Been sitting back reading this read thread for the last few days and wondering if the poor soul that asked the initial question is more confused than ever. Decided to jump in to respond to the V10 at altitude comments. I routinely pull a 24ft travel trailer at 7,000 to 10,000 feet and really have no complaints. Granted, my stock V10 will lose power faster with altitude than a turbo diesel but given the nature of the highways (narrow and winding) at these altitudes I can always go faster than is a safe speed anyway. Taking the interstate up a 6% grade that crosses 6500 feet I generally run about 50mph before I feel that I'm running it to hard (personal opinion). My brothers PSD with a similar trailer will do about 60mph. I could run it harder and gain a few mph but as these grades are usually not to long the time to the top difference is trivial. I actually was looking for a diesel when I bought the V10 and if the price difference wasn't quite so much I would have bought one. When I took into account the cost and my annual mileage I figured it would take at least 15 years to pay for the difference. And that was if the price of gas and diesel was equal. If I would have intended to sell it in a few years or trade it in then I may have leaned back to the diesel for its resale value. My personal take at the moment is that it is a great time to find a lightly used V10 and take advantage of the misconceptions about the power and mileage of this engine that have driven down its resale value. You could probably find one for 8K below a similar diesel and given the fuel costs for the last few years you would always be money ahead.

 

I'm the pour soul who started this thread and yes, I've been reading all the comments closely and taking all the input into consideration. It's all very good information and I again appreciate y'all chimming in and taking the time to comment. It's always good to hear comments and suggestions from true Ford guys like me. At this point, I'm still leaning toward the V10 for several reasons and it has nothing to do with how I feel about the diesels because I LOVE them also:

- I'll be leasing so longevity isn't an issue.
- Initial costs are a lot less.
- Maintenance costs are less.
- With the differences between the gas/diesel prices in my area (with diesel
fuel being .20 to .30 cents higher) and the mileage per gallon issue, I'm
pretty much taking that out of the equation because I feel it's a wash.
- Since I'll most likely be going with the 2008 (which I'm not happy about
because I hate getting the first year model after major changes), getting
the V10 will be one less thing that will be new vs. the "new" 6.4 diesel.

Thanks again for all the input and yes, it has helped tremendously. The bottom line is that as long as you got a Ford truck, it's gonna be the best truck out there regardless of what's under the hood!

Ed

 

Ain't no power like diesel power. Personally, I love the diesels. The gassers just don't cut it for me. I've got 2 Ford 7.3L diesels and I couldn't be happier. Resale is higher, but on the other hand, so is maintenance. Try one for awhile, if you don't like it- just remember its a lease. You can always switch back.

 

as an owner of a new 06 PSD with 8k on the clock I would like to add my input. I bought the vehicle to tow my race car(BMW M3) (once a month) and wife's horse trailer (2-3 times a month). We were towing with our 01 tahoe and jumped at the chance to own a PSD when Ford offered 0.0 % financing. Anyway, truck is a daily driver during the week and we average anywhere from 14-17 depending how much hwy driving we do. Even if we do long trips of just hwy empty we average around 17. I have no idea how people get 20, I guess it is driving style.

To me, the MPG is not the deciding factor for getting the diesel, the engine sound along is worth the price of admission!

 

You realize though that the 3-valve V10 with stock 4.30 gears has more rear wheel torque than the 7.3L truck, and considerably more horsepower (assuming stock gear ratio of 3.73)? I wonder if you tried a late model V10 if you'd make the switch

 

M Puller
I am sure driving style has some to do with the mileage but what I have seen the engines themselves vary greatly. I drive mine on the expressways at 70 with all my kids stuff and the vehicle loaded and get around 20 mpg and I am not sure if it will last or has been just luck. Meaning the humidity, weather and roads traveled all play into this mileage game and I always run with the cruise on and the climate control on and so far I get really good mileage but even if it drops back to 17-18 mpg on trips it is still way better then my gasser did. I have family all over the place with the closest being 11 hours of driving away. I run my tires at 70 psi did the same with the F350 and found for my purposes that is the best pressure.
I would love to see a truck that no matter how hard you pound it get 20 mpg but that will never happen to many varibles starting with the manufacture of the engine and then the vehicle then the person driving and where and in what weather conditions. I am sure if I was still in NYs I would most likely have different mileage results then I do being here in the desert. I was one of the first to get one of the gm gass diesel way back when and when it ran I got really good mileage but then it started sucking air instead of fuel and after a few hundred dollars spent trying to find the leak and no results I sold it and bought a gasser.
If this diesel goes south I will buy something other then Ford as why stay with a losser and I am not alone with this feeling and Ford has been working hard to not lose customers because of there diesel engine design. I do think ford has the best truck out there and my last one never let me down and I just hope the new one works out the same. I would never have gotten rid of my 02 F350 if the family hadn't out grown it and the 0% interest hadn't shown up.

 

ask shaq ????????? go diesel you wont regret it