I have been a Ford fan all my life (I'm 36) but due to circumstances related strictly to finances I had been using a '96 Chevy Tahoe (350ci) LT to tow my 26' travel trailer. Even with a load leveling hitch and anti-sway bars, going down the road it felt like the rear end of the Tahoe was a great big marshmallow even with slightly oversized 6ply tires! I could never get above 60 MPH or the rascal would start swaying and make my wife (ok, me too) nervous as all get out. Then about early March I decided maybe a truck would do a better job of towing than the Tahoe and was looking for a pickup (planning on a F150 SuperCrew with the 5.4L in it) when I found this website by Google search. Based on the reviews and comments by all (most) of you guys I decided maybe a F250V10 was the ticket. Without a lot of coin to spend I found a '99 F250SD V10 with 140,000 miles on it and in very good condition. We just got back from our first outing over Memorial Day weekend. Towed the camper about 150 miles north of home and doing 75mph on the interstate up long low grades in OD (20mph tail wind) with absolutely no swaying was more than I could have hoped for!!! Then on the way home when I merged back onto the interstate towing 6000#, hauling 500#, and six in the cab, at 65mph on a good uphill onramp I got my first BSEG!!! My wife looked at me and said, "What are you smiling about?". I said, "It's the BSEG!!". After explaining that to her she got out the digital camera and captured it for posterity.

I was driving tentatively to begin with trying not to work the old girl too hard (behavior learned while Tahoe towing) and was letting her lose speed on the steep, long hills but once I got confident in her abilities I would let her shift down and run 3200 rpm and even accelerate up to 75 or even 80mph on the hills. She's a beautiful machine!!!! I'll never be without a SD V10 again!! The camper would act like it wanted to start swaying but the truck would have none of it. I can't even describe the difference in confidence I have in towing with the 250SD compared to my Tahoe. THANKS ALOT GUYS. You made me a hoper, and now I'm a believer!!!

 

Welcome aboard! Your new rig is definately better suited for towing than the one you replaced.

 

welcome aboard also. only one small problem 07 is it as we know now for the v10. no news about the motors for the new body 08 due out in jan 07.

check out some other threads here also.like on changing spark plugs ,what dirty fuel filters cause . loose hoses and such.lots of great reading and help down here in v10 land and a super great bunch of guys

best wishes take good care of what you have .

 

Well, I guess "Never be without an SD V10 again" was a little optimistic. I maybe got carried away a little bit. I can only hope that whatever they replace the V10 with will be as good if not better. It's just so much more truck than I've ever had before as the only other pickup I've ever owned was a 1990 F150 SC SB with the I-6 and 5 speed manual tranny. That truck also had 140,000 on it when I got it and never gave me lick of trouble other than a rotor I replaced myself. Thanks for bringing me back down to earth captchas.

I have been reading quite a bit on FTE regarding plugs, filters, etc. and have learned more here in the last month than I ever knew before. That is of considerable value to me.

 

It's a great engine. Enjoy!

 

99 V10? Thats an old school BSEG! Welcome to FTE.

 

Thanks for the welcome V10MAN. Yeah, it is old school. I wish I had the $$$ to drop on a newer V10 SD but I had to start somewhere. I guess in a few years when I trade up to an '06 or '07 3V'er I'll know what y'all are really talking about. I hope my '99 doesn't saddle me with any of the occasional problems that I've read about here but at this point it really seems to run strong and smooth. And it looks nicer than alot of trucks 3 or 4 years newer.

spstruck
'99 F250 CC SB

 

just be ready to timesert or fullthread the heads and that problem is over, follow the guides we use and you should? be otay.
best wishes with your new to me ride

 

Thanks for the well wishes and the welcome captchas. I have read a lot of your responses and you seem to be one of quite a few guys in here that knows a heck of a lot about V10s.

I have a general question. I spoke to my local mechanic that I use for most of my repairs and asked him if he was familiar with the plug problems of the V10 and he said that he hadn't heard of any plug blow outs on the v10 but Ford V8s he had heard of. I mentioned the torque requirements for plugs and he just said that "I always put spark plugs in by hand", but didn't say anything about a torque wrench. Should I assume that he knows what he's doing? If not, what questions should I ask a mechanic before I have him inspect the plugs for thread damage and possibly have him do the timesert work?

