2000 F350 V10 good or bad?
 

I found a 2000 Ford F350 SRW with the V10 Gas engine. It has around 130,000 miles on it and has been used as a work/plow truck. They're only asking $3200 for it and its not perfect but I'm wondering if this would be suitable to my 41' Avanti with trailer weighs around 12,000.

What problems should I look for on it? Are there any common issues with this model?

Thanks

Do you get good points with the fuel card? My sister had a sd with the v10, sold it to a friend...never any problems with it, but its a THIRSTY one... It goes thru gas faster than I go thru rum even...

How bad is the rust on it? Most plow trucks are pretty rough! But if it's in good shape it will be fine towing that.

Thats one major negative I've been considering already, but I just accept bad gas mileage as part of this hobby.

I haven't crawled under it yet but theres some minor rust on a couple of the panels here and there... I'm going to have another look at it today so I'll find out.

I had one. Sold it to a friend. Just minor stuff like the cap on rear differential. Was a good truck. Mine was an old DNR truck. Rust spots on these seem to show up in wheel wells and lower part of the door and at bottom corner of the cab. I would buy another again without worries

That motor is famous for blowing the spark plugs out the sides of the engine. Do a search on "Ford V10" here on OSO as it's been discussed before...

And these Google searches:

https://www.google.com/search?q=ford+v10+spark+plugs

https://www.google.com/search?q=ford+v10+problems

My buddy and OSO member had one years ago. He towed once with it only once at rated capacity, moving from VA to TX with an enclosed trailer. He said he barely made it, coughed and smoked the 2nd half of the trip. He sold it as soon as he got to TX. IMHO, they are OK for work vans and fleet trucks that haul moderate loads (in van/in bed), but not suited for towing, especially not a 41 ft. boat.

If it's been used as a plow truck, the weight takes it's toll on front suspension, especially the ball joints. And pushing snow, more specifically all the jolting and shifting... takes it's toll on the drivetrain, from the torque converter to the axles (transmission, transaxle, U-joints, carrier bearing, seals, differentials, etc. etc.).

It's probably a perfect plow truck, OR a perfect tow vehicle, but NOT one after the other. :D

They blow out the top, maybe that's why ford went to coil on plug to help hold them down lol, but that's not an issue with the aftermarket plugs, I'd stay away from from an old tired plow truck but wouldn't hesitate for a clean well cared for v10.

have a couple of them with way over 200k on them. good engines. the plugs blowing out are on all ford modular engines and it is no big deal, the tool set to fix them is about $200 and it takes about 15-30 mins to replace the threads. Pretty good mileage unloaded but thirsty when towing. I would buy another in a heartbeat.

I have a hard time believing that Avanti weighs 12k on a trailer unless you have siphoned every drop of gas out

Those are some of the things I was concerned with. Pushing snow is definitely not easy on the parts you listed. I am going to have a mechanic look it over and see if any of those parts are in bad shape. I know the U-joints were replaced already though.

I haven't put it on the scales yet but the specs say it weighs around 9000 empty. even adding 2500 lbs.for a full tank of gas the and another 2000 or so for the trailer would put it around 13000 total...

I've had the same truck since new in 2000. I've never had any issues. If the plugs were changed at some point that issue is gone, though I've never heard that anyway. The front ends go through joints and balls around 60k anyway. I've never plowed with mine and still had to do them. Factory stuff has no grease fittings so how long is it going to last anyway? If it has 4:10 gears the mileage is going to suck but mine has 3:43 or 3:70)can't remember) and gets fair milage for a gas truck. 12-14 on the highway, 9-10 towing my Phantom. 2k rpm @ 72mph. I've gone back and forth to Fla many times and am going again soon with no worries(yet). Mine has 130k on it. I'm not saying its the best truck going , far from it . But for a gas motor it tows large loads effortlessly. I have no complaints. For 3200 how can you go wrong? If it was a diesal it would be 10k at least. Plowing does wear stuff out but its all in the maintence. tranny included.

I bought a V10 F250 Sup Duty Quad Cab with 158K miles a year ago to haul my Cafe. No issues - I love it. It is thirsty, as expected. I put about 6K on it so far.

