Ford V-10 owners

[CodyDawg]

Due to the fact the wife and I are expecting twins.....yikes, still hasnt sunk in, I need a new truck. So crew cab here I come. Anyone have the V-10? Feedback? How about mileage? I have a fairly light foot, what would I get?

The new Ford diesel is a mileage pig and the V-8 doesnt get any better mileage than the V-10 I have heard (in a Super Duty). I wonder if they can put my 7.3L in a new crew cab? (j/k)

Just not a big fan of the Chevy truck, although that would be the only other make I would consider. I have to have a 3/4 ton for the 5th wheel, so half tons are out of the pics. Any good ideas would be welcome.

[Shack]

I own a 5.4L and love it! Just make sure factory plugs were updated in eng.'s from late Ninties to early 2000's. Beyond that (minus a little cold start piston slap) it is a great eng...

[CodyDawg]

Well, I drove a V-10 and a diesel on Friday (stopped by the local metro dealer...man, it really reinforces how much I like my small town dealer). the V-10 is a gas hog and I was dissapointed in the power. The diesel is much better on the fuel than I thought. In my limited tests however, it fared pretty much the same as my 7.3L. Since I cant get an 07 and the twins arent expected until late March, I am gonna be patient for awhile and just keep researching. thanks for all the advice.

Oh, 2 questions came up at the dealer. One, Ford recommends only up to B-5 for biodiesel. I know that many stations are running much more than that on occasion. So what happens if you go over b-5? Void the warranty? Or you get lower mileage? Or what? Secondly, they have a fuel COOLER on them....it is a radiator. So at -20 and driving 70 mph, how do they handle the gelling issue? the uh...less than knowledgeable metro area salesman hadnt a clue.

[Gissert]

Standard diesel fuel in Minnesota is a B2 blend. If you have a warranty, run what will keep you out of trouble. Any blends greater that B2 should be clearly labeled. I have run B20, B50, B99 and B100 in my 01 Cummins with no ill effects.

As far as gelling goes, standard B2 blends are usually winterized, so that should not be an issue. Winter blended fuels has less BTU per gallon, so you will see less milage once they switch over in the fall. I see about .5 to .75 MPG less on winter fuel.

[CodyDawg]

I dont believe there is such a thing as 'standard' fuel in MN. Most common is B-2, but many stations run other mixes depending on cost. Right now, B-2 is cheaper than B-5, so stations have B-2, but that can change. My question is, what happens when you run B-10? Are you automatically ejected? The tailgate falls off? A big clown sign appears on your doors?

[Gissert]

I suppose it is going to depend upon the particular engine application. I can only speak for a Cummins 24 valve motor with the Bosch VP44 injection pump.

With B20, my engine is noticebly quieter. There is also a slight smell of something cooking, ie a turkey fryer heating up. This smell gets stronger with larger blends of bio diesel. There was less smoke than petro diesel, especially when the turbo was pushing good boost on acceleration.

Besides the gelling potential as it get colder out with biofuels, there is one other potential trouble area.

Biodiesel is an excellent solvent, so you could have fuel filter and/or injector plugging issues as the bio dissolves the petro gunk in the tank and guel lines. I did not have any trouble with this, but I did change out my fuel filter as a precaution after the first couple tanks of B20 that I ran.