I always think I'm not going to reply to these threads and then about 3 or 4 pages in I give in to temptation.

My personal preference....

If I were to buy a new truck: I would most certainly buy a V10. The new diesels cost too much, have lost much of the fuel economy advantage, and are laden with potentially unreliable emission systems.

If I were to buy a used truck: Used diesel trucks are affordable. I would skip right over the 6.0L and go back to a 7.3L for the proven reliability. It's not a hot rod but it does tow very well and gets good mileage. I would consider a V10 in exchange for a good deal on a low mileage truck as long as I didn't plan to drive it a lot.

What I have: I'm not wasting my money on a new truck! My goal was to get an extremely reliable truck for as little money as possible. I ended up with a low mileage 2WD 7.3L 6-speed manual. I have a Jeep if I want to go off road. Which I never do. And most of you don't either.

 

The PickupTruck Heavy Duty Shootout makes for some VERY interesting reading guy's. I personally had no idea.


Quarter-mile Drag V10 vs 6.4 PSD:
"Pay special attention to how close the engine performance is in the Ford trucks. Both use the same 5-speed transmission with the same gear ratios. The larger displacement 6.8L Ford V10 can be a real power option versus a diesel if the final drive ratio is low enough. This should keep the gas versus diesel debate alive (a $6,295 premium for the Power Stroke oil burner versus the Triton V10 gasser), especially if you're not going to keep a truck long enough to pay off the higher diesel engine option."

7% Grade with 10,500 lbs trailer v10 vs 6.4 PSD:
"the 6.8-liter V10 gas engine was faster moving up the grade than the 6.4-liter V8 diesel."

15% Grade with 10,500 lbs trailer v10 vs 6.4 PSD:
"look at how well the V10 was running at the 250-meter finish line versus the V8 Power Stroke. Again the gasser was traveling faster than the compression ignition motor."

Off-course this is bone stock. The PSD can be tuned much easier compared to the V10 to generate more torque & HP.

I just had to laugh about some of the 7.3 PSD guy's claiming that they can out do the V10 The V10 can hang with the 6.4 PSD. The old 7.3 can not hang with the 6.4. So what makes you think it can out do the V10? The numbers just aren't there guy's

The 7.3 PSD is rated at 505 ft-lbs and 250 HP with an auto tranny. The V10 is rated at 457 ft-lbs and 362 hp!!! So torque is pretty much equal, only 48 ft-lbs difference, but there is a MASSIVE 112 HP difference!!!

So what exactly again makes you think a stock 7.3 PSD can out do a stock V10

 

Has any one mentioned yet that ford is not making a V10 gas any more? That right there tells you something.

 

Really? I just built a truck online that had it.

They are also not making the 7.3, or the 6.0, and are also about to dump the 6.4. Hmmmm...

 

My thoughts exactly. Some people need to think before they speak.

 

Easy guys, there just trucks nothing to do with your manly hood. Can't we just get along?

 

Thats what the dude at the dealership told me so don't jump down my throat.

 

Its rumored that Ford is dropping the V10 in the F-250 and F-350 for the 2011 model year just like the they are axing the 6.4l. The V10 supposibly will still be available in the E series, F-450/F-550 chassis cabs and the large motorhome chassis. I'm not shure if the V10 will still be available for the industrial generator market.

Just because it is rumored that Ford is discontinuing the V10 it doesn't tell you anything. The V10 has been in Fords lineup for well over 10 years and will still remain in the line-up in certain applications. The V10 will be available for more years than the 7.3l was.

 

I have yet to see a gas engine used for an industrial generator application. Yeah they used 427's back in the 60's when diesels weren't real popular yet. And yeah, a stock V10 may be quicker than a stock PSD, but it still lacks in fuel economy, and you will never be able to spend equal amounts of money on both vehicles and be able to keep up with a diesel. That I bet my house on.

 

I started my truck in -20°F weather last winter without being plugged in. Fuel never gelled either, not once all winter long. All it takes is a few extra cycles of the glow plugs to get the engine to start.
As for warming up- my diesel warms up just as fast as my old 95 F250 460 powered gasser did.
I live out in the sticks and every station I can think of carries diesel. Maybe if you live in a city its harder to find, but a moot point out here. And as Mongo said, in a pinch you can run on a variety of other "fuels" temporarily.

As for #1, you gas engine owners are supposed to do that too. And if you don't have a 6.0 or 7.3, you can get a fuel filter for about the same price as a case of beer. Or better yet, get rid of the stock fuel bowl and install a different post pump filter and get them even cheaper yet at any good auto parts store.
As for #2, show me a 7.3L with any of those failures in stock form. Head gaskets might let go rarely on a stock 7.3L, but we don't have all that other crap. Don't be lumping all the PSD's into one ball, the 7.3L is a whole different animal than the newer gen stuff and can go many many miles, stock or mildly modded, trouble free. My truck has 184K miles on stock turbo, injectors, and everything else except the fuel filter. Another member in the 7.3L forum has nearly 300k on a stock truck. Those are just examples off the top of my head, there are many more. Change the oil and filter regularly and you'll get many trouble free miles out of a PSD.

