Thoughts on Dodge V10s

[Bart]

Considering a 99 Dodge V10 and don't know much about them, besides they like gas. Maintenance and longevity are my primary concerns. It has a slight oil leak around the front main, and I hear that's normal. I towed a 12,000 boat with one once and it did fantastic, but it was almost new at the time.

Any thoughts or advice is appreciated. Also, it has a 5 speed manual with it.

 

[BCGPER]

If you can live with the 7 mpg, go for it...









You know if you buy a Dodge, I'm gonna sprinkle glitter into the defrost vents...

 

[mbryson]

I love my glitter....

Bart, if the 2nd gen trucks really aren't as refined as the third gen trucks it'll make your IFS GM thing seem like a Caddy. I'd be concerned about Dodge V10 parts availability? I don't know if that's an issue or not, but it would be something I'd be curious about.

 

[spencurai]

I did a lot of towing with one in 2009 back and forth to lake powell for a dive company...we got between 5-7mpg and it ate 2nd gear in the auto tranny. It was full of vacuum leaks and I couldn't keep the vacuum actuated vents to do what I wanted half the time. The motor itself seemed ok but the truck surrounding the motor was pretty crappy.

 

[Bart]

Good points. I'm not that worried about the mileage, as that's about what I'm getting with my 5.7 towing, granted I get more not towing. I only put 4000 miles on the Chev last year so I'm not using it a lot.

I drove it down the freeway and liked the feel, and it was at least as smooth as my 01 Superduty.

 

[BCGPER]

Here man, go old school.........

http://www.ksl.com/index.php?sid=0&nid=443&tab=list/view&ad=4248042


Yes, I'm kinda biassed.

 

[Badger]

I drove one of the early year V10's and hated it. Sucked gas like nothing else and as others have said the truck was just falling apart as you drove down the road.

 

[Bart]

Saw that and no thanks. I'm trying to cut down on my projects, not add to them. Otherwise I'd be building a Vortec out of my old motor and dropping it in.

 

[LT.]

Bart,

I have used one to tow a tandem dual trailer loaded with two cars here in New Mexico. The truck did well and I imagine the weight was about 12,000 lbs or so. In fact the truck I used with the V-10 was Sprueitts T-rex before it was six wheel drive. I am not sure how many miles Stan has on the truck but, I will bet it is well over 100,000 miles. If I also remember correctly I think his T-Rex was used as a landscaping truck before he bought it.

LT.

 

[Hickey]

How much does your boat weigh Bart? I would think an early 5.3 Chevy half ton would meet your needs pretty well as long as your boat isn't over 8k or so.

 

[Caleb]

We had a 99 Dodge 4x4 V-10 when I was Brine Shrimping. The truck was a decent truck but you have to replace the track bar mount often (death wobble like you wouldn't believe, and to get it while towing a huge boats is no bueno) and it would warp rotors really bad. Of course the rotors were all the type you can't get turned and they all only had something like a 30 day warranty on them. (At the time, we tried finding lifetime warranty one but AutoZone didn't offer any with it) We also were religious about maintenance and we still ended up with a blown motor after around 150K miles. A new motor was around $8K. We did ball joints a couple times too but that wasn't anything out of the ordinary for the amount of miles it had.

 

[DAA]

I had a '98 that I bought new. Put 110K trouble free miles on it before I sold it. Motor was still purring like a kitten and not using any oil at all. Got 10-12 MPG around town and on the interstate not towing, 7-8 towing. Did have the trans rebuilt under warranty and did replace the ball joints, but nothing else needed done in 110K. I really liked that truck.

- DAA

 

[Bart]

Just an update. Despite the negatives, I picked up the Dodge V10. I think it will meet my tow needs and I'm not into it a ton. I'm happy with it so far.

 

[spaggyroe]

I'm in the same boat Bart. I just picked up a 98 V-10 this weekend. The exterior isn't in great condition, but it's been in the family for many years and only has 49k miles on it. It should lug my junk around just fine and since I have $0 into it, I can afford the fuel. Runs great and has a GOB of torque.

 

[LT.]

I think you will be alright with the Dodge V-10. It should be about 488 ci and have around 300 hp and near 500 lbs of torque. This is near turbo Diesel power numbers from any of the big three a few years ago. And it should weigh a small amount less than the Diesels.

LT.