Both engines offered now at dealers near me . Would those of you with long experience stay with 7.3 and let others be the test owners on the new 6.0/Trans setup.LILGUY

 

If it were me and I really wanted a 6.0 ltr I would give it more time to see if their a any problems that may develope with the new moter. However the 7.3 ltrs will not last forever so this make your problem a tuff one.

So if it were me I would wait a few months and get an 04 with the 6.0. Not that I dislike my 7.3, but the 6.0 ltr seems to have a aready strong following. You just need to give it a little time to mature.

Just my $.02

Will-

 

Ford tells us that this basic engine (the 6.0) has been in production by Navistar for about 5 years, with certain "modifications" for Ford. What was modified- the turbo? the heads? Nobody seems to know. I suppose you're always taking a risk with ANY new product, but Ford would have to be INCREDIBLY stupid to put an engine like this out there without getting the big bugs worked out first. I'm sure there will be some little stuff to take care of at first (there always is), but after you drive the 6.0, you'll agree it's worth it. It's what the 7.3 should have been in the first place!

 

I would not be too concerned about the reliability of the 6.0.

Cost is another issue, and why I went with the 7.3.

The 6.0 w/5-spd costs about $1000 more thn the 7.3 w/4-spd. There are no rebates on anything with the 6.0 There is a $2000 rebate on the 7.3. So the 6.0 starts out $3000 more expensive. Plus, dealers are more willing (at least right now) to make deals on 7.3's than 6.0, so there is some $$$ there.

I really, really wanted the 6.0, but I do not drive enough miles each year to justify 7.3, let alone the extra $3000+++ to get the 6.0.

That would be another reason to wait for an '04, by next Fall, there will probably be better deals (and maybe rebates) on the 6.0, and all of the initial production bugs will be worked out.

 

I went through this myself. I needed to make a move and buy another truck this year. After I did my research I decided to stay with the 7.3 engines. I'm worried that the new engine won't hold up under the higher rpm and compression ratio and of course there are always some bugs on a new engine like this that will have to be worked out. I hope that it does work great but for now I'll stick to the old 7.3. If I want the extra HP then I'll chip it, which I'm going to do anyway in the near future.
To be honest with you, I thought there would be a run on the 7.3s that are left on dealer's lots.
I have been keeping up with the 6.0 since they are out, trying to see what problems they may be having and how well they are doing so far. Of course they are all still new and probably none of them are broke in yet but they are having a few problems with the new automatic transmissions. It seems that a reflash of the computer is solving most of it although I did hear of one the tranny completely went out in. I also read that one of the new trucks lost the #7 injector.
So far I haven't heard of any great fuel mileage. Most have been getting 13 to 18 mpg but like I said they aren't broke in yet.

My suggestion would be if you want a truck right now then go for the 7.3. If you can wait a while then you might consider the 6.0 about a year from now.

This is just my $.02 worth. If you really want the 6.0, Go for it.

 

The 6.0 was not engineered to increase fuel economy. Ford admits this. Ford says MAYBE 8%-10% improvement. About 1 mpg.

The 6.0 was really meant to reduce emissions. Navistar was required to introduce reduced emissions diesels. Some lawsuit with the gov't. If not fot that, the 7.3 probably would have remained. As anyone with a chip can tell you, Ford could get 325 HP and 560 ft.-lbs. of torque out of the 7.3.

 

I saw on another bulletin board that a local dealer was asking $4000 for for 6.0 X's than 7.3 X's.

Like I said, at least another $3000 for the 6.0. Probably more than worth it to some, to have the lastest and best. You have to do your math and see if it is worth it to you.

 

some of guys in my club, blue- oval-diesel.com ,,in wash state, rode in one 6.0 new diesel o3,back in nov say they were not impress with it,power wise, they also put it on dyno test the same day hp rating was 225, ford was from bill pierce in seattle wa, dyno was in monroewa . my user name is ford diesel on this web site

 

>Ford tells us that this basic engine (the 6.0) has been in
>production by Navistar for about 5 years, with certain
>"modifications" for Ford. What was modified- the turbo? the
>heads? Nobody seems to know. I suppose you're always
>taking a risk with ANY new product, but Ford would have to
>be INCREDIBLY stupid to put an engine like this out there
>without getting the big bugs worked out first. I'm sure
>there will be some little stuff to take care of at first
>(there always is), but after you drive the 6.0, you'll agree
>it's worth it. It's what the 7.3 should have been in the
>first place!
---to 1956 mark ll, you were saying in production past five yrs what vehicles was it in, how come ford never came out with sooner, any information you can pass on would be nice, thanks ford diesel

 

>>Ford tells us that this basic engine (the 6.0) has been in
>>production by Navistar for about 5 years, with certain
>>"modifications" for Ford. What was modified- the turbo? the
>>heads? Nobody seems to know. I suppose you're always
>>taking a risk with ANY new product, but Ford would have to
>>be INCREDIBLY stupid to put an engine like this out there
>>without getting the big bugs worked out first. I'm sure
>>there will be some little stuff to take care of at first
>>(there always is), but after you drive the 6.0, you'll agree
>>it's worth it. It's what the 7.3 should have been in the
>>first place!
>
> ---to 1956 mark ll, you were saying in production
>past five yrs what vehicles was it in, how come ford never
>came out with sooner, any information you can pass on would
>be nice, thanks ford diesel

Wish I could help you out here, but I can't. That info came to us at the Ford intro meeting of the 6.0 for salespeople. All they said was, "Navistar has been using this BASIC engine for about 5 years." I have to assume he meant they were using it in Navistar/ International products, as I'm not aware of them selling to anyone else outside other than Ford (other than the big-rig makers). Maybe a check with Navistar would help. Info at these meetings is a little sparse- they tend to be more of a "pep rally" than hard-core informative.

 

The 6.0L has NOT been out for 5 years. We started producing it in March of 2002 for Navistar use at our Huntsville Alabama plant -- it is all new. The biggest problem we are having at this time is getting our production facilities up to speed. The engines run pretty well -- we just can't make enough of them.

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 31-Dec-02 AT 12:46 PM (EST)]Is the 7.3 a Navistar engine used by Ford and the 6.0 a Ford engine also used by Navistar? Talked to a salesman who has both trucks on lot, his impression is neutral on the engines and not so sure on new trans, shifts hard.LILGUY

 

The 6.0 has been available from Navistar since March '02. The delay for Ford was getting the new 5 spd. auto ready. Production did not start in Sharonville on the new auto tranny until September '02. Ford did not want to introduce the 6.0 without the new tranny.

 

Nope, It was the 6.0 that was the hold up. They had injector problems that had to be solved.

 

>The delay for Ford was getting the new 5 spd. auto ready.
>Production did not start in Sharonville on the new auto
>tranny until September '02.

There was no delay from the transmission. It was always scheduled to start production in September, 2002.