My engine is toast...
 

I recently bought a '99 F250 4x4 with a V10. It was a one owner truck in near perfect condition with 101k miles. Well, on my way home from a camping trip last weekend (towing my 5k lb. travel trailer), the engine started to get noisy. I stopped in the next town and the low oil light came on and the oil pressure dropped to nothing as soon as I pulled into the gas station. I put 4 quarts in it before anything showed up on the dipstick. The damage was already done. I made it home, but the engine has what sounds like a rod knock and won't idle smoothly. I checked the oil when I bought the truck and it was full. It now has 105k miles, so there was about 4k on the oil. I can't find a leak anywhere and I find it hard to believe it burned 4.5 quarts that fast, but it doesn't much matter at this point. I need an engine and I'm looking for some advice.

I've had some very bad experiences with local machine shops and would like to avoid getting the engine rebuilt if possible. From the little bit of research I've done, it appears that my options are a remanufactured long block or a used engine. I obviously want to spend as little as possible, but I need something that will be reliable. Anybody know the best source to find a good V10? As far as I can tell, Ford doesn't sell new V10s any longer. So what's my best bet? I looked it up and Ford wants around $4300 for a remanned long block. On eBay they're going for about $3000 with free shipping.

Also, I would like to take this opportunity to switch over to a PI motor. I'm assuming it's a direct fit for the most part, but what all would I need to install a PI motor in a non-PI truck? Are the injectors/fuel system different? Is the wiring all the same? I know I would have to at least have the computer flashed. I'm probably just going to get the Banks headers when I put the new motor in, so I shouldn't need to worry about the exhaust. Anybody have experience swapping a PI engine into a '99?

I will be doing all of the work myself, so any advice that could help me with replacing the engine would be great. I have a 4-post lift and I figure pulling the cab off of the frame is the easiest/best way to go. My cousin has experience working on these trucks and it sounds fairly straightforward, but any tips or advice is greatly appreciated. I want to get this job done quick and do it right the first time. Thanks!

How about a Cummins swap?

No thanks. There's too much involved in doing that and I need my truck to be reliable. Swapping in a totally different motor would pretty much gaurantee that I'd be chasing little problems for years to come. You're not the first person to suggest it, but there's a reason I bought a truck with a gas engine in the first place.

Sorry to hear about the unpleasant experience with v-10 . Of course ,as a v-10 owner, I would like to know what went wrong . I am wondering if you had checked the oil level periodically during the time you owned the truck ? especially after towing trailer ?

As a DIY oil changer , my experience is that I put 6 qts. of fresh oil at oil change (Motocraft 5W20)and I get about 4 qts. of used oil at the end of 3000 mile ( half solo drive half towing ) . During the last few years I started adding a quart or so during 3K to prevent a premature engine wear .

There is a part guy , FTE sponsor , 5-star Mike , he should be able to guide you to right direction .

Just few weeks ago , I was at the trailer storage doing some maintenance work on my trailer . A guy showed up with a Ford commercial work truck . When I saw the v10 emblem , we striked up a conversation . His truck was also 2003, but with auto tranny and it has got over 400K on the clock with the same engine and tranny . He said there were some minor (unspecified ) parts replaced . Yes , we also heard of some engines that were toasted around 150K or before .

Good luck to you .

Man, I'm sorry to hear about your problem and if it were me, I'd look at local wrecking yards that warranty their engines. I'll bet you can turn up a decent engine fairly reasonably. Also, this is a good reason to check your oil every time you add gas. Lord knows with the MPG's we get out of these things, it gives you lots of opportunities to check it. I always think of the sign we have posted at the gas pumps at work, "If you have time to fill it up, You have time to check the oil".

Sorry to hear about that, that really sucks I would try to find a low mileage used engine before having someone you don't know or trust rebuild it. But for future reference ALWAYS keep a close eye on the oil level and other fluid levels on a new to you vehicle intill you get to know it. Even on a brand new engine if the rings don't seat properly you could use enough oil to burn it up before the first oil change!!

Yeah, I'm pretty bummed about it. I bought the truck because it was in such nice condition and was meticulously maintained (original owner kept records to prove it). He claimed he never even towed with it and it showed. I figured at worst it might need some transmission work after a year or two. Wasn't really planning on having to put a motor in it a few weeks after buying it. :-arrgh It is what it is, though. I will definitely let you guys know when I figure out what happened. I have to believe it developed a good leak because of how fast it happened, but I can't see any evidence of it. I checked the oil when I bought the truck (it had just been changed and was full). I was planning on getting it changed again before our trip, but ran out of time. The oil had roughly 4k miles on it. If it burned 4.5 quarts in that amount of time the engine was probably junk anyway, so I guess it's not a huge loss. Like I said, though, I had no warning. I hadn't checked the level in a while, but the dummy light never came on until after it started making noise. I might have to do something different with the oil level sensor if it doesn't give any warning until there's less than 2 quarts in the pan. It's basically worthless if the damage is done before it let's you know there's anything wrong.

Anyway, I did pretty much write off the eBay or "cheap" rebuilt engine idea. Even if they have a warranty and honor it, I don't want to be pulling the motor in and out several times until it's right (been there, done that). A used motor would be the cheapest option, but I'm a little leary of that because you never know what you're getting. I could end up doing a lot of work and be right back where I started. Even though it would be really expensive, I'm starting to lean towards a genuine Ford rebuilt engine. I'm going to keep looking, but I want to get something going pretty quick. I need my truck!

I called my local ford dealer that my company deals with A LOT. they said I could have a new v10 for $3500. The local garage will change everything over and install it for $750. I figure if I had the engine out I would add some new parrts rather than swap them. Good Luck.

If it was mine I would buy a long block from Ford. Buying a used truck or car can be a real crap shoot, you just never know for sure whats its been through.

Denny

There is no oil level sensor on the V10 engines, only oil pressure. The oil pressure sensor will only show a "fault", or turn on the "light" if oil pressure drops below 7psi.The "gauge" in the dash cluster is nothing more than a fancy idiot light, and does nothing to indicate actual oil pressure. Ford does still manufacture and sell new 2v V10's-just not to the general public. They sell them to equipment manufacturers like Generac for use in pumps, generators, etc.
JL

Get a PI-head engine and do the swap.

Interesting it used that much oil in a short amount of time. Probably why the owner got rid of it...

When I worked as a tech for GM I would have told anyone that 1 quart in 1000 miles is normal consumption. Even for a Fiero.
That said, I thinking adding a quart between oil changes can be normal for a hard working eninge. Even my diesels needed topping up now and then. Personally I think adding more than a quart every 4k is using to much.
My 99' would use about 2-3 quarts in 4K of commuting and city driving. But it didn't use any oil while towing on holidays.
Hope you get it sorted out. I would go with a reman PI. But the lower power 99' does seem to get better economy.

If you pull your PCV hose I will bet you will find it's full of oil. If it is you have a lot of blow by and the PCV system just ran it back through he motor and burned it.

Denny

X2. I was amazed at how much oil I used in a short time when my PCV valve went. Also, only use Motorcraft replacement as I found aftermarket ones to be junk. FWIW mine is a '99 2 valver too that I use mainly to haul my 7500 # travel trailer.

That would explain why it gave me no warning. I only saw the light flash for a second because I was watching the oil pressure and, when the pressure dropped as I was pulling into the gas station, I immediately shut the engine down. I guess I was just assuming it would have a low oil warning light. Wonder why Ford decided not to put an oil level sensor in these trucks?

Anyway, it was my fault for not checking the oil more often. I know better. I guess I've never really had a problem with any vehicle burning that much oil, so I got a little careless.