I would pretty much echo everything else said here. After running and working on both. The 7.3- easier to work on, no need to put money into it to be reliable in stock form, not a picky motor, and can make decent power even with just a chip. 6.0- far more picky, harder to work on, quieter and smoother, more power in stock form. My conclusion. If you get a 6.0. Do all the work right away and don't worry about it again. If not your going to have problems one by one. Of you get a 7.3. Do basic mods and run it. Also I forgot to mention the 5r is far better than the 4r

 

I've worked on a co-workers 7.3 and two 6.0's. I bought my 05' after tearing down my boss's 03' 6.0. He bought a wrecked truck and since we had the cab off for repair we did everything possible to the motor for reliability. I don't have his budget but after working on them they may be more complicated as in you have to take x of to get to the part you need to change. They are Not really hard to work on. I did the sct fitting, oil cooler, and egr delete as my temps delta were way off. I did not and will no do headgaskets until there is a problem. These engines are not like an old gasser that a head gasket pops and they spew white smoke right away. There are suddle signs that pop up. So a person that keeps an eye in their truck show be able to catch before it causes major issues. The egr cooler IMO are way more important to make sure they are doing their job. If I had the budget I still am uncertain if I would take apart perfectly good running 6.0 to do headgaskets and studs. I have 176k don't run a tuner and still have stock headbolts. I did buy it used and am not sure how the PO treated it. The trans on the 6.0 already have an external filter and the trans cooler is massive and works well.

 

The 92'-97' were some of the best looking trucks ever made, I had a 97' F-250 4X4 short bed extra cab with a 460 that I loved, it would pass everything but a gas station hehe.

 

I was more concerned with a catastrophe in my 7.3 than my 6.0. Crazy, I know. You have a handle on it and know where to start.

 

Driven enough Super Duty 7.3s to be considered in the "owned it" category. Give me an 05-07 6.0 every day of the week.

 

Tossing in my .02.


I had an 89 7.3 got rid of it because at the time I had no real use and fuel mileage was crap.


some 6 years later, went looking and crawling craigslist for my next truck, landed on a 04 XLT no start situation made it cheap.


My decision to go with the 6.0 was based on the fact my father was a mechanic in a former life and now is an RV hauler, with over a MILLION miles on one 2005 6.0 STOCK truck and having zero transmission issues compared to the 7.3's he used. I opted to go with this truck. My father owns exclusively 04-07 6.0 trucks (5 trucks) and dumped all his 7.3s. I believe on average all his other trucks are at around 500K/miles except for his original '05 at 1Million miles.


When I first drove his 2005 6.0 there was no going back (for me) to the 7.3. I knew the next truck would be a 6.0 or something equivalent.


My brothers joined my father in the this business for a while, and I had heard nothing but complaints about transmission issues with the 7.3s as the both opted to use 7.3s. Infact, one brother has his '02 7.3 rotting in his back yard and recently bought an '07 6.0. He has no interest in the 7.3 truck.


With my 6.0 bought @ 200K/mi I went through the oil system, replacing orings and cleaning all injectors. As with my dad's fleet, I expect the truck to outlast my needs in the next 10 years.


I think knowledge on this forum adds to increasing the value and benefit of the 6.0 vs the 7.3.


Honestly, these trucks aren't hard to work on and imho parts are plentiful and cheap to make them last.

 

A 6.0 with a million miles is like hearing about a big foot sighting...

We need pics, and not blurry ones like the big foot pics! lol

All kidding aside that is awesome!

 

That's a fair request. I will be visiting him during new years. I will snap a photo of the Odometer if I get a chance. In August I was riding in the truck when my brother was driving and we used it to pick up a classic Buick. In full transparency I never looked at the odometer myself. ...had always been told "million miles".


Sorry for the slight highjacking.

 

I owned a 7.3 that I bought new and had a lot of problems with that covered under warranty. My 6.0 had it's share of problems that were covered under warranty. The only repair I have paid for after the warranty expired was a set of ball joints. The 6.0 is a lot more fun to drive but the 7.3 got a lot better fuel mileage for me.

 

i havent owned either but have family members and friends who own both and i don't think anyone is gonna argue that the 7.3 was one of the most reliable problem free motors ever and to me that counts for a lot however the 6.0's are much quieter and smoother but even when you think you got a good one you can run into problems here and there, some which aren't easy to fix and can be pricey. With my experiences if i wanted a truck to beat on i would go with the 7.3, if i wanted a nice everyday driver i would go with a 6.0 and bulletproof it right off the bat.

 

The 7.3 wasn't technically reliable until 2007 when the CPS was finally figured out.

And now it's all about corroded and chafed engine wiring harnesses.

Josh

 

Josh did you mean the 6.0 I didn't think they made anymore 7.3 after 2003.

 

tell that to the millions of 7.3 owners who have put insane miles are their truck problem free. Once again i said when you run into problems with a 6.0 they are often not easy to fix and can get pricey. How much is a CPS for a 7.3?

I never understood why some 6.0 owners seem to have something against the 7.3 it was a damn good engine and both came in ford trucks why cant we say that we like them both but for different reasons

 

Preference and experience decisions are based on "something against" or "less favorable" than the other.


Flip that statement around: " I never understood why some 7.3 owners seem to have something against the 6.0 it was a damn good engine and both came in ford trucks why cant we say that we like them both but for different reasons"


As a newly acquired 6.0 owner and former 7.3 owner my view is exactly that. pros and cons to both. My preference and experience is toward the 6.0. drive train including transmission...pricing specifically applied to my decision too.

 

Josh is referring to the CPS sensor itself, I always kept a spare in the glove box for such an occasion.