Your truck should have 3.73's, it's not so much plowing wearing the parts out, it's the rotted exhaust manifolds, calipers, every nut and bolt under the truck when you need to do the maintenance. But yeah for $3200 if it runs, drives and lasts a year or 2 it's not bad.

my friend got better gas mileage by installing a catback system and running synt. oil everywhere....

I have an 01 we use as a plow truck, gets 7mpg plowing or not. I think your really going to push that motor to the max pulling a 41 ft boat. If you can get a couple years out of it you should be happy for only $3200

I had one too, great truck, great motor would pull just about anything you want it to pull, but loved gas, you could watch the gas gauge move while going down the road.

Check the exhaust manifolds and the studs screwing them in. The V10 is famous for cracking them. For $3200 its hard to think your gonna get hurt much.


Wannabe

MR. Cig on here tows his 38 Flat deck cig with a V10, and BZ tows his 42 Fountain with a V10. Neither have had any issues with them.

MPG will always be a bit less than a diesel, but when you factor in costs per gallon, and cost of truck, you aren't really out any more money. Sure the new diesels make wicked power, but until about 10-15 years ago, the diesels didn't make diddly for power. Before that, big block gassers towed raceboats all over the country, and did just fine.

Work drw v10 gets 10 mpg loaded down.
Tows sm heavy equipment just fine ( about 12-14klb )
Exh ticks with only 70k. Motor rpm SCREAM when towing up hills

MD

check this dodge out http://fortmyers.craigslist.org/lee/cto/3610097012.html

x2

Look for a 7.3 diesel. 413,876 miles on mine and I would pull anywhere without thinking twice. It's all about how they have taken care of it. Short pulls no worries.

I have a 2000 crew cab v10 4x4 with 100k.. It tows my 342 fine. Not going to win any races. I'm in the slow lane with the semis on steep grades.

I had to do manifold studs this past season.... $1800.

Mine is a lariat. Very clean and loaded. Has a little rust at bottom of doors and tailgate. I gave $10 for it 3 years ago.

What the well 1800. thats crazy , some one beat you up .

Guess its easy to justify $1800 when ya got the truck for $10

They ended up having to pull the motor. Just about every stud was broken below. Nothing to weld to. had to be drilled. It was a long painful 3 months in the shop (that I'll never use again)

They did some other things as well, but yes it sucked.

:). $10k

fixx
 

got a friend that has one in his tow truck 600k anf the engine just gave its last breath.. been a great truck for him,,its been in a tow truck its whole life..he said he wont buy another ford diesel,,he is now looking for another v10 cab and chassis.

Ttt

I have A 2000 F350 Dually v10 with 122K pulling my 87 Scarab iii on a myco trailer. Really can't even tell its back there until I go to stop. This has been a great truck so far. If I could hook up a gas truck to the tailer I'd be happy; getting about 10-12 mpg on the highway about 9-10 when towing. Brakes are a pain in the A$$ to change on the rear but I never have any problems at the ramp(except backing up) lol

So he got 600K out of a diesel in a tow truck but hes like I`ll never get another one?? mmmm ok
:picard1:

I think he was saying his friend got 600k on the V10, then it gave up, and he's looking for another V10, rather than buying a diesel??

I have heard of commercial shuttle vans and what not with the V10s with crazy miles. Some even going towards a million miles. I know it sounds crazy!

Today's modern gasoline engines burn so much cleaner, the days of washed out rings and bearings at 100k miles are pretty much gone. My beater crown vic with 4.6 has 240k on it. Engine doesn't burn a drop a oil. Ryan's F150 gasser has 300k and still going strong. I had my crown vic in for repairs to a shop that services mainly taxi cabs here in Chicago. When I mentioned jokingly that mine prob won't be around much longer with 240k miles on it, the owner of the shop said "that ain't nothin man, I've had cabs in here with 400-500k on the original engine. And if the engine goes bad, we can swap them out in about 1/2 day and get them back out makin money"

fixx
 

yep v10 dan,,truck came from calf with a bunch of miles on it,,he just added about 400k more..

I got ya.

