[mvp]

Truck hunt continues. Still babe-in-the-woods clueless about gasoline engines, particularly their longevity.

My truck mechanics, who share my longing for the good old days of the non-turbo, polluting and dirt simple diesel engines, have complained about even Ford's Powerstroke engines. They showed me a cautionary picture of a Powerstoke in surgery-- the whole damned truck body around it had been taken off.

Are Powerstokes, in fact, persnickety and expensive to work on?

Would you buy a Dodge before you chose a Ford Powerstroke?

You are welcome to sing the praises of gasoline engines here if the spirit moves you. But please use relevant terms-- speak to me about engines large enough for the job and which have Redwood Tree longevity.

[wildlifer]

No -- the Cummins diesel is a great engine, but it still comes with a Chrysler truck around it. That said, I wouldn't buy a new Powerstroke either. I'm a die-hard 7.3L Powerstroke junkie and mine shall only be pried out of my cold dead hands. Never persnickety and very easy to work on in most cases.

[mvp]

wildlifer--

So you dig the 7.3 Powerstrokes, but not newer/smaller? The congenital "weak constitution" of the 6.0 Powerstroke is known to me, never fear.

My mechanics' boxers were all wadded about Powerstokes in general, though they may have been nostalgic for the International self-feeding/breathing 7.3s that you just. can't. find. any.more. I'm thinking of getting a black armband or veil. But that still won't actually help me-- an almost widow.

[lisa]

Count me as a member of the 7.3 Powerstroke fan club...
Every mechanic I have ever talked to has told me to drive my truck (2001 F-350) 'til it dies -- which may at 500,000 miles (300,000+ from now).

[weasel1088]

5.9L cummins for me, based on durbility, longevity, power, and mileage. The new cummins 6.7L is great on everything but mileage. new emissions requirements cut down on that. Dont know why everyone complains about it being a chrysler. i love mine, there is nothing i would change about it either. in fact when i replace my current one it will be with one slightly newer but same engine.

For ease of work, you really cannot get easier than an inline 6, even being longer there is just so much room to work around its great. has the feeling of older cars where its basically an engine and thats it(where you can practically stand in the engine bay!)



edit...why on earth would you want a non turbo!?!? lol!! sooooooo sllllooooww

[wildlifer]

wildlifer--

So you dig the 7.3 Powerstrokes, but not newer/smaller? The congenital "weak constitution" of the 6.0 Powerstroke is known to me, never fear.

My mechanics' boxers were all wadded about Powerstokes in general, though they may have been nostalgic for the International self-feeding/breathing 7.3s that you just. can't. find. any.more. I'm thinking of getting a black armband or veil. But that still won't actually help me-- an almost widow.

MAJORLY MAJORLY dig it. I've yet to hear anything reassuring overall about the 6's and the 6.4L's. Some seem to have been ok, others horrible. I drove a 6.4L and the mileage was so horrible, I wasn't tempted in the slightest, even less so as I began to hear reports of turbo and cooling system issues. I don't know what I will do if my 7.3L ever dies. Wail along with you in black, I suppose.

[shortbusgeek]

Count me in the 7.3L fan club. I've got two of them (though admittedly the second one is in our Excursion which of course can't haul the gooseneck trailer. I'm actually looking for another 7.3L truck to trade the Excursion on at the moment.) I happened to get one of the first trucks from 2003 with the turbo diesel 7.3. If the 7.3 in the dually dies, it will get rebuilt. I've seen cases on the various truck forums where people get a million miles out of these engines before they rebuild them. Our dually is sitting at around 223k right now with about 23k since the transmission rebuild. I've driven a 6.0 and wasn't impressed in the least. Haven't driven the 6.4 but have heard it's better than the 6.0, still not as good as the 7.3. I haven't really heard anything about the up and coming 6.7 from Ford, so I can't really comment there yet.

[Tom King]

Duramax fan here. 9 1/2 years and 163,000 miles, zero trouble.

[cssutton]

I swore I would never post again one one of these truck threads because there is so much misinformation by those who think they know it all.

First, the 7.3 was a good engine. I owned two of them, the last I drove 357,000 miles.

But it is not..was not perfect.

If you had a weak battery it would not crank on a cold morning because it has to make so many turns before the oil pressure gets high enough to operate the fuel system. On a cold morning, the battery will give out before the engine firs unless the battery is like new.

The front seat is noisy. Get out of a 7.3 and into a 6.4 and you think you have moved to a Lincoln Town Car.

The 6.0 was crap.

I have a 6.4 that has 73,000 miles on it and I have never owned anything that I enjoyed driving as much as this truck.

Terrible mileage?

BS.

I get just under 18 and sometimes just a tad over when operating on the highway at 60 to 70 MPH.

