Hey guys, I am over on the SD 7.3 side. I am heavily considering a V10 and have started looking for trucks in my area. I know the 7.3 pretty darn well, but am a noob when it come to shopping for the V10. Is there a list of sorts of things to look for when I go to look at one? I know about the spark plugs and and coils deal, but that's about it. Just wondering what your input would be so I can be prepared as much as possible. Thanks! I keep reading and hearing how good these engines are. I am hoping to find a decent one and possibly sell my 7.3, though I don't really want to. Thanks again!

 

What years are you looking at?

99-04 go for an 02+ they have the PI or Performance Impoved intake manifold and head, D60 front axle for 4WD, and double the spark plug threads.

2000-2004 came with the restrictive t-pipe exhaust too.

Try to find something with a 4.30 gear or plan on upgrading, these trucks like to rev.

For the COP's carry an extra Denso, don't replace untl it goes bad and overtorque the spark plugs to 25 ft-lbs. Factory torque spec was to light causing the issues.

 

Thanks for the reply. That helps a lot! I had planned on 2005-2006, but I started seeing some 03-04 as well. It sounds like above 02 is good, but above 05 is better? I'd also like to acquire the 5R110 over the 4R100. Thanks again. I know it won't be a diesel, but it should serve our needs pretty well. I planned on basically doing 5 star tuning, Y-pipe, and exhaust right away if/when I get one. I'll also do like I do on any truck and go through all the fluids and do a major tune up to make sure everything is good from the baseline.

 

05+ is going to have the 3V V10, which is about on par in terms of power with the later model 7.3L PS engines. If you want to make a pretty even transition in power, you'll want to go that route.

Keep in mind, a gasser is not going to have the same power band as the diesel, but it's still a solid and reliable platform. Mileage on these motors isn't a huge problem if they were maintained. Oil changes being the most critical, seems a pretty common death for these is poor change intervals or oil starvation.

You should also not expect fantastic mileage. Most people get 10-13mpg consistently. Loaded, unloaded, doesn't really matter much.

 

Thank ya! Yeah, I know it will take different driving habits to get it to perform. I have no problem revving one where the power band exists. As far as mileage, it's a wash. With diesel being more expensive and the MPG on both being kinda close, it doesn't matter to me. My 7.3 gets 15...17 if I really drive it right. It's a truck though. Who ever drives them right? I don't drive trucks for good MPG LOL. I know you are not saying that, but it's funny to me when other people point out that trucks don't get good gas mileage. Of course they don't. My friend are always asking me what kind of mileage I get. My answer is "who cares? It's a one ton truck".

Anyways, this info helps a lot to know what to look for and expect. It sounds like getting miles out of these motors is fairly common. That's the good news.

 

Make sure you check for broken exhaust manifold studs

 

I can understand someone wanting decent mileage from a F-150, but I agree. F-250+ trucks aren't designed to get you to your office job on a dime. Sure they'll get you there, but they want to do real work.

GL on your hunt, sometimes it takes a while to find a good one.

 

I have a 2001 2v V10. You CAN get 15-17+mpg if you have a light foot and can hypermile a little. For me, 55 mph will get 17-20...BUT that is steady cruising using a Scangauge. Starts and stops are a killer, so that is where the MPG average will drop. If you only drive short cold trips with lots of traffic lights, you might not get past 10 mpg. "Normal" driving around 14.

I WAS in the market for a 2005+ 3V V10. More HP and TQ. But the 2v V10 is still in service today in RVs and such, so I can live with that. Granted my 2v has an old push-to-reset odometer. The newer ones have that fancy digital display on the instrument panel. I plan on changing pumpkin gears to 4.56, so she should do 65 mph towing all day long and be happy. My 2 cents.

 

Nice thing about the 3Vs is they also count engine hours. Makes buying used fleet vehicles a little safer, so you don't get that 70,000 mile 10,000 hour engine.

 

@BBslider001 the 05+ trucks don't need the y-pipe modifications. They have the better suspension and components for the axles, you can easily swap to the 05-17 wheels from Craigslist or some other market place. 5R110 with the 3V should be an awesome workhorse for you.

If you do get the 05+ with 5R110 upgrade the transmission pan and filter to the 08+ style, they are an actual filter and not the screen.

 

Ah, ok...I hadn't seen this. So with an '05, just the tuning would be really all that needed to make it run the best it can? From what I'm reading and watching, it seems like people the treat them almost like a diesel get the best performance out of them. In other words, they work them hard and maintain them well and they get along life out of them.

On a side note, I have looked for the V10 with a ZF and I only found one up in Washington State. I may guessing. They are definitely not that common. I didn't want to go back to an automatic, but I do hear good things about the 5R110.

