Ford V 10 life expectancy

About half of a diesel.

With proper care, possibly 250K or more would be a reasonable guess before major internal work/rebuilding. 80K is not high for the engine.

The Ford V10s are used in many commercial applications like minibuses and ambulances and box trucks where they accumulate many miles. In a motorhome, you're likely to have the house wear out well before the engine and drivetrain is done for. Of course, a lack of care and maintenance will change things.

If the oil has been changed regularly it will last a long time. Stuff like water pumps will act up and need replaced long before the engine dies. At 80 thousand you are close to needing plugs etc. Minor maintenance will come into play soon.

ppine wrote:
About half of a diesel.

Or in other words, 2 to 3 times as long as the main rig will last before falling apart.

Unless you are planning to put 40-50k miles per year on it, engine life isn't much of a consideration.

DrewE wrote:
With proper care, possibly 250K or more would be a reasonable guess before major internal work/rebuilding. 80K is not high for the engine.

The Ford V10s are used in many commercial applications like minibuses and ambulances and box trucks where they accumulate many miles. In a motorhome, you're likely to have the house wear out well before the engine and drivetrain is done for. Of course, a lack of care and maintenance will change things.

This ^^^. As always it comes down to the maintenance.

blownstang01 wrote:

DrewE wrote:
With proper care, possibly 250K or more would be a reasonable guess before major internal work/rebuilding. 80K is not high for the engine.

The Ford V10s are used in many commercial applications like minibuses and ambulances and box trucks where they accumulate many miles. In a motorhome, you're likely to have the house wear out well before the engine and drivetrain is done for. Of course, a lack of care and maintenance will change things.

This ^^^. As always it comes down to the maintenance.

Precisely. Take good care of anything and don't beat the heck out of it and it will last a long time. 250k to 300K miles for that engine would not be unheard of. Sure there will be somethings that will need repair and replacement along the way (i.e. alternator, water pump, plugs etc. etc.) but that simply comes with any engine. The V-10 is a very good motor and if it was well maintained, it will serve you well.

80K may not be a problem, but I would want to know that the engine has been maintained and taken care of. It would be worth it to have a good mechanic check it out and test as needed. I would also want to take it for a really comprehensive test drive.

Thanks for the responses. I should have asked about the tranny. Is it an Allison?

Most likely it is a 5 speed Torq-Shift. Great Trans.

The biggest problems with the 5.4L (little brother to the 6.8L) 3V with variable cam timing was always the cam synchronizers, timing chain guides and adjusters and the timing chain itself. The guide and adjusters and possibly even the chain may be identical to the ones in the 6.8L.

Most failures occurred well past 100K. In another 30-40K you might want to pull the valve covers to see how much stretch there is in the chain. If you are doing the chain, do the other items also and the oil pump. These should be a ZERO labor up charge.