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sandeel

sandeel

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 23, 2008
Posts
97
Location
Elizabeth, NJ
When did Ford move from the 460 V8 to the Triton V10?  I have been hearing good things about 460 mileage and bad things about the V10.....

thanks,
 
In the F53 it was in 1998/99.  The V10 was available in Ford trucks earlier.
 
Lou...

Can I find a Ford 460 powered RV after the year 2000.... or another way... In buying a newer Ford powered unit am I locked into the Triton...?

Thanks,
 
sandeel said:
Lou...

Can I find a Ford 460 powered RV after the year 2000.... or another way... In buying a newer Ford powered unit am I locked into the Triton...?

Thanks,
Click to expand...

I'm thinking you are.  I have not seen a 460 in any RV I've  looked  at since I started looking back in '05.  But I can't believe the 460 would be that much better than the V10.  The V10 is a great engine, very powerful, and taken care of, it will last forever.  Stories on the Ford site are not uncommon for these trucks with 300,000, 400,000 even 500,000+ miles.  I would not be overly concerned about difference in mileage.
 
When I was doing my search last year I did not see any 460 engines in 2000 or newer models, 2000 was my cut off. Comparing similar RV's I would think the V-10 would provide the best fuel mileage, though probably close enough to not be a significant factor.
 
sandeel said:
Can I find a Ford 460 powered RV after the year 2000.... or another way... In buying a newer Ford powered unit am I locked into the Triton...?Thanks,
Click to expand...

They haven't put the the 460 CID (7.5L) engine in any vehicle since 1997, to my knowledge.

The V10 had a little bit of a rocky start (some spark plug blow out problems), but that was remedied fairly quickly.  They have increased the power a couple of times over the years, so it is now a very fine engine.  It is also coupled with a much stronger five speed transmission in the later year models.

I'm not sure when they started building the 108" wide body motor homes, but Ford didn't widen the F53 chassis, and add the larger wheels, until the 1999 model.  This made some of the interim coaches (my '97 included) look and handle somewhat awkwardly.

The 460 was never known to be a miser on fuel, and coupled with the older E40D three speed with OD transmission, is no match for the newer V10 configurations.  Just my humble opinion, but.....
I still love my old Brown Bounder.......  That old throaty rumble through a good set of headers and a pair of straight through mufflers just cant be matched.  Again, JMHO ;) ;D
 
I've seen 460's in 1998 or later Class A's, but that's because a 1998 or even a 1999 motorhome may be built on a 1997 chassis the RV manufacturer had in stock. And I think there were some 1998 F53's with the 460 as well.  Can't think that I've heard of a 2000, though.
 
Gary, of course 1998 was a great transition period for the F53.  There were indeed, motor homes built in 1998 on both the '97 and the '99 Chassis, but FORD did not build a chassis designated as a 1998 F53.

I would be surprised if there were ever any '99s, or newer, built on the '97 chassis.  I certainly wouldn't purchase a motor home from any manufacturer who did such low volume that they had chassis around for over two years.
 
It's not just overall low sales volumes, Lou. Motorhome chassis come in a variety of wheelbases and suspension configurations for specific coach models and once in awhile some oddball variation hangs around on the manufacturer's lot quite awhile.
 
You're most assuredly right, Gary.  I'm not the expert that you are, I'm just a casual observer. 
But, I would think that with the significant changes made from the '97 to the '99 F53 chassis, manufacturers would want to make the transition as quickly and painlessly as possible.  In fact, they did (1998).

I can understand how a chassis design, that has matured, and is undergoing few changes from year to year can exist on several model year coaches.  That was not the case in this discussion. 
 
I owned a '95 31' class C with the 460 and loved it.  Ran it over every mountain in the US (well, it seemed that way LOL).  Fantastic engine.  Test drove a virtually identical '98 with the V10 and was shocked by how much less power it had.  Big let-down for me at the time.  Model year is the biggest factor for the V10.

As has been said, Ford has significantly upgraded the V10 and now I'd take it over the 460 any time.  Not sure what model years they eliminated the spark plug issue and upgraded the horsepower, but my 2010 much heavier 35' Class A with the V10 runs as strong as my old class C did with the 460.  I'm pretty sure you will not see a MPG difference due to the engine as much as the rig itself and your driving habits.

