Well here I am with my 99 F350 CC dually 4X4 with 179,000 miles on it. I've had it 6 years and use it to haul horse's and steer's around. Ive been impressed with how it handled the loads but lately it's starting to struggle on the hills. There's nothing else majorly wrong with it so I want to keep the truck and freshin up the motor. I'm a swap-tronics kind of mechanic so I'm going to get a spare motor and rebuild it myself. That way the truck isn't down for a spell. What I'm hoping for is that I can get some info needed for this project and answer some tech questions. 1. What year engines should I look for that will be compatible? 2. What mods , if any would I have to do to put PI heads on? What other parts need to be chaged if I put PI heads on. 3. Are headers a new Y-pipe and exhaust worth the cost? 4. What would be a good tuner to get after I swap motors. 5. Any good suggestion's on where to get the rebuild parts,(bearings, rings, gasket set, etc.) Thanks

 

Look for a model-year 2003 and up 2-valve engine from an F-series, or be prepared to swap the oil pan and pickup tube if you get an E-series engine. Get the intake with it. If possible, I'd almost say get the wiring harness from a model-year 2000 and the PCM too. An early PCM and wiring harness, combined with the long-thread heads from 2003-up would make a great (and mostly easy) swap into your truck.

The reason I'm suggesting the 2000 wiring harness is there isn't a whole lot different between '99 and 2000 in terms of under-the-hood and PCM wiring. I think in 2003, some stuff changed, at least when I look at wiring for my 2001 it's a bit different for the 2003-2004.

 

OK thanks for the info, but I'm confused about the engine. I thought they didn't make 2 valve heads after 2002? If they did, are they the so called PI heads on it? How can you tell they are PI heads? As far as swapping the pan and pick-up tube that isn't a big deal. Is there a guide out there somewhere that shows serial numbers or casting numbers that cross to years that they are? In case i look at engines on the ground.

Why do I have to change the wiring harness and PCM? What's differant? Are they the same as connectors on the firewall? (so it would be plug and play?)

Is the only differance in the E engines the pan and pick-up tube?

 

'97-99 is the 2-valve non-PI engine.
2000-2004 is the 2-valve PI head engine in the F-series.
2000-all is the 2-valve PI head engine in the E-series.
2005-up is the 3-valve engine in the F-series.

 

179K is not high miles if it has been well cared for (regular oil changes and the like). The block I tore down at 140K showed almost no wear in the cylinders. I've seen well over 400K and running strong.

I would suggest a compression and leak down test before concluding this engine is worn out. Could just be COP's, boots, plugs, or fuel injectors needing to be replaced. Or plugged cat. EGR issues, PCV issues, vacuum leaks. Lots of cheap things.

The PI heads and intake are a very nice shot in the arm for the '99, as is the 5-Star tuning. From the dyno sheets I've seen, headers are great at high rpm, but not much gain under 4K. Consider how you use your truck to determine if they are worth it to to you. I rarely exceed 4K rpm so run stock logs.

If your bottom end is as robust as mine was, you can get rebuilt PI heads from Clearwater Cylinder Heads for under $1K with new inserts in ALL plug holes. A 2000+ PI intake for under $200 at JY. Brand new COP's, plugs, and fuel injectors for under $1K. Gaskets, tubing, PCV, etc and you're still under $3K.

If you abused engine and need a new bottom end as well, ANY V10 short block will work. I used short block out of 3V. Found a class A RV that burned with only 6K miles and got the entire engine for a song. Used the short block and parted out the rest. Ended up being close to free....
I think the '99 and '05+ short blocks result in a bit higher compression with the 2V PI heads so may need to use higher grade fuel. I do. But the extra power is worth it.

 

Didn't mention it out right, but what I found was that it was NOT cost effective to rebuild it myself. These engines rarely wear out, so there is almost no demand, and hence no supply, of rebuild parts. What is there is expensive.

Buying the complete and barely broken in 3V engine and parting out what I didn't need was far and away cheaper...

 

When is the last time the plugs were changed?

 

Thanks for the tips and info. I had a COP (#6) go bad last year so I changed all the plugs and replaced all the COP's. (Inside note: I followed the instructions on this site on doing the tune up. It was a great help. Thanks.) I didn't know that the V-10 had such a good life span. I personally have not abused it but don't know about previous owner(s). It doesn't burn any oil but in the winter there is a puff on start up. (bad valve seal I suspect.) Is there any info on a compression check out there or is it basically the same as any other engine. (Fuel relay out, Throttle wide open, etc.) What is acceptable compression numbers? So if the bottom end is in good shape then going with 2 valve PI heads and a custom tune, would be a decent increase of power? I rarely go over 4 grand if at all so stock exhuast should be ok.


(I would suggest a compression and leak down test before concluding this engine is worn out. Could just be COP's, boots, plugs, or fuel injectors needing to be replaced. Or plugged cat. EGR issues, PCV issues, vacuum leaks. Lots of cheap things.)

How can I check out the fuel injectors to see if they are bad? Also the cat, egr and pcv?

Thanks for the help so far, please keep the info coming. Dave

 

You got it on the compression check. All plugs out too...

Not sure what a "good" engine is capable of in terms of PSI...

 

I have always used the 10% rule for cranking compression.... As long as all cylinders are within 10% of each other, engine is very likely OK.
Less than 5% means darned good. The odds of all cylinders being shot to the same degree is slim. So if all are close, all are very likely in good shape.

I also like doing a leak down test with compressed air. I have found it to be much more informative. Rotate crank until cylinder under test has both valves closed and then pressurize through spark plug hole and listen. Sometime you have to rotate engine a few times - especially if you think valve is issue. Make sure valves are fully closed before concluding they're bad.

Hear a hiss at TB? Intake valve is not sealing.
At tailpipe? Exhaust valve.
At dipstick? Rings.

There are also recommended rates of leak down, and most testers include a gauge. But in a nutshell, if you pressurize and the needle drops slowly once air source is removed, you've got a solid keeper.

 

I added comments:

 

You could also do a leakdown test as well as a compression test. If the numbers are good why tear up a good motor. As far as injectors go, you can send them to this place and they will clean and measure the flow on them before and after cleaning. It is a bit pricey but better than buying all new injectors. If your engine is not burning oil then I would not rebuild or replace it for no reason. You really need to check all the sensors before assuming mechanical hardware is the cultprit. I have read that cleaning the MAF can help.

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