Gas vs PSD
Post Fiend
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 7,841
Likes: 0
From: Vacaville, Ca
Runs darn near forever, gets great milage, will tow a house and never needs to see the dealer. That pretty much means the best to me. At least in the Ford world. Mine still has the Factory clutch with 228,000 miles on it. I changed the brakes at 190,000 miles. I changed the GPR and alternator this year. I changed the water pump in 2004.
Tires are another story though.LOL If I could learn to ease out of the clutch and go slower around corners, they would last longer.LOL
Tires are another story though.LOL If I could learn to ease out of the clutch and go slower around corners, they would last longer.LOL
Hotshot
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 14,069
Likes: 17
From: Melbourne, Ky
The best is usually defined first off as for the person that owns it, it's the best. I own 2 7.3PSD's, therefore they are the best. In fact I have one 97 and one 02. Different style trucks, and a few different things about the engines, but basically the same. They don't have the regen, EGR. or DPFs that the new ones have got. Not as simple as the IDI's, but a lot less complicated as the new ones. I do agree with 95 Dually. But, if I owned a 6.0 or a 6.4, then I would claim it to be the best out there!
Posting Guru
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 2,066
Likes: 4
From: Rogue River, Oregon
You diesel guys sure love your trucks, that's for sure. Here's a nice one for sale that comes with a free trailer! 2004 F 350 flat bed crew cab diesel
Post Fiend
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 7,841
Likes: 0
From: Vacaville, Ca
You gotta feel sorry for that guy. I have heard both good and bad about the 6.0. Truthfully, I would not buy one. Actually I would not buy anything newer than the 2003 with the 7.3. That is just my opinion though. I would not want to gamble and get a bad truck regardless if it was gas or diesel.
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Post Fiend
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 7,841
Likes: 0
From: Vacaville, Ca
You diesel guys sure love your trucks, that's for sure. Here's a nice one for sale that comes with a free trailer! 2004 F 350 flat bed crew cab diesel
Here are some reports on the triton motors.By Joe Benton
ConsumerAffairs.com
<!-- author --><!-- date -->March 26, 2007<!-- date --> <!-- body -->
Thousands of <NOBR>Ford truck</NOBR> owners have paid thousands of dollars to repair the damage caused by the mighty Ford Triton V-8 engine spitting a spark plug from its aluminum cylinder head.
They're the lucky ones compared to Dan of Huntington Beach, California. They at least had a truck left to repair.
Dan's 1997 F250 is a mass of charred rubber, melted glass and frayed wires.
<TABLE cellSpacing=2 cellPadding=2 width=400 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=2>
</TD><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD>
</TD><TD>
</TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=2>Dan's Truck
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE cellSpacing=2 cellPadding=2 width=180 align=right bgColor=#eeeeee border=0><TBODY><TR bg***************><TD>
• Spit Spark Plugs Still Hobble Ford Trucks
• Buy American? Not Again
• Ford's Spit-Out Spark Plugs Hit Mechanics in their Wallets
• Spit Spark Plug Ignites Ford Truck
• Ford Mechanic: Engines "Dropping Like Flies"
• 2003 Ford Trucks Now Spitting Spark Plugs
• Ford Trucks Spit Spark Plugs
• Petition Asks Feds to Order Ford Recall
• Consumers Complain of Spark Plug Blow-Out
---
• More about Ford ...
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>The first plug blew from the number three cylinder on the passenger side of Dan's truck. He repaired it. Then 200 miles later the number four cylinder from the passenger side spit a spark plug.
"This time the loose plug started a fuel fire and burned my truck down to the axles in 12 minutes," Dan wrote ConsumerAffairs.com. The truck was destroyed.
"BEWARE. This could kill you," Dan warned. "It went up so fast we lost our cameras, computer, GPS and just got out ourselves."
Other consumers agree the problem is a hazard.
