A testament to the robustness of the Ford V10 platform

[Shogun]

Well, I'll admit some fault to this and will be more diligent in the future but the truck has been in the shop for a checkup, safety, and new U joints on 2 different occasions so I will only take 95% of the blame.

The 2008 F350 V10 has been my daily driver for the last few months while waiting for my new F150 and after selling my 4Runner.

When towing I get the same mileage as anyone else! Not so much in stop and go traffic. 10 cylinders get thirsty...

My gas mileage has been the same as ever but there just seemed to be a little lack of power off the line and when accelerating when towing...

So in preparation for an upcoming big towing trip I was checking a bunch of stuff out and noticed some furry rodent (aka the squirrel my daughter loves to watch out the front window) decided to make a nice little home in my engine compartment. I vacuumed out all the pine cones I could find then thought, hmmm, maybe I should check the air filter before the trip.

Whoa!!!The air intake before the filter was PACKED with pine cones, fluff and other nice little things that are soft and fluffy for a nice nest!!!!

Little bugger!

I removed the filter and there was easily a pound of seeds stuck in the pleats of the filter.... It's a holiday here so no luck getting a new filter. I'll go tomorrow and pick up a new one for the trip. The MAF and intake after the filter looks pristine and clean as a whistle.

Glad I caught this before we went away. On a good note we found a dead squirrel under the tree in our front yard. Looks like a cat got it. Hope he suffered!! The squirrel, not the cat...

[nohurry]

Just this last weekend we were camping at a state park and I saw a squirrel run under my truck. I watched closely, and it jumped up on top the rear axle. I immediately sprang to action, jumping on the bumper, and then starting the truck up, revving it. Wife waved then that it ran off. She couldn't understand why I was so worried. I told her she had no idea the damage they can cause if they decide to start chewing on wires etc.

[gijoecam]

On a Ford Explorer forum I used to frequent, someone several years back asked a question inquiring what could be dripping from his moonroof? He had recently purchased the vehicle used, and something oily was dripping from around the moonroof area, near the overhead console. We were all at a loss since, aside from a small dribble of water that leaks past the seal and out the drains, there's nothing there that could leak, let alone an 'oily' substance, in any way, shape, or form.

A couple weeks later, he posted some pictures. He dropped the overhead console, and inside it, he found about 8 pounds of a mix of dog food, cat food, and paintballs. Yes, paintballs... As in the kind you put in a paintball gun and shoot people with. Apparently some little chipmunk had been raiding the dog food, cat food, and his stash of paintballs, and carrying them up the suspension, through some hole in the body, up the A-pillar and into the space above the headliner and overhead console. The paintballs, being bio-degradeable, had essentially melted in the humidity from the air, and it's the 'paint' that was dripping out, looking oily because of the pet food.

Crazy!!

[Wes_Tausend]

...

A small squirrel made a nest under the hood on our Excursion. We thought the young family played so cute, chasing all over, when we watched them nest in a nearby tree.

In a hurry, I only noticed the Ex started slow and just drove it the first day, then the second day it didn't even crank enough to start, so I checked under the hood. The li'l varmit ate a hole in our fairly new battery and most of the acid leaked out, big corrosive mess. The other damage was mostly vacuum lines. Hope he got a sore mouth.

Wes
...

[carringb]

jerem0621 wrote:
do you think that your rear axle ratio has much to do with its uphill performance?

Thanks!

Jeremiah

yes, for sure. But the better breathing (Banks +AFE) probably helps more, since that's what makes the horsepower. Where the deeper gears really help is launching from a stop with the trailer, especially on steep hills. There's some hills I've been on that probably would have stalled me out if I had taller gears. The 4R100 just isn't geared all that well. If I end up going with a new van, it'll be mostly because they are now putting the 6-Speed TorqueShift in the E-series.

[jerem0621]

carringb wrote:
Here's my robustness story:

This last weekend I hit 408,000 miles on the odometer. On the way over the pass (Santiam Pass ~7% grade) I passed two 6.0 diesel pulling trailers, both quite a bit smaller than mine. They were doing the same speed as me until the steep part, but while they both bogged down I simply dropped into 2nd and blew past them.

On the way home, the temps were governing around 100F. Engine temp stayed at 198F and trans temp got up to about 215F. The rear diff was the hottest at 230F. Did the climb without missing a beat!

That's pretty incredible...I have read that forced induction can only take you so far, do you think that your rear axle ratio has much to do with its uphill performance?

Thanks!

