does anyone use the Ford V10?

[wingman62]

just wondering if it is strong enough to pull a 12,000lb fiver. thanks

[BirchyBoy]

I just bought an '05 F350 CC LB SRW with the V10. It pulls my 7k trailer with ease. It did have a fifth wheel hitch installed, but I don't have any idea of what size it pulled. What year do you have?

Sorry I couldn't answer your question any better.

[wingman62]

the one I'm looking at is a 2010

[dea3851]

Wingman yes I use a ford 2002 v10 to pull my keystone cougar 318 sab that weights around 11,000 pounds loaded and it handles it very well, also have pulled a fifthwheel that weighted around 13,500 and handled it well also I pulled it for a friend of mind who didn't have a truck and he then bought a 2005 for v10 and that is working out well , I found my truck never saw winter for 7 years had 31,000 miles on it not a mark on it, it still looks great and runs like a top I love it; mDon from Michigan

[dcg9381]

just wondering if it is strong enough to pull a 12,000lb fiver. thanks

I've had two of them, in a Class-A and Class-C. They haven't changed a lot in power, but transmissions have gotten better.

Both rigs were in the 31-33 ft range, so easily over 12k...

Consistent 6-7.5 mpg.

Reliable motors. Kinda loud. Like to rev.

[Ken / Claudia]

I had one in a work truck for about 40,000 miles, a 2008. I would weekly pull a 4500 boat and 8,000 boat. Some hills in areas to launch. I found that it was real close in power to my own 01 f350 with the old 7.3 powerstoke. The main difference is the v10 would get 8 to 8.5 mpg while the 7.3 gets 12 to 14 mpg while towing. The state police and sheriff's offices bought fleets of them for several years and mine had zero problems. I never read or was a where of any with problems as we had with both ford and chev 1/2 tons.

[dcg9381]

The early ones had some issues around spark plugs. Early models had like 3-threads on the heads and shops tended to change their plugs like every other vehicle (sloppy). Typically over-torqued, then the heads would spit out the spark plugs.

Later V10s resolved this issue, but went to a plug design that tended to break off in the head necessitating a special tool to remove what remained of the plug.

In terms of "major faults" of motors, I don't think this is a big deal. Affected year ranges, off the top of my head, something like 1997-2003 (for what that is worth). If you own one of these, don't change plugs "just because" and when you do change plugs, you'll need to do it very carefully. I bought a set of tools and an inch-lb torque wrench to do it and did it over 48 hours - mainly to let plugs soak before trying removal. RE-installing is by-hand only and torque to inch-lbs.

If yours is 2003/2004+ (I think), you should be good.

[BirchyBoy]

The early ones had some issues around spark plugs. Early models had like 3-threads on the heads and shops tended to change their plugs like every other vehicle (sloppy). Typically over-torqued, then the heads would spit out the spark plugs.

Later V10s resolved this issue, but went to a plug design that tended to break off in the head necessitating a special tool to remove what remained of the plug.

In terms of "major faults" of motors, I don't think this is a big deal. Affected year ranges, off the top of my head, something like 1997-2003 (for what that is worth). If you own one of these, don't change plugs "just because" and when you do change plugs, you'll need to do it very carefully. I bought a set of tools and an inch-lb torque wrench to do it and did it over 48 hours - mainly to let plugs soak before trying removal. RE-installing is by-hand only and torque to inch-lbs.

If yours is 2003/2004+ (I think), you should be good.

Just to corroborate this, my garage told me the same thing about the plugs. Mine is an '05, the first year of the 3 valve engines. It has coil-on-plugs and the garage said they are prone to breaking when being changed. They actually had a broken plug in their office that they said they fixed earlier that week. They quoted $800-$1k for a full plug change due to the material cost and the repair labor. I've read on other forums that people tend to spray the plugs with a penetrant a few days before they start the work.

[dcg9381]

My advice (for what it's worth):
1) Don't change plugs unless you need to. How do you know if you need to?

At the service interval... Or if you start having spark / cylinder problems. The v10 is a smooth motor and honestly you probably won't notice a single cylinder drop out. There is a special "ford only" diagnostic called "mode 5" that some diagnostic tools can read. It's essentially a misfire count by cylinder. You should review that count before deciding to change plugs. If they're not misfiring, don't mess with it.

Note, a misfire can also be a coil issue, so maybe replace the coil first.

$800-$1000 is too much to do this job. Way too much. That's more in line with having to fix a boo-boo.

If you have to replace them, here's my methodology:
Remove all the COP.
Blow out all of the plug holes.
You want a spark plug tool that has a swivel socket and is magnetic. If you don't have one, buy one. I think the one I got was in 3 lengths.
Crack each spark plug 1/8th to 1/4 turn. No more. Use penetrating oil and spay it in the COP holes. Let it sit for 24 hours. I sprayed mine about 3 times in that period.
After 24 hours, remove the plugs carefully. They should come out OK.

Acquire new plugs.
Use anti-sieze liberally and grease for COP boot.
Hand thread, using your socket extension and magnetic socket every single plug. Do not skip on the hand-thread. Do not proceed if you think there might be a cross thread.
Using an inch-lb torque wrench tighten to ford spec. Do not over torque.

It's not a bad job. It's easier on a Class-A than truck or Class-C. It is NOT an $800-$1000 job unless you end up with a plug that has to be extracted, even then, $800 is excessive. Most of the time is spent waiting.

