I have a 99 f350 SD with the v10. It's got 216k miles on it. I wanted to brain storm some ideas with everyone. Because I don't tow anything very often, I don't thing I need a v10, especially the gas milage of a v10. A wise man told me to just get rid of the truck, but I like the crew cab and the 8ft bed for family outages and thats something the f150 does not have. It's very convenient for my wife, 2 year old, and 3 xl dogs to go out in the woods. The other thing that I'm interested in is the engine. I would like a deisle engine in my truck but not for towing, for longevity, for reliabilty, and for decent-better gas milage. I was thinking of putting a 302 in it but not only is it still gas, I hear a lot of people say it will be under powered and would not really result in any gas savings. I was thinking of a 4 cylinder deisle or even a 6. The end goal is to have a truck that will last a long time with regular maintenance, and decent gas milage ( atleast 15mpg) but in a chassis that's big enough to fit my family in. What are yalls ideas, would any newer f150 with a 6ft bed be better? Should I customize my f350 or get rid of it?

 

Far and away the easiest, least costly option is simply replace the existing engine OR find a vehicle more suited to your anticipated needs, Changing fuel type would be an extensive operation that's probably quite a bit more extensive then you might be anticipating. The electrical system and PCM along with the associated wiring harnesses, et al are other parts that need to be specific to the fuel type.

 

^^^^THIS^^^^. If you could find a 2v v10 with the PI heads would be your best and most cost efficient replacement. A '99 does not have the PI heads. Try and find a '02-'04 replacement. There are engine/parts suppliers that have them. I have seen certified running engines for around $1800 and up. Been looking for one to as a spare to rebuild and have available when the time comes.

 

Your 216,000 mile V-10 should have lots of life left in it if it's been kind-of well maintained. You have cited the desire for better fuel economy several times as a reason to replace it. Whatever you replace it with will get only slightly better fuel economy that what's in it now. Depending on what you might put in it, you'd have to drive it several hundreds of thousands of miles to see improved fuel economy pay for the conversion. Maybe millions of miles. And during those millions of miles of getting maybe 3MPG better in the best case, you'll be dealing with something very customized and need millions of miles worth of parts for it . . . and it is already over 25 years old today.

Let's say you drive 20,000 miles per year, you'll put 200,000 miles on it by the time it is 35 years old in the year 2034. The V-10 will likely make it, and supporting that 416,000 mile truck will be easier than if it is a combination of other stuff with unknown parts support etc. over the next decade.

From your description, I'm guessing you won't be putting 20,000 miles per year on it . . . making the conversion take even longer to see a break-even point.

OR . . . give up the 8' bed, maybe buy a little trailer to take its place, and go buy a 2.7 Ecoboost F-150 or similar.

 

hate to be the naysayer, 25 years old 216k to do the swap the amount of money and labor needed even with a full donor truck for parts will be huge, computers,wiring, transmissions, radiators, mounts,fuel system to keep it emissions legal, your better off putting those fonds into a newer truck