Ford V10 vs Chevy Gas

[base1957]

I see a lot of the V10s for sale but fewer of the Chevy it seems.
I remember the V10s had some issues spark plugs or heads ... not sure when the issues were fixed.
Whats your opinion or experiences with the two.... I ve stayed away from the V10s but would like to remain open minded.

[pianotuna]

2005 and up is fine for the v-10. Lots of power. Loves to be fueled up.

I've done 3 sets of rear brakes in 120,000 miles--and I'm light footed on them.

[theoldwizard1]

base1957 wrote:
I remember the V10s had some issues spark plugs or heads ... not sure when the issues were fixed.

Wikipedia wrote:
2-valve 4.6 L, 5.4 L, and 6.8 L engines found in many 1997-2008 Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury vehicles may have aluminum cylinder heads with threads for spark plugs that are stripped, missing, or otherwise insufficiently bored out. Ford acknowledges this issue in TSB 07-21-2 as well as earlier TSBs. Ford's TSB does not state that this issue is caused by owner neglect. Ford's only authorized repair procedure for out-of-warranty vehicles is to use the LOCK-N-STITCH aluminum insert and tool kit. For vehicles under the New Vehicle Limited Warranty, Ford will only cover the replacement of the entire cylinder head; however, the Ford recommended spark plug service interval extends beyond the duration of the New Vehicle Limited Warranty.

3-valve 5.4 L and 6.8 L engines built before 10/9/07 and 3-valve 4.6 Ls built before 11/30/07 found in many 2004–2008 Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury vehicles have an issue with difficult-to-remove spark plugs, which can cause part of the spark plug to become seized in the cylinder head. The source of the problem is a unique plug design that uses a 2-piece shell, which often separates, leaving the lower portion of the spark plug stuck deep in the engine's cylinder head. The 2-piece OE spark plug design is intrinsically flawed, thus making it susceptible to this problem. Ford acknowledges this issue in TSB 08-7-6 as well as earlier TSBs. Ford's TSB does not state that this issue is caused by owner neglect. The TSB provides a special procedure for spark plug removal on these engines. For situations in which the spark plug has partially broken off in the cylinder head, Ford distributes multiple special tools for removing the seized portion of the plug. Their TSB explains the multiple procedures required for handling the different cases/situations that occur when parts of plugs are seized in these engines. This repair is covered for vehicles under warranty; however, the Ford recommended spark plug service interval extends beyond the duration of the New Vehicle Limited Warranty.

I know the E-series (used for Class C motorhome) only used the 2 valve engines. I am not sure if the F%# (Class A) chassis used 2 valve or 3 valve engines. In either case, anything after 2009 should be good.

[Desert_Captain]

base1957 wrote:
I see a lot of the V10s for sale but fewer of the Chevy it seems.
I remember the V10s had some issues spark plugs or heads ... not sure when the issues were fixed.
Whats your opinion or experiences with the two.... I've stayed away from the V10s but would like to remain open minded.

You see lots of V-10's vs Chevy's because there far more V-10's out there, the difference is huge. It is not just the motorhomes, look at any airport shuttle, EMS ambulance and host of other commercial applications... Ford domintaes this market and they all have been running the V-10 for 20+ years. The spark plug issue on the V-10 disappeared almost 20 years ago. The V-10 is probably the most bullet proof, reliable big gasser ever produced, yes they are thirsty but so is any large gasser.

For the record the chevy 6L V-8 has a little more HP but not as much torque and it is torque that gets the job done but frankly they are more alike than different when it comes down to powering a small to medium sized motorhome.

As always... Opinions and YMMV

:C

[rgatijnet1]

I think the main reason is because the Gm 8.1L engine was last used around 2008. I had great luck with the 8.1L engine and put close to 100,000 miles on mine and it still didn't burn any oil between 5000 mile oil changes. It gave fair mileage but then again I have heard the V-10 is not that good either. I always towed and never had any climbing issues in the Western mountains. The 8.1L engine had some issues with burning spark plug wires but that was usually restricted to certain coach manufacturers that did not provide enough ventilation. High temperature silicone plug wires would solve that issue. The MAIN advantage to the 8.1L engine came when it was coupled with the Workhorse W chassis and then it came with the ALLISON transmission, which is bullet proof.