Hello all, It looks like I just sold my 1990 F250 7.3L so I need to hurry up and start looking for a new(er) one. I'm having my third kid so I want a crew cab with shoulder belts in the back for the kids. I originally wanted an 8 foot bed and a solid front axle so I was looking for a F250 with a 5.4 or V10. After a lot of searching on this forum I learned in 2005 Ford went to the 3valve motors so I thought I would look for a 2005 or newer truck. Well I haven't found too many F250's with gas motors (they all seem to be diesels) and none are 2005 or newer. I didn't another diesel because the only thing I tow is my fishing boat at under 4000 lbs., I don't drive my truck very often (about 10,000 miles a year), and when I do it's normally short distances and I know that's hard on deisels. I wanted an 8 foot bed because I use the heck out of mine. After not finding very many I thought I would look at the F150 with the 5.4 but every one of them I found has the 5 foot bed and they are going for the same or more than an F250 so I'm back to the F250.

I have a few questions. I've been reading here that the 5.4 and V10 are pretty reliable motors so I think I would be fairly happy with either one. Do you guys have any suggestions on which years to look for or stay away from and why? If I can find a V10, what rear end do you like or dislike in your trucks? If anyone has a 5.4 what rear end would you sugest? Is there a tow package I should look for in any of the truck?

Thank you in advance for any info,

Aaron.

 

I have a 2005 F250 Crew Cab, 4x4, V10, 4.30 ratio. It has the short box , 6 3/4' or whatever it is. It's probably the perfect truck in my opinion. It has more than enough power to pull anything I can imagine towing, has higher payload than the diesel (and I use the payload more than the tow rating). I have driven a truck with the 8' box and it's just that much harder to park; although, getting gravel and dirt was nicer with the bigger box. Funny thing though, I was using a friend's slightly older F350 and checked the sticker for the payload and my new truck with smaller box and being an F250 had a higher payload than his F350.

I think either gas engine will suit you, but the V10 has significantly more power. New, the V10 retails for $600, but you don't pay sticker for a new truck so the V10 option ends up even less than that. On the used market I would *think* the V10 would be more than $600 than the same truck with the 5.4L but I have nothing to back that up.

Finding a V10 though, especially 2005 or newer I would imagine would be tough. Dealers around me don't normally stock them. I had to do a dealer search and the truck I got was not even at the dealer when I found it. It showed online but was in fact "in transit" and was the ONLY F250 or F350 V10 with 4.30 ratio at a dealership in the state of Oregon at the time. Also, it would seem those of us that have bought them don't give them up easily Really though, there aren't that many up front and fewer used. I would just keep checking auto/truck trader or having a dealer do a search.

 

I can never figure out that the PSD guys always say you cannot sell a used v10 and then there are always posts about how good used v10s are hard to find. Where are all the cheap v10s that no one can sell?

I know I bought mine new planning on keeping it for 8-10 years and so far at 45K miles the truck has not given me a reason to change my plan.

 

I think once people find out what a liability having a gas engine is, instead of selling them, they just have them crushed and then buy a diesel I know I could never sell my truck, not because no one wants it, but because I like it too much!

 

For the very slight increase in initial cost, get the V10 if you can find it. Towing 4k you should be ok with 3.73 but the 4.10-4.30 wouldn't hurt milage much either. Look for the LSD so you don't spin one tire pulling the boat up the ramp.

I never had a 2v V10 but I can't say enough good about the 3v. Great, smooth, quiet, powerful, efficient, quiet, and very quiet.
I'm usually the guy who will wait a year or two to let the bugs get ironed out on "new" engines and bodies but I got the 05 3V and it's never been in the shop except for new tires.

 

I've had mine forsale for almost 8 weeks. I've got a couple emails asking if it's a diesel, one call asking if it was a long bed, and many calls from brokers who want to charge me $400 to sell it.... Otherwise NO INTREST at all... I started at KBB private party "good" value and have lowered the price to $1000 below that. Making 2 truck payments and insurance is not fun! Finally we decided to buy the wife a new car and trade the F350 in on it. The dealer graciously offered $20,000 for it which is $2600 less than I owe but the rebates on the new car will help offset that. When I bought my Dodge, they only offerd $17,000 for it so I figured I'd sell it on my own. "You won't have any problems selling that" they said..... At this point I just want to trade it and be done.

 

One of the guys I work with (a ford guy that's bought 2 new ones in the last 4 years) sugested I even look at a new one after I told him I wasn't finding very many gas trucks. He thought going the route of getting something like a Costco price and then with the factory rebates on top of that, the price might not be that much higher than a used one. I've never bought a new truck but I do know when we bought my wifes two cars, the Costco price was cheaper than a one year old used car and the interest rate on the loan was lower so the payments were actually cheaper. Maybe I need to post a question in the section on buying new trucks if I can't find many V10's to look at.