[larry337]

I had one also. Its a very reliable engine, easily capable of 200k plus miles. Besides the spark plugs another known issue is exhaust manifold gaskets. And yes you can pull a 12k fiver. Is it an F250 or 350? 3.73 or 4.30 rear axle? Ideal setup would be f350 with a 4.30.

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[airforceret]

I liked my 2001 but it had metallurgy issues with studs in the manifolds deteriorating and needing replaced. It also had intermittent transmission problems that Ford repeatedly just shrugged and said "hmmmm" we're not sure what is wrong. Basically after about 7 years when going downhill the transmission would kickout and freewheel for an undetermined amount of time, and then randomly engage again. Other than that it was fine.

[mikell]

Have a 99 in a class C has the passed recall sticker and 70k miles. No complaints. 26 Foot and just under 10 MPG no matter how I drive it. Will run 80 MPH no problems but never push it very hard. Lots and lots of torque.

[Nagrompj]

Ford resolved the spark plug issue in late 2008 in the 5.4 V8 and the V10. The V10 is the same engine as the 5.4 but has 2 cylinders added. The pistons, connecting rods, valves, bearing and many other parts are the same. Both engines get about the same gas mileage unloaded but the V10 has almost 100 more hp.
My 2008 F250 pulls my 7000lb trailer with ease and I have the 5.4 V8. It's not hard to forget the trailer is back there.

[dcg9381]

I had a 6000lb boat on an F-150 with the 5.4L. You could tell it was back there, but this was circa 2000 and I was towing in the big hills.

1999 V10. Had a banks kit. Had a problem with missing at about 60k - traced to 2 plugs and a coil. Death of plugs might have had something to do with the banks tune and heavy towing. I got real good at diagnosing and fixing it.. Certain intake parts were starting to become unavailable.

I think I owned one more, a 2002 model - but I literally drove it twice for under 100 miles - it was parked while building a house.

2003 V10, 35k miles. Stock. Zero problems.

I never had any problems with spark plug blow out or breakage, but I was super careful.

[notanlines]

DW's 2002 Excursion had 300K exactly when we sold it in New Hampshire - drive shaft problems. One plug blew at 250K. Ford dealer in New Orleans fixed it for $275 on a Saturday. Burned one quart ever 1500 miles. Towed our 35' Fountain at about 12K. No problems.
My 2001 F-250 was just sold about a month ago with 365K. It blew one plug and was fixed at a truck repair facility for $300. It burned a quart every 900 miles. It also towed the boat just fine.
The Excursion got about 8.5 with the boat and the pickup got about 7.5.
Now that I bragged about Ford's V-10 can I whine about the front brake rotors?:D

[cpaulsen]

Pull a 12,500K 5ver with my 01 F350 V-10/CC/LB/4x4/4:30 gears......no problems.

[Yak]

Ford tech, speaking from experience. The plugs themselves are not defective, just the design. The tip hangs down in the combustion chamber and builds carbon which causes the plug to break on removal. We use 2 things that help removal, combustion chamber cleaner or an impact gun. Yep, stick the gun on there and let it rip, 99% success rate. One note, we do not install them with a gun. If they do break there is a tool to get them out, adds 10 minutes to each plug, we rarely charge extra unless they're burried under the cowl.

http://image.fourwheeler.com/f/114928697+w660+h440+q80+re0+cr1+ar0/lisle-65600-broken-spark-plug-remover.jpg

[chuckster57]

I have that set.

[Desert185]

I had an opportunity to buy a small MH with a Ford V10 that the wife wanted to putt around in while I was on trips. Price was good. Did some research, heard about the plugs, asked the owner, he was silent variable to ignorant about ever changing plugs. Said I would buy if $2000 came off the the price. The wife got scared and we walked away. That rig sat for a long time with the for sale sign.

There are some designs that beg the question: why? I'm not a Ford guy by any stretch, but V10? Why? 7.3 diesel? Why not? Cummins? Heck yeah!

[chuckster57]

May have been competition for the ill fated Dodge V10. IIRC the Dodge engine wasn't produced very long at all. Every one I worked on needed an oil pump and front cover at about 80,000 miles.

[larry337]

I think it was just the last of a dying breed of big blocks, 8.1l, 460, 454 etc. It's been out since 1999, discontinued in 2011, except for commercial and RV applications. It's been a good motor for whatever it is.

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[BirchyBoy]

I think it was just the last of a dying breed of big blocks, 8.1l, 460, 454 etc. It's been out since 1999, discontinued in 2011, except for commercial and RV applications. It's been a good motor for whatever it is.

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Ford is putting it in the new SD''s :)

[larry337]

Ford is putting it in the new SD''s :)

They never stopped building the v10. They just don't offer it in a pickup truck anymore. Its only available in a chassis cab. I haven't seen anything that says that's been changed.

:confused:

[BirchyBoy]

They never stopped building the v10. They just don't offer it in a pickup truck anymore. Its only available in a chassis cab. I haven't seen anything that says that's been changed.

:confused:

I'm pretty sure I read that Ford was going to include the V10 in the regular Super Duty again. The marketing documents are vague, in my opinion. If you click on the link, the V10 is included as engine options before you scroll down into the chassis cab features. Oh well, doesn't matter to me too much. I won't be waiting in line when they release them :)

http://www.ford.com/trucks/superduty/2017/?fmccmp=lp-future-top-hp-2017-super-duty