OK. I still haven't found a truck. But I have been taking notes from this post. You guys have established that the Ford V-10 is a good engine. The GM 7.4, the later 6.0, and 8.1 are good engines as well. I know the Mopar 5.9 and 4.7 are light on torque, and the V-10 isn't nearly as good as the Ford V-10. Now.............I am running into a LOT of Fords with the 5.4 (even a F350 or two with the little motor). How does that 5.4 stack up against the 6.0 GM, for instance?? Any experiences with this 5.4??? o No: Also, I have run across a grandpa owned, garage kept 1996 Chevy 3500 4 dr. dualie with about 40,000 miles on it. But it has the 350 under the hood. Would the 350 handle my towing requirements?? Remember, this will be hauling a 7000-8000 lb. GVW enclosed.
Frank, one of my trucks is a 2004 F250 Xcab shorty w/5.4, I just got done pulling a 30ft twin outboard boat at over 10,000#'s up from the Keys at 65-70 mph in overdrive, power is fine, it has 48,000 miles on it now, and never seen the dealer since new, absolutely been a GREAT truck. JH
Frank, My "sheeny" truck (the one that I haul scrap with) is a '94 3500 dually flatbed with a 350 and a 4L80 trans. The motor is actually pretty fresh, but it's a tad anemic on power. I love the 4L80, but the truck could use a little more "poop" in the engine compartment.
The '96 model would be a Vortec, which is the step-up efi version of the earlier ('95 & older) non-Vortec tbi 350...a notable improvement in performance/efficiency...seems like it was a jump from like 200hp to 250+ hp, and a huge increase in torque? If I'm not mistaken, some of the late '90s Chevrolet HD's (2wd, straight axle front, work trucks) got 350s, so they're up to the task...we've had our share, lots of my buddys have had 'em and thrashed them...good little engines.
FWIW, I like my '99 K2500 Suburban(7.4L/4L80E/4.10). I was towing with a '83 C2500(7.4Lcarbed/TH400/3.73) getting 5-7 mpg pulling my 28' enclosed and 9 just toolin' around. The 'new' one gets 12-14 mpg around town and 9-11 mpg towing. I also have a '94 C1500 (5.7L/4L60E/3.42) that pulls an open 18' car hauler loaded all right and I've pulled the enclosed empty. I wouldn't want to even try pulling it if it was loaded. Too much for a 'half ton' in my opinion. Looked at some 6.8L v-10 Excursions but couldn't get the 'right' deal on one. Seemed like nice trucks though. I figured that with 10 cylinders as opposed to 8 cylinders there was more moving parts to break. Mostly though the 'right' deal came along on the 'Burb so I bought it. The next one I buy will probably be 8.1L equipped. But if the 'right' deal came along on an Excursion diesel or V-10 ya never know. I really would like a 'Burb with a Duramax/Allison but GM couldn't shoe horn it in I guess.
Frank,I have the 5.4 in my 2000 E350 work van.While it has enough power to pull my 24 footer,it drinks the fuel.Empty,I`m getting maybe 10-11 mpg. I`m not sure if your interested,but I am getting rid of my 96 GMC,ext cab dually.454,4l80,410 rear.Its 2 wheel drive.Its from Texas,seen snow less than a dozen times.Alcoa rims,cowl hood,ext. towing mirrors.I`m aasking $6500 for it.I got about 11 pulling the 24 enclosed with it.
I have a 1995 2500 Silverado with a 350TPI 4L80 2WD. If you plan on going to the east coast it would issues going over the inclines of the smoke mountains. I pull 8500lbs at 65 mph. It was clean and the price was right for 6hours worth the towing to Michigan and back. Jim
