If I didn't want a diesel I would pick up a 4.10 geared 6.0 2500 HD.They have plenty of power when towing 10k or less.

High mileage 1999 strippers can be had for 8-10 grand.I wouldn't recommend any gas engine in a Ford pickup.They are gutless empty of loaded,unless in a F-550 with a 5.13 gear.

LOL about the guy posting you have to put 200,000 miles on a diesel to break even on the upfront cost.
I'll have to remember that when I fill up my 18mpg 8500 lb 4.10 geared dually that replaced a 9mpg 8.1 liter srw with 3.73.
When I get rid of it I know for a fact it will command a 5-6k premium over a gasser.

 

I worked as a warehouse supervisor and my boss and I replaced our trucks about every 3/4 years. We had the chevy vortec 5.7's and 7.4's as well as the ford 5.4's and V10's(not sure of displacement).

Here is what I have noticed about the Fords. The 5.4 is a pig. Loaded down with 6 pallets of carpet, it struggled doing 70 up hills here in the Bay Area. This was a 1997 Ford E350 with the Triton V8.

The V10 was different. Going to Reno on highway 80 from San Francsco, it did 80mph uphill with 6 pallets, 90 degree heat, with AC on. The pallets weighed about 600 pounds each. I would drive that over the 5.4 any day of the weak.

Here is what the 2 Ford engines had in common. The higher they go in the RPM range, the more noise they make and the less they move. Off the line, they simply rip though. If feels like they can tow a house. I thought the V10 Ford felt much better than the newer 6.0 off the line. Feels like way more than the 400 ft lbs of torque like previously stated.

We had little or no troubles with over 100.000 miles on the V10. These vehicles are beaten on 6 days a week, and the V10 has held up will. Current odemeter readings for the V10 is in the 120K range.

The transmission in the 5.4 went out at around 125K miles.

 

I would get the v-10 its an engine designed to tow though and not go any where fast thats what alot of guys dont seem to understand. I wouldnt even bother with putting a turbo on it, I have a suspicion the two wouldnt go well together its a low rpm low compression tow engine which sounds like what your looking for.

or if your really want something different get one of the old power wagons with a 454 parts would be cheap and it would be interesting to see a turbo on one of those talk about a torque monster.

 

the wide range of opinions is prety dificult to sort thru. most of the guys on the ford board seem to agree that the PSD is better in the mountains but other than that the v10 tows about as well as the diesel. many also seem to agree the gas motor is nicer to drive unloaded.

i have seen it sumerized several times on the ford boards. if you drive over 20k miles a year and tow a lot get the diesel. if not get the gas. i probably wont drive the thing but 10k miles a year total

 

My opinion-
We have Ford ambulances on our fire department. They take a beating. A lot of cold starts, idling at the hospital, heavy acceleration followed by heavy braking, idling at the hospitals for long periods of time, not to mention all the weight that they carry. We recently switched from van bodies to SD truck bodies which are even heavier. Those things are tough. When you ask the mechanics that work for the city about it they swear by Ford diesels. The city will buy various vehicles for different departments of different models and uses, but the mechanics swear by the Ford diesels for the ambulances, tow trucks, or other heavy duty use vehicles when it comes to powertrains. Just my .02 and what I have been told. I know you wont be using it for anything like an ambulance would go through ,but I think that and the tow trucks are a testiment to their toughness.

 

So what we are against a vortec 454 now. hello!!!FF 14 rear axle, HD 4180e, 454cubic inches, Lots of aftermarket heads, Could do a ram jet convetion.

Why you want a ford???

 

keep it in the family stay with a good old BBC either 7.4 or 8.1. Wait till you start working on one of those **** boxes, you will regret every minute of it. Oh and if you havent looked yet, go look at how far back ford stuffs the engine under the fire wall, trust me lots of fun to work on, been there done that.

Alex

 

an 8.1 is an option. never really thought about it much but yeah, that would work.

the thing is i know a 6.0 2500 chevy is the best out there. the motor and tranny are indestructable and they are priced fairly. i just dont want almost the exact same truck i all ready have. an 8.1 would sure be something new and i think my programer would still work. hmmmm.

lets hear about the 8.1, whats the first thing to go when pushed? what kind of mileage around town? down the interstate? then with a 6000lb load? are they still good motor with 100-150k on them? i wouldn't be afraid to push a 6.0 hard even if it had 150k on it.

 

They like oil and gas, and use alot when beat on. Around town expect around 10mpg, high way can be any where from 12-13mpg depending on how you drive. With the mods I have done it gets around 14mpg. Towing a 6000lb load it should get between 7-9mpg.They can take a hell of alot of abuse, and as long as they are taken care of should do 250k no problem, I have 89k on my truck now and the big block has treated me very well. They have weak pistons which tend to break at the wrist pin when pushed with too much boost, the pcv system sucks which is the main reason they eat oil, they tend to have bad intake gaskets which is another reason they eat oil, there have been some problems with cam position sensors but nothing major, stock heads flow like **** because the exhaust ports are way too small. They are so easy to work on it should be a crime, pretty fool proof engine. With my mods in my sig still with a bit of TM MarcW scaned with his hp tuners 525lb of tq at 1800 rpm with the intake tube coming off.

 

Parish you better be careful if you thorw a turbo on the 8.1... your 408 may not seem as torquey any more