005 6.0L F350 DRW.

The smoothest engine was the 1999 V10. The lack of power allowed the engine to idle smoother and accelerate with the same smoothness. It failed miserably in the towing department. I bought a KB blower, headers, full 3.5" exhaust, changed gearing to 4.88, installed underdrives and had custom tunes. It still couldn't manage 8k lbs. very well.



5.8 was a 5.8. A little slow, but did the job.

(I was 20, I don't have one pic of it)

2004 V10 drank fuel, but had a better powerband.

(No pics available, I didn't own it for long)

7.3L was a weakling, even after tunes, turbo and exhaust mods. There was nothing wrong with it, it was just plagued with a terribly geared E4OD, 3.55 gears (which I later switched to 4.10, but did nothing but lower the MPG)





5.4 was also a dog. I towed a 8k travel trailer in the mountains once, it screamed and screamed. I had to stop for fuel near the top (170 miles to 29 gallons, whew!) and noticed the kooks headers glowing all the way to the collectors..... All while doing 30 MPH.

(Only owned for a year, never took a pic.)

My current truck (6.0L) hasn't been the best from the start, reliability wise. I have cured most everything, I'm just waiting on the FICM to die (any day now) and everything (I mean nearly everything) has been replaced. This truck has serious power, gets seriously good MPG and can tow 15k with no problem. Even with the maintenance I have had to do (all myself), I'm still satisfied with it.



(The terrible, terrible 4th of July vacation, 300 miles from home with a non-functional fan clutch and a blown head gasket)



(Final steps of head gasket replacement w H11 studs and FoMoCo gaskets... Oh, and that EGR cooler is gone now. )

 

If it's just a plow truck, the 5.4L V-8 will work just fine. You've not towing, so you don't need massive power.

 

Stick with 2005+ if you can.

A modular is a modular, they aren't drastically different since introduced in 1991. The 5.4L came into the Super Duty in 1999 at 255 hp/ 350 lb-ft, went out in 2010 at 300 hp/ 365 lb-ft. One more valve came along, fixed the plug ejection issue, same base engine. 6.8 lost the restrictive heads, added a valve, same base engine that's still going into the F-450+ lineup.

The reason to go with a 2005+ is you're buying a better suspension, better brakes, and if you're getting an automatic a SIGNIFICANTLY better transmission. Those are what would be really key to me; an engine is just a power plant and once you hit a certain point extra power isn't necessarily better (if a 5.4 can spin the tires on snow, what would a 6.8 do in the same place?), but it's the trans that does something with that power and the 5R110W is significantly better than the 4R100. The coil front end will be more stable with the weight of the plow on it and IMO easier to put in higher rated springs that won't sag as quickly. The cooling capacity with the newer trans is better.

 

I may be a little biased here, but if you can, find an 08 and up v10 with 4.30 gears. You get longer rear leaf springs, a newer interior, better tow mirrors and the 4.30 gears are actually a mpg improvement and will make the truck really light on its feet.

 

I wouldn't get a V10 for plow use. As Redford pointed out, you don't need a lot of power to plow. One disadvantage to the V8 is that they use composite intake mainfolds which can crack, but otherwise their construction is virtually identical.

 

I've got a 99 F450 4x4 plow truck with an 8' dump bed and V10.

It has more than enough power to push a 9' Boss straight blade plow through two and a half feet of snow. In fact it's overkill.

Consider that an F250 with the old 300 straight-six was a popular plow rig not so long ago.

The 5.4 seems to be the most common plow truck power plant here now, and we typically get 150-350" of snowfall.

 

My recommendation is to not buy a truck that already has a plow. A used plow truck is asking for junk or at least pretty extensive upkeep. They live a hard life. I wouldn't get a v10 either if it's just for plowing, especially if this is just for your driveway or personal place of business.

If you're at all considering new, so long as the truck has the plow prep package you get $1000 more off when you get a plow too.