Can you put in a chip and have 120hp and 630tq at the touch of a button on a V10? No?
wap wap waaaaaaaa


:evilb:
:violent040:

Can you order a whopper with cheese without having to shut your engine down? No? Can you sneak in the driveway late after a night out without waking the wife and neighbors? No? Do kids come running to the curb when you round the corner thinking its the school bus coming to get them? Yes.

Wap wap waaaa

Heres a interesting article from a magazine. Both trucks towing a 10k lb trailer. 8.1L gas vs. Duramax. Both stock. on a 1300 mile trip towing thru mountains and what not, the diesel got 1.5mpg better mileage at 9.5, vs the gasser's 8mpg average. so the diesel used 136 gallons, gasser 162 gallons. Considering diesel fuel is about .40 more per gallon, the gasser used about 56 dollars more in fuel in this trip
.


III. Hill Climbs

Our first sustained grade was the road north out of Baker, California, through the Dumont Dunes area with the air temperature at approximately 118 degrees F. It's approximately
a 5-percent hill and the Duramax pulled it at 55 mph @ 2,400 rpm, wide-open throttle, in fourth gear, while the 8.1 Vortec
did the hill at 60 mph @ 4,000 rpm in third gear with partial throttle application. Full throttle netted 65 mph @ 4,200 rpm
for the gas engine, but road curves instigated a slight moderation of speed.

Next came a serious 9-percent grade up Townes Pass headed west out of Death Valley via Stovepipe Wells. The air had cooled to about 102 degrees F as it was now 8:45 p.m. The
Duramax started up the hill at 54 mph @ 3,100 rpm in third gear, but sharp curves had us slow to 40 mph @ 2,400 rpm in
third gear. The Vortec gas engine maintained 40 mph @ 4,500 rpm in second gear, again, speed restricted by the curving roads.

In both truck examples, the transmission temperature gauges had climbed to approximately 240-250 degrees F during the steepest part of the hill, but both dropped back to 200 degrees
or lower once we'd topped the grade. Each gauge is positioned and calibrated such that following the general temperature
trend is easy during regular driving times, but trying to decipher
specific numbers can be difficult on a steep, winding mountain
road when the driver's full attention is called for elsewhere.

Our highest-elevation test came at Sherwin Summit near Bishop, California, which tops off at 7,000 feet elevation. The Duramax 6.6L truck and trailer climbed most of the hill at 55
mph @ 2,300 rpm in fourth gear, and crested it at 53 mph @ 2,200 rpm in fourth gear, and the Vortec 8.1L made it most of the way at 61 mph @ 4,000 rpm in third gear.

LOL


Diesel is the same price as gas now , noone keeps their trucks stock= +_3mpg for Diesel and a +60hp tow mode.
Oh you got a lane buddy !!

whats next you gonna try to tell me carburators are better than EFI!?!?!?

NEXT!!

National average, diesel is .34 cents more per gallon this week.

http://www.eia.gov/petroleum/gasdiesel/

IDK, I had a programmer on my ford 6.0L diesel. Towing the boat, I got about 9, maybe 10 on a good day with a tail wind. Hand calculated, not the BS meter on the display.

Two of our buddies went to LOTO. One had a 8.1L vortec, the other a Ford 6.4L diesel. They both filled up together when they left chitown. When they stopped to refuel together, the 8.1L truck used 2 more gallons of fuel. Keep in mind the 8.1L truck was also pulling a much larger boat.

Not tryin to say a gas is better by any means. But I think some of the diesel cheerleaders get a little carried away with their MPG claims, how they can pull 20k lbs 0-60 in 5 seconds, and climb pikes peak in overdrive maintaining 70mph while sucking down a latte, and how their engine will last a million miles because it runs the filthy fuel. gassers, esp the ford v10, are plenty capable of getting the job done.

As for the Lane, Im in for that!

7.3L chipped up excursion 4x4.
VS
7.4L Vortec Dually 4x4 with pcm tune.

Loser buys lunch? :)

You tell him Joe.......LOL

Yep,,,less moving parts....as far as efi or a carb goes their only as good as the person setting them up..you can have problems with both but way less problems with a carb..