It likes speed.

I get 11.5 pulling a 4 horse on gently rolling 4 lanes. Sometimes 11.8 on the same route.

Mountains, pulling the trailer 9 to 10. But it pulls the trailer up a 9% grade like it is flat land. The speed is curve limited, not grade limited.

Around town, I don't drive much in the areas of a stop light every block. I would describe my city driving as suburban, outer loop, etc., where you might hit a light about every 3 miles or so. 15 to 15.3.

That said, there are 6.4's and 6.4's. You have to know how to buy one. Job #3 or later if a 2008, 20" wheels, 80 lbs rear and 65 front, 3.73 rear end and 30,000 miles to break it in.

Mine is a 4 x 4 crew cab with everything you can get on it except the super sound audio. It has the second to the best.

That said, Ford has built diesels in the past. I have no doubt the 6.7 will be a good engine after a year of debugging.

As for removing the body, that is not such a big deal. Never needed it, but I have seen a couple of them in the dealer's.

If you have a mechanic who wails at the idea of working on one, you need a new mechanic. Those who have been to the Ford school are not afraid of them.

That said, I am done.

CSSJR

[jcotton]

I have a 2001, 7.3 liter, dually crew cab, 4X4, F350 with 176,000 miles. I plan on driving for a long time. It did have a new tranny and the 1st fuel injector as well as the 1st fuel injector module replaced last year. That has been its only major out of warranty issues. I plan on getting at least another 176,000 miles on it.

[dani0303]

Love love LOVE the 7.3L Powerstroke in my 2001 F-250.

[mvp]

With God's help the truck hunt ended in triumph.

I just bought a 2001 F-350 7.3L who doesn't even have her boobies yet-- 54K miles. Well, I don't think she has her boobs yet, but I don't know how to tell, looking at a truck. She was owned by some Boys who loved her and therefore Boyed her up with some aftermarket Boy Parts-- a fresh air intake and tuning-type chip among other things.

So now I need to learn to care for the youngest diesel I have ever owned and I have all kinds of questions.

1) Where do you non-motorheads go for some internet info on stuff like this? I find the Edmunds diesel forums a little over my head so far.

2) When do you consider a diesel engine broken in? And should I put her chip back on "Ford settings" for a while until she has grown up some? I do have a good and informed diesel mechanic but he's all "You know, Ford engineered this engine one way. The chip changes that...." So I need some kind of Dr. Spock Official Ruling on how to raise my young diesel.

3) Other life-extending techniques you like? I'm all about longevity and no slouch when it comes to caring for diesels. My grand old lady has 330,000 miles on her and is still going strong, save the rusting exoskeleton. But this is a whole new kettle of fish to me.

Many thanks.

[Jaegermonster]

Good Job. Nice truck. I am on my third 7.3 psd, only because the other two got bought from me for buckets of cash . This one is an 02 and you can't pry my fingers away from it, I'm running it til it falls apart. I have heard that the new Ford Diesel for 2011 is supposed to be a real beast, but i never buy anything the first year or so it's out.

As far as the chip, I would get it taken out. It voids any warranty that may be left on the truck. Yours is old enough though it may not have one anymore, except for whatever is warranteed up to 100k, which is just about when a diesel starts thinking about getting broken in.

As far as what someone else said about not starting when it's cold, it's called an engine heater. I don't have to plug it in or anything.
My truck came with it off the lot, yours might have one too.
Never had a problem starting my truck and it was below 20 here at night for over 2 weeks and never got above freezing during that time last winter, yes I am in N FL.
I pull A LOT with my diesel and I get the oil changed every 3-4k miles. They say you can go longer but I don't. Every other oil change i get the tires rotated and balanced. Follow the severe duty schedule for maintenance in the manual religiously, and for every service that ends with a zero or for anything major I take mine to the dealer. I have bought all my trucks at the same place and referred others so they treat me very well, and I want to make sure things a) get done right, and b) when I am off hauling 6 states away and something craps out I have some recourse via Ford. I don't baby the truck but I am particular about keeping up with the maintenance and keeping good records.
My truck has 126k on it and still has the original brakes too.

[Kairoshorses]

Dang, CSSJR...wanna come with me whilest I look at trucks!?

I swore I would never post again one one of these truck threads because there is so much misinformation by those who think they know it all.

First, the 7.3 was a good engine. I owned two of them, the last I drove 357,000 miles.

But it is not..was not perfect.

If you had a weak battery it would not crank on a cold morning because it has to make so many turns before the oil pressure gets high enough to operate the fuel system. On a cold morning, the battery will give out before the engine firs unless the battery is like new.

The front seat is noisy. Get out of a 7.3 and into a 6.4 and you think you have moved to a Lincoln Town Car.