Gordon
 
Gary RV Roamer said:
It's not just overall low sales volumes, Lou. Motorhome chassis come in a variety of wheelbases and suspension configurations for specific coach models and once in awhile some oddball variation hangs around on the manufacturer's lot quite awhile.
Click to expand...

Actually the old 460/F53 came in 2 weight configurations and 4 length configurations (178" 190" 208" 228") and various lengths in between when the coach manufacture cut and spliced the frame. The 15,xxx# chassis was practically unheard of. The 17,000# chassis was the main stay for 99% of the Ford based class A coaches, including those with tag axles supplied by the coach builder. Yes there was a lot of 98 class A coaches on 97 460/F53 chassis but I have yet to see a 99 coach on a 97 chassis. In fact the coach builders ordered 97 460/F53 chassis in to mid 98 when the 99 model year V10/F53 was made available.

Richard
 
Sandeel,

I'm sure there are horror stories out there about the Triton V-10, the 460 and all other RV engines, and I'm equally sure they all had their teething pains. I've got the Triton V-10 in my '99 Tiffin Allegro, (an earlier generation of the engine). It has NEVER caused me a single problem. I'm sure the newer versions of the engine are even better but I can't complain about mine at all. I average 9.1 mpg, it has never overheated - even when climbing long 6% grades in the desert heat - and I climb those grades at 50-55 mph. It seems to be well mated to its transmission.

I think it's important to note that I'm not a Ford guy. If there was anything wrong with the engine, I'd tell you. But the truth is it's been a VERY reliable, smooth running engine. FWIW

Kev
 
I have a '99 Fleetwood Bounder 34J with the earlier Triton V10.  I have 62,000 on it and it runs like a hose.  I have had no problems at all.  In fact, now that you mention it, I probably need to change out the radiator an heater hoses as they are getting a little old.  I bought the unit Dec. 31,1998.  I would have not fear to drive this unit coast to coast any day.  I have always used synthetic oil and changed oil and filters every 7,500-9,000 miles. 

The biggest problem with my V10 is I would like a DP before I die (80 next month).  But my Bounder runs so well and everything works so well that I can not justify buying a new unit other than "I just want one".  My unit might be worth 12-14K and a new DP would be....hmmmm
 
454 is a GM motor and is probably as good as the 460 Ford. I am a long time Ford guy (hence the handle) so I will "say" the 460 is better. Rember that a 460 is 7.5 litre V8 (with somewhat less rotating mass) and the 6.8 liter is a V10. The 6.8 is the newer SOHC motor and the 460 is a very old V8 design. on paper the 460 is bigger and should put out more horsepower. But the V10 puts out plenty of torque, which is what we are after (not horsepower) to get our big rigs going.

We just purchased a 99 Holiday Rambler with the 6.8 and it has run good on the 3 trips we've had it out so far. As far as I know this motor was introduced in the 98 F250/350 Superduty trucks. The same modular V8's go all the way back to the late 90's Lincolns. The 4.6 and more so in the 5.4 V8's had the spark plug spitting problem so I think they had it pretty well worked out before 99. In my humble opinion, the aluminum heads were the main culprit.

A quick check of my Ford Truck Enthusiast forum it seems in trucks anyway, the MPG for the 2 engines were pretty close to the same.
 
We have a 2000 Pace with the Ford v10 Triton engine and love it.  at last count it had 118 THOUSAND on the clock and counting. The only problem we have had was not with the engine but the ''fan thingie on the engine fan''.  I am reffering to the ''thingie'' that energizes the fan when the radiator gets too hot and allows the fan to activate and suck air thru the radiator to cool the engine.  When she hit a Hundred Grand I became concerned and did some research and found that a quarter million for that engine was fairly common.  I talked to my mechanic about ''should I replace the engine'' and he said a definate no, unless I wanted to throw away several thousand dollars.
I change the oil religously at 3000 miles and I use Penzoil 5 w 30 hd and it uses about a pint between changes if I have been in the Rockies pulling the pickup loaded with our ''stuff''.
Two things that I will have on the next coach I buy is a spare tire and a v 10 Ford engine.

Lets not forget the guys that fought in Korea folks.  They had it tough and deserve a big THANK YOU GUYS FOR YOUR SERVICE........  cj.......
 
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