One Of Ford’s Coolest Big Truck Engines Is A Beefy Gas V10 That Pulls Like A Power Stroke Diesel

For decades, diesel truck engines have offered an intoxicating cocktail of power and efficiency. Diesel remains king here in America, but there are situations when you might want to go with gasoline for your big truck, SUV, or medium-duty commercial vehicle. For that, you can equip your rig with a seriously powerful gas engine that works like a diesel. Before Ford had the beastly Godzilla, if you wanted a gasser that pulled like a diesel from Blue Oval, your choice might have been the Triton V10, an impressive lump of American muscle that you probably haven’t thought much about.

America has an obsession with planting diesel power in big trucks. Look, I’m probably not helping with my own addiction to anything with diesels, even motorcycles. America’s Big Three report that the majority of their heavy-duty pickup truck buyers go for diesels. For many, the raw power of today’s diesel engines and decent fuel economy is worth the five-figure upcharges they command. They remain worth it even in today’s heavy diesel emissions era. I mean, the current Ford Power Stroke 6.7-liter V8 makes as much as 1,200 lb-ft of torque straight from the factory, which is plain bonkers.

Yet, gasoline still has its place in big pickup trucks and medium-duty commercial vehicles. Gasoline engines are substantially cheaper, aren’t loaded down with expensive diesel emissions equipment, are cheaper to maintain, and still offer almost-diesel levels of power. The 7.3-liter Ford Godzilla gas V8 makes 430 HP and 475 lb-ft of torque, or not a whole lot different than what the power that diesel trucks made about two decades ago.

It’s for this reason that some school districts in America that don’t have a ton of funding may buy buses outfitted with a Godzilla. Buses powered by gasoline engines are much cheaper than diesel buses. Sure, gas engines get worse fuel economy, but they’re also cheaper to maintain and, depending on location, gasoline may be cheaper, too.

This logic also works out for pickup trucks, too. A lot of people are willing to take a hit to fuel economy and torque to have a cheaper truck that still hauls huge loads. For just over two decades, Ford’s mightiest option for gas trucks wasn’t a V8, but the 6.8-liter Triton V10, and it was a marvel.

The Triton V10 is a member of the Ford modular engine family, and the nickname “modular” means something different than what you’re probably thinking.

Engineering Ford’s Future

As Hemmings writes, the development of the modular engine was one of necessity. It was the early 1980s and Ford’s small-block pushrod V8s were old by that point. The Windsor engines, as they’re known by enthusiasts, made their public appearance under the hoods of the 1962 Ford Fairlane and Mercury Meteor. By the 1980s, much of the world had become obsessed with advancing engine technology and efficiency.

As Popular Science wrote in 1991, the birth of the modular family happened in the late 1980s. Then-Ford chief Donald Petersen drove a Ford at the company’s proving grounds in Dearborn. After the drive, he decided to issue a challenge to Chief Engineer Jim Clarke. Petersen wanted Clarke’s team to replace Ford’s aging V8s. But, Petersen didn’t just want any V8; he wanted Clarke and his team to be the architects of an entire engine family that beat the old V8s in every possible metric from power to fuel economy. These engines would power Ford’s future.

According to Popular Science, Ford’s engine team decided to see what the best that other automakers had on hand. They looked at V6 engines from Alfa-Romeo and Honda, as well as V8s from Mercedes-Benz and Lexus. Engineers even took a peek under the hood of the Porsche 928.

What they learned is that Ford more or less needed to throw out the whole script. If Ford wanted to be an engine technology leader, they decided, their new engine family needed to have a stiff deep-skirt block construction, cross-bolted main bearing caps, a short, internally balanced crank, and full skirt pistons. But that’s not all, because in order to meet the strict emissions regulations of the future, the engine had to be tight. This meant a perfectly round piston bore and high accuracy all around the engine. Oil couldn’t be allowed to blow past piston rings and the engines had to survive at least 100,000 miles of “clean” running.

Clarke’s team started with a cast-iron block that they massaged out to a nearly perfect 1:1 bore to stroke ratio of 3.55 inches to 3.54 inches, respectively. Popular Science noted that most of the engineering decisions behind the modular family were done to produce engines with greater power, but lower noise, vibration, and harshness characteristics. Ultimately, the engineers also choose a timing chain design for durability, targeting at least 100,000 miles for the chain’s lifespan.

The modular family brought some interesting innovations to the table, including ancillaries like the power-steering pump and air-conditioner compressor mounted directly to the block. The rods of the early modular engines were powdered metal. If you’ve ever wondered what that means, Popular Science has a great explanation:

The connecting rods in the SOHC V8 engine are constructed by a technique known as powdered-metal manufacturing. Widely used in everything from postage meters to earth movers, this technology does away with the conventional pouring of molten metal into a mold. Instead, it begins with a high-pressure forming process (40 to 50 tons per square inch) of alloyed metal granules in a die, followed by a heat treatment in a sintering furnace at more than 2,000 degrees F. The formed rod is then brought up to red-hot temperatures for a forging step, finally yielding a durable finished component with appropriate alignment of the metal’s crystalline grain structure.

