how does the 6.0 turbo diesel compare to the 7.3 turbo diesel .any problems with the 2003 6.0 turbo

 

Oh boy - its time to get the popcorn and chairs again. This could be as bad as the PSD v V10 debate

 

The 7.3 is an extremely robust motor. The 6.0 had more advanced technology and made more power and torque. When towing many guys I've talked to prefer the 7.3 but the 6.0 is still great at towing. There are a few things that are bad about the 6.0 though. It may have a lot more technology in it but the first 6.0's (2003.5 to 2004) had some problems (the 2005 to 2007 actually had less problems than the 7.3). Just a few of the problems were that Navistar designed the motor in Europe where the diesel fuel is low to no sulfur and is as clean as the gasoline. At the time the U.S. had plenty of sulfur in the diesel which led to a lot of problems early on (this is why we now have Diesel #2 with low sulfur).

The 7.3 has 6 heavy duty bolts per cylinder where as the 6.0 has 4 torque to yield bolts per cylinder. With the TTY head bolts they are designed to stretch and hold the head down that way. They are also only torquewd to 85 ft-lb. When the 6.0 is pushed hard, like pulling a trailer up a grade, the pressures in the motor can stretch those bolts and blow the head gasket out. This can be fixed by getting ARP head studs which replace your 85 ft-lb TTY bolts with studs that get torqued to something like 240 ft-lb (or something in that ballpark).

Another thing the 6.0 has is a variable vein turbo charger. The blades in this turbo move according to how far down you're pressing the skinny pedal essentially increasing the size of the turbo to help it spool faster when needed and push more air into the motor. The variable veins have a tendency to get gunked up from carbon or other crap. To keep it working correctly just gun it a few times every once in a while and it will make sure they're broken loose and working properly.

Another thing on the early 6.0's is that the wiring harness on top of the motor had a tendency of getting crushed.

Don't let me discourage you from getting an early 6.0, they are good trucks but you just have to realize that there are a few inherent problems (as there are with any motor). There is a Power Stroke expert out in Kentucky I believe who has a YouTube page FULL of videos on the Ford diesels. He describes differences between all the motors and has a ton of information on all the motors. Her's the link for you: YouTube - powerstrokehelp's Channel

Anyone feel free to correct me, I'm not perfect!