Lifespan of the LD engine? August 28, 2021, 08:11:15 am Or how many miles can I expect to get out of one...it would be 2015 to 2020 age.
Re: Lifespan of the LD engine? Reply #1 – August 28, 2021, 09:03:27 am Last year I asked this same question to a person that was a delivery truck driver for many years. He said that most of the trucks they used had the V-10 engine and the average life for the well maintained engine was around 500,000 miles. It has been a good work horse for many years.
Re: Lifespan of the LD engine? Reply #2 – August 28, 2021, 09:42:31 am "...the average life for the well maintained engine was around 500,000 miles."---JMO, but even with the most diligent-to-the-point-of-obsessive maintenance, I question the accuracy of this number in a V-10 gasser. I can see 250k as a possibility for the life of a V-10 engine in certain applications, assuming optimum driving conditions, perfect maintenance, and a good deal of luck, but 500,000 miles seems unrealistic.YMMV, for sure! 1 Likes
Re: Lifespan of the LD engine? Reply #3 – August 28, 2021, 12:31:03 pm From my research and understanding, the motor home components usually give out before the Ford V-10 gasser. Any thoughts?
Re: Lifespan of the LD engine? Reply #4 – August 28, 2021, 12:47:35 pm Most times we fly somewhere, we will take an airport shuttle bus, built on an E450 chassis, usually to or from the car rental lot or a parking lot.I have asked several drivers how long the V10s last and it's always 300,000 miles or more. These engines have a different life than our LD engines. Shuttle buses or delivery trucks run for many hours at a time, every day, and have many fewer warm-up cycles over the life of the engines. These engines rarely, if ever, never experience long periods of full-throttle power, they type our RV engines often see when climbing long, steep grades, especially when pulling a toad. This is when the engine is running at its hottest, especially the exhaust valves. The extremely hot gases wear the exhaust valves at a higher rate than what a city vehicle will experience. It would be interesting to find the average engine mileage from delivery trucks used to deliver goods to high altitude customers in the Rockies or Sierras, engines that have frequently experienced the high heat from climbing.That said, it seems reasonable to expect 200,000 miles or more from a V10, used in an LD. The V10, after 2003, is a very dependable engine, one of the reasons why Ford built it for over two decades. I wouldn't worry much about wearing one out as long as the oil and filters are changed regularly, according to the maintenance schedule.Our friend Lorna's LD has 180,000 miles on it and it keeps running. Few RVs ever see this many miles, even over a couple of decades.Larry 3 Likes
Re: Lifespan of the LD engine? Reply #5 – August 28, 2021, 04:14:28 pm Quote from: Wingersky - August 28, 2021, 12:31:03 pmFrom my research and understanding, the motor home components usually give out before the Ford V-10 gasser. Any thoughts?If taken care of and the seals maintained, the coach should last as long as the engine. The transmission is likely to need rebuilding at some point, especially if used for towing. Rear axles fail occasionally. 1997-2007 E450s have a failure-prone parking brake assembly that needs to have its lubricant fluid checked regularly. If the parking brake loses its few ounces of oil, it can seize up and potentially destroy itself and the transmission, seen it happen a couple of times, an extremely expensive repair.I have not seen a lot of the smaller parts fail, such as water pumps, alternators, A/C compressors and engine sensors, other than oxygen sensors, a normal wear item. Ignition coils are the small part seen failing often, a spare part I recommend carrying along with a serpentine belt.In the interior of the coach, the water pump is the first to go, followed by the refrigerator. The water heater and stove usually last a long time. We carry a spare water pump.Larry 1 Likes
Re: Lifespan of the LD engine? Reply #6 – August 28, 2021, 04:20:53 pm Quote from: Larry W - August 28, 2021, 04:14:28 pmIf taken care of and the seals maintained, the coach should last as long as the engine. The transmission is likely to need rebuilding at some point, especially if used for towing. Rear axles fail occasionally. 1997-2007 E450s have a failure-prone parking brake assembly that needs to have its lubricant fluid checked regularly. If the parking brake loses its few ounces of oil, it can seize up and potentially destroy itself and the transmission, seen it happen a couple of times, an extremely expensive repair.I have not seen a lot of the smaller parts fail, such as water pumps, alternators, A/C compressors and engine sensors, other than oxygen sensors, a normal wear item. Ignition coils are the small part seen failing often, a spare part I recommend carrying along with a serpentine belt.In the interior of the coach, the water pump is the first to go, followed by the refrigerator. The water heater and stove usually last a long time. We carry a spare water pump.LarryThanks Larry, good info. I have a 1999 with 88,000 miles and I did have to do my water pump this year, it was dated 1999. I also did the converter. I don't know about the sparks plugs and the head issue. Still deciding how to go about that. Oh, but mainly I had no idea about a parking break with fluid in it. Might have to look into that.
