F53 V10 First Timer Questions

j.robinson389 wrote:
My wife and I just bought a 1999 31' Georgetown Class A on the Ford F53 Chassis with the V10 in it. 30,000 miles. My wife and I are still fairly young (early to mid 20's) so we don't have a lot of vacation time yet, so we won't spend a great deal of time traveling in it, we are more of the drive somewhere and park it for a week type of people. So costly handling and driveabilty upgrades will probably not happen. I expect only about 2k miles per year for us. But I do have a few questions about the chassis and drivetrain.

Questions:

1. I have read about countless problems about these engines blowing out spark plugs. Is there anything I can do to help prevent this? I am pretty sure the original plugs are still in it.

2. I believe there was a problem with the original oil dipstick on this chassis, how do I know if I have the updated one or not?

3. Do you recommend spending the money and buying a ScanGauge II? Or is usually not necessary?

4. Should I put a transmission tuner on it? It seems that Trans Command is popular is this the "best bang for your buck" unit, is it a must have product?

5. What transmission was put on this chassis? 4R100?



Any other advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated, we are new at this, and I want to try and make as few "rookie" mistakes as possible.


Thanks for your help,
Jake

2. Do an oil and filter change using the specified amount of oil from your manual (I think 6 quarts). Then (after starting and then sitting overnight), check the dipstick. If the oil isn't at the full mark, use a file and put a notch were the oil level is. You now have a calibrated dipstick.

3. It's more of a toy than needed, but I like mine. It does provide an accurate transmission temp which is good to know if you are climbing grades or pulling a heavy toad.

4. No.

5. Yes.


The biggest thing you could do is change the ATF and engine oil to a good synthetic. There was still a drain in the bottom of the converter on your tranny, so you can do a complete drain (plus disconnect one cooler line and use some low pressure air to blow it out).