I found a deal on a 03 F450 but it has a blown 6.8 in it but it has the zf-6 in it. Is it possible to get the 2v to perform like the 3v? Or am I just wasting my time and I should wait for a 3v instead?

 

I have a 2v in my van and it's a torque monster.

Lots of people here love the v10 with no regard to which version. I've been on this forum for a while and I've seen absolutely no one disappointed. No one here has complained about their 2v. But many people posts threads like you did- asking how much better the three valve is.

I also wonder what im missing. But I know this beast is a crazy good engine. My van is about 6-7,000lbs daily driver and its gas pedal does not disappoint at all.

I tow a 7,000lb enclosed car trailer throughout the year and it's amazingly good.

Go getchoo that V10.

 

The 2V is perfectly fine with the right gears. With 3:73's it will feel a little weak.

My 99 2V ALWAYS got better mpg than my 3V, although it was a very small difference.

 

The truck the op is looking at is a f-450 so it most likely already has 4.30 gears if not 4.88's. Getting rid of that crappy y-pipe wouldn't hurt while your in there but won't make that big of a difference in towing but a lot of us did notice better throttle response with the spd ypipe. If you want to know what gears it left the factory with enter the vin here.
https://www.etis.ford.com/vehicleReg...0D91.eccvas508
As long as the trucks in good shape and your ok shifting your own gears I say go for it.

 

I think you will be good to go with a new 2V motor in that truck as it should already have the nice deep gears in it, that is the best towing improvement you make to these gassers, deep gears!
How much are you towing? My 2V EX serves as our dedicated tow rig these days for our 11,000 lb TT and it does very well dragging that all over the Eastern states. Between my 4.88 gears and 35" tires it has an effective 4.39 ratio.

 

The 2V will tow just fine. You should already have deep gears as it is a 450. If you free up the exhaust and get tunes from 5 Star tuning, you will not be disappointed.

The tuning will open the fuel loop at about 3/4 throttle and since you have a manual, that will allow you to hold a higher gear without downshifting like the auto trans do.

 

Thanks for all the info guys! We do have a 2010 F-350 with the 6.8 and it is our primary tow rig it did replace a 6.0 PSD. It does very well, we tow 6k on the low side to about 12k on the high side. Sad to say the 2010 is my wife's truck and I was looking at building another for myself. Going to go talk to the owner of the F-450 tonight to see what he has to say.