I don't know about the 6.0 or 6.4, but glow plugs for the 7.3 run between $8-10, not $12. I just replaced my glow plugs this past winter and got all 8 motorcrafts for $64. So if your plugs cost $3 each and my glow plugs $8 each, my part costs over twice as much as yours(and would appear to fit the "diesels cost more" argument). BUT, don't forget that in addition to having to change yours twice to my once, you also have to buy plugs for 2 more cylinders than I do. So after your two changes you have bought 4 more plugs than I have. If you buy 10 plugs at $3 per plug over two changes that is $60 compared to my $64. So the cost is almost identical, but you have to do 2.5 times the work(20 plugs vs 8).

 

Are we really debating maintenance costs again?

I just started filling my piggy bank to save for my $120 synthetic oil change required for cold weather that I'll have to do in 5 months. Two weeks ago I got a great deal for a $69.99 oil change at the local Ford dealer.

Over the lifespan of a set of plugs the oil will have to be changed at least 10 times, assuming worst-case 50,000 mile plug life and 5,000 mile OCIs.

Assuming best case scenario $70 oil change for the PSD and probably an average of $30 for a V10 oil change, you save $40 each oil change with the V10.

So over 50,000 miles you save $400 just in oil change costs. I think you can afford some pretty nice plugs with that savings!!!

 

Yeah, but I'd like to see you try to get one of those sprinters to tow a fifth-wheel weighing 12K+ pounds.

The title of this thread is "V10 vs. PSD" - The Ford V10 is only available in the Ford F and E-series vehicles, and the PSD is only available in the same vehicles.

Let's keep this on target instead of moving around like a piece of dust in a breeze.

What what the heck does a gas powered UPS truck have to do with anything in this thread? I doubt it's got a carburetor, so if they ran it low enough on gas for it to die on a San Fran street, well, they're idiots

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but you're talking about a $64 maintenance cost every 200,000 miles. If you drive 40k a year, you're still only talking about just over a dollar a month. At that rate, we might as well be debating which truck needs to be vacuumed out more. You know, the 50 cents to run the car wash vacuum cleaner really adds up...to about $1.50 a month!

We're talking about costs that are so insignificant that even the homeless guy sitting begging for money at the local stoplight could afford to pay them.

 

My oil changes on my 7.3 are less than $40. I buy the 5 quart jug of motorcraft oil at wal mart for $11. That is $2.20 per quart x 14 quarts=$30.80 for oil. Then throw in an $8 motorcraft oil filter and my total cost is $38.80. Over 50k miles that is only a savings of $80 for the v10.

I just don't go for the "diesels cost more" argument as a reason that they are "worse" than a gasser. If $80 is enough to break the bank then you probably can't afford the truck in the first place. There are also things on the v10 that cost more than on a diesel, so in the end the cost to maintain ends up being pretty close to the same.

Also, how many of those gasser guys that use the "diesels cost more to maintain" argument drive automatics? They rail on the PSD and say it's too expensive to maintain, etc, but then turn around and brag about how great their TS tranny is..... If it's all about cost to maintain, shouldn't we all be driving manuals?

 

[quote=Crazy001;8908725]

Assuming best case scenario $70 oil change for the PSD and probably an average of $30 for a V10 oil change, you save $40 each oil change with the V10. quote]

I change my oil every 5K for less than $50. I change the the fuel filter evry other oil change for $70 total.

 

On a 7.3 that is really overkill. It doesn't hurt to do it, but it makes the gasser guys think we have yet another added cost every couple of thousand miles...... Thanks lol All the diesel tech books I have recommend changing the fuel filter every 60k miles, which is what I do with mine.

 

I notice a change in fuel mileage when i do change it so, that's why i have stuck with it. Plus, only being $20, i figure i save that amount in fuel.

 

If you get more mpg's by changing it, then I would too. I haven't seen that with mine though. I am at 45k miles on my current fuel filter and still getting the same mpg's as the day I put it in.

 

Come on, now Josh. They don't cost almost the same to maintain.

7 quarts of MC 5w20 plus MC oil filter for the V10 costs around $20. Year round.

My diesel suppliment clearly states that below 20 degrees 5w40 oil is required. This stuff is $19.50 for the cheapest available at wal-mart. My oil filter is $17.88 at wal-mart.