"Truly this is a dangerous situation because the fuel rail is right above the coil and spark plug. If this rail and injector break when the plug blows out this could result in a fire," said Robert of Quarryville, Pennsylvania, whose 2001 F250 Super Duty Crew Cab blew its #3 spark plug a few weeks ago.
NHTSA: No Problem
But at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), a taxpayer-supported agency whose <NOBR>job</NOBR> is to protect the American public, federal employees disagree with Dan and Robert's warnings and have responded that no one is going to die because, as they see it, the spark plug issue presents no serious safety consequence.
An attorney in Santa Clarita, California, had petitioned NHTSA, asking it to investigate reports that Ford <NOBR>SUVs</NOBR>, pickups, Crown Victorias and Mustangs sold in the 1997-2004 model years had spark plugs that can come loose and fly through the hood.
Instead of putting consumer safety first, NHTSA is backing Ford. It's refusing to consider spit spark plugs beyond stating that its analysis of 474 complaints describing the incidents "found only a very few alleged any safety-related consequences. None of these showed any evidence of a serious safety consequence."
For its part, Ford continues to stonewall the problem and refuses to acknowledge any responsibility, a policy that is causing unrest among Ford service managers and technicians. One service technician recently told ConsumerAffairs.com that, even when Ford agrees to repair one of the engines, it pays dealers so little for the repair that the technicians end up working free hours.
NHTSA concluded its brief investigation with a haughty brush-off for Ford truck owners.
"In the need to allocate and prioritize limited resources to best accomplish the agency's safety mission, the petition (for a full-scale investigation possibly leading to a recall) is denied."
This is the same NHTSA that in the last year has recalled 45,000 Honda Civic hybrids because the engine could stall; 1.2 million Honda and Acura vehicles because their owners manual had incorrect information about NHTSA's "safety hotline;" a few hundred thousands Nissan Altimas and Sentras because the engine could stop running at slow speeds; 45,000 Chrysler vehicles because leaking brake fluid could start an engine fire. The agency made Audi stage a second recall of some A6 sedans, claiming a previous recall had not fixed a headlight switch that could short out and start a fire.
If complaints to ConsumerAffairs.com are any indication, few of the defects addressed by these recalls have caused widespread problems. Ford's spark plug problems, however, produce a steady stream of anguished complaints. While most don't involve fires, many have caused sudden engine failure that left consumers stranded on the roadside.
Boxed In
NHTSA might want to explain to David of Richfield, Ohio, that the safety plug blow-outs aren't a safety hazard.
"I was driving my 2001 Ford F-150 from Cleveland to Columbus when all of the sudden I heard a loud pop then a loud continuous popping sound came from the engine," David said in a ConsumerAffairs.com complaint dated March 21, 2007. "At first I was a little scared because I was in the middle of traffic on I-71 boxed in between two semi trucks. I couldn't move to the right or left.
"When I finally was able to move to the side of the road, I opened the hood and what did I find?" he wrote. " A spark plug melted to a piece of plastic and a spark plug coil with the spring sticking out sparking against another piece of plastic. I can only wonder what would have happened if I touched the energized spark coil or if it came in contact with metal and I touched the metal. Or even worse, what if the sparking coil came in contact with something flammable?"
"I was lucky that I and my passengers were not killed," Dan said. "Will someone have to die before this problem is fixed?"
Chris of Temple, Georgia, was driving home from work in his 2001 Expedition when he "heard a loud explosion as if some one had fired a gun right outside my door. The Expedition began operate poorly and was hard to control."
"I pulled to the side of the road only to see my spark plug sitting on the intake manifold. The sparkplug blew out of my motor thru the coil pack and busted my pcv valve hose," Chris said.
"I was driving my 2001 Ford F-250 with a V10 engine in some bad winter weather when I heard the engine pop," wrote Thomas of Bellevue, Iowa. "Luckily I was able to maintain control on slick roads after sudden loss of engine power. After getting out to inspect engine, I found the #1 spark plug still in the ruined ignition coil resting on top of the engine."
