I currently have a 97 F250 5.8 auto 4x4, 4.10 rears 9-10 mpg combined. It is well mantained and has 148,000 miles on it. I tow a bobcat and mini excavator with it, Apprx (10,000 lbs). The old girl labors on the small hills and struggles on the big ones I am constantly putting in low with hubs unlocked to get up some steep drives and side streets. I just got rid of my 2004 F350 6.0 diesel at 46,000 miles ,athough it towed well that truck was a mechanical nightmare and I just wanted to get away from it. I want to stay with ford and was thinking of a V10 ,my concern is how will it tow compared to the 5.8. and what combined mileage can I expect? Can you run regular gas in it? Do the v10s come with the 5speed autos? I wouldn't touch the 6.0 if they gave it to me and the new twin turbo sounds just as scary. The first time in 20 years I actually went to look at a duramax , Maks me sad to give up on ford but that 6.0 has me pissed off. Any help or advise is greatly appreciated

 

start by reading thru some previous posts right in this forum and you will have
your answer
A new SD with v10 will tow every bit as well as the previous SD deisel you had
g/l

 

2005 and up gas hd trucks will have 5 speed auto, compared to the 5.8 the v-10 will feel like it has twice the power

towing you will get 8-10 mpg, highway city expect 10-14, depending on rear gearing and driving style

 

Thanks for the response, Thats the same MPG I got with the 6.0. Is there any thing I should stay away from in a used V10? or are they all pretty solid.

 

Steelhorse97

Here is what I usualy have to say on the gas vs diesel issue

RE your last question look for 01-04 if interested in a 310 HP 2v V10 version
I highly recommend the 05 3v V10 for the extra power and very similar MPG figures

---------------------------------------
I sure wish I had my standard response canned so I could just hit "paste"

I am a PSD snob turned Gas lover because of the V10... serious motor head and quite arrogant in my beliefs... we bought a 2001 Platinum Edition SuperDuty that had a 2v V10 in it some years ago because my wife though it was "cute" and the dealer here was very willing to negotiate to well below INVOICE because a gas powered 3/4 to 1 ton truck will not sell in my area... lots of diesel snobs like me here!

That one truck changed my whole attitude. I can say with pride and certainty that the Ford V10 powered trucks are the best kept secret in America...hell Ford won't even let the folks know what a screaming deal a $510-$650 option motor upgrade is!

OK here is the deal
$500-$600 for motor vs $3700-$5200 for 6.0L PSD
about equal power in stock trim
gas is much quieter
gas does not stink
the V10 badge is out front in a proud location not hidden under the mirror
in stock form the bottom end torque of the V10 gas motor is exceptional
in stock form the fuel efficiency of the V10 gas is exceptional 12.5-14,3MPG empty 7.2-8.7MPG heavy
the service schedule associated costs are dramatically lower for the V10 gas motor
The over all buy in price is lower thus the compounded saving in interest are similarly lower for the V10 gas motor
In my area the V10 powered SuperDuty costs about $250 less a year to insure (full coverage)
______________________________

Here is probably the best post in the V10 forum on this subject.
I only mildly disagree with sinester73 on the 7.3L vs 6.0L torque to the ground issue but still a well reasoned and excellent post from a gas vs diesel discussion in late 2005
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Sinester73 11-27-2005, 09:59 AM
Sorry I'm calling BS on some of this. I like the V10 just fine folks. But the 6.0 is not such a horrible motor as it is made out to be. I know I'm in the V10 forum and can't expect to make too many friends by singing the praises of the 6.0 PSD, but lets be a little reasonable here for a minute.

Being honest, Ford sells how many more 6.0's than V10's? 10 to 1? 20 to 1? It's bound to have much more warranty repair claims with so many more sold. I know the 6.0 has had problems but I've been around too many good ones to believe they are all bad. I'm talking a total of 15 trucks with only one engine related issue between them - a burnt turbo. It's going on two years now and this is still the only issue I've heard of.

