Forum Discussion
OhhWell
May 20, 2014Explorer
Romer1 wrote:Captain_Happy wrote:
1998
Thanks.
Assume they are metric as opposed to 8R?
Any comments on the V10??
1998 was a transition year for the F53. Ford technically made no 1998 F53s so 1998 coaches are either on a left over 1997 with the 460 and 16' wheels or the 1999 with the V10 and 19.5" wheels. As someone mentioned, the possibility of getting a 2000 coach on the 1997 chassis is so remote as to be statistically impossible but I guess you never know.
Comments on the V10? It's a great engine. I think the 2000 was still a 2 valve but had improvements to the breathing bringing it up to 305 HP. Anyone know if they went to 6 thread spark plug sockets by 2000 or was it still the 3 thread that could blow a plug if you weren't VERY careful about the torque when changing them?
There is an issue with the factory exhaust manifold that I believe went all the way up to 2011. The problems were twofold. One was that the studs that hold the manifolds to the engine were prone to corrosion and failure, the other was that the paper gasket allowed the manifold to heat at a different rate than the engine block and crack.
To solve the bolt problem is about $40 in parts from Ebay or amazon and a bit of labor depending on how many factory studs break off in the block and have to be tapped/drilled out. The fix for the gasket issue is to use no gasket if the engine is new or a copper one if not (or install some nice headers like the PO of my coach did :B).
Other than that, it is a 200,000+ mile engine easily with regular maintenance.
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