4.4l Diesel cgi block to Tupy

[fonefiddy]

Think of it this way.
Back in the 70's during the first fuel crisis. The domestic manufacturers got caught with their pants down. They left the door wide open for foreign manufacturers to get their, small, fuel effcient products to the American public.

When fuel prices hit $3.00 a gallon, did you notice how many used trucks/SUV's were on the block? Peeps were beginning to realize how their vehicle choice was effecting their budgets. Fuel prices crept down, and then the sell off stopped. When the next bout of price increase's occurs (prolly this summer) it's going to be the same way.

Now Ford has a chance of building a truck that'll do what most of the nation want's. Not just the 16-25 YO's that want to go fast. At a perfect time. They can build a truck that gets 25 MPG, is reliable, easily maintained, and is capable of towing 8-10K lbs.

To do it, they are going to have to use a Diesel Engine in the 280/400 range. And lighten the curb weight.
If they try and go all out, run it to it's limits. Like they do with the PSD. It's not going to happen.
For all the peeps that want a 350/550 diesel engined 1/2 ton truck. There's allways aftermarket tuners.

Ford has a chance to hit a home run with this project. Increase sales, and possibly bail it's azz out of some serious trouble.

If they build it, they will come. Peeps would be lined up around the block for a fuel efficient 1/2 ton truck.

Or, they can stay with the status quoe. Keep the fuel milage numbers the same that they've been for 20 years. Watch people keep bailing on vehicles that get 16 MPG, and let the F150 sales numbers continue to slip.

Let's see what they come up with.

[rkcarguy]

I think a diesel F150 would be awesome, small displacement with a turbo that will work when you need it. I think if the areodynamics package, turbo sizing, and gearing is put together right it will be a 24-25mpg truck. Bad news is they will probably bump the price quite a bit, which will make people have to work the #'s and how much they drive their truck to see if it's worth it. I'm in the market for a F250 or F350 diesel from the 92-96 era, but they are so overpriced(about 2x KBB) that I would have to drive it 110,000 miles before it paid for itself. Then if they actually produce a whole bunch of them and keep them affordable, the increased demand for diesel will bump the price and kill the cost/mileage advantage anyway.

[fonefiddy]

Where ju live? I see the IDI's 92-94's going for $3-5K all the time. The PSD's are more.

[KRB]

Chrysler is already starting something similar. You can now buy a "Sprinter" van with 7foot interior height used for Class B conversions and guess what folks........... a V-6 Mercedes diesel that gets up to 25 mpg is an option!!!!!!!!!! Ok Ford management, earn your profane salary and bonus payouts. Come up with an efficient, maintainable and reliable V-6 diesel for the F150 that can pull 7000 pounds. I could care less how it stacks up against the competition in torque and hp figures. Give me MPG!!!

[David85]

Give me MPG!!!

I'm with you there. Anyone can make a fuel eating powerhouse, but it takes a little more effort to actually put all that fuel to use instead of out the tailpipe.

I've seen a few dodge sprinters running around where I live, and they seem to be a favorite among fleet operators. They are suprisingly quick considering the 3.0l engine. I have also seen the odd RV format--an RV that gets good milage, who knew?

Not that there is much competition for the sprinter, but if there was, I think others would have a hard time competing with a mercedes diesel. But I suspect it does not have the kind of pulling power that many have come to expect these days.

[fruth04]

i work as an electrician, our shop has i few old 7.3s (nonturbo), some 7.3 PSDs, 6.0 PSDs, duramax's and sprinters, we have 3 sprinters, one gets 16mpg, one gets 18 and ones gets 20, all of the other vans range from 12-17, the twist is... you cant pull crap with the sprinters, we had two turbo meltdowns already where it literally got hot and stopped, one time pulling a carhauler with ONE 3000lb lift on it, and the other time pulling a 16ft enclosed trailer that was empty...... dont get me wrong they are nice big vans for hauling fittings and tools but i want my f150 to be able to pull a little more then 4000lbs without burning up a turbo, now if they can get a motor that pulls 10,000 and gets 20mpg they might have something

[captain p4]

Maybe we'll start to see trucks with EGT sensors from the factory, so they can monitor the exhaust temps and back off the fuel if they get hot. Sort of like a knock sensor, but for diesels. Or maybe they already have that? Would certainly cut back on issues with towing.

[David85]

A stock EGT gauge should come standard with a turbo diesel........

I doubt the spinter would make a very good workhorse with only a 3L engine, but I still recognize the effort to make a big vehicle more economical. But then again, my my truck has a much larger and heavier engine and is still economical to operate, even with a 3speed auto.

if they can get a motor that pulls 10,000 and gets 20mpg they might have something

I would not get my hopes up about doing both at the same time. But one, or the other should be possible. I have touched 20mpg once in a blue moon when the stars line up just right, but I never had to pull very much.

[fonefiddy]

I'd think that if they got the weight of the truck down around 4500 lbs, 400 lb ft would tow 8-10K lbs pretty easily.

The 94-97 PSD's had 235hp and 450lb and weighed 6000lb's +

[David85]

I think thats almost exactly what my 86 f150 weighs, and its plenty tough, if a little underpowered when it comes to towing higher #s. Although the older frames are more flexible when it comes to twisting, they are actually quite hard to wreck, and can support direct vertical load at least as good as the newer boxed frames (yet the C channel frames are lighter).

[fonefiddy]

With todays technology, the frame would be much stronger than in 86. But it's not the only place the truck needs lightening.