Obviously not everyone's collective experiences are going to be the same. Same goes for transmissions. Everyone says the 6 speed is no good with the 6 liter because the turbo retards low end torque. Many claim the 5 speed auto is better because the slipping torque convertor mask's this characteristic. My observations havent been the same, to me the torqueshift is much less impressive with the diesel than it is with the 3v V10, and the stick has plenty of low end grunt in the 6.0PSD.

I've used a whole butt load of 7.3's in my time, and there is'int a single stock 7.3 that can hold a candle to a stock 6.0 in terms of low end torque...it's a friggen myth.

I was one who had a serious bone to pick with the 6.0 at one time. I'd take word of mouth from anyone claiming a problem I had'int seen for myself as gospel. So many negative posts online could not be wrong I figured at the time. Now having been around them I see things in a different light. Now since driving many of them fully loaded I can claim to know what I'm talking about instead of guessing about it.

The 6.0 can't be claimed to have the reliability of the 7.3 no...It can't be claimed to be as bomber friendly as a Cummins either. It's not going to get the mileage of any of the older diesels which have not had to have such measures contained into them for emmissions reasons as well. But let's not claim to know all 6.0's are bad engines. Let's not foolishly claim the V10 to be a better motor in EVERY given circumstance, and lastly let's not contribute to the fairy tale that a stock 7.3 could outperform it in low end torque.

This last one I've checked on for myself since my observations did not coincide with this last claim made by so many people, and sure enough, while the 6.0 has it's torque peak at a higher RPM, it makes just as much as the 7.3 does from idle all the way to 1600RPM - it then spins up faster and out torques it out to 2000RPM and maintains that torque out to just over 3000 RPM - which means it has the advantage of being able to spin higher RPM if need be while pulling heavy, and not losing torque in the process like a 7.3 would in those ranges.

Getting back to the original question, the truth is that very few people will actually require the advantages offered by the diesel engine. I'm not just talking about the 6.0 here either, I mean any diesel engine. The advantage to today's diesels are precious and few. People have erronously concluded that if something costs more, than it must be better. This simply is'int always so. The V10 offers the advantages of; intial price, cheaper fuel, cheaper maintenance, easier starting in colder climates, easier to obtain fuel, simplicity, less cost for parts, consistent drivability - no turbo lag, reduced driver fatigue because of less noise vibration and harshness (NVH) and less odor. It will pull what any equivalently equiipped diesel truck will tow if geared properly for the task at hand - it's always been true of any gas powered truck.

The diesel has only one advantage - slightly better MPG when pulling heavy loads and moderately better MPG when hauling only your ***. You need alot of miles to make the engine pay for itself on a cost advantage basis after taking all costs into consideration.
Still, if you are the guy who hotshots trailers all over the place and buries a truck with ungodly miles over a short time, than a diesel does make sense.

I won't list high altitude towing as a real advantage since this has more to do with forced induction than it does with the type of fuel being burned to do the job. Though the case could be made that the turbo comes with the diesel for that 3700.00 added cost and you'd spend at least much much super charging a V10 - thus it's fair to compare.

Both are good engines. The V10 is the all around better choice IMO. Those less educated on the matter simply buy what they have been told is the best, and more often than not this is really a matter of wanting to keep up with the Jones's.

 

I'll keep it simple and stay out of the gas vs. diesel thing.

Compared to the 5.8, the V10 is a powerhouse.

You won't regret it.

If it were me, I'd go for a 2001 and up. There are reasons I won't get into, but re: the spark plug issue, after 2000 Ford updated their in-factory torque procedure, and modified the head slightly to get the plug aligned better while installing them. After that, in late 2002, the threads were increased in the head.

That doesn't mean you should stay away from a '99 or '00. But regular plug maintenance is a must.

 

Fredvon4,

Thanks for posting the excellent post by Sinester73! It is always nice to hear good
things about the V10 from someone who knows what they are talking about.

Jack