 

I have the 5.4 3V in my 08. Reg cab 8' bed. I run an 8 1/2' plow with ease. Parking lots, driveways. Never an issue. Like everyone was saying. It's not about power its about gearing and weight


Matt

 

Both the 5.4l and 6.8l are pretty reliable. The 5.4l 3V did have some issues with cam phasers however, mainly the earlier ones. The 5.4l trucks will be easier to find than V10 trucks, just the way it is. I like the V10 myself and like the extra power. However in all honestly for a dedicated plow truck it really doesn't matter much which engine you get.

 

The toughest snow plowing I do is appr 2-1/2 miles of off highway access to remote cabins. I plowed it yesterday, 6-8" of wind drifted snow. I try to maintain 15-20 mph were possible to get the snow to throw and keep banks down as much as possible. A friend let me try his older, early 2000 vintage, F350. Not sure which gas engine is has but it ran pretty well using a boss v 8'2. I had to run in the V position for some of it to keep moving. As with mine I could smell the trans getting hot, yes it has an external trans cooler. There is a fair amount of slow hard pushing when I get in and around the cabins where snow drifts deeper. It sometimes takes several runs to break through and clear it properly. That's why I want physical weight and enough power to move it. I plow in low range when it gets heavy. The comment with later models having better trans cooling ability is appealing. I neither can afford nor justify a new truck but I certainly would look for a truck that has never been plowed.

 

I had a 99 regular cab long box F250 with the 5.4L with an 8ft Western Pro Plus plow on it. The truck had a limited slip in the back with 4.10 gears and 285/75r16 tires. When I was pushing snow I never once had any need for extra power. I never had issues with the transmission heating even when pushing through 1ft of snow. The only thing I ever lacked with that truck was traction, but the snow piles I was pushing any truck would have had issues.

I recently got rid of that truck and went to an 05 F350 ext cab long box with a V10 and the same western plow. This truck also has a LS 4.10 rear with 275/70r18 tires. When it comes to plowing I wish I had the power my 5.4L had. The V10 has SOOOO much low end torque that I have to fight from spinning the tires right off idle.

Now when you get on the road and and you hit a headwind the 5.4L would fall flat on its face. The V10 and 5R110 just don't care. I had a 35mph headwind the other day going to work and the 5R110 actually had to down shift to 4th (2100 rpm vs 1800rpm) and the truck just cruised right along like nothing was going on. My 5.4L would have been locked out of OD running around 2700rpm and fighting to hold 55mph.

If I could have a tune with the bottom end toned WAY down on my V10 but keep the rest of the power band where it is I'd be a happy camper. In the end either engine will do just fine plowing.

 

My truck has had a plow on it since day one. Its been a great truck for me, towing, empty, all the way around. Plenty of power, decent enough mpg for me (13.5 avg). Haven't had any problems with the trans even with being a plow truck. I couldn't imagine driving another vehicle with 300,000+ miles and not have to worry about being stranded on the side of the road. A guy I used to work with had 2 5.4's, an '05, and '10.. Both single cab work trucks, basic as they come. He beat the living hell out of that '05, every panel on the truck is dented and banged up, and continues to beat on it. It just won't die. Has about 260k on it without any problems. Used it as a plow truck, had plenty of power to push snow. But with both those trucks, the '05 having a 4in lift and 33's & '10 being stock, really struggled with the tool boxes loaded in the bed, and you could forget about it when he hooked up a flatbed with a mower and some tools on it.. They struggled to get 8mpg with the tool boxes loaded up and never dropped below 3k rpm when you were just cruising. On the expressway, they would search for gears CONSTANTLY even on the flats and get 6.5-7 mpg if you were lucky. I'm sure the poor gearing (3.73's I believe) is what killed it, where my v10 would be in OD still getting 12mpg with the same load. They just acted and felt extremely underpowered IMO, and really didn't like the way they performed, but they are bulletproof motors. I know a lot of guys that have been very happy with them.

 

That can be done. Check out Custom Dynomemeter Chassis Tuning Products and Services - 5 Star Tuning, they're a site sponsor and do custom tunes.

 

Jakgod, exactly what version do you have?