Here’s the latest reader question, along with my reply!
Steve asks:  Looking for a vehicle with room for the wife and I and a big (180 pound) dog. that has decent towing capacity. There’s one a few miles away, with the V10 engine, 124k miles, $12k. Nothing pops up on my Autel scan tool, and as I watch the live data, nothing seems amiss. I’ve looked online, and didn’t find any deal-breaking problems. Do you have any experience with it? Any weirdnesses I should know about?
My reply: I think you may have found a gem – assuming you can handle the cost of fueling this thing. On the other hand, $12k is next to nothing in terms of buy-in costs, so the cost of fuel may be negated by the low cost of the vehicle. These rigs are excellent for towing (big torque) and do not suffer from the downsides of modern diesel-powered SUVs that need DEF, etc. Assuming the mechanicals check out and that it’s not a rust-bucket, it sounds like a vehicle that’s worth a serious look and serious consideration.
Keep me posted!
. . .
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I have an ’01 I bought back in ’23. The spark plug “issue” wasn’t an issue for me, and I replaced all 10. The key is to tighten higher than the (very low) factory torque spec, otherwise the spark plug will loosen, vibrate, and shoot out – there are a number of forums discussing this. The spark plugs at the rear of the engine are a bit of a pain to reach, but nothing common combinations of ratchets, extensions, & sockets can’t handle.
I had to replace a lot of seals to stop the oil leaks – oil pan, rear main, both valve covers, oil filter adapter. The last leak I have is at the rear of the passenger side head gasket, which goes through about a quart every 600-700 miles. Check on this because the only fix is to replace the head gasket with a modern MLS gasket, and about the only way to do that is pull the engine. I’ve decided to live with it until I need to pull the engine for some other major repair – an extra gallon of oil between oil changes isn’t that bad, money-wise.
As Eric said, keeping it fed is the biggest expense. I get 11-12 MPG in mixed city/highway. It burns regular unleaded, so at least you’re able to buy the cheapest.
I would consider the diesel if I were you and just cover or refurbish the interior. I’ve got an ’96 F250 with the 7.3, which is an earlier version of the ’01 you’re looking at. No major issues with the engine and you should get upper teens with that diesel. Those 7.3 engines easily go half a million miles – I have nearly 300,000 on mine. Stay away from the 6.0 diesels in the latter ’03s and ’04-’05 – they weren’t called the 6.”oh no” for nothing.
Thanks! I don’t really care that much about the interior. It’s not for inviting people over for a dinner party. Most of it I’ll just leave, some of the holes in the door panels I’ll just cover with Gorilla Tape.
It’s a great time to buy low MPG vehicles, I guess. I’m now scratching my head on a ’99 350 Super Duty delivery van. Just over 80k real miles.
Thanks for the quick replies!
Re: spark plug, would it have happened by 120k miles if it were going to? Or is it more of an, “eventually it happens to all of them”?
I’m also in talks on a 2001 Diesel Ex. Ranch vehicle, so the interior is not in as good a shape, but it has the 10-ply tires. Don’t have a price yet, more in the kicking the tires stage.
Just make sure it’s not very early production, 2000-2001 model V10, they had nasty problems with blowing out spark plugs during operation, due to the design and not enough threads in the heads to hold the plugs properly in place. And avoid the 2005 model V10, it has a 3 valve design, similar to the 5.4 with same problems. Best years are 2003 and 2004 with 2004 having the lowest reported problems. And with gas at such highs, I’d bargain hard for a lower price from the seller. And also, 100K miles is when plugs are supposed to be changed, check with seller tonsee if thays been done or not. Yes, its a great vehicle but the fuel costs will become the car payment you don’t have , just in a different form.