Re: Lifespan of the LD engine? Reply #7 – August 28, 2021, 05:01:40 pm Quote from: StevenJill - August 28, 2021, 04:20:53 pmThanks Larry, good info. I have a 1999 with 88,000 miles and I did have to do my water pump this year, it was dated 1999. I also did the converter. I don't know about the sparks plugs and the head issue. Still deciding how to go about that. Oh, but mainly I had no idea about a parking break with fluid in it. Might have to look into that. The parking brake on the 1997-2007 E450s is mounted on the rear of the transmission, it is also known as a driveshaft brake.The brake is a separate assembly from the transmission and has its own oil supply, about 6-ounces. When the brake wears, oil starts seeping from the front seal, sometimes from below you can observe oil thrown on the bottom of the floor.Below are photos show the location of the plug is that is used to check the oil level and to fill it. I use a large irrigation syringe to top the oil off. The brake uses the same fluid as the transmission. Our LD's brake needs a 17mm socket to remove the plug.Parking brake oil fill | FlickrIf the parking brake fails, it can be rebuilt or replaced with a remanufactured unit.E450 parking brake rebuild | FlickrThe spark plugs in most 2003 and all older V10s are a crapshoot, they can pop out at any time or never pop out. Many of our friends have had the full set of spark plug thread inserts installed, either as a repair or as preventatives.A spark plug blew out in a close friend's 2002 LDs last February while we were going to the desert. Having it happen will immediately bring a trip to a stop and repairs can take weeks, if you can find someone who has the knowledge and special tools, and will work on a motorhome. A lot of ifs. our friends knew someone with the tools and knowledge to install a spark plug insert, so the trip could continue. They scheduled to have the other nine spark plugs done a week later.Larry 1 Likes
Re: Lifespan of the LD engine? Reply #8 – August 28, 2021, 06:57:34 pm My 96 is the last year for the old V-8 460 ci, 7.5 liter engine. It had been around forever.I have about 150,000 miles on it.It just seems to run along nicely most of the time. Only issues I have are from check engine codes caused by rodents seeking a home. Have had to deal with that a few times now. It doesn't use oil, I go about 7,500 between changes but don't sweat it if I go more.I see no reason it shouldn't last at least another 150,000 miles. Unless it does something unusual. 3 Likes
Re: Lifespan of the LD engine? Reply #9 – August 29, 2021, 06:07:14 am Good to know and I will pass info on to hubby. He does all maintenance and care.
Re: Lifespan of the LD engine? Reply #10 – August 29, 2021, 10:48:57 am Quote from: Jota - August 28, 2021, 06:57:34 pmMy 96 is the last year for the old V-8 460 ci, 7.5 liter engine. It had been around forever.I have about 150,000 miles on it.It just seems to run along nicely most of the time. Only issues I have are from check engine codes caused by rodents seeking a home. Have had to deal with that a few times now. It doesn't use oil, I go about 7,500 between changes but don't sweat it if I go more.I see no reason it shouldn't last at least another 150,000 miles. Unless it does something unusual. The 460 V8 was a good engine, with the exception of the cracked exhaust manifold that many of these engines suffered from, there once were several manufacturers that sold 'improved ' exhaust manifolds. Ford may have fixed this problem by 1996, the end of the 460 era.Larry
Re: Lifespan of the LD engine? Reply #11 – August 29, 2021, 01:50:38 pm Hi Larry; I remember one of the more successfully designed alternate manifold companies was Ring Manifold. Rather than fix their own manifold (and admit that there was a problem) Ford just bought Ring Manifold, and their patents. They folded that into Ford, and that was the last that I heard about them. RonB
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