The 6.0 was crap.

I have a 6.4 that has 73,000 miles on it and I have never owned anything that I enjoyed driving as much as this truck.

Terrible mileage?

BS.

I get just under 18 and sometimes just a tad over when operating on the highway at 60 to 70 MPH.

It likes speed.

I get 11.5 pulling a 4 horse on gently rolling 4 lanes. Sometimes 11.8 on the same route.

Mountains, pulling the trailer 9 to 10. But it pulls the trailer up a 9% grade like it is flat land. The speed is curve limited, not grade limited.

Around town, I don't drive much in the areas of a stop light every block. I would describe my city driving as suburban, outer loop, etc., where you might hit a light about every 3 miles or so. 15 to 15.3.

That said, there are 6.4's and 6.4's. You have to know how to buy one. Job #3 or later if a 2008, 20" wheels, 80 lbs rear and 65 front, 3.73 rear end and 30,000 miles to break it in.

Mine is a 4 x 4 crew cab with everything you can get on it except the super sound audio. It has the second to the best.

That said, Ford has built diesels in the past. I have no doubt the 6.7 will be a good engine after a year of debugging.

As for removing the body, that is not such a big deal. Never needed it, but I have seen a couple of them in the dealer's.

If you have a mechanic who wails at the idea of working on one, you need a new mechanic. Those who have been to the Ford school are not afraid of them.

That said, I am done.

CSSJR

[Rabbit351w]

as for issue #1, hubby likes www.ford-trucks.com/forums, although I don't know if his "pro" status helps with the comprehension there as well

[Foxtrot's]

The 6.0 is garbage - so sue me Ford, I don't care.

[mvp]

Good Job. Nice truck. I am on my third 7.3 psd, only because the other two got bought from me for buckets of cash . This one is an 02 and you can't pry my fingers away from it, I'm running it til it falls apart. I have heard that the new Ford Diesel for 2011 is supposed to be a real beast, but i never buy anything the first year or so it's out.

As far as the chip, I would get it taken out. It voids any warranty that may be left on the truck. Yours is old enough though it may not have one anymore, except for whatever is warranteed up to 100k, which is just about when a diesel starts thinking about getting broken in.

As far as what someone else said about not starting when it's cold, it's called an engine heater. I don't have to plug it in or anything.
My truck came with it off the lot, yours might have one too.
Never had a problem starting my truck and it was below 20 here at night for over 2 weeks and never got above freezing during that time last winter, yes I am in N FL.
I pull A LOT with my diesel and I get the oil changed every 3-4k miles. They say you can go longer but I don't. Every other oil change i get the tires rotated and balanced. Follow the severe duty schedule for maintenance in the manual religiously, and for every service that ends with a zero or for anything major I take mine to the dealer. I have bought all my trucks at the same place and referred others so they treat me very well, and I want to make sure things a) get done right, and b) when I am off hauling 6 states away and something craps out I have some recourse via Ford. I don't baby the truck but I am particular about keeping up with the maintenance and keeping good records.
My truck has 126k on it and still has the original brakes too.

Many things. If you have an '02 that you won't part with, what were these collectors' items peopls were buying from you and what's so awesome about this one?

I think the warranty was 5 years/100K so it might not matter.

Don't know about an engine heater-- you mean separate from the engine block heater I plug in? If so, what up with that?

With good batteries, the Grand Old Lady *always* started in Central NY (but not Buffalo) winter temps. It may just be her work ethic. But I'm also prepared with a long, expensively 16 guage extention cord for proper warmth.

I'm with you on the oil changes. Every document for work down to the last oil change for 200,000 miles is wadded up in Old Lady's glove box. I have been too casual about tires.

If I really loved this truck, I'd get her a temp gauge for her transmission for the towing part of her job description.

Thanks again for talking diesel with me.

[Heinz 57]

Google powerstroke nation for a pretty decent forum that isn't TOO techy.

Mine has a chip. Depending on what the settings are and if they did anything else besides the cold air intake, you might want to ask the know it alls what the best setting is to use, for everyday vs towing.

My set up has a few more mods and just rolled over 130k, sound as a dollar.

[hosspuller]

My set up has a few more mods and just rolled over 130k, sound as a dollar.

That's not saying much... The dollar's value being under attack by the current political leadership of this country.

[Heinz 57]

That's not saying much... The dollar's value being under attack by the current political leadership of this country.

Ya know, I thought of that when I posted that. Either way, the point was that I've had ZERO problems with it, even hauling a fully loaded steel BP up a long grade in 100 degree heat last week (which is likely the most I'll ever ask of it). Not that 130k is an accomplishment for a powerstroke!

Come to think of it, I have had one problem. The right rear door lock sometimes sticks. Darn.