Is anyone else as happy as I am that we (7.3 owners) don't have to deal with that crap? I see it all the time on the Ford and Cummins forums that I read on a regular basis.

Long live the 7.3!

 

^^^^ This x 2

 

I honestly still don't see the point in DEF other then another government implimented crap shot...and a way for MFGs to make people spend more unnessicary $$$ honestly...I am happy I don't have def...period...

 

I see my truck as a symbol of freedom.

 

I just laugh when I'm asked if I'm going to by a new diesel someday!

 

Very happy, I keep getting fliers in the mail from the local Ford dealer about trading in my "highly regarded" F-350.. Lol.

 

Yeah... there's a reason it's highly regarded. They haven't made anything better since then.

I'm about to re-motor "Stinky", because it has the best return on investment of all my options.

 

we have 3 fords, a pertebuilt, and a kenworth that are supposed to use "smurf pee" all 5 have had the delete kits dome on them. the fords saw a 4-5 MPG increase, the pete and KW saw a 3 MPG increase. and none of them blow any smoke at all.

 

as i said and I will say this again, its another gobament control device to not only allow MFG's to separate us from our hard earned money, but another way to reduce the effectiveness of our already reliable rigs...more the money separation bit...

 

I love my 7.3 and my wife loves her 6.0 and neither one of us is ever going to "Move-Up" to those overpriced, over/under engineered diesels. I have watched videos of those 6.4 & 6.7 diesels where the techs are working on them, whew!!! No thank you.
Ed

 

As someone who went from a 7.3L to a 6.7L.... I love the 6.7L. I also loved the 7.3L.

Really there's no comparison between the two. They are absolutely different in every way imaginable.

Most of all, the DEF is hardly a thought. Really it's not a big deal at all. It's super cheap, and it's not even remotely difficult. Most DEF issues come from owners not following simple directions more than anything else.

It's just as easy to go into any 7.3L forum and find issues with trucks not starting, transmission failures, oil issues, etc. Point is every motor has their weaknesses. That said, go into any diesel shop or dealership and the vast majority of dollars in diesel repairs are aimed at the 6.0L and the 6.4L. Both the 7.3L and the 6.7L have proven to be exceptionally reliable when compared to other similar options out there.

 

Sorry, but when I read something like this I have to shake my head.

The statement really doesn't make any sense. First, it assumes that it's only the American government doing this, and blaming the American government for creating a global conspiracy. The fact is that Europe has been far ahead of America regarding emissions reduction in diesel engines, and we have only recently caught up.

Second, it assumes that corporations like Ford, General Motors, Chrysler Group, etc actually want to make less reliable products. When in fact they continue to work to create vehicles that are more reliable than previous generations. For example, Ford spent millions to bring the production of the PowerStroke diesel in-house in order to more effectively control and improve the quality of the product they manufacture.

Third, it assumes that diesel emissions are harmless and nothing to be concerned with. Fact is that diesel emissions are actually more harmful to humans than gasoline engine emissions, are are listed as a Group 1 carcinogen (gasoline engine emissions are Group 2B). That ranks alongside compounds such as asbestos. Furthermore, this research and rating wasn't an American government finding, this was based on various worldwide studies, and a product of the World Health Organization (WHO) and their International Agency for Research on Cancer.


Something interesting to think about as well. Back in the 70's when gasoline emissions were first being implemented, vehicle performance and reliability fell across the board. The "horsepower wars" were over between the big 3 automakers, and for several decades they struggled to produce reliable engines with good performance. Now take a look at diesels. When emissions systems were first introduced, yes there were some reliability issues. However, the horsepower and performance actually increased across the board. We can actually thank emissions systems for allowing manufacturers the opportunity to build much more power platforms and squeeze out significantly more performance, without having to suffer with the after-effects of having more power increases the amount of emissions output. Now the new platforms have returned to proving themselves as being reliable in a very short amount of time (only a few years rather than decades with gasoline engines), while at the same time soundly outperforming the older generations of diesel motors, including the 7.3L. As a result, we have a new horsepower/torque war going on between the big 3 manufacturers with their diesel engines.

I for one am actually happy that we have diesel trucks being built that have significant power increases, while running with squeaky clean tailpipes. After owning a 7.3L for more than a decade, it's nice not getting a whiff of diesel exhaust all the time. Of course I do also appreciate the quietness of the new engine, and all the creature comforts that come with a newer truck. Maybe I'm getting old, I dunno....

 

I don't have a DEF farting dog in the fight, but I agree with Pocket. The only "conspiracy" is the effort to clean up diesel emissions and that is a global effort. I do hope the new 6.7's prove themselves reliable as I would rather see Ford be successful and re-earn the reputation for reliability with the diesel platform. I'll probably never own one, too rich for my blood but if I could, I probably would find a home for a 2017. This makes the 7.3 a great match for me. I can work on it and it tows the trailer well with zero emissions gear-except the ccv of course. My conscience is fine with it.

 

We have a 2015 6.6 Duramax at work and it is a nice truck in its own way. The new 6.7 truck is a nice truck, again in its own way. I am more than satisfied with my 16 year old 7.3 and am glad I don't have to deal with EGR, DEF, SCR or any other 3 letter acronym that the newer trucks have to deal with.

I see your point about the diesel emissions and how they are in the early stages, like the gasoline engines of the 70's. So, in say another 10 years or so we may have a rock solid reliable DEF system rolling off the assembly line that will not only clean the exhaust, but will allow the truck to run the way it needs to. Good thing my 7.3 will probably last that long and then I can update to the new 2026 7.3 liter.

It is understood that Euro countries also subscribe to the DEF challenge. Although, as you can see from recent news about VW, possibly BMW and Merc that they have figured out ways to make their cars work very well with bypass systems. I don't think it is a conspiracy in any way, I think it is the advancement of technology, but it is not quite ready yet. Not for my dollar anyway.

Comparing a 14 year old no start or injector issue to a 2 year old DEF failure of some sort is not even in the same ball park.

I started this thread just because I am very happy with my choice and love the fact that it does not have a system that is seemingly prone to failure in many ways that could leave me stranded on the side of the road facing a large bill once I finally got it going again. Most things on the 7.3 I can do myself and I am simply a shade tree mechanic. The newer trucks are very, very complex machines that often cannot be worked on unless they are plugged into a computer.

Would it be nice to have a truck with 7 cameras, a full entertainment system, rides like a Cadillac and cools your rear end when in the seat, sure it would. But I don't have enough confidence in the systems surrounding the creature comforts, that is just me though.

To each their own... for the next decade or so though, my money goes to the tried and true. Maybe after this next generation of diesel engines/trucks I will buy into the design, but today is not that day.

 

I see the current diesel emission controls as still sort of primitive, like the early gasoline emission controls and I am betting someday they will get to a more perfected design which won't hurt fuel ecomomy so much.