Hello everyone. This is my first post on the forums here after reading a few. I'm looking to buy myself a Ford diesel and am unsure which direction to go. Not planning on going any older than a 7.3PS. Living in southeastern WI, cold is a concern as this truck would likely spend some time plowing. For anyone not familiar with the temperature ranges here, in a typical winter, we can have anywhere from -15 on the thermometer to 40 all winter long. In this area, we do have emissions tests every two years. There are workarounds for them, one of which being the engine is a 2006 model year or older. Another has to do with the registration and where the DOT is told the vehicle is stored. Now that I went through a little background, here is what I have found looking around:
7.3PS- ran from '94 to 2003, in '97 they added the intercooler to the air system but in 2001 they changed the connecting rods to powdered metal instead of forged, severely impacting their strength. It had solid fuel economy and was relatively simple. The biggest issues included the camshaft position sensor and it eats glowplugs. Horsepower is not particularly high. In my personal experience with this motor, there is not a whole lot under the hood (stock '98 chassis cab with an ambulance back on it). It is older, which leads to high mileage as well as significant rusting
6.0PS- in production from 2003 to 2007. It seems that Ford did not put in a whole lot of effort to fix the issues that came up with this motor. It seems to have most of the issues involving the emissions system, which was basically the EGR system. Once this system is taken care of, the HPOP has been marked as a problem by some. The TTY head bolts also can be an issue from what I read and well as head gaskets and the turbo. It sounds like the turbo isn't really an issue if the truck is driven hard on some occasions. Head gaskets I believe are related to the EGR system, but not 100% on that one. Fuel economy was also decent with an increase in power from the 7.3. Sounds like the transmission was also improved for this motor as well. Recommended fixes include EGR delete and studding as well as a strict maintenance schedule. Sounds like if these trucks have hit 100,000 they are probably okay, but be cautious of low milage as they are probably "lemons."
6.4PS- Sold from 2008-2010 as a result of emission requirements from the feds. Better power and more responsive than the 6.0 thanks to the twin turbocharger from the factory (an industry-first, I believe). The 6.4 did not have the turbo issues that the 6.0 did, but it did share the emissions control system as it's weakest link. The DPF filter that was being used had to be "burned out" to clear it. In order to do that, the engine would inject fuel in the exhaust stroke of the engine. This in theory was fine, but in practice caused flaming exhaust in the very early builds as well as oil dilution. The oil dilution made the lubrication of the rocker arms (which was minimal to begin with) worse as diesel fuel does not lubricate as well as engine oil. Recommended fixes include strict maintenance including fuel water separator draining, an emissions system overall, and fixing the up pipes that are prone to cracking. Major fixes to the engine require the cab to be lifted, which dramatically increases costs to have work done.
6.7PS- 2011 to present, with major engine changes in 2015. The 2011 and 2012 model years had ceramic bearings in the dual-boost turbo system which were prone to failing. This was resolved with better bearings in 2013 and a Garrett VGT in 2015 to replace the Honeywell one. There are a lot of emissions components on these trucks, which seem to be the weakest link in all modern diesels. In this system, DPF is required which is an added cost regularly. The prices are also significantly higher to own a truck with this powerplant inside of it. It does seem to have significantly more power than all of its predecessors.
That's what I can think of as of right now. I am not really sure which of these I should be looking at seriously. Please feel free to add information as well as guidance on which direction to go.

 

From a diesel technician at a Ford dealership since 2000, I agree with most of your observations of the diesels from the mid 90s to present. Having said that, your budget will play a major part in what you end up purchasing. To me personally, the 7.3, 6.0 and 6.4 trucks are all beginning to age to the point where ownership of one will not be very cost effective to own as a daily driver. The 6.7 trucks have by far, proven to be very solid overall, since its introduction in 2011 all the way up to the present ones. Ford has really done an excellent job of redeeming themselves in the heavy duty pickup market from the 6.0/6.4 fiasco that nearly destroyed their reputation.

As a plow truck, I highly recommend that you go with a gas powered truck due entirely to it's use. Extensive idling, short trip runs as such are the very opposite type of usage needed to keep the emissions system happy on any modern post-2011 model year diesel powered truck. As such, a gas powered truck will serve your needs much better.

 

You have done extensive research on Fords..... Have you researched Dodges and General Motor's as well? If so, what brings you back to Ford.

Just a curiosity question.

Hobo

 

Hobo,
That's a good point you bring up. I have not done the same level of research into either Cummins or Duramax. Probably the biggest thing that is bringing me back to Ford is in my experience with GM (only the Chevy portion of the company) the bodies don't survive very well, especially up here (That being said, the salt is hard on any manufacturers body (, Cummins I heard too many horror stories about the transmissions, which in hindsight is unfair to them as Ford has had plenty of issues in other areas as mentioned above. If you have any insight on either of those, please feel free to share
jschultz

 

m-chan,
Thank you for your reply. Being a diesel tech with a few years in the game is definitely helpful to hear. Do you have an opinion on the remans that are put out for the Ford diesels? I was looking and it APPEARS they are remaned by Ford, but I'm not 100% on that one.
Also, thank you for the gas suggestion. I'll have to do some looking on that end too.
jschultz

 

My insight is about equal for Ford, GM and Dodge..... To oversimplify my opinion... The service you get out of these units will depend on how well they are maintained. The type of oil you use, how often it is changed, how often the cooling systems are flushed and treated, how often the entire unit is greased, how they are undercoated and prepared for severe service (plowing) and above all the quality of your operators.

Hobo