I will be in the market soon, and I am leaning towarrd an F-250. The truck I want is an F-250 4x4, crew cab, short bed. The only problem is I don't know what size engine I should go with.

The reasons I like the 5.4 is the price. It's cheaper up front, and from what I get from this board, it's cheaper to keep up (i.e. oil changes, ect...). The things that I don't like about the 5.4 are that I don't know about the gas milage, or if it will be underpowered.

The reasons I like the PSD are the power, the increased fuel economy, and the thought of owning a diesel. I don't mind, in fact, I kind of like the sound, so that would not be a problem. The main thing I don't like is obviously the up front price of the PSD.

I do not tow that much, but when I do, I want to be able to tow easily. Mainly, I just want the truck to get it when I jam the accelarator when I want to pass. Because of experience, I know the diesel will do that job, but I am worried that the 5.4 will be a slouch.

Please inform me about these two choices so that I will be able to make the right decision.

 

The 5.4 is out...For $600 more you can get the V10, which gets the same fuel mileage..

If you are even considering the Diesel this is the one to get, But its $4000 more...Mileage is 20-30% better then the gasser...
a couple mods and it will down right run...

If you are serious about it...Get over to Houston and say hello to my boys there and talk with them, They have some wicked trucks with the PSD..They meet every month...last month they had a person from Homestead Florida there and a person from Mississippi, and another from La...

If you want to know more post here..

 

Like Mach1 said - don't even consider the 5.4. Your decision should be V10 or PSD. For only a $600 (MSRP) difference, it makes no sense at all to get the 5.4. You may notice in my sig that I had the 5.4 in my '00 supercab, but went with the V10 in my '02 crew cab. I too had some concerns about the 5.4 in the crew cab. Like you, I didn't need the PSD, and wasn't really ready to spend the extra $$$ to get it when I would be happy with the V10.

 

OK, that's the kind of replys I figured I would get. The reason I didn't put the v-10 up is because of the mileage. Is the gas mileage in the V-10 realy comparable to the 5.4. Is so, then I guess the v-10 would be th e way to go. Is everything else between the V-10 and the 5.4 pretty much the same (like oil changes, ect...). I would realy like the PSD, but if the v-10 will do the job for a fraction of the price, it seems like the way to go. The only problem is, every dealership i look at, all I can find are 5.4's and PSD's. I don't want to order a truck, so what would be the thing to do about this?

 

I have a 2002 F250 - XLT Super Duty Crew Cab, 4 x 4 , 3.73 ls - Long Bed with the 5.4 V-8. I DO NOT Tow or load it to anywhere close to it's capacity. I'm getting around 12.25 to 12.5 MPG which is a mix of city and highway. I haven't gone on any long Highway trips to check a full tank. If they had a V-10 on the lot I would have gone for that, because the Gas mileage would not have been any different, and $600 on a 34K truck is nothing . But since they didn't, I went with the V-8. I'm real happy with the V-8 after driving it for 6 months. Since you sound like you might be towing, I'd look more at the comparision between the V-10 and the PSD. Good luck and which ever engine you get, you'll love the truck. George K

 

Dont' get me worng, in my origional post, I said I tow. By this I mean a boat sometimes, and maybe every now and then, a travel tralier. That's pretty much the extent of it. I am in construction, so there have been times I wish I had a bigger truck to tow some loads, but I don't do it on any type of regular basis. I just want it to have the power IF I need it. My main thing is that I want the truck to move when I slam on the gas (or diesel as the case may be), and I want to be able to do this for a reasonable price.

 

Take a 5.4 V-8 for a test drive, it might be all you need. I had a 1998 F-150 with the 3.52 rear, 2 WD. The F-250 Crew with the 5.4 out performs that by a lot. George K

 

Right, I do know that the 5.4 is a great engine. I have a 4.6 in my F-150 and my dad has a 5.4 in his expy, and the 5.4 kicks the 4.6's ***. I guy at work just got a F-250, and I think it has a 5.4. I'm going to ask him If I can test drive it (as opposed to a test drive at a dealership where they don't really let you push the new trucks). My big question is whether the 5.4 in the F-250 compared to the PSD will feel like the 4.6 in my truck against the 5.4 in an F150.

