Gas or Diesel.

[agallant80]

Re: Gas or Diesel.

Yeah I think I want to go with a V10 expedition. The motor seams pretty solid, its built off of a F250 and all around they seam to be a pretty good truck. I drove one during lunch, it needed the whole front end rebuild, I will keep on looking around. There is one at a dealer about 20 miles away that looks like it was a grocery getter for the stay at home wife.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Gas or Diesel.

That's probable a good option. Those should be pretty inexpensive.

I would stay away from 99 and earlier Suburbans as well. I had a 3/4T 4wd with a 7.4L(purchased new). Would go through brakes in front in 6K miles. Brakes were horrible. The 2001 3/4 4WD I had was awesome.

 

[agallant80]

Re: Gas or Diesel.

You know I love GM but there is really nothing I can do with them at this point. The 5.3 and 5.7 are a bit too small for what I need, the only 2500 Suburbans I can find are Diesel that that generation Diesel is really bad from what I read. I could get away I guess with a newer 5.3 swapping out the rear end for 4.10 and putting in larger leaf springs. After considering all of those things I decided the Excursion is the way to go. The V10 has 4.10 from the factory, they are in my price range, they are cheep, I can sleep in the back when we go camping on the beach and its not a bad 2nd vehical to have if it snows or what not.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Gas or Diesel.

The Excursion is probably a good choice for your needs.

 

[F14CRAZY]

Re: Gas or Diesel.

How much weight are you looking to pull? '04+ Hemi Durangos are cheap, reliable, and have tons of power. Fuel economy is pretty good too if that's a factor

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Gas or Diesel.

How much weight are you looking to pull?

The boat is in his sig.

 

[carey965]

Re: Gas or Diesel.

just be carefull with the 3 valve motors, i have a 5.4 (same motor just 2 less cylinders) they had a huge problem with spark plugs of all things, make a long story short they used a 2 piece design that broke apart in the motor, hell one of mine came apart on its own and dropped pieces of metal and ceramic into the motor (luckily they were small enough and got spit out the exhaust), and with it being a v10 its even more crammed and a pain in the arse to get the back plugs.

im not sure about the v10's but the 8's also had cam phaser issues, made it sound like a diesel so listen to it very carefully when its warm, a small tick is ok its just the injectors and always use 5w20 in them and a good non fram crap filter

but they are good motors other then that, and this is only with regards to a 3 valve not the 2 valve motors
the 2 valves had 1 major problem of not enough threads on the plugs and would spit them out of the heads

 

[agallant80]

Re: Gas or Diesel.

Well I just picked up a 2000 Ford Excursion 4x4 V10 with 140K for $4,800. Compression and vacuum test on the motor were great. My neighbor is a mechanic so I will let him drive it for a week or so to get an idea of what the truck may need. All and all its pretty clean and does not have any drivability issues.

 

[Sharp Shooter]

Re: Gas or Diesel.

Well I just picked up a 2000 Ford Excursion 4x4 V10 with 140K for $4,800. Compression and vacuum test on the motor were great. My neighbor is a mechanic so I will let him drive it for a week or so to get an idea of what the truck may need. All and all its pretty clean and does not have any drivability issues.

That sounds like a great buy! Congrats!

 

[The Rooster]

Re: Gas or Diesel.

Excellent. Good luck w/ it !!!

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: Gas or Diesel.

How much weight are you looking to pull? '04+ Hemi Durangos are cheap, reliable, and have tons of power. Fuel economy is pretty good too if that's a factor

They're also ugly as crap until the brand new ones came out, lol. Always liked the pre-04 Durangos though.

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: Gas or Diesel.

Well I just picked up a 2000 Ford Excursion 4x4 V10 with 140K for $4,800. Compression and vacuum test on the motor were great. My neighbor is a mechanic so I will let him drive it for a week or so to get an idea of what the truck may need. All and all its pretty clean and does not have any drivability issues.

I don't think you'll be disappointed. The guys I know with them, love them, and they don't seem to come up for sale too often. Tough as nails, and they look good, too. I've also heard the Triton V-10 was a solid engine with plenty of power. Sure, we all love diesels for brute power, but the V10 is no slouch for sure.