The advantage of powdered-metal manufacturing lies in the ability to produce finished parts at “near-net shape”-meaning less machine work is required and material wastage is lowered. The process takes another curious twist too: The bearing cap, in- stead of being sawed off the completed rod, is deliberately cracked off across a built-in fault line in an “anvil” fixture. That means that when the rods are reassembled, the tiny hills and valleys of the metal structure will mate perfectly for all time, and the connecting rod bearing won’t be tempted to move around once clamped to the proper torque.

From there, Popular Science notes how the modular engine was given aluminum pistons with large skirts to keep the pistons square in their bores, thus reducing noise. Engineers then equipped these pistons with narrow piston rings, which reportedly reduced friction losses by 15 percent. Ford also said that the modular back then could go 8,000 miles, burning less than a quart of oil.

Capping the modular engine off were its top-access spark plugs and an all-electronic ignition. When all was said and done, the modular became such a different engine from the old Windsor that you’d have been forgiven for thinking it didn’t come from Ford.

As for that nickname, many people think “modular” refers to the fact that the architecture is flexible and can be applied to V8s of varying sizes and our subject V10. The modular name actually refers to Ford’s then-new engine manufacturing process, which utilized common tooling so that an engine plant could quickly change over to build a different engine.

Yet, despite the technological leap and $4 billion spent by Ford, the original two-valve modular V8 didn’t catch on, at least not at first.

Ford Put Modular V8s In Everything

The modular V8 made its launch in the 1991 Lincoln Town Car as a 4.6-liter V8. The modular made 190 HP and 260 lb-ft of torque in this application, and at the time, Hot Rod magazine notes, fans of the Windsor weren’t impressed. Here was this tiny V8 powering a hulking land barge and not even putting out 200 HP while doing it.

Ford was quick to roll out the modular V8 into other models while also shoveling in power. The Ford Crown Victoria and the Mercury Grand Marquis got the 4.6 in 1992, and the Ford Thunderbird and Mercury Cougar got their own modulars in 1994. By now, the 4.6 was up to 210 HP.

The Ford Mustang finally got modular V8 power in 1996, and output was bumped up to 215 HP, which finally matched the Windsor that the enthusiasts clung to.

The F-Series finally got 4.6-liter modular V8 power in 1997 and at the engine’s launch in trucks, it was up to 220 HP and 293 lb-ft of torque. Ford never stopped tweaking the modular family, either. In 1993, the Lincoln Mark VIII shipped with a DOHC four-valve, 280 HP, and 285 lb-ft version of the 4.6 V8.

Likewise, the Mustang SVT Cobra of 1996 saw power rise to 305 HP and 300 lb-ft of torque. What’s interesting about this application of the modular is that SVT used the modular’s architecture, but ditched the iron block for an aluminum one made by Teksid in Italy. It also had a DOHC design and raced up to 7,000 RPM. Officially, the Cobra’s power reached 320 HP in 1999. However, there was a bit of a scandal regarding the claimed number, as independent testing had allegedly shown that the Cobra’s engine had fewer horses in the stable than advertised.

Ford SVT rectified that in 2003 with an iron block-based and supercharged design that produced a tire-shredding 390 HP, and that time, enthusiasts figured it actually made more power than advertised.

I think that illustrates just how deep Ford’s love for the modular V8 went. This engine went in everything from cop cars to and muscle cars to pickup trucks, luxury SUVs, and points in between. Perhaps the coolest application of a mod’ engine is the Koenigsegg CC8S. Now, Christian von Koenigsegg, the mad engineer that he is, didn’t just drop a stock Ford engine into his 646 HP supercar. Instead, he took the modular design, tore it apart, and changed it so much that it’s not really even recognizable as something that originally came from Ford anymore. Yet, those Koenigsegg engines still shared a small percentage of parts with engines that powered Mustangs and the like.

Ford Goes Big

Until now, all of the engines I’ve talked about are V8s. Ford made so many different iterations of the modular V8 that I would be here all day if I tried to go through all of them. Besides, we’re really here for when Ford went big and added two cylinders.

The creation of the Triton V10 — Ford applied the Triton name to modular engines used in trucks — was also one of necessity. The 385 series big block 460 cubic-inch V8 had served as the engine you got when you wanted a huge lump of power, either for your colossal Lincoln land yacht or your heavy-duty truck. As noted earlier, not all truck buyers get diesels. Some buy the biggest, baddest gasoline engines on hand. However, this engine was also pretty long in the tooth, having been around since 1968.