 

When I did my test drive the dealer gave me the keys and said come back in a half hour. I was by myself. I left my F-150 there and was off. I went home, showed my wife, an picked up the check book. As for the PSD, I was never in one, but I'm sure with all that torque, it's gotta get up and go. Good Luck George K

 

To answer your gas mileage question:

In my '00 (5.4 SC) I generally got about 13.5 mpg in mixed hwy/city driving, with a best tank of 16.5 mpg, and a worst tank of 10.5mpg. In my '02 (V10 CC) I average about 11.8 mpg mixed, with a best tank of 16.1 mpg and a worst of 10.9 mpg. this weekend I made a roundtrip to Memphis (basically empty - 10 dozen duck decoys in the bed) all highway on cruise - 14.5 mpg. The mpg difference between the two trucks is minimal at best. The power differential is worth the marginally decreased fuel efficiency, IMO.

Besides, are you buying it for fuel economy?

Oh yeah - I had to look in seven or eight states to find a V10 close to what I wanted. Ended up driving to Texas to get it, and they had about six on the lot.

 

No comparison.I had a 99' 250 SD 4x4,Supercab shortbed with a 5.4 and 3.73 gear's.Around town it averaged in the 12's and Highway close to 16mpg.I now own a 2002 250 SD 4x4 crewcab with a 7.3 PSD and 3.73 gear's.( 7,400 LBS )I get mid 17's around town and
22 highway( I have a superchip microtuner with the carb file installed and a K+N filter.
Hope this help's with your decision.
Jim

 

From what you said about towing i think you can get by with the 5.4 with a set og 4.10 gears you should beable to do what ever you want to do with that set up.

 

Go with the V10. That truck is going to weigh alot, probably around 3 tons. Then with the occasional towing, not everyday, not huge loads, the PSD is not right for what you want to do with the truck. If the V10 got 7 - 8mpg, then I'd say pick the diesel. Either way, the 5.4 will not be enough for that heavy a truck.
Besides, there are more performance parts for the V10 than the SD 5.4

 

Get the diesel, do some mods, save on the fuel and be able to tow anything, while still slamming the doors off the V10..The V10 will tow, but not anything like the PSD..

If you are in construction, ask the guys around about the PSD..

The PSD will run forever and you will like and keep it forever..

And it looks like you are in the 4X4's, look at some of the psd 4X4's--38's and they look small..

 

I love the 5.4L in my Expy as well as the one in my '99 F150 company car (now with over 198,000 trouble free miles0

BUT, the SuperDuty truck weighs over 1100 LBS more then a F150.

For comparison, imagine driving your 4.6L F150 around with an extra 800-1000 lbs in her, not very peppy.

In my mind, (weird place to be) the 6.8L V-10 is the minimum for these trucks and will serve you well (we have a couple here at work (construction) and they really are both powerful and reliable.

The PSD is of course the top engine choice but as most note, comes at a healthy premium. The intial cost is approx $4400 above the cost of the 6.8L V-10. Then there are the 'break the bank' oil changes, etc.

If your plans call for extended heavy duty service the PSD is a MUST but for most common folk the V-10 is fine

All that said, someone needs to educate all the fleet managers at the dealerships that order stock for their lots. I know what you mean, it seems that all you can find are stipped worktruck 5.4s or loaded PSDs, WTF I suggest you find the best dealer you can (after learning all you can about option packages, gear ratios, etc.) and have him do a 'search' to locate what you want. It very likily is sitting on a dealer lot somewherer and they can transport it to him for a small charge that is much less then what you would spend in both time and money driving all over trying to find it yourself.