F 450 Super Duty gasser

[JJZ 109]

So far the words seem encouraging for the motor. Nice to hear as it's got 153k on the clock. But as stated it won't have tons of miles put on it anymore for my seasonal use.

 

[puckgrinder85]

The only thing I've really done to them are the occasional coils and the exhaust studs snapping off, but that might be a regional thing due to rust as we get a lot of fords with the same issues. I think they made the studs larger on the later years if I recall.

 

[JJZ 109]

The only thing I've really done to them are the occasional coils and the exhaust studs snapping off, but that might be a regional thing due to rust as we get a lot of fords with the same issues. I think they made the studs larger on the later years if I recall.

Funny you should mention that. While taking me on a tour of the facilities and showing me the truck, they did point out that they'd put new exhaust studs and manifold gaskets on it. A peek under the hood showed this to indeed be the case.

 

[tcartwri]

Just keep in mind that an hour of Inverter use will require hour(s) of driving time to recharge the batteries. Our service truck has gone thorough three sets of batteries because the operators forget this little factoid, and park it with completely flat batteries.

 

[puckgrinder85]

Funny you should mention that. While taking me on a tour of the facilities and showing me the truck, they did point out that they'd put new exhaust studs and manifold gaskets on it. A peek under the hood showed this to indeed be the case.

Well that's a plus. Its a well paying job for us techs if they know the secrets to removing them, not so good for customers. Its a pricey job if a lot are broken off. Some you can even tell they are broken, the stud/ nuts breaks off but they also rust themselves to and into the manifold, only till you put a rachet on one you know. Bad feeling when you keep counting.

 

[breadtrk]

Blown out plugs? What are the cylinders suddenly developing 5000 psi per cyl? There was a rash of bad castings around the plug holes to relieve the much greater pressures the valves see?

I can't believe some of the crap I see posted here.

 

[Soundguy]

The V-10 was one of Ford's best kept secrets. Think about it, they seldom come up for sale. My dad has a 1999 with a 7.3L. It is no speed demon but it has good torque. I think the V-10 would be cheaper to run.

i agree, my 350 and 450 7.3's ( both 99's ) won't win any speed contests.. but they will show up at the end of the race pulling quite a load.

 

[Soundguy]

. Even so, there isnt much else to go wrong, unlike the diesel.

and what problems did the 7.3's exhibit.. other than a 25$ CPS?

 

[JJZ 109]

Just keep in mind that an hour of Inverter use will require hour(s) of driving time to recharge the batteries. Our service truck has gone thorough three sets of batteries because the operators forget this little factoid, and park it with completely flat batteries.

Again, thanks for the tip, as I have zero inverter experience. But I foresee it only as a backup if the generator in my biz trailer gives up on me in the middle of a job.
With this truck's setup, I don't know if it works off of the engine's battery or the big battery that runs the bucket hydraulics. My current truck uses 2 normal sized deep cycles independent of the engine batteries to operate the hydraulic pump. The new truck has one huge battery for that. Lots of studying up to do after I get it home.

 

[puckgrinder85]

Blown out plugs? What are the cylinders suddenly developing 5000 psi per cyl? There was a rash of bad castings around the plug holes to relieve the much greater pressures the valves see?

I can't believe some of the crap I see posted here.

Yes, blown out plugs. The threads get ripped from the head. You need to insert a timesert or something similar to repair. From I've seen there isn't enough threads engaged in the alumn. head to hold the plug, either it loosens up and then beats the threads up enough to fail or some other means of failure, either way the end result is usually the plug flying out and normally busting the coil off its mounting.

Here you go:

Ford Triton Spark Plug Blew Out - Cylinder Head Repair Orlando



This is an entirely different issue than the later 3 valve 5.4 with the plugs seizing into the head and breaking in two.


We've repaired about 75 plug holes to date, again mostly the 2 valve 5.4, very few in the V10 and none in the 4.6. This "crap" has been going on for many years.

 

[Cpjlube]

Blown out plugs? What are the cylinders suddenly developing 5000 psi per cyl? There was a rash of bad castings around the plug holes to relieve the much greater pressures the valves see? I can't believe some of the crap I see posted here.

It's a real problem.

In my opinion it's the biggest problem with that generation of ford pickups.
The dealers were looking people straight in the eye and recommending replacing the head. And to do this, they pulled the cab.

If there ever should have been a recall or at least a reduced price repair, this is it.

