Originally Posted by bigdog55

. Oh,and it's built by FIAT.

Originally Posted by Toreador_Diesel

Might want to grab some coffee, this will be a good read.

The 6.0 is an amazing piece of technology that people are generally afraid of becuase of it's history.

The people who bad mouth the 6.0 fall into a few categories:

-They've owned a 6.0 new and had bad luck with it.
-They bought a 6.0 used and ended up buying someone else's problem
-They've never owned or had any experience with the 6.0, but love talking trash. (Most common category)

When I bought my 2005 Excursion, I bought prepared to sink some money into it if I had to. Come to find out, mine had a clogged oil cooler and leaking EGR cooler which meant some work needed to be done. The sales folks were shocked and appalled when they saw me hooking up the AE. They had no clue what it was, but were even more shocked when they found out how much I knew about the engine and they didn't. The look on their face was priceless..... I drove it home to Houston 700 miles from Amarillo and promptly dropped it off at Powerstroke Enginuities to have them bulletproof the engine. $3500 later (other shops quoted me WAY more, $5-$6K range), I essentially had a brand new engine as they resealed everything, replaced the headgaskets (didn't really need to, but had the money), installed ARP studs, installed an EGR delete and new Oil cooler, and a few "while the engine is out" things so I didn't have to think or worry about anything. Which to this day I don't, I just turn the key and drive everywhere with this grin on my face ->

The long and short of it: Did I really have to go that far to make my 6.0 reliable? No I didn't. I could've simply had PSE replace the oil cooler and EGR cooler and kept driving the truck. Even then, had the truck been perfectly healthy, I would not have had the engine work done and just driven the truck stock. At most, I would've flushed fluids, changed filters, and called it a day. The 6.0 is nothing to be afraid of. It will run circles around a stock 7.3 any day. (This is coming from a 7.3 owner since new 401K on it now) Between the air management system, the VGT turbo, 4 valves per cylinder (vs 2 on a 7.3), the bulletproof transmission (from the factory btw), and the towing technology Ford put into the 6.0, it's an amazing piece of techology that out performs it's predecessor.

Problems arose in the early days becuase of the fuel available at the time. (Low Sulfur Diesel vs Ultra Low Sulfur diesel available today) LSD was potent stuff that gave great fuel economy and power to any diesel that ran it, 6.0 folks in the early days were averaging high teens and into the 20s without a chip or programmer. The problem with the 6.0, however, was the EGR. The fuel was considered "dirty" lead to carbon build up in the EGR system and plugged critical sensors like the EBPS and MAP. (both are required for the engine to run properly) With the advent of ULSD, this is considered to be a cleaner fuel, however, it has less power and offers less fuel economy. So the EGR and sensors plugging with carbon, isn't as prevalent as it used to be. The other part was due to lack of maintenance, not following the maintenance schedule, and people not using Motorcraft filters when maintenance is performed. In the early days, filters were expensive and as a result, people went to knock off brands as they were cheaper. After finding quite a few warranty claims due to using non-motorcraft filters (mainly failing injectors and sometimes catastrophic engine failure with the wrong oil filter), Ford reduced the pricing of filters and also found that the warranty claims related to not using the correct filters dropped. Flashes were developed to address some of the other issues, but the aforementioned is what gave the 6.0 the bad rap it has/had. Since then, these concerns have long been address and solutions to the 6.0 issues have been found and improved.

On to the 7.3: It's a tried and true workhorse that needs almost nothing but maintenance. Though it's a tried and true workhorse, the 7.3 does have some room for improvements over engineering flaws and things Ford should've done with it, but didn't. Most of the solutions to these flaws come from a Crafty individual named Clay, owner of Riffraff Diesel.

-The stock fuel system is a dead head style that leads to fuel starvation on the #8 cylinder. Ford and International had a work around for this by installing a long lead injector that essentially takes two sips of fuel before it fires. (the rest only take 1) Even with this work around, #8 sometimes still starves for fuel and makes that apparent by cackling and knocking. The solution to this problem, Riffraff Diesel's Frx or Fuel Crossover: Fuel Rail Crossover? (FRx) - Riffraff Diesel Performance The benefit is four fold: it solves the deadhead issue, creates a regulated return, AND maintains better fuel pressure for better injector life and performance. It also doesn't allow air to reach the injectors after a fuel filter change or during normal operation. It's a very cost effective solution to fix something that should have been addressed.

-Riffraff Diesel also sells a High Pressure Crossover rail that balances the high pressure oil between the head: Stainless Steel HPX 99-03 - Riffraff Diesel Performance This allows for better, smoother starts and throttle response. It also allows the ICP to be more consistent as it's seeing a more balanced pressure and the pressure in both heads and not just one.

Since you're after reliability the above mods are what I'd suggest if you decide to go though with buying a 7.3. As I've mentioned before, the 6.0 stock will run circles around a stock 7.3. This can be addressed with a chip, however and again, since you're after reliability you may not need to do all this as your truck may average great fuel economy in it's stock form. My Advice should you go the 7.3 route: drive it through 2-3 tanks, see how it does, then go from there.

Absolute Bottom line: Drive both and see how you feel about them. You can find a good 6.0 that will give many years and miles of trouble free service. The same applies to a 7.3, which brings me to my next point: if you need me to look at a vehicle (6.0 or 7.3) in the surrounding Houston area, I'll be more than happy to. I have an AE and a gauge to tell me if the EGR cooler or headgaskets are blown, so you're covered on both fronts. I'm well versed on both engines as I've done my fair of work and reading on them. The 7.3 will require less inspection, but it's always good to run the AE on it to see what underlying issues may be present. Either way, you can't go wrong, it's just a matter of making sure what you're buying is in good shape and/or knowing what needs attention.

Originally Posted by bigdog55

I figger that if I set it up like my '01,A&E intake,DP tuner and 4" exhaust,I can get it up over the MPG of the Liberty. When I sold the "Ex" it was getting 20 freeway,14-15 city and 10.5 towing 9600#.