"My wife was driving to work when the number 3 spark plug blew out of my 2002 f150 Lightning," Dennis of Alta Loma, California, reported. "My wife was stranded on the side of the road. 30 miles from home. For 4 hours at night."
Not Uncommon
Most of the complaints of spit spark plugs at ConsumerAffairs.com involve vehicles with Triton V-8 and V-10 engines in model years 1997 to 2002. This includes the Econoline vans, F-Series trucks, the Explorer, Expedition, Excursion, Crown Victoria and some models of the Mustang.
More than 200 consumers have written to ConsumerAffairs.com about the problem over the last five years. In nearly every case, the Ford owners also complained to Ford, only to be told that the problem was not covered under their warranty and disclaiming any knowledge of a broader problem.
Many Ford dealers feign surprise at the sight of a spark plug blown out of its position in the cylinder head and profess to have never seen anything like the mess spread out before them.
Read more: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2007/03/ford_spark_plug_fire.html#ixzz0YvlcjWGB
ConsumerAffairs.com
<!-- author --><!-- date -->March 26, 2007<!-- date --> <!-- body -->
Thousands of <NOBR>Ford truck</NOBR> owners have paid thousands of dollars to repair the damage caused by the mighty Ford Triton V-8 engine spitting a spark plug from its aluminum cylinder head.
They're the lucky ones compared to Dan of Huntington Beach, California. They at least had a truck left to repair.
Dan's 1997 F250 is a mass of charred rubber, melted glass and frayed wires.
<TABLE cellSpacing=2 cellPadding=2 width=400 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=2>
</TD><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=2></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE cellSpacing=2 cellPadding=2 width=180 align=right bgColor=#eeeeee border=0><TBODY><TR bg***************><TD>
• Spit Spark Plugs Still Hobble Ford Trucks• Buy American? Not Again
• Ford's Spit-Out Spark Plugs Hit Mechanics in their Wallets
• Spit Spark Plug Ignites Ford Truck
• Ford Mechanic: Engines "Dropping Like Flies"
• 2003 Ford Trucks Now Spitting Spark Plugs
• Ford Trucks Spit Spark Plugs
• Petition Asks Feds to Order Ford Recall
• Consumers Complain of Spark Plug Blow-Out
---
• More about Ford ...
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>The first plug blew from the number three cylinder on the passenger side of Dan's truck. He repaired it. Then 200 miles later the number four cylinder from the passenger side spit a spark plug.
"This time the loose plug started a fuel fire and burned my truck down to the axles in 12 minutes," Dan wrote ConsumerAffairs.com. The truck was destroyed.
"BEWARE. This could kill you," Dan warned. "It went up so fast we lost our cameras, computer, GPS and just got out ourselves."
Other consumers agree the problem is a hazard.
"Truly this is a dangerous situation because the fuel rail is right above the coil and spark plug. If this rail and injector break when the plug blows out this could result in a fire," said Robert of Quarryville, Pennsylvania, whose 2001 F250 Super Duty Crew Cab blew its #3 spark plug a few weeks ago.
NHTSA: No Problem
But at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), a taxpayer-supported agency whose <NOBR>job</NOBR> is to protect the American public, federal employees disagree with Dan and Robert's warnings and have responded that no one is going to die because, as they see it, the spark plug issue presents no serious safety consequence.
An attorney in Santa Clarita, California, had petitioned NHTSA, asking it to investigate reports that Ford <NOBR>SUVs</NOBR>, pickups, Crown Victorias and Mustangs sold in the 1997-2004 model years had spark plugs that can come loose and fly through the hood.
Instead of putting consumer safety first, NHTSA is backing Ford. It's refusing to consider spit spark plugs beyond stating that its analysis of 474 complaints describing the incidents "found only a very few alleged any safety-related consequences. None of these showed any evidence of a serious safety consequence."