I own a 2001 5.4l. Blew one plug, 500 miles from home, no tools. Long story.......

 

[breadtrk]

The quoted article does not mention the v-10 6.8l engines. I smell some anti ford bias here. In fact I can't find a single instance of a "blown plug" in the 6.8l V-10 engine on the whole internet.

 

[breadtrk]

I might point out that the OP asked about this engine specifically, I don't think the colloquial experience about 5 or 10 of the millions ford trucks on the road is a comparative example.

 

[puckgrinder85]

Ford biased? You're kidding? Everyone here is giving it a green light for the most part and just pointing out the (minor) flaws that do exist in this series of engines. If your "experience" only goes as far as the internet searching, this is where the conversation would leave you. It does happen on the 6.8, much less common however.

 

[spitter]

I had 1 plug blow out of head on my v 10 80,000 miles ago .Had it heli coiled replaced coil cost 175 $ for everything .Got 375.000 miles on truck purrs like kitten shure dont sound like a major problem to me. Biggest problem i had with my 7.3 s is they eat after market alternators.Bought brand new one from nappa lifetime warrenty they last about 18 months. Counter guy dont even ask questions just hand me new one.Dually has 215,000 miles excursion has 275,000 miles .Oh yea v 10 had exhaust manafold studs break off that cost 500 $ to repair in all those miles that was the only non wear parts to go . 675 $ in repair shure dont make it a lemon in my book.:dance1:

 

[Diamondpilot]

It's a real problem.

In my opinion it's the biggest problem with that generation of ford pickups.
The dealers were looking people straight in the eye and recommending replacing the head. And to do this, they pulled the cab.

If there ever should have been a recall or at least a reduced price repair, this is it.

I own a 2001 5.4l. Blew one plug, 500 miles from home, no tools. Long story.......

You don't have to pull the cab. On the diesels it makes life easier and shortens some jobs but the gassers don't require it.

Chris

 

[Wolfy]

Soundguy

We had 3# 7.3Ls in the family business. (94 no turbo, 02, 99). All 3 trucks pulled a 10,000 trailer fairly often and plowed for the state. They were good engines, I still am fond of them. However, starters, alternators, turbos, oil pans, oil coolers, injection pumps, we had to replace them more than once. Not to mention oil changes cost a lot more with a bigger filter and twice the oil. Along with cold issues. We shut the doors, but my dad kept the 99. It runs great right now, except it needs a turbo up pipe. My mechanic says the whole cab has to come off to change it. I got a qoute from a dealer to change it and it was scary. Most reliable truck we had was a 2000 F250 with the 5.4L we bought new.

 

[puckgrinder85]

I had 1 plug blow out of head on my v 10 80,000 miles ago .Had it heli coiled replaced coil cost 175 $ for everything .Got 375.000 miles on truck purrs like kitten shure dont sound like a major problem to me. Biggest problem i had with my 7.3 s is they eat after market alternators.Bought brand new one from nappa lifetime warrenty they last about 18 months. Counter guy dont even ask questions just hand me new one.Dually has 215,000 miles excursion has 275,000 miles .Oh yea v 10 had exhaust manafold studs break off that cost 500 $ to repair in all those miles that was the only non wear parts to go . 675 $ in repair shure dont make it a lemon in my book.:dance1:

Noone said it was a major problem, but multiply that number by the 500,000 v10's out there and you have a common failure. That is the point of this whole thread, was to give the guy a heads up. He might run into it, he might not. But now if it does happen he knows it can be fixed.

 

[JJZ 109]

No one said it was a major problem, but multiply that number by the 500,000 v10's out there and you have a common failure. That is the point of this whole thread, was to give the guy a heads up. He might run into it, he might not. But now if it does happen he knows it can be fixed.

Yup. I knew that it was a fairly common occurrence with the 5.4. From reading here it would appear to happen, but on a much less frequent scale with the V10. As you state, if it does ever happen it can likely be fixed without bankrupting my business! :laughing:

 

[cmyoung2]

1999 F250 SD V10, blew a plug at 80K, put in a insert. No other engine problems other than cruise control. Just changed plugs at 215K, insert came out with the plug and I didn't notice it took a while to figure out why I couldn't get the new plug to thread. I like the V10, seems to be durable, I have the 5 speed manual and sometimes would like more gears. I think I can pull most anything, but it will not be at speed in these mountains. Mileage is fairly constant 12-13 mpg no trailer, 9-10 with any type of trailer, 2000lb box or 10000lb gooseneck.