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: Gas or Diesel.

just be carefull with the 3 valve motors, i have a 5.4 (same motor just 2 less cylinders) they had a huge problem with spark plugs of all things, make a long story short they used a 2 piece design that broke apart in the motor, hell one of mine came apart on its own and dropped pieces of metal and ceramic into the motor (luckily they were small enough and got spit out the exhaust), and with it being a v10 its even more crammed and a pain in the arse to get the back plugs.

im not sure about the v10's but the 8's also had cam phaser issues, made it sound like a diesel so listen to it very carefully when its warm, a small tick is ok its just the injectors and always use 5w20 in them and a good non fram crap filter

but they are good motors other then that, and this is only with regards to a 3 valve not the 2 valve motors
the 2 valves had 1 major problem of not enough threads on the plugs and would spit them out of the heads

The 2000 V10 is a 2V motor, which didn't have any of the cam phaser or 2-piece spark plug issues. The 3V issue with the spark plugs is easily remedied with the new spark plug design from Ford, along with following the TSB, the problem doesn't show up any more. The cam phaser issue, to my understanding, is largely due to people using non 5W-20 oil, which was the Ford recommended type.

The only real problem the 2V motors had were spark plug blow-out problems on the 5.4L's due to the low number of threads in the heads. They added more threads at some point, but it's a pretty easy fix in any case.

 

[carey965]

Re: Gas or Diesel.

The 2000 V10 is a 2V motor, which didn't have any of the cam phaser or 2-piece spark plug issues. The 3V issue with the spark plugs is easily remedied with the new spark plug design from Ford, along with following the TSB, the problem doesn't show up any more. The cam phaser issue, to my understanding, is largely due to people using non 5W-20 oil, which was the Ford recommended type.

The only real problem the 2V motors had were spark plug blow-out problems on the 5.4L's due to the low number of threads in the heads. They added more threads at some point, but it's a pretty easy fix in any case.

actually the new plugs are still a 2 piece design, just the bottom part of the plug is slightly smaller in diameter, i have recently bought the E3 spark plugs for mine, they have a 1 piece design and are about 1/4 the price and with no hassle are totally worth it if they only last 30-50k, but ya with the issues i did some research after that, they never used a 3 valve in the excursion, and the 3 valve they did use actually didn't have the cam phasers, sounds like i need a replacement for my truck

anyways congrats on the new truck, i always like them i tried talking my wifes aunt and uncle into one of them, they ended up with a expy instead,

 

[agallant80]

Re: Gas or Diesel.

I figure after 13 years if its going to have cam phaser or spark plug issues they would have been sorted out by now so I am not too worried about it.

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: Gas or Diesel.

actually the new plugs are still a 2 piece design, just the bottom part of the plug is slightly smaller in diameter, i have recently bought the E3 spark plugs for mine, they have a 1 piece design and are about 1/4 the price and with no hassle . . .

I never said the new ones weren't 2-piece. I said they had a new spark plug design, which is evident with the SP-507/SP-515 part numbers. The smaller diameter keeps the carbon from building up and fusing the plug to the head. I have an '08 F-150 and did the spark plug change around 60K miles with no issues. The TSB further protects it by adding a thin coat of nickel anti-seize to the plug shaft. I don't know how much cheaper you need to go when the SP-515's were $8/pc when I bought them a few years back.

 

[ricohman]

Re: Gas or Diesel.

I agree with the "get a diesel if you need a diesel".
I've owned many diesels and gas trucks. Currently I don't tow much over 10k so my 2010 F350 4x4 is powered by a V10. This will be my second V10. This motor powers a huge segment of the RV industry and is a very reliable motor. I get around 10mpg pulling 10K.
I could never afford to own a newer diesel out of warranty. And older diesels are saddled with trannies that are nowhere near the modern offerings. I've worked on many 6.0 and 7.3 and I've owned both.

 

[agallant80]

Re: Gas or Diesel.

This motor powers a huge segment of the RV industry and is a very reliable motor. I get around 10mpg pulling 10K.
I could never afford to own a newer diesel out of warranty. And older diesels are saddled with trannies that are nowhere near the modern offerings. I've worked on many 6.0 and 7.3 and I've owned both.

This is exactly why I went with the Ford V10. Like you said the RV industry has proven it. As for Diesel, yes they pull great but I just got rid of a newer diesel to save money. The fuel is expensive and the maintenance is even worse. My friend spent over $1,000 replacing the fuel pump in his 99 Cummings. If I destroy the V10 I can replace it with a long block for about 3K if I destroy a Diesel then the whole truck is junk and I would be better off getting something else. The TCO on an older Diesel is too much.