widman

I need an extended cab pickup to drive daily with 900 to 1800 lbs of cargo through mud and sand. It will only see 20% pavement. Today I found a 99 F250 with 155,000 miles on the V10 engine, manual 4x4, automatic trans.

How good are these engines? What things should I look out for? It has a partial leaf spring below the pack. Is that an optional item for heavier loads, or standard?

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Richard's Corvair
Selection of the Right Motor Oil for the Corvair
2003 F550 6.0 Powerstroke 6 speed

360ci

Not too sure about the spring question, but as long as it still gives you good articulation so you don't keep hitting the bump stops I wouldn't be concerned.

The V10 is a good engine. I'm more into Dodge engines but the 6.8 is my pick over the 8.0 V10 and even GM's 8.1 V8. As the '99 model year V10 puts out a modest 275hp, which when compared to the V8 and diesel at the time, both only put out 235hp. The 6.8 is based off of the 5.4 engine just with two added cylinders. Just make sure to change the spark plugs every 30-40K, not 100K like the dealer might suggest as the plugs will not want to come out leaving you to get a new head. Run synthetic oil and change very 6K or less and you'll be laughing. If possible, get all previous maintenance records!

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'00 Durango R/T 360ci 290hp (modded); 138,500m
'06 Pontiac G6 GT 3.5L 220hp; 44,000m
'12 Chrysler 200 Limited 3.6L 283hp; 13,000m
'99 Taurus 3.0L 2V Vulcan 145hp; 154,300m - Traded
Amsoil in all vehicles!