After trading in my 350 for a ranger, then crashing the ranger. I am definetly going back to the 350! But I've gotten myself into a dillema of what I want. I will be using the truck for work(Carpentry/ some farming) But would also like to get a plow for it to do some plowing during the winter months. The only thing Ive narrowed it down to is the color and either a reg cab or crew cab. Everything else is an option. I would like to get the 6.0, but is it worth it? Stick or auto?

Any opinions/experience or "wish I had's" are more than welcome.


Thanks,
The Bull

 

Will you be towing anything with it? If so, how heavy?
How many miles per year do you drive?

 

Towing is a possibility, but only a couple times a year if that, nothing too heavy. Miles per year will range between 12-18k yr.

 

V10 and 4.30's. Go with the auto, that TS is a nice tranny.

 

I had a '99 SuperCab. My "wish I had" was a crew cab and 4.30's instead of the 3.73's in the '99. Other than that I was set.
What figures in to this a bit is how long you're planning on having it and if there's ever even a chance you want to get rid of it. If so, then you'll want a crew cab. Re-sale is much better on the crew, and not just money. The crew is easier to sell. My crew also handles the snow better than my SuperCab did, but wheather that's because of the extra weight or longer wheelbase I'm not sure.
If it was me (you did say "opinions") I would pick up a V10/Torqshift/4x4/4.30LS F350 Crew Cab with the trailer package, camper package, and the snow plow prep package. That way the truck is setup for anything you'll ever want to do with it. Each of the packages is fairly cheap (less than $250) and is much cheaper than trying to upgrade the truck at a later date. That was one of the big reasons I wanted to trade my '99; the 4.30LS is a $50 upgrade on a new truck, it's $1700 to do a gear swap on an existing truck.
As far as engine choice. I got a buddy that picked up a '05 PSD Crew Cab. I saw him last week and asked him how he liked it. He said "It's great, except for the $75 air filter, $75 fuel filter, $70 oil change (15 quarts), and the fact that diesel (around here) is $0.50 to $1.20 more than gas." He still really like it though, and can't imagine having any other truck except a Super Duty.
Add all that up and you're paying more for something that costs more to maintain and the same or more (depending on the oil company's mood) to drive. That's why my opinion is the V10 for only a $600 increase over the base truck.
These are my thoughts and experiences

 

Sound like good set-ups. I was told, not sure about the accuracy of this statement, that the V10's have engine problems....blowing early and so on? Also, what is the avg MPG in the V10 vs the 6.0? I know when I had my 350 with the v8,, I was looking at about 12mpg.

 

V10's have problems if not serviced correctly, specifically changing the spark plugs. Spark plug torque is 14 ft/lbs so a torque wrench is mandatory. Some people, for what ever reason probably used too much and the aluminum threads in the head shear and that's the end of that. Other than that there are no other issues. I've driven V10 Super Dutys since March 1998 and not had a single problem with them other than the piston slap issue which got me a new motor back in 1999. I've been active in internet forums almost since Day 1 of V10 ownership (internet news got me that new motor in 1999) and the V10 is a very troublefree motor, just under appreciated because Ford wants to push higher margin PSD's to help the bottom line.

As far as mileage, who are you going to believe? I get 12 in the warm months daily driving and 12 towing the 7k trailer on the expressway at 70 mph+. Winter driving it drops becasue of the different gas formulation and the extended warm up time (remote starter). With diesel costing more now and expected to cost more in '07 with the switch to low sulfer diesel I can afford to get less mpg with the V10 and still come out ahead, especially factoring in maintainance costs.

 

The spark plugs were an old issue. The problem was the thread count in the heads. The thread count was increased and the spark plug was was taken care of. No issue on the new trucks.

 

and the higher up-front acquisition cost of the diesel to begin with.....