Does anybody here know of a reliable site that gives comparisons of the different motors and trucks and their pro's and cons?

How about comparisons to Chevy and dodge?

the reason I am asking is my nephews 04 Harley davidson version was recently stolen and recovered.........burned to a crisp, so he's looking for a new truck.

 

Nutshell - 7.3: Older and more miles, but one tough hombre. Pretty much an incinerator. This engine is sought out by modders and pullers.

6.0 - 6.4: Modern marvel of technology with plenty of thing to go wrong - particularly if you chip. No more than 5% biodiesel for fuel. The reputations are jaded by mod failures and new issues discovered as the miles wear on.

One opinion - I assume you'll get others.

 

What he said^^^^^
the 7.3 may be an older design but it is proven. The 6.0 was a quick throw under the hood and has its issues. and the 6.4 was an improvement but still not proven enough in my eyes to warrant going out and buying one.

My .02 cents

 

7.3 is old but the best one made

 

As far as brand comparisons go, there are reasons to like/dislike any of the big three. A person has to figure out what they like, do some research, and run with it. You can get a lemon in any assembly line production run. Each brand has qualities people really like, and some things people really don't like.

When it comes to 7.3/6.0/6.4 (or 6.7) Fords, if you've decided that Ford is what you like, then there are different sets of questions to ask.

One big thing you'll have to figure out is how well any used truck you look at has been maintained. Also, obviously, once you start looking at the much newer engines like a 6.4 or 6.7, it will probably cost more.

I won't opine on which Ford diesel is better- there are guys with 6.0s who get a million miles out of them with no issues. If possible, get an OASIS report on anything (Ford) you look at, which should give you an idea of how many warranty and/or recall repairs the truck has had.

You could ask around in the other forums specific to those engines to see what those owners say-

The newer they are, the more complicated they tend to get.

 

I don't know of any reliable info on the net but I can summarize our own corporate experience if you would like. Keep in mind this is just our own experience with our own trucks. You may have a totally different experience.

Regarding diesel powered Ford trucks:
All 18 7.3 liter Super Duty trucks that we have ever purchased are still on the road. 17 of them are still in our fleet making money every day. The 18th was sold and I still see it around here from time to time so it's obviously doing well with it's new owner. As best as I can tell from our records...we have had 3 or 4 transmission failures....looks like all 2001 models. Around 2004-2005 we implemented a program where the transmission fluid gets changed once a year. Since then we have not had any more 4R100 failures (knock on wood...)

As of last week, we had two working 6.0 liter trucks. Both 2007 models. On Monday one of those trucks had a total engine failure. A replacement engine is going to cost $12k (including installation). I am trying to convince our owners to spend some extra money to upgrade the engine with better parts but I am not sure they understand what I am saying. I will keep trying. At this point I am more concerned about our one remaining truck. If that one goes down then we are in a giant world of hurt.

We did have a couple of 6.4 liter trucks from what I remember. Those were lease vehicle and we turned them back in after the lease was up because they were in the shop too often for our needs.

As far as the 6.7 liter goes....we are not allowed to purchase any more diesel powered Ford trucks (per company policy).

The V10 gasoline engine has been pretty good. They get pretty terrible fuel mileage though. I am not exactly sure how many we have but it seems like there are 10 or 12 of them running around between our various branches. They have much higher (numerically) gear ratios so they are a bit different to drive. They have plenty of power for combined loads around 20k-21k....if you need to tow heavier than you might want a diesel....(just an FYI).

Not trying to scare you away from the newer diesels....just sharing our own hard learned experiences. I hope your nephew finds something that works well for him.

EDIT: The particular experiences I listed above are 100% Cab and Chassis trucks. F-450/550. We do not have any diesel powered company pickups. Not sure if this makes any difference or not...just wanted to clarify in case anyone was curious. We also have 4 LCF trucks with the 4.5 liter Power Stroke. As far as I know, that platform has been very reliable and quite fuel efficient as well.

 

Best...hhhmmm asking what truck or engine is best is a bit like asking what is the best beer....you are going to get a lot of different opinions. None are wrong...none are 100% right either.

Obv. we in the 7.3 forum are going to be big fans of the original 7.3 PSD while some 6.0, 6.4, 6.7 (PSD and CTD), 5.9 and 6.6 Dmax jockeys wouldn't want to be caught dead in our diesel dinosaurs.

One thing to keep in mind...the last 7.3 powered ford left the assembly line about 10 years ago and therefore 7.3 powered trucks will have the issues associated with having a truck that age.

I am in the salt belt and thus rust is a constant problem and honestly, had my wife's aunt not try to get rid of her late-husband's truck I would probably not have a 7.3 powered truck cause most New England 7.3s are total rust buckets that have been beaten to death, I would have a 6.0 powered truck (after driving a dodge and putting 100k on it in four years I had enough).

 

Do some research in all the diesel sections here on and use that info to make your own decision.

 

My work truck is a 6.4 and I would never own one. To do anything you have to pull the cab off the truck. The cab has been off 4 times already with just 50k on it. the oil is black and gets bad fuel mileage. My home truck is a 7.3 with 200k and ruins great and the oil is clean after an 5000 miles. Easy to work on. The 6.0 we have here at work break down a lot and I would never own one becausethey are known fit a lot of problems. some are colloid but it I'd hit and miss.

 

I have one Brother-in-law who has a 2000 7.3 (I have a '01) and we LOVE our trucks. I have another Brother-in-law who has a 2010 (6.7 ?) and he Hates everything about it engine wise when comparing the 7.3s to the 6.7. When he said that 'the stealer' had to pull the cab off to work on the engine (no room at all) I just laughed... When he said the he had to add 'exhaust oil' (?) ....I just laughed.I said that I was thinking about taking my muffler off.... He said that by law he had to have one on. (I laughed) When he said that his mileage was around 5mpg Lower than mine.....I laughed even harder.

.With 132,000 on the clock.....mine is not broken in yet.

 

If you're comfortable working on your own vehicle then a 6 liter can be a great engine. They can be had for a reasonable price compared to what people are asking for 7.3s however you will be putting 3,000-4,500$ into the engine to get it to be super reliable.

A lot of people will say a lot of bad things about the 6.0s but they have come a long way since their infancy.

If you are not, however, willing to work on your own vehicle and/or are afraid of modifications it is not the engine for you. If you want to leave the vehicle stock and have it go "VRoom" every time you turn the key and you need a diesel then a 7.3 is a good bet for you.

 

Some people say that if you took a Cummins motor out of a Dodge, an Allison transmission out of a Chevy, and put them in a Ford, then you would have the ultimate truck.

I would put a Ford Super Duty 7.3 with the ZF6 6speed up against that truck any day. And if you maintain the 4R100 automatic regularly, and dont try to mod it up to 6000 hp, it will last too.

In summary, a Ford with a 7.3 is the best truck out there.

Thats just my opinion.

 

Gee... I wonder what the response would have been on the 6.0 PSD forum, the 6.4 PSD forum, or the 5.9 Cummins forum.

 

Sorry to hear about ur sons' loss...that sux. My "limited" experience would be a 7.3. Buddy has the 6.0, and HATES it. He borrowed his dad's 7.3 to tow his new 40ft Warrior from Laughlin. Thats how much faith he has in his truck. 6.4 / 6.7, wouldnt know where to start once hood is opened.