Fords V10 6.8 litre 2011 Collins

[American]

Looking to purchase a short bus with this engine. I've looked online to see any major flaws with this engine but am getting nowhere.

Anything specific I should be aware of? Any thoughts are appreciated.

Thank you.

[Sehnsucht]

The Ford Triton 6.8L V-10 is actually a pretty remarkable gas engine but there are two predominant flaws that I'm aware and both relate to its casting. The first is it has a bad habit of blowing out spark plugs. The cylinder heads are aluminum and should have been cast with thicker wells but as far as I know this has never been remedied by Ford. As a result, the spark plugs only get about three or four threads engaged. The tendency then is to want to snug them up but this actually causes the problem because aluminum is softer than steel and overtightening is what weakens the few threads holding the plug. Then when it fails under load it shoots the plug like a bullet. The fix is either ream out the hole and rethread it with a hole stitcher or remove and replace the entire head. I plan to plug a head twice before replacing the head entirely.

The second issue is that the exhaust manifold bolts can become welded into the block and break off when attempted to remove or sometimes break off themselves causing an exhaust leak and backpressure issue. As long as there's some bolt still hanging out you can usually get it out eventually or you may need to drill them out and re-tap the holes plus use grade-8 bolts when reinstalling.

Both of these could have been avoided if Ford didn't mix iron and aluminum parts in the design of the engine but undoubtedly they think the weight savings is worth the operational failure rate even after more than 20 years of these engines in production. In spite of these though, many owners of RVs and RV tow rigs still love the engine and wouldn't trade it for any other gas engine.

Now the big question is what transmission is behind that V-10??

[cadillackid]

the most common transmission ive seen behind the V10 vans is the 5R110 which in my book is a good one..



I thought the spaerk plug issue was fixed in later versions when ford got back to using 1 piece plugs again.. I havent heard of issues with people I know of operating later V10s having plug issues


that 2011 should be fine.

[Johnny Mullet]

Great engines and the Ford van chassis ain't bad..........

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itqFujdwL5w

[American]

The transmission code on the door panel is a "T" and this info poped up when searching...am I confused? (Good chance)

"The V10 will be mated to the heavy-duty six-speed TorqShift automatic transmission"

[Sehnsucht]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

I thought the spaerk plug issue was fixed in later versions when ford got back to using 1 piece plugs again.. I havent heard of issues with people I know of operating later V10s having plug issues.

I think that fixed the issue of spark plug failure but I think there's still the issue of people overtorquing them and stripping the aluminum threads. Instead of using a torque wrench, some just like to go by feel or give it an extra crank for good measure which is not good. Best to follow the torque spec provided by Ford.

[Sehnsucht]

Originally Posted by American

The transmission code on the door panel is a "T" and this info poped up when searching...am I confused? (Good chance)

"The V10 will be mated to the heavy-duty six-speed TorqShift automatic transmission"

Yes that should be a good reliable powertrain. In the early 00s we were still getting the 4R100 which is reliable but a bit of a dog because its only a 3-speed plus OD but back then we still didn't seem to know any better.

[WIbluebird]

The later V10s are good motors. The spark plug issue doesn't even exist after 2005(?) or so when that part was reworked. Very thirsty but if you don't mind that they're great in a short bus.

Blue Bird sells the Ford V10 in the Vision and it's been doing really well given the rising costs of running diesel fleets. I expect that the new Ford 7.3 V8 gas will replace it in the next couple of years though.

[WillGotMarried]

Originally Posted by Johnny Mullet

Great engines and the Ford van chassis ain't bad..........

This video is exactly the kind of information I needed to see. Thank you so much.