A few months back I bought a '99 Dodge 2500 SLT quad cab long box with the 8.0 V10 and a 5 speed manual. I have always heard they werent very good motors but the price was right so I bought it. After driving it alot (as a work truck) for the last few months I cant figure out why everybody gripes about them.

I have driven 3 different Ford V10's and absolutely loved them and from what I can tell the 8.0 isnt much different in performance and behavior. It gets worse mileage than the Ford 6.8 (10 vs 14) but seems to have more than enough power for what I need out of it.

Anybody have any idea as to why nobody seems to like them?

 

Good question. I've known folks with the Dodge V10 and never heard anything bad about them. The only thing I could ever figure was that it lived in the shadow of the 5.9 CTD so it was passed over by many. Otherwise, I always thought of it as a more than capable engine.

 

Its a good solid engine - based on the Viper V10 (although hardly anything interchanges between them). Tons of torque and a decent amount of HP.

The only issue that I've heard of was that I guess Chrysler liked to put all the coil packs together in one unit, so if one fails, you replace them all.

But like it was said, most people just opted for the Cummins instead of the V10

 

The Ford V10 gets a lot of bad mouthing also. You can blame the diesel purists for a lot of it. I'd rather see an updated version of the 8.0l in the Dodge 2500 and 3500 trucks than the oh so overated HEMI.

 

A few years ago, you could get an 8.3L version of V10 in the RAM 1500, but it was the 500HP Viper one

But it at least shows if they wanted to bring the truck V10 back into the rams, it wouldn't be too much of a hassle to put it in.

 

I've never heard anything bad about them except they're thirsty. Probably like the Hemi, folks with other engines don't want to acknowledge that there are other good engines available as well as their own. I just put 120k on an '05 Hemi powered 2500HD that I traded for the F250 5.4L. The Hemi engine ran like day one and will easily outlast the truck it's in. I ran it hard towing and working a lot of those 120k miles. I have high hopes that the 5.4L and the truck it's in lasts that long and more. How is the Hemi over rated? Mine did everything Dodge claimed it could do.

 

I don't think its so much the Hemi is over rated by Dodge, but rather quite a few dodge owners like to brag about the hemi

 

I suppose there are many owners gone over the edge who think it's a blown 426cid Hemi but my experience has been that it's a rock solid 345cid small block gasser like many others including the 5.4L Triton. Remember the commercials... The normal guy who actually owned the Hemi powered Ram drove like a normal person. The burger flippers who couldn't afford a new truck of any kind were the ones hyping it up. Pretty good reflection of how it is this side of the TV screen too.

 

I say its overated because many of the people who brag up and buy a HEMI really have no clue what a hemi is and what it was.(I know a few) Lets face it the late model hemis have practically nothing in common with the old Hemis in the late 60s and prior. Dodge played a big part in starting the short lived Hemi craze as I call it with there advertising. I can't blame Dodge though they were running a business. The hemis they have now are indeed a step up from the old 360 they had for years.

Those things were pretty darn quick if you could get them to hook up. Would be fun to have the same motor in a 2500 or 3500 truck.

 

Ok, The difference was,,,
Viper V-10 was an Aluminum Alloy Block.
V-10 Truck block was Cast iron.
Heat disapation was the factor.

 

The only thing I have ever heard bad about the Dodge V-10 is some of the early ones had crank breaking issues, & non of them got any kind of gas mileage. I would take a V-10 Dodge any day over a V-10 Ford.
I saw a V-10 Dodge hooked up to a 6.0 Ford diesel. The V-10 Dodge drug that Ford with the wheels spinning, like it wasn't even there.
I rode & drove a 426 Hemi in a 69 Road Runner. Without a doubt it was the fastest car I ever experienced until the 2009 Challenger R/T with a 6.2L Hemi. That car will do over 170 MPH from the factory.

 

It amazes me that people think a "Tug of War" is a good test of a truck and the power it makes.

 

Tug of wars are fun, but don't really prove anything. A civic could out-tug an F-250 if you put enough weight on the front wheels. Whoever brakes traction first in a tug of war and gets the wheels spinning is the one that is going to loose.

 

I can say that I love my Hemi powered Challenger. It is quite a torque laden engiene with 410 ft/lbs on tap. Even has more low end than my old beloved 300 I6, and is far more powerful than my 5.4 in my truck, but it moving a whole bunch less weight. As to the dodge V10, I have always wanted to drive one. I have never actually seen one in person. I have liked the Ford V10, has good power also.

 

I cant comment on your experience. But I have passed many Hemi powered dodges while I was dragging 3500 lbs with my 5.4 up hill. I have also seen many Hemi's blowing smoke on every shift, trucks that were without a doubt newer and had less miles than my 99 F250 with 175k. i know they have more ponies, my worn 5.4 is probably pushing in the area of 200hp at this point. Still it keaps pulling.