Triton V10 or 6.0 Powerstroke

Thanks for all of the input guys, I am not trying to beat a dead horse but if anyone else has opinions on this I would love to hear them. I wish it was a lopsided discussion so it would make the decision a little easier. I am going to go take another look at the gasser tomorrow and who knows... I know the mpg is not going to be as good as my scooter but one thing that I like is that the diesel should get a couple more miles to the tank and in theory, do it while not working as hard.

I heard the vans with the v10's were detuned versions of the truck v10's so hopefully the 2006 v10 truck has more balls than this 2006 v10 van. This v10 dually van is vanna white, she is not mine but I have access to use her pretty much anytime. Unloaded she seems to move good, loaded is ok and she stops good but all that overhang behind the rear wheels really makes towing anything with tongue weight tricky, even with airbags.

Keep the comments coming, I'll update tomorrow once I get home from checking out the gasser truck.
 

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Has the 6.0 in consideration been bulletproofed?

If not do you plan to do so soon and counting that in your budget?

Paging @snappy for V10 Excursion input...


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I wouldn't recommend the early year 6.0 but 05 to 07 has better suspension rides great that's the suspension ford still uses to this day. I have a 6.4 09 peer stroke and still wish I bought a 6.0 just cause parts are cheaper than what the 6.4 cost. So if I had to choose between a 6.0 or a v10 I'll take the 6.0 all day long those v10 motors don't have the best reputation either
 
tominator said:
I heard the vans with the v10's were detuned versions of the truck v10's so hopefully the 2006 v10 truck has more balls than this 2006 v10 van.
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The vans never got the 3V motor.
 
The 04 6.0 has better coolers than the later ones.


If I were going to be comparing tow rigs and it was a gas vs diesel tow rig, it wouldn't be a V10. Id be comparing the GM 5.3/6.0 gasser versus a diesel like the 6.0 you mentioned. Point being, you are going to settle for a gas truck, might as well get one that has much better road manners than the slug V10.

Unless you are dead set on a Ford...
 
no it has not been bulletproofed but I do see the truck everyday and I know the original owner and he has always babied it and kept up on all the routine maint. I was thinking that I could continue the routine maint and hope that it continued to give me good service as it has for him or is that too much wishful thinking?

thanks for the input rockcity but I am not deadset on a Ford, they just seemed to be the best deals out there.
 
Hard to say, but my uncle got 305,000 out of his bone stock 03 6.0 powered F250. Towed a 23' HydraSport a LOT and drove from Hickory to New Bern very frequently.
 
I got 325k on my stock 6.0, no delete, no studs, nothing. Just take care of it and you are good. It's been my experience with multiple 6.0s. I'd buy another in a heartbeat.
 
That one only had five cylinders that worked, though. That doesn't count.
 
I drove the v10 truck today and eventhough I am still indecisive on the whole v10 vs 6.0 one thing is for sure, I will not be buying the v10 truck that I drove today. The sales guy was bragging about the power and how this was just like having a diesel without the noise and blah blah blah. He told me to floor it to feel the power so I did. I am guessing that this same sales person told everybody before me to do the same thing because there was something funky going on with the rearend, driveshaft and/or transmounts. Crazy vibration, clunking, clanging, hard shifting you name it. It felt like the rear axle was going to detach itself from the truck while I was driving down the road. The rear of the truck was bouncing all over the place so much that the sales person even said he thinks some weight needs to be added back there to keep it planted? what the heck? I was on the damn paved road. I asked about anykind of accidents or work done to the rear but the sales person said there was no records of it in any service history. The search continues...
 
I had a really nice white crew 4x4 Lariat 2000 SD with a v10. It was a great driving truck with good power and I really liked it. The newer v10s have better power and feel punchier. It towed ok and like all said, you have to let them rev. It had 4:30s and 35s and I put many miles on it between here and our mnt place.

This said, I would not go back to the v10 from my current 7.3. The 7.3 only had 32K on it when i bought it in April of 2016, has 42K now. When my neighbor finally sold it to me after years of asking, she practically gave it to me. Good neighbors are hard to quantify. It's a crew 4x4 Lariat.

The diesel is better in every way, gets 20+ mpg unloaded (v10 got 12) and tows 7K lbs of tractor to the mountains like it's not there.

Old v10






New low mile 7.3

 
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Wanted to add, my buddy Jeff has a 2003 6.0 with about 250K and has never had anything done but regular maintenance. He towed an enclosed gooseneck all over the country when his boy raced BMX. I know many had problems but most that did had tuners and owners with heavy feet.
 
Here is my go at it...

I've seen the good and the bad of 6.0's over the years. I know just as many people who had them and claim it did its best work on a rollback and others who got a ton of miles out of them without issue. Haven't owned or driven one long enough to give anything more than a "what ive seen" review.

When it comes to the V10, I drive one about two weekends a month usually. An early model 99-01 F450 service bed truck with a massive front bumper and winch, a newer 05+ F350 Dually flatbed and another 05+ 350 SRW flatbed. All are former Pike/Altec fleet trucks with between 120-235k on them and spend their time now as rode hard, put up wet farm trucks. Save for a random issue recently on one of the 350's with a trans sensor causing it to act up, they all get basic fluid/brake/tire changes and roll on. I have not checked on the gearing in them but will if we head up to the farm this coming weekend. The newer ones definitely have more ass and its noticeable. They all need to rev to climb with a load. Dollar for dollar, they're tough to beat. I would never expect them to pull daily driver duty or get the mileage that a diesel might, but for something that would probably stay hooked to a trailer and be driven a couple of times a month I can live with the capabilities of the truck. If I ever buy another dedicated tow rig, I'll get another one of these V10 fleet specials that the lady's dad always buys and just church it up a little bit with a service bed, King ranch seats and non work truck grille/headlights.
 
