Looking at a V10, Spark Plug Blowout?

[mbot]

I have an 05 Duramax that I am trying to get out from under (nothing but probs) and have found a clean 03 Excursion with a V10.

I know the 05+ V10 is more desirable because it has the Torqueshift trans and more power, correct?

Is the spark plug blowout issue PREVENTABLE on the 03?? How can I tell if the truck has already had a plug blowout that was repaired with a Helicoil??

Any help appreciated!!

Thanks, Ben

[purplehorn1977]

honstly its real hard to tell if a plug has been blown out if fixed properly. that and after the helicoil was put in if done properly you arent going to have any problems from it again. my 00 f150 had on blow out and while i was in there i helicoiled all of them. sold the truck with 350000 on it and didnt have a problem from it the whole time. the plug blew out around 70000 so i would think it held pretty good. yes the torque shift is more disirable but unless your towing alot i wouldnt worry about it to much.

[Pappy19]

Yeah, you stand to have more tranny issues than spark plug problems. How many miles on the Ex and maintenence would be more important.

[mbot]

Thx for the replies, guys.......

The DMAX is just a POS, I'm on vacation now, waited all year to take this camping trip, and cant get the bugs worked out of the truck to just give me a week of fun with the family, without worries. !!! :(

Trying to figure out what to do without getting hosed badly on it.

I have an 05 DMAX Crew Cab, it is worth about 20k. I'd rather replace it with a vehicle of the same value, without having to dig into the savings account

So 05+ V10 would be the best
older V10 would be OK (prob areas are spark plugs, weaker trans)

Any other general problems to watch for in these trucks??

6.0 PSD stay away from at all costs?? Even if under warranty??

Thanks, Ben

[Pappy19]

They don't call it a 6-leaker for nothing. The MOST reliable engine/tranny for a pickup truck is still the Ford V-10 and Torqueshift tranny. In the past 3 years, NO TSB's, so go figure. Your problem will be finding one that is for sale, new or used. If you are really serious about getting one, you'd be better off just to order a new one rigged the way you want it. That's what I did. If you tow much, get the 4.33 rear, otherwise the 4.10, which is what I have, will work just fine. Once you get a V-10, you won't look back, and you'll wonder why you didn't make the switch to a big gasser sooner.

[MikeMcCasland]

IIRC Ford added a few extra threads to the heads of the 02-04 2 Valve V10's to prevent spark plugs from ejecting. As with any aluminum head motor, if you don't pay close attention to the torque values when replacing plugs you can over torque them and damage the metal.

[mbot]

Here's what I want, in order of preference:

08+ SD Crew Cab V10
08+ SD Crew Cab V8 (which will be underpowered)
05+ SD Crew Cab V10
05+ SD Crew Cab V8 (which will be underpowered)
Older SD Crew Cab w/ either motor (no torquedrive)
Excursion with V10 (prefer 3v w/ torquedrive)

.....considering I've had all KINDS of probs with my current diesel, should I give it up with diesel? Where would a 6.4L fit into this list???

Thx, Ben

[Pappy19]

While the 6.4 seems to be alot better engine all the way around than the 6.0, it still remains to be seen how well it does on the long haul. Biggest reasons for me not to go diesel this time was all of the EPA crap, regen/soot bag, fact that to work on the 6.4 one must lift the cab, and the $7200 additional cost for the diesel engine. Not to mention the huge difference in maintenance costs between a diesel and a V-10 gasser. In the Truck Trend tests a couple of years ago, the Ford V-10 matched or beat all of the other gassers and all of the diesel pickups except for the 6.4 on a steep pull, and then only by 100 feet at the top. Believe me, your V-10 will not be embarrassed by any stock diesel and with a programmer installed will keep up with most of them at alot less cost.

[akrewat]

Plug blowout IS preventable, you just have to do the maintenance. If you have no idea if the plugs were already done, DO THEM. Being careful to spray penetrating oil (not WD40) in there, loosen them 1/4 turn, spray more, loose another turn or two, blow out the holes (be careful of your eyes), and remove the plugs. Check the plugs for aluminum in the threads, and if there is any, check the threads in the head with an inspection mirror and see if it needs an insert.

