BTW,

I sure dont mind debating about Two Great motors... both by Ford

 

Great forum, opinions, and advice. Keep it coming!

Another thought - What about braking and tranny issues with the v10 on steep grades?

Also, keep in mind that I'm in Michigan. We had an extremely cold winter this year. Below 20degrees F most of the time. I have to believe a mile to work every morning would require substantle warm up time for the diesel (and harm to the engine). I also heard that in extreme conditions, below 0 degrees F, a diesel won't fire (something about the plugs being heated or the engine protecting itself from damage).

 

you can plug the block up at night and it will make morning starts way easier. My vote is for the Deisel. We have had 2 of them and they have been great. One was a F-350 4 door 4x4 and the other was the same in a F-550. We had zero problems with the motors and all we did with the 550 was pull. It was unhooked from the 44' trailer mabee 40 day's a year. Even though the regular items like oil changes might be more expensinve, other parts of the motor should last longer. I think the V10 is peppy, but it drives totally different than the PSD. I would go drove both like others mentioned and take the one you like best. We have sinse sold the PSD, went on to bigger and better things.

 

Ya, use the block heater and all is fine.


Good point on the braking and tranny issue.
If you get the 6.0L with the Torqshift trans., use the Tow/Haul mode on steep grades and you dont even have to touch the brake pedal!

I know how to resolve this dilema; go test drive both trucks.

When you take the diesel out, find a good hill. First go up it and drop down to about 5mph. then step on it! ~I'll wait for YOU to describe it...

Next, go down a hill in the tow/haul mode and let off the gas. The steeper the better.

Side note:
I saw a F-350 with a 5.4L in it yesterday! Now I know the 5.4 is a fine fine motor, I had one, but I just dont get that? The 350 weighs about 7K by itself and this one had a work bed and full rack!

 

Hi MC

Yes, i do agree...this is a great site/forum.

As i recall...the V10 has the 4R100 a/t. Its not as strong as the PSD tranny. If you find one that has the optional PTO...from my understanding..thats makes for a stronger a/t because of HD parts. However does it make it more durable (towing etc)...i couldnt get definite answer when i researched. Try "search" on tranny bd.

On the gas engine..a/t with OD. I havent towed with V10..but suspect about same...shift out OD going uphill...also shift out OD downhill. Engine braking/lower gear will help. The stock 7.3PSD could be harder on brakes..downhill. Of couse 03 tq a/t is better.

Short trips (cold start) one mile to work etc...seems to me that would be hard on most any engine...if it sits outside/unheated. naturally you can preheat the diesel. The gasser will heat up quicker even unheated.I understand what your saying. lots to consider.

Good luck...OT

BTW....Bikenut...same for me. Guess i understated earlier..i really like my new truck...when that turbo spools up...look out! Also liked the V10. Amazing for me..from 4.6L to 6L PSD

 

I think we all agree on a few things, Drive all of them. Then make your decision.
Don't get the 5.4. I have a buddy at work with a 350 CC and he has the 5.4. I can't see that motor hauling that truck much less large loads.

Either way you go diesel or gas these trucks rock. I upgraded from a 97 F-150 with the V-6. It was a standard so at least it could be fun to drive with revving the hell out of it. But I hated not having the motor when I needed it.

 

I'll let you know of the final outcome

 

[QUOTE]As i recall...the V10 has the 4R100 a/t. Its not as strong as the PSD tranny. If you find one that has the optional PTO...from my understanding..thats makes for a stronger a/t because of HD parts.[QUOTE]

Actualy, all SuperDuty trucks have the 4R100 tranny except the new 6.0, which has the new TorqueShift 5 spd auto. Even the PSDs with the PTO option are still the 4R100.

Mark

 

One thing that was only hinted upon that will help you make this decision is how often do you plan to keep the truck? This was a major factor for me, I planned to keep my truck until the body falls off so I went with the diesel. It's quite common to hear of Power Strokes running 300k+ miles with regular maintenance. The short drive to work is a quandry though! We live in southern Missouri and have seen many sub-freezing mornings and have never had a problem starting. There was a morning or two we forgot to plug it in but, after the glow plugs warmed up it started fine, just a little more cranking. Good luck, shop hard!

 

Lots of good advice/opinions.

Hey Mark...yes, that is correct. However if you "search" you'll find that the 4R100 a/t used w/7.3L PSD "IS NOT" the same 4R100 used w/gas engines. At least thats what i recall.

Good luck...OT

 

Hmm diesel or gas.....diesel or gas.....

Read my sig for my suggestion

 

Neither engine will break a sweat with a trailer of that weight. With a 5000lb trailer the V10 doesn't even need to have OD locked out unless it's an exceptionally long grade-I know this from personal experience and I only have a 3.73 axle.

The PS gets better mileage hands down, especially towing. However you can buy alot of gas for the $5000+ extra it will cost to get one. Factor in the extra finance charges and tax with the $5000+ and it gets worse. I'd love to have a new 6.0L PSD but I'm reluctant to cough up that kind of $$ for an engine upgrade. Folks say how you get more trade-in later on but I don't see the point: Of course you get more-you paid more to start with when it was new.

I just checked Edmunds.com used car pricer and got the following results when I checked a 99 F250 SD XLT 4wd Ext Cab Short bed automatic with 75000 miles & everything the same except for V10 and diesel. Not much difference considering the diesel costs several thousand more when you buy it new:

V10 Dealer retail...$16069
PSD Dealer retail...$17802

I've checked other used car guides and got similar results.

In my area 87 octane currently costs 1.47/g...diesel as the same station is at 1.64/g. That's the cheapest station in my town. In this part of the US diesel is always higher than gasoline so that even negates someof the mileage benefits. The only way I can see you will get your $$ out of a new diesel is if you tow heavy often and put 30K miles a year on it. If you can find a used 7.3L in the 2 to 3 year old range that would be ideal I think-that way the previous owner took most of the depreciation hit and you get a dependable engine that's just getting broken in.

 

I live in Kansas City and pull 3 horses about 2 to 3 times a month to parks and lakes in Missouri and Kansas. Most folks out here use diesel and when I upgraded from a '01 SuperCrew 3 weeks ago I, too did tons of research. I agree that there is, often times, too much information (read that -opinions). When I crunched the numbers and got to the bottom line of what was I doing and how much truck did I need to do it - DuraMax has engine problems and Dodge has transmission problems, Ford has 6L problems - I settled on a 250 w/7.3. Almost all the dealers I went to said they would trade every 6L on their lot for 7.3's. I opted for a 4x2 for fuel mileage reasons and also I don't pull to areas where I'll need 4x4. The extended warranty was another $2200 if I went 4x4. Bummer!. Anyway, this is my first diesel and after talking to guys that have the V-10 I'm glad I did. I agree that 6L shoppers would be advised to wait till the bugs are worked out from what the service guys told me at the dealerships. A year from now I may be posting that I'm not a happy camper for my decision - but for now I'm a happy camper.
Oh yeah, I'm getting about 16.8 city - 17.79 hwy empty and 14.5 (average) towing 3 horses.

 

Ya, so it's close to a wash by the time you factory in fuel mileage,lesser fuel cost, longevity, INCLUDED 100K warrranty and longer service intervals.

 

The 15 quart oil changes are cheap, as are the diesel fuel filters. Let's not forget the FW-16 for the coolant too. Oops, it's cold, add on blended fuel with pour point and anti-gel additives, plus the block heater runs for free too. Without really getting into this, how about a person that has to finance the extra $4000 for the diesel?