Since their are fewer V10's to look at, it concerns me that i may only get to look at one or two. Is there anything you guys would suggest I look at or look for when looking at them?

Thank you again for your replies and information,

Aaron.

 

Aaron

Fact is the 2005 and up SuperDuty trucks, no matter what motor, have been exceptionally reliable

The first year with the 3v V10 there were a few issues with the new 5R110w TorqShift transmissions breaking... by now, all of them from the bad batch should have been fixed

The 2005 Job 1 start date was in June of 2004 with first units "in Service" around mid July...up until late November were most of the tranny issues. So a Dec 2004 or later unit is not likely to even be in the "concern group"

BTW not all 5R110w tranies had the inferior or mis installed parts... My truck came into service 3 sept 04 and they were able to tell from my trany serial number that it was not in the "problem Group"

Also 2005 was first year for electronic throttle and some of the early units had Throttle Pedal and Throttle Position Servo calibration issues... Again Ford was fairly aggressive in finding and fixing the problems. As you can well guess, they are very sensitive to safety related lawsuits.

What this all means is; by the end of 2004 the majority of significant issues were fixed and production lines were using the modified new components...

From Dec 2004 to present there have been very few "other" issues with the exception of the rare problem child truck that seems to have all sorts of problems.... see "The Black's" posting here on the first page to get an idea of what a production Dud can be.

Over the last couple of years there have been some but very few of these horror stories...Because of this real problem, stay away from any truck you suspect was a "Dealer buy back" or "program" vehicle

Different Markets have more Used trucks with all the different motor combinations... I do not see any V10s on lots around me here in Central Texas, but over in Louisiana (where the PSD was not very popular and the V10 had higher sales) there are more to see.

I travel a LOT to the WDC area and usually see one or two in that area on the lot and usually for ridiculously low prices.... remember most folks consider the V10 a high performance racing motor and by definition it MUST be a fuel hog.... the reason there are a lot in the Major metro areas is that the V10 is a great option for companies with small fleets. Utility, construction, lawn care, snow plow, tow services... many of these folks are savvy enough to NOT pay the high premium for the PSD and the associated maintenance costs when the $500 99Y option has 90% of the capability for their needs... I see many of the V10s with utility bodies and magnetic signs when ever I am in a large city.

 

Some dealers do more v10 business than others. Around here it can be tough to find a used one, but when I really started looking around several dealers had some new and used on the lots. While the PS is still the no 1 seller thes guys know what the big 10 can do and sell quite a few of them. One of these dealers is in western MT so may be close enough depending on which part of WA you are in.

 

Too bad you're not in Maryland - I just traded an '05 scab 5.4 / 3.73 in with 24k on the clock. I babied that truck, and all the service info went with it.........

 

The last few months I have noticed more and more service vehicles as well as private SD's with the V10 logo on the front fender. Before they were as scarce as hens teeth, especially in Utah, the diesel state. Now even there I have seen the big V10 more than in the past. I don't feel like the odd-man-out anymore.

Mine is paid for. That makes it real popular, now!!

 

Thanks for the great info! I may have to look at a new one cause I'm still not finding any 05 or newer ones. I may find out what the Costco price is or try to find out about the X pin plan or even look at a fleet truck. I like white and a friend who's ordered 3 fleet Fords for his business said you can order any option and trim level you want with a fleet truck. I do like rubber floors in a truck!

So if I do look at new ones and have the option, what rear end should I get. What would you guys guess the MPG difference would be between the 3.73 and the 4.10? I know the 4.10 will tow better but my boat doesn't weigh much.
Thanks,

Aaron

 

I don't think 3.73 are available anymore, 4.10 or 4.30's only.

 

Yep you only have 4.10 or 4.30

and either can be optioned with the Limited Slip LS unit

If just a beat around truck in a non snow area leave the options blank and you will get a Open 4.10 by default

In the snow belt get the LS unit it is not the best but much better then an open diff

If you think you will tow or haul very heavy then option in the 4.30 gear set

Those of us with 05 and up trucks are not reporting any significant MPG differences no matter 4.10 or 4.30

Most of these trucks average 12.5 MPG empty 10-11.5MPG in town empty and 7~9MPG towing heavy

OH yes, if you plan to lift and add on bigger tires definatly go with the 4.30 gears but realize they are only good up to about a 35"~36" tall tire----the base truck will come with 33~34 inchers on it