Unless your pulling regular, I'd go with the v-10. I have had all three 5.4,6.8,7.3 in an excursion and currently own an 7.3 excursion. I've had the 6.0 in several superdutys. I would of kept the black v-10 that's in my avatar if it were up to me but my wife wanted to keep her 7.3. At the time we had 2 excursions and two superdutys (2 7.3's, v10, and a 6.0). with two drivers so we thinned the stable and the 7.3's stayed. 7.3 is a great platform but the diesels are way more expensive to maintain and drive. I have 1900 dollars worth of injectors sitting here to put in this weekend. Oil changes are way more as mentioned. V-10 in my opinion probably serve the majority of people's needs. You may have to modify it some when you get it to tweak it to your likings but you'll be happy.

 

Me deck you bring up a good point, the 6.0 is a great motor in my opinion. But not for everyone. Require more maintenance and monitoring than the other engines that were available. There I'm back on topic lol

 

The OP did mention a V-10 therefore replies comparing the pros and cons of it vs a diesel are valid. He's unsure of what to buy having already posted a different thread about a 7.3 so it would seem that he's best served by hearing both sides. I was gonna get one with the Unlimited Package because of the 23 mpg towing but I didn't want to have to change filters every 5 weeks

 

Well played.

 

I'll start by saying, let's keep things nice and civil.

I'll continue with my experience...

I've run my 7.3 Excursion Rudolph for 16 years and almost 453K. In that time, it's only left me one the side of the road once in 2011 when the power steering line blew. It has been a relatively trouble free beast that just kept going. The times it went under the knife was for maintenance, upgrading, and to fix common 7.3 issues.

Overall, Although it's now ancient technology, the 7.3 is a very reliable engine with a decent trans behind it that needs a few upgrades to last. BTS valve body and 6.0 trans cooler are what I've found that help the 4R100 last.

While I love my 7.3, I was always curious and somewhat jealous of 6.0 owners. Which is what lead me to pick up my 6.0 Excursion The Monster October 2013. I bought it with 123,860 miles on it and it gave me another 123K before the trans needed to be rebuilt and the heads redone. Bone stock with a leaking EGR cooler and clogged oil cooler, it ran circles around my stock 7.3. You can't beat the power, performance, and towing technology that Ford put into the engine AND transmission.

You have a very robust and resilient transmission that stands up to some serious power and heavy loads and begs for more. The engine isn't without it's flaws, but when addressed, it's an awesome power plant that I pick over my 7.3 any day.

These engines do need some love because people figure they can be laxed with the maintenance and the truck will be fine. Using incorrect filters, letting the oil go farther than it should, and never bothering to change the transmission fluid. I've also seen people that try to mod a 6.0 like they would a 7.3 and wonder why it doesn't run right or at all. The PO of my truck never took care it aside from oil changes. The only time it went into the shop is when something broke and the truck wouldn't run.

Everyone has their opinion on this, but I went into my 6.0 Excursion knowing I was going to spend some money to make it what I wanted it to be. I had the EGR deleted, oil cooler flushed and replaced, the top end resealed, and the headgaskets done. For 4 years and 123K I had a truck that was ***** to the wall awesome. It towed and yawned at some heavy loads and when it wasn't towing gave me many smiles per gallon.

When the head blew, I had plenty of warning and the truck still got from point A to B no problem, but the heads failed because someone put a grinder to the heads instead of sending them off to be machined. The shop made things right and have long since fired that tech, but the point is this: If you decide to purchase a 6.0 and have the engine work done, make sure you use a reputable shop in your area that does things right and stands behind their work.

Bottom line: I love my 6.0 and while it pisses me off that I had to do the heads again, the truck performed flawlessly for 4 years and 123K, never leaving me on the side of the road, always answering the call of duty, and warning me if there was something I needed to look into.

 

Mark, you may want to retread my above post , especially the part where I quoted two different posts from the OP where he he is referencing the V-10 in his decision making process. I bolder those parts and made my responses to address his question statement. And I did pretty clearly mention how the PSD would do the towing work better than the 6.8.
I'll never apologize for being a V-10 cheerleader, I just look too good in the short skirt, sweater and Pom-poms. .

 

Sorry, Tom and Loganj01 it was not directed at anybody in particular, I'm not a hater of any of the engines (except 5.4). I sorta thought that it would be taken as humor with "Unlimited Limited" reference.

Which is why I asked one of the first questions about him switching from a 7.3.

I may not have had my glasses on yet.

 

No problem Mark, I'm having some fun here too!
As a matter of fact, my EX is an "Unlimited" model..............XLT.

 

I think the OP really needs to determine what the expectations are. All three platforms will tow the trailer and haul kids/dogs around. How much do you want to spend? The 6.0 is the most exciting option but it'll cost you the most. 6.8 is on the other end of that spectrum. How serious are you about maintenance? Diesels, especially ones with HUEI injection systems, are not the best option for those of us who may be on the lazy side when it comes to maintenance. 7.3's are boringly reliable IF you do your part. If you're going to change the oil every 20k whether it needs it or not, the gas burner will suffer this abuse with fewer complaints. Some other costs that you will likely incur, regardless of which engine you get, are springs, shocks, and possibly tires and gears. I spent $1500.00 on springs and shocks. I'm going to drop another $1500.00 re-gearing...you probably wouldn't need to do that with either diesel. My 7.3 truck towed my 11k trailer just fine with 3.73's on factory size tires. Each of these engine platforms have issues. All of these issues are well documented as are the solutions. None of them are a perfect fit for every situation.