However, as Consumer Guide Automotive notes, Ford found itself in a bit of a pickle. The compact design of the modular V8’s block meant that they couldn’t just make a replacement for the 460 by boring out a 5.4 modular V8. As the same time, Ford also wasn’t interested in tooling up a factory just to make one engine.

This pulled Ford into the understandable position of making what it had work. Ford decided to make a big truck engine out of the modular family by grafting two cylinders on, creating a mighty V10. Well, that simplifies it a bit. Ford took started with the 5.4-liter two-valve V8 and added on two cylinders. This engine has the same 3.552-inch by 4.165-inch bore and stroke of the 5.4 V8, but adds a unique crank with a split pin and 72-degree firing intervals. The 6.8-liter V10 also uses a balance shaft to dampen the vibrations inherent in its 90-degree design.

Moving back to Ford here, The V10 went into service in 1997 exclusively for big trucks. V10s went into the Ford F-250 and larger, the Ford E-250 and larger, as well as the Ford F53 motorhome chassis, U-Haul trucks, buses, the Ford Excursion, and other heavy-duty applications where the owner perhaps didn’t want to spend more to get a diesel. New Flyer even used Triton V10s as part of a series hybrid system for transit buses!

These engines offered great power numbers for their day, too. At launch, the Triton V10 made 275 HP and 425 lb-ft of torque. In comparison, a Ford 7.3-liter Power Stroke truck sold at around this time would have made 225 HP and 450 lb-ft of torque. So, the Triton V10 was basically a gas engine that hauled like a diesel. You just had to be okay with its monstrous thirst.

10 MPG, All The Time

In 2005, the Triton V10 moved to the three-valve modular architecture, which saw healthy power bumps across the line. If you bought a Ford Super Duty, the updated V10 was good for 362 HP and 457 lb-ft of torque. In my experience, these V10s pull hard at all times. It doesn’t matter if you’re empty or towing a house, there’s enough torque in reserve to plant you into your seat.

That thirst was quite comical, too. Most of the Triton V10 trucks I’ve driven get 10 mpg no matter what. I’m talking 10 mpg while towing a huge camper, 10 mpg completely empty, or 10 mpg empty, downhill, and in a tailwind. I wouldn’t even be surprised if you told me the engine somehow consumed 10 mpg-worth of fuel while the engine is off. In a weird way, the consistent fuel economy was comforting because it took the guesswork out of fuel budget calculations.

Of course, the most bombastic application of the V10 had to be the Ford Excursion. If you don’t remember this SUV, it launched in 1999 for the 2000 model year, and for the handful of years it existed, it was the longest and heaviest SUV on the road. It weighed a few bucks over 7,000 pounds and stretched 18.8 feet long. Such a glorious example of American excess was best served with a V10 for extra hilarity.

Also, I have to note that the V10 sounded epic in any application. Here’s one that had its cats stolen:

If you want to learn more about the Excursion, Thomas wrote an excellent piece that you can read by clicking here. As a brief side note, the Jeep Grand Wagoneer L is just as long as the old Ford Excursion. I’ll let that one sit and simmer.

Technically, Ford also made another modular V10. Ford’s Powertrain Research and Advanced Engine Development built the Mustang Boss 351 Concept as a skunkworks project. This Mustang had an all-aluminum 5.8-liter V10 that wasn’t based on the 5.4 like the 6.8-liter truck V10, but was based on the 4.6-liter design. Listen to this:

Sadly, not everything about the Triton V10 was great. Early examples had the same knack for sending spark plugs to the moon as other modular engines did. Of course, the V10 configuration can also make for some fun in replacing the spark plugs that weren’t cleared for launch. I remember hearing rumors back in the day about V10s requiring cab removal for plug changes, but enthusiasts say that isn’t true.

But you may find yourself removing the driver seat of a V10-equipped E-Series van just to give yourself a bit more space.

Other than those issues, the V10 has proven to be pretty reliable. I’ve seen countless V10-equipped trucks and vans with 300,000 miles, 400,000 miles, and more. Some people have experienced bad issues, but it seems that most of them will run forever, so long as you can put up with the engines’ drinking problem. There are tons of V10-equipped vans and trucks still out there, too, and you can sometimes find them for crazy cheap money.

Ford’s V10 was finally phased out in 2021 and some of the last vehicles to be equipped with them were Blue Bird buses. There were even versions of the V10 that ran on propane! While I would say I’m sad that the V10 is gone, I understand why it’s a thing of the past. Ford, along with the rest of the automotive industry, has found out how to make gobs of power with fewer cylinders and smaller engines. But for a long while, if you wanted the power of a diesel without the downsides of a diesel, something like this V10 was your mill of choice. Just, bring a big wallet.