 

I had a '99 F-250, 4x4, V-10, 5spd, 4.30 posi and ran it 95,000 miles with only an a/c compressor failure. No spark plug blow outs, mater of fact, I never changed them(the book says they are good for 100k miles). In many ways I liked that '99 better than the '05 F-350 I replaced it with. But, nothing pulls like that 3 valver '05, and the shorter turning radius with the front coil springs is a real asset when backing trailers, and I do get 1 mpg better mileage.

I think you'll be happy with the '99, and just leave those plugs alone. If you do change them, by all means torque em with a torque wrench and use anti seize on the threads. There are some good directions in the reading here on plug change.

Good Luck! and keep those perly white teeth brushed. You never know when you will show them behind the wheel of the V-10 SD.

 

If you have a BSEG with the 99, wait until you drive an 05+ with the 3V motor. I'm still amazed
every time I drive the 06 at the power and turning difference.

 

I look forward to it, tfalk!! And thanks for the advice 4wd. I'll keep a good stock of whitening toothpaste.

 

sps

i am not the v10 garoo by any means that HONOR belongs to our FREDVON4.

what i am is a retired dealership auto mechanic/service manager/field tech from a german car company. who for 42 years busted my back side to fix and help people get properly fixed. and with a very few exceptions "3" over that amount of time have driven fords and raced the chevy powered machines. and a 85 mustang gt till 04. when while being street driven had bambi run in front of and get rolled over .

what you think is me is in fact. a big bunch of very great guys that have compled a very big list of what causes problems and how to make a proper repair on your own. to them i give the credit.

each one of us has done some thing to hopefully emprove the running of or v10's . y- pipe mods. headers. free flow exhausts . regearing the axles. super chargers and so on down the list each can and will when asked. go out of thier way to help you out. just as they did for me.

as to spark plugs, yes there have been a few in the v10's that we know of. and there are 2 fixes. the dealers very high cost way of a new head and our modular motor way "meaning 4.6/5.4 and 6.8" of useing inserts that up date the head to the newer plug thread. properly done the way we do. has not resulted yet in anyone saying one blew out. just some thing to keep in the back of your head for when/if ever the time comes not before.

as to the truck you have and that some of us with later models with the 3 valve motor it's night and day. both are great motors that have gone as far as 400k that one was found to have in a tow truck. care is the very big word in any car or truck today. you care for it and returns you many many years and miles of great use.

hot roding there is not a lot out for a v10 that truely works. some give you a feeling they do but when put to the test on a dyno don't realy help where it's needed 2 to 3k not over that.

the best products out are a custom done tuner from sctflash,a banks power pack exhaust. super chargers from kennybell and whipple charger . best all around emprovement is a simple regear to 4:30's from from the stock 3:73 most came with with. out doing any thing else . and this i have proven useing my own as a test mule for my close buddies speed and tranie shop. i ordered mine after fredvon told me many times to get 4:30's i got the stock 4:10's they work very well just when pulling my own after regearing to a set of 4:56's we had taken out of another truck made my truck right down to what the guys all say. this motor loves to run right in and at the 2 to 3.5 k power band esp. when towing a big load.

guy don't worry. don't do major buck changes .drive the beast the way it is and enjoy it. don't ever be afraid to ask us any ? you may have about a v10 and the same goes up in super duty don't be afraid to ask about trucks needs or how to repair some thing on the body drive train.

 

Thanks for all the info captchas. I pride myself in maintaining my engines and obviously I'm banking that the guys that put the first 140,000 on it did the same. I plan on leaving the truck pretty much bone stock as it is now. I will probably look at my rear end ratio code and check it here to see what I've got. I doubt I would spend the money to change the rear end if it has the 3.73:1 (I don't tow any really big loads) but at least I'll know what it is.

 

if it runs great and pulls your load . don't touch it .just maintain it.
best wishes, shinny side always up.