My biggest problem with the Ford's is the comfort. The work truck I drive most days now is a 08 f250 6.4. Has approximately 300k on it and other than a few sensor issues it has a been a reliable truck. But the seats are like rocks. And it's not because they are worn out because we had a brand new 08 back in 09 and it was the same way. Its like instead of foam ford puts cement in the seats. Causes me to have considerable amounts of back pain after a couple hours riding.
 
YotaOnRocks said:
My biggest problem with the Ford's is the comfort. The work truck I drive most days now is a 08 f250 6.4. Has approximately 300k on it and other than a few sensor issues it has a been a reliable truck. But the seats are like rocks. And it's not because they are worn out because we had a brand new 08 back in 09 and it was the same way. Its like instead of foam ford puts cement in the seats. Causes me to have considerable amounts of back pain after a couple hours riding.
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What trim level were these work trucks? Reason I ask is every XL truck I've been in had terrible hard seats. My dad and a friend both had 03 XL trucks, and I've worked on several construction or fleet trucks. All the seats were terrible.

I had an 03 XLT and my current 16 XLT both had cloth seats. Night and day difference between the XLT and XL. I've got two more friends with lariat trucks they seem just as comfortable as my XLT except they're leather.

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Not sure on trim level I'm not familiar with ford trim levels. They have leather dual climate control and all the fancy crap and horrendous wood grain everywhere so I'd say they are one step down from the king ranch.
 
Just curious, any of you that have driven the ford V10 ever driven a dodge V10? I am just wondering how they compare.
 
BigClay said:
Just curious, any of you that have driven the ford V10 ever driven a dodge V10? I am just wondering how they compare.
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I've not towed with either v10 but I have driven them on test drives after repairs. I think the dodge v10 feels stronger especially from a stop. The Ford v10 with two valves seems weak to me until it's tached up to 2500-3000. From that to the rev limiter it's strong though. The 3v v10 Ford feels stronger on bottom end but not quite like the Dodge. Idk what gears each truck had, that may make a difference too.
YotaOnRocks said:
Not sure on trim level I'm not familiar with ford trim levels. They have leather dual climate control and all the fancy crap and horrendous wood grain everywhere so I'd say they are one step down from the king ranch.
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That sounds like a lariat then. They don't seem that stiff to me, but I may just be used to it. Comfort is another one of those things that's different for everyone though.

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Yeah my brother in law loves the seats(me and all the guys hate them) but I'm slowly converting him from a Ford or nothing man. Our last two work truck purchases have been suburbans. And he is eyeballing a new 2016 cab and chassis dodge in kernersville for our new work truck.
 
I owned a 2001 excursion V10 4x4 135k with 3.73's...it was like driving an old bread truck! My advice is this...get a 4.10 or 4.30 geared truck...you will hate 3.73's with the V10. The only upside is unloaded highway mpg! Believe it or not I got 16 with mine going to the beach and back! If you buy a V10, the 1st thing you need to do is re-torque the spark plugs. They will work loose overtime! That's the main cause of them blowing out on the early 2V's. 6 out of 10 of mine where loose when I bought it! That said I wish I wouldn't of sold it!

No first hand experience with a 6.0..a good friend of mine has owned a diesel from all the makes and different generations...out of the 6 different ones he's owned he likes the TRUCK(2007 f350 4x4 lariat CCLB) the best but it is definately the weakest diesel he has owned! He bulletproofed it when he bought it at 150k and has about 175k on it with no problems other than he bought a 38' 5th wheel that it struggles to pull!
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Thanks guys, I appreciate everyones input and opinion. The 6.0 I had my eye set on is not on the market anymore, my neighbor has decided to keep it. I guess I am going to be on the lookout for already bulletproofed 6.0's, v10's or anything else that seems like a great deal. The search continues...
 
Been there done that. I bought a gas F350 and had trouble doing 45 up some grades when towing. Now I have a 6.0 and I pass people on that same grade while towing and burn much less fuel. Buying the gas truck was a very expensive mistake. It might be good for flat landers, but not for us mountain folk.

My 6.0 is not bullet proofed. Here is a the list of mods needed to prevent head gasket failure.

1. Replace the coolant cap every few years. This is the number one head gasket cause. They loose their ability to hold pressure.

2. Install a coolant filter and flush the coolant. The coolant breaks down and clogs the oil cooler or EGR.

3. Blue spring mod - kit from Ford to provide more fuel pressure to save injectors.

4. Dummy plugs and stand pipe upgrade - just had this done to fix won't start when hot problem.

5. EGR delete - I still have mine, but I ordered the kit to eliminate it a few days ago. When the EGR ruptures it can lead to head gasket failure.

6. Better exhaust - keep the temps down and things last longer
 
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nothing to add about a diesel, never had one. I have towed with a 304(jeep truck) a 454, car hauler, a 440 in an old ass RV, a 460 in a Ford Van, out of all those, none compare to the towing power I have with my 99 Triton V-10 in my 28/5' Class C motor home.It does OK up the hills, maybe a few minutes behind the Diesel crown. Hills? mat the skinny pedal and let it eat. How many RPM's? I have no clue, but it's up there. But, with the weight of the RV, plus the over 10K being towed, I am happy with what it'll do.
 
We've been doing diesel work for almost 10 years now, and many of those years we've been working on 6.0l's. If I was going to buy a truck in the 03-07 year range, it'd be a 6.0l. The only truly catastrophic failure ever seen is a lifter failure. The other issues, while they can be expensive are typically easy to fix and once fixed rarely reoccur. They are easy to work on, with good parts availability as well.

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