Jeremiah

[_40Fan]

Customer's Ford pickup. Came in with a heater fan noise.

[Campinfan]

Shogun wrote:
Well, I'll admit some fault to this and will be more diligent in the future but the truck has been in the shop for a checkup, safety, and new U joints on 2 different occasions so I will only take 95% of the blame.

The 2008 F350 V10 has been my daily driver for the last few months while waiting for my new F150 and after selling my 4Runner.

When towing I get the same mileage as anyone else! Not so much in stop and go traffic. 10 cylinders get thirsty...

My gas mileage has been the same as ever but there just seemed to be a little lack of power off the line and when accelerating when towing...

So in preparation for an upcoming big towing trip I was checking a bunch of stuff out and noticed some furry rodent (aka the squirrel my daughter loves to watch out the front window) decided to make a nice little home in my engine compartment. I vacuumed out all the pine cones I could find then thought, hmmm, maybe I should check the air filter before the trip.

Whoa!!!The air intake before the filter was PACKED with pine cones, fluff and other nice little things that are soft and fluffy for a nice nest!!!!

Little bugger!

I removed the filter and there was easily a pound of seeds stuck in the pleats of the filter.... It's a holiday here so no luck getting a new filter. I'll go tomorrow and pick up a new one for the trip. The MAF and intake after the filter looks pristine and clean as a whistle.

Glad I caught this before we went away. On a good note we found a dead squirrel under the tree in our front yard. Looks like a cat got it. Hope he suffered!! The squirrel, not the cat...

Last year had a similar incident with my F250. We were on the maiden voyage with our new fiver to Wash, DC. I now built a cage our of hardware cloth that goes around my air filter and I put 2 pieces in the hole where the inlet attaches to the fender. Mine were the little red squirrels that look like big chipmunks. Oh, they also got into my heater/AC unit. Now I feel like I am in the movie "Caddyshack".

[carringb]

Here's my robustness story:

This last weekend I hit 408,000 miles on the odometer. On the way over the pass (Santiam Pass ~7% grade) I passed two 6.0 diesel pulling trailers, both quite a bit smaller than mine. They were doing the same speed as me until the steep part, but while they both bogged down I simply dropped into 2nd and blew past them.

On the way home, the temps were governing around 100F. Engine temp stayed at 198F and trans temp got up to about 215F. The rear diff was the hottest at 230F. Did the climb without missing a beat!

[hvac]

Quickly read this but it reminds of situation many years ago on our Winnebago motorhome. late 90s. We used it but like all RVs would sit for extended time. All I remember is the 454 acted like a briggs and Stratton as we left the driveway, and as in this thread, mice had made a cozy home in the intake.

Never looked back. Always owned a towable after that with one exception a ERA sprinter. squeaks and rattles drove us nuts.

[Farmerjon]

carl2591 wrote:
good outdoor cat that you feed a little every day or so it is hungry and they will get the squirrels for sure. over feed one and it just watches the squirrels do their destruction.

We have had as many as 6 cats at one time, right now we are down to 3.
We have an unlimited # of squirrels, rats ,mice, rabbits and chipmunks.
all capable of inflicting damage to our vehicles.
The cats can't keep up, but they try.
We have even had snakes get up into the engine compartments to try to help out.:B
Oh, and of course the dogs kill quite a few of the critters also.

[dodge_guy]

When there used to be ignition wires, I have personally seen where some type of rodent ate through the wires and a fuel line! yep guess what happens when you go to start that mess!

[carl2591]

good outdoor cat that you feed a little every day or so it is hungry and they will get the squirrels for sure. over feed one and it justs watches the squirrels do their destruction.

[greende]

So, here's my story. Had a 2006 Chevy Avalanche and still have a 2008 Chevy HHR. Took the kids to school in the Avalanche and noticed clouds of white smoke out the tailpipe. Took it to the dealer and the smoke was gone by then but it smelled bad. They couldn't find anything. Soon thereafter, we had issues with the HHR losing power going up hills. Took it to the dealer who took the air box off it and found 5 pounds of dog food stashed there by rodents. They still call it the "Dog Food Mobile" t the Chevy garage! Turns out that they stuffed the tailpipe up to the cat converter in the Avalanche and it caught the dog food on fire!

[Lessmore]

I dislike squirrels due to the damage they do. Rats in fur coats someone once said.

My daughter's boyfriend had his Toyota written off, due to many wires chewed through, etc.

What a waste of a good car, all because of squirrels.