Quote:
Originally Posted by mikracer
Some say the 5.4 may be underpowered with a fully built, 4x4 van but I don't have any experience with that.
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Considering that back in the day... "new".. they were pushing ~230 HP and 23 years later I'm sure quite a few of the ponies have escaped the stable, it probably only pushes maybe 200-210. Having a V10 with (give or take) equal fuel economy but having an extra 100 horsepower under the skinny pedal, seems to be a no-brainer. They are, however, harder to find, and usually carry a small price premium, not as much as a 7.3.
I've found that with 3.73's it likes ~55-65 (where it will sit comfortably in 3rd/4th depending on terrain) or 85+ (Where it seems to hit the powerband in 4th.).
A few notes I'd put on this- 70-75 mph driving is doable, for sure, but depending on how severe the wind is, the transmission will "wander" between screaming in 3rd gear and OD. Driving down through the north of Nevada, there were a few two lane roads that the speed limit was 65-70 on, and simply put, the 5.4L V8 just doesn't have the guts for effortless passing. I was probably loaded to the neighborhood of 8,000 lbs, and ended up getting stuck behind Mr. I-needa-teach-everyone-behind-me-a-lesson, who was doing 45-50 in a 65... We came across many of these drivers, and (unfortunately) had to sit behind a lot of them because they refused to pull over for a half-mile-long queue of traffic behind them and the van didn't have the power to make use of the gaps of oncoming traffic.
FTR: I've had 18 wheelers here in Montana follow me into the oncoming lane of traffic while I was overtaking someone... Up hill, blowing smoke, chewing on my bumper, and with likely 80,000 lbs of cargo.
I agree with the general consensus on this forum that I think Scotty or BroncoHauler brought up... "The 5.4L gets the job done... The 6.8L gets the job done better... The 6.0L gets the job done, until it doesn't". (And, the 7.3 being somewhere-equivalent to the V10, mostly coming down to preference. At the end of the day, the 7.3 is smellier, noisier, and probably still costs more to upkeep than the V10)
On the high end, I've seen 13 mpg with a blend of 40-60 mph driving (primarily through Yellowstone). at 70-75 it will get ~12, at 85 it will get about 10.5.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Grampswrx
Personally, I would buy the V-10. Cheaper to maintain, same power, 12mpg. The only benefit to the 7.3 is at altitude where it would lose less power than a v-10.
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Something that I haven't seen others mention yet about the V10... In 2005, they changed transmissions, so instead of the 4R100, you got the 5R110.
If you're looking for a V10 van, all else being equal, 2005+ would be preferable. Haven't heard any major gripes about either transmission, but, you get the extra gear.