 

For your 6.4 you are probably right. But I own a 7.3 and a 5.4 and I can tell you to the dollar how much they cost me to maintain. The difference in my oil changes is minimal at best(but more than offset by my fuel costs). If you go back about 50 pages you'll see where I did the write up on my fuel costs. Over the life of my 7.3 and 5.4(500k miles each) I will have saved enough in fuel to buy a new truck. Just to run the numbers again, my 5.4 gets 14 mpg's and my 7.3 gets 21 mpg's. Over 500k miles my 5.4 will use 35,714 gallons of gas and my 7.3 will use 23,809 gallons. Using todays cost of fuel at the station by my house(2.80 for gas and 2.99 for diesel) my 5.4 will use $99,999 worth of gas and my 7.3 will use $71,188. That is a savings of $28,811. Over those 500k miles that is 100 oil changes. My 7.3 costs $10 more per oil change. So $1,000 more over the life of the trucks. My savings are down to $27,811 once you factor in my "more expensive to maintain" oil changes.....

I use the 15w45 in mine year round. Never have any trouble out of it even when it gets down below 0. Yours may be different though. I can only speak for what is in my driveway. My oil filter is only $8 at wal mart, so it is less than half of what yours is.

 

Your math is flawed.
You WILL NOT get 21mpg 100% of the time with that 7.3L.
Same thing with the 5.4L.
JL

 

Yeah, I believe your savings with your MPGs. Unfortunately the EPA has made high mileage, low maintenance diesels a thing of the past.

I know that both 6.4L and 6.0L engines require 5w40 or 10w30 oil if temps frequently get below 20 degrees. 10w30 isn't a real option because you can't use it above 50 degrees and even in cold weather towing isn't recommended. So it's $100 oil changes at a minimum in the winter if you live up north.

There are lots who use 15W40 year round even in cold weather, but that is a VERY dangerous game to play. Using the wrong grade oil for the climate would meet the definition of abuse, and Ford would NOT cover engine failure in this scenario. At $15K+ replacement cost the extra for synthetic oil is well worth it.

 

Absolutely!! He'd have to do the math as an average fuel economy rather than a max. There is no way a 7.3 averages 21 mpg for 500,000 miles.

 

I won't get 21 mpg or 14 mpg all the time, but unloaded I can bet they are going to be within 1 mpg of that. I check my mileage every tank, so I am sure that I am accurate on my numbers. When I hook a trailer to them my 5.4 loses mpg's at a much higher rate than my 7.3. If I do the math with a trailer hooked to them I may end up with enough money to buy two new trucks instead of one...... Either way, the mpg's on them in any circumstance is not even close. We are talking about $1,000 extra in oil changes vs $27,000 in fuel savings. My math would have to be off by a LOT to get those numbers to even be in the same ballpark.

Every so often I pull a car to Dayton, Ohio for one of my uncles to do some interior work for me. 3,500 lb trailer and ~3,500 lb car. I got 19 mpg's with my 7.3 the last trip I made. My 5.4 gets 10-11 mpg's with the same trailer on the same route.

Don't get me wrong. I am not saying the v10 or mod motors are bad engines or won't get the job done. I own a 5.4 and I am currently looking at adding a v10(you can ask Bill, I have been emailing him questions about them lately). All I am saying is that with the trucks sitting in "my" driveway, I have yet to see anything that would argue that diesels cost more to operate or own over the life of the vehicle. Tom's may be different, or the guy(matt?) with the 6.0. I can't argue about their maintenance costs or mpg's because I don't own one.

Those numbers are my average. The best my 7.3 has gotten unloaded is 23 and the worst it has gotten unloaded is 19. The best my 5.4 has gotten unloaded is 16 and the worst it has gotten is 13. 9 times out of 10 though, my 7.3 is 21 and my 5.4 is 14, so those are the numbers I use(and I hand check my mileage every tank). Like I said above, if you want to hook a trailer to them and calculate my savings that way it is going to look a whole lot better for my 7.3.

Edit-For the last year I have been driving an average of 1k miles per week. The year before that I had two trips per week(same day up and back) that were 900 miles round trip and two trips that were 400 miles round trip in addition to my normal drive to work. There were times I was filling up 5-6 times per week, so I have a pretty good idea what kind of mpg's my vehicles get..........