 

I am going to Google it, but what are the axle codes, if anyone knows? I keep reading that 4.30 are good for the towing guys, which will be me for sure...13.5k.

 

Axle codes?

4:30 was a factory option, very desirable for towing, unless you go larger tires and plan on 4.56 or even 4.88

@WE3ZS our resident towing forum moderator can share his experience with not fearing the gear.

 

Hope he does. I'd like to hear about it.

 

Thanks Coop.

All I have for the axle codes is this, but I'm not sure if these codes carried over to the post '05 generation of pickups.
31 — 3.73 non-limited slip, F-250/Excursion
C1 — 3.73 limited slip, F-250/Excursion
32 — 4.10 non-limited slip, F-250
C2 — 4.10 limited slip, F-250/Excursion
33 — 4.30 non-limited slip, F-250
C3 — 4.30 limited slip, F-250/Excursion
36 — 4.56 non-limited slip, F-250
C6 — 4.56 limited slip, F-250
41 — 3.73 non-limited slip, F-350 (single rear wheels)
D1 — 3.73 limited slip, F-350 (single rear wheels)
42 — 4.10 non-limited slip, F-350 (single rear wheels)
D2 — 4.10 limited slip, F-350 (single rear wheels)
43 — 4.30 non-limited slip, F-350 (single rear wheels)
D3 — 4.30 limited slip, F-350 (single rear wheels)
46 — 4.56 non-limited slip, F-350 (single rear wheels)
D6 — 4.56 limited slip, F-350 (single rear wheels)
61 — 3.73 non-limited slip, F-350 (dual rear wheels)
F1 — 3.73 limited slip, F-350 (dual rear wheels)
62 — 4.10 non-limited slip, F-350 (dual rear wheels)
F2 — 4.10 limited slip, F-350 (dual rear wheels)
63 — 4.30 non-limited slip, F-350 (dual rear wheels)
F3 — 4.30 limited slip, F-350 (dual rear wheels)
66 — 4.56 non-limited slip, F-350 (dual rear wheels)
F6 — 4.56 limited slip, F-350 (dual rear wheels)

As you have found, finding a solid 3V V-10 with a manual trans is not the easiest thing (unicorn). However the 5R110 is a very nice trans and seems to be very reliable, the pan and filter upgrades Coop mentioned are popular around here.
It's good to see that you understand the need to run the revs up on a V-10 as compared to your PSD, so many seem to struggle with that gasser transition reality feeling like they are torturing the motor, but its not torture at all, its just how these motors work. So obviously deeper gear ratios will get those revs up where the power lives quicker and keep them there while working hard. I'm assuming the 13.5K trailer is a fiver, that's a serious load and the high front on a fiver will also work against you. With all that in mind either look for the deepest gears you can find in a good truck or consider swapping in a set of deeper gears to maximize the towing performance. These motors work very well doing heavy towing with a 4.30 to 4.56 effective ratio, effective ratio is calculated using the actual gear ratio factoring in any tires that are taller (or shorter) than stock.
I've run and towed with my 2V V-10 4R100 EX with the factory 3.73s with stock 31.6" tires, 4.88 with 32" tires and 4.88s with 35" tires for an effective ratio of 4.39. Originally the load was a 9.5K TH and now we tow an 11.3K TT, a pretty good load and somewhat comparable (but a little less) to your fiver.
With the 3.73s and TH it used to get 6/7.5 MPG towing and 14-ish unloaded daily driving a 50/50 mix of city/highway with a best ever tank at 15.5 MPG. With the 4.88s and 32"s towing the same TH at the same weight and speed over the same route it got 9 MPG and the highway mileage unloaded dropped to 12.5 MPG, but it was like a hotrod around town! Now with the 4.88s, 35"s, Banks headers & Y pipe, 3030XL muffler and 5Star custom tunes (I tow with the 89 Octane Performance tune and 89 Octane gas) it drags the big TT all over the Eastern states and gets 8/9.5 MPG on our mostly highway trips, that drops down to 7/7.5 MPG on country roads through small town with some stop and go and unloaded at 65 MPH it gets 14.5 MPG. The changes have made it into a completely different and much better tow rig. It now serves as our dedicated tow rig and doesn't see any daily use with only the rare unloaded trip, I sometimes wish I had gone with 5.13 gears.............. Don't fear the gear! Especially if this is going to more tow rig than daily driver!
I know most V-10 EXs came with the 3.73s and I assume most of the trucks did too, so it may be better to focus on picking a truck that meets all of your other wants and plan to upgrade the gears.