Reinstall with anti-seize, torque to specs (14 ft/lbs) and use dielectric grease around the tip of the COP boot, where the boot seals to the COP and where the boot seals to the head. This will keep moisture out and help prevent corrosion between the plug and the head.

Give it a month or so, and RETORQUE the plugs. Every year after, RETORQUE THE PLUGS or remove, clean and reinstall.

The killer is the 100K-mile maintenance interval. This allows so much time to go by the plugs corrode, and iron/aluminum interaction is going to work them loose over time.

The stock plugs were not zinc-plated (galvanized), but the Motorcraft/Autolite replacements are, which also is another cause of the issue.

There were some changes in the factory torque-down procedure around 2000, and then in late in 2002 (model year 2003) they went to long-thread heads. I've still heard of long-thread heads blowing plugs, so it's essential to MAINTAIN the plugs.

[Otis B. Driftwood]

I went from driving a 07 Cummins with a automatic to a 05 X for work and here are a few of the things you may want to consider. I drove the X for 3 months and put over 18k on it in that time. For the first week it scared the crap out of me every time it down shifted on the hills. Partly because the Dodge never did and partly because I am used to driving hand shakers. It averaged about 10-11 mpg while the cummins averaged about 15.
The X in my opinion is only a four person vehicle because the person in the last row will never be comfortable if they are older than about 12. The Dodge quad cab is only a two person vehicle since they still don't know how to build a crew cab truck and the seat itself sucks.
So after the 3 months some other people drove the X and sometimes at high sustained speeds which caused the trans to slip? we added atf and kept going until our supervisor drove the truck and possibly put diesel in it????????? Unknown problems happened with the truck falling on its face all the time. It was then parked and we got another 07 cummins with the poor automatic.
I realize you want a v10, but from my experience I would get a diesel with a stick or at the least get a v10 with a stick though that would rule out an X. I did drive one of our 6.7's yesterday with a 6 speed and it is so much better than the auto, even with a very heavy flatbed on it. Hopefully this gives you something to think about and I have not rambled on too bad. Good luck with whatever you decide.

[Charlie98]

Good heavens! I'd never heard about the plug problems on the V-10's... probably a good thing or I would have been scared to pull the plugs on my '99 at 115K. The only problem I had was a couple of the plug clips on the coil-overs broke and I had to zip-tie them back on.

Ignorance is bliss...

[carringb]

You should not use anti-seize on spark plugs.

This changes the the actual tension on the threads. None of the manufacturers recommend it, and even Permetex (the maker of most anti-seize) says not recommended for spark plugs. If you do use anti-seize, you should actually torque to 50% of the max spec, or 7 ft/pounds. Dry plugs should be torqued to 14 ft/pounds.

The threads on the V10 were increased to 8 threads on 2000 and newer V10s. These should not have a problem unless somebody really screwed up installing replacement plugs.

[dockrocker]

Originally Posted by mbot

Here's what I want, in order of preference:

08+ SD Crew Cab V10
08+ SD Crew Cab V8 (which will be underpowered)
05+ SD Crew Cab V10
05+ SD Crew Cab V8 (which will be underpowered)
Older SD Crew Cab w/ either motor (no torquedrive)
Excursion with V10 (prefer 3v w/ torquedrive)

.....considering I've had all KINDS of probs with my current diesel, should I give it up with diesel? Where would a 6.4L fit into this list???

Thx, Ben

The Excursion never got the 3v V10, nor did it receive the Torqshift, at least not behind a gas motor (not sure of the 6.0). The SD got the 3v V-10 + Torqshift in '05; I know, I had one. The Ex also did not receive the coil spring front suspension in '05, it stayed with leaf springs.

Good luck with the search, I think my next truck will be an Ex.

[mbot]

Thanks for the info.

I bought an 08 F250 SD Crew Cab 6.4L PS 4WD

Ben

[dockrocker]

Originally Posted by mbot

Thanks for the info.

I bought an 08 F250 SD Crew Cab 6.4L PS 4WD

Ben

Go big or go home! You know, of course, that if there are no pics it didn't happen!