After owning my diesel for just over a year I can say that unless big changes are made I'll never own another gas truck again. Stock for stock my diesel tows so good and pulls so hard that I'll stick with diesel just for that fact alone. Last summer while pulling a 28' bumper pull travel trailer through WA state (only mods to my truck at the time were an intake and exhaust) I was able to pass 2 cars pulling a 6-7% grade (yes, going UP the hill) on Blewett Pass. I know for damn sure my old gasser wouldn't have done it, and I have a hard time believing a V10 could do it. Now that I have a DP Tuner, I can pull grades with heavy loads at 55-60 mph like I'm running on flat ground empty... not redlining the motor just to make it happen.
I'm glad all you V10 guys think your trucks are great. I think mine is great too. As long as it has a blue oval on the front it's OK in my book!

 

[quote=mongo75;7663361]I have yet to see a gas engine used for an industrial generator application. Yeah they used 427's back in the 60's when diesels weren't real popular yet.quote]

They are out there whether you've seen them or not.
http://www.egens.com/FordGens.htm

Most run on nat gas or propane but they are basic gas long blocks converted to run different fuels. Where I used to work they have a nat gas Ford 302ci generator. Nat gas is already there to run the boiler and the gas engine requires minimal maintenence.

A guy or two stops in the V10 forum with over 300k miles on there V10. The modulars can see some high mileage. Nice thing is you can get a Ford reman 2V V10 with warrenty for under $4k.

I change the fuel filter on my V10 every 10k miles and it costs $11. Just for a comparison.

 

Superduty4x4, I agree with you that the 7.3 PSD is a totally different animal as compared to the 6.0 & 6.4 PSD. It's trully a tried and true BULLET PROOF engine and FORD should have kept it and improved on it to bring it into the new emissions era.

I do not agree with your statement quoted above. While your 460 gasser might not have been able to hang with your 7.3 up the pass, stock for stock, the V10 can easily out do your 7.3 up the climbs. See my earlier post above pulling a 10,500# trailer on 7% & 15% climbs which was quoted from the "Heavy Duty Shootout".

The PSD's are also much more expensive to maintain. The fixed maintenance cost are much higher compared to the V10. Just compare the basic cost of having to do the oil/filter changes! Repairs cost much more as well.

Owning a new diesel only makes sense if you plan to drive it until the wheels fall off. Because if we look at the big picture, the difference in MPG, 3-4mpg's, is hardly there. You would have to drive a LOT of miles to break even with the $6,300 price difference at today's fuel prices and when you then factor in the higher fixed preventative maintenance cost, I doubt you can make it up. I'd like to see somebodies calculations.

I think the story only changes if you purchase a PSD used with a few years on it and get a good deal on it. IF the purchase price difference between the PSD and V10 changes, only then the PSD would win hands down.

The V10 has a rareness factor, they're definitely not dime-a-dozen. BUT, all diesels for that matter, have, imo, a coolness factor that the V10 just doesn't have

 

dkf, any idea what the highest reported mileage on a V10 motor is? Just curious, not trying to start a whizzing contest
I think I paid around $17 for my fuel filters and they get changed every 15k miles... pretty close in cost there.

I don't like those shootouts, I don't really know why I just don't. I think that most of them tend to be biased, whether the mag would admit it or not. I would like to take a truck similar to mine but with the V10 (all things equal- tire size, gearing, chassis config, etc). and pull the same trailer up a grade with each truck to see what the ups/downs of either are. I don't care who gets to the top the fastest, I want to know which truck can hold its own the best. Any V10 owners in eastern WA want to take me up on that?

You may have a point on the maintenance costs though. With regular maintenance a 7.3L doesn't cost too much to drive, but there are a few things that when you need to repair or replace, you better hold on (injectors). A motor that is fed clean air, clean fuel and has clean oil in it can go for many miles without needing injector, turbo, or other big ticket work done, keeping the maintenance cost down.
As for breaking even on fuel price... I can fuel my diesel for about 50 cents a gallon less than my wife's Exploder right now, and the mpg between both rigs is comparable. That makes my PSD cheaper to drive than the Exploder!

One thing I think that diesels have over gassers (maybe this is changing now, I haven't been following gassers too closely lately) is that high mileage on a diesel pickup doesn't scare people like high mileage on a gasser. Many consider 100-150k just broken in for a diesel and don't bat an eye at that kind of mileage. Do people still get twitterpated as a gasser gets between that 150-200k mark?

 

Lots of variables mpgwise for the V10. Vehicle configuration, driving style, terrain, load , 3V vs 2V and etc. Highest I heard of was almost 18mpg with a 2V but that was empty and I think the guy lived out on flat land somewhere. Best I got with mine was 15mpg unloaded.

I'm shure my fuel filters would last longer than 10k miles. Its just easy for me to remember to change them every 10k miles. Plus you just don't know how much crud you can pick up in the fuel.

 

I should have clarified, not mpg, total mileage. As in, how many mile on the truck before the motor gives up?