For its part, Ford continues to stonewall the problem and refuses to acknowledge any responsibility, a policy that is causing unrest among Ford service managers and technicians. One service technician recently told ConsumerAffairs.com that, even when Ford agrees to repair one of the engines, it pays dealers so little for the repair that the technicians end up working free hours.
NHTSA concluded its brief investigation with a haughty brush-off for Ford truck owners.
"In the need to allocate and prioritize limited resources to best accomplish the agency's safety mission, the petition (for a full-scale investigation possibly leading to a recall) is denied."
This is the same NHTSA that in the last year has recalled 45,000 Honda Civic hybrids because the engine could stall; 1.2 million Honda and Acura vehicles because their owners manual had incorrect information about NHTSA's "safety hotline;" a few hundred thousands Nissan Altimas and Sentras because the engine could stop running at slow speeds; 45,000 Chrysler vehicles because leaking brake fluid could start an engine fire. The agency made Audi stage a second recall of some A6 sedans, claiming a previous recall had not fixed a headlight switch that could short out and start a fire.
If complaints to ConsumerAffairs.com are any indication, few of the defects addressed by these recalls have caused widespread problems. Ford's spark plug problems, however, produce a steady stream of anguished complaints. While most don't involve fires, many have caused sudden engine failure that left consumers stranded on the roadside.
Boxed In
NHTSA might want to explain to David of Richfield, Ohio, that the safety plug blow-outs aren't a safety hazard.
"I was driving my 2001 Ford F-150 from Cleveland to Columbus when all of the sudden I heard a loud pop then a loud continuous popping sound came from the engine," David said in a ConsumerAffairs.com complaint dated March 21, 2007. "At first I was a little scared because I was in the middle of traffic on I-71 boxed in between two semi trucks. I couldn't move to the right or left.
"When I finally was able to move to the side of the road, I opened the hood and what did I find?" he wrote. " A spark plug melted to a piece of plastic and a spark plug coil with the spring sticking out sparking against another piece of plastic. I can only wonder what would have happened if I touched the energized spark coil or if it came in contact with metal and I touched the metal. Or even worse, what if the sparking coil came in contact with something flammable?"
"I was lucky that I and my passengers were not killed," Dan said. "Will someone have to die before this problem is fixed?"
Chris of Temple, Georgia, was driving home from work in his 2001 Expedition when he "heard a loud explosion as if some one had fired a gun right outside my door. The Expedition began operate poorly and was hard to control."
"I pulled to the side of the road only to see my spark plug sitting on the intake manifold. The sparkplug blew out of my motor thru the coil pack and busted my pcv valve hose," Chris said.
"I was driving my 2001 Ford F-250 with a V10 engine in some bad winter weather when I heard the engine pop," wrote Thomas of Bellevue, Iowa. "Luckily I was able to maintain control on slick roads after sudden loss of engine power. After getting out to inspect engine, I found the #1 spark plug still in the ruined ignition coil resting on top of the engine."
"My wife was driving to work when the number 3 spark plug blew out of my 2002 f150 Lightning," Dennis of Alta Loma, California, reported. "My wife was stranded on the side of the road. 30 miles from home. For 4 hours at night."
Not Uncommon
Most of the complaints of spit spark plugs at ConsumerAffairs.com involve vehicles with Triton V-8 and V-10 engines in model years 1997 to 2002. This includes the Econoline vans, F-Series trucks, the Explorer, Expedition, Excursion, Crown Victoria and some models of the Mustang.
More than 200 consumers have written to ConsumerAffairs.com about the problem over the last five years. In nearly every case, the Ford owners also complained to Ford, only to be told that the problem was not covered under their warranty and disclaiming any knowledge of a broader problem.
Many Ford dealers feign surprise at the sight of a spark plug blown out of its position in the cylinder head and profess to have never seen anything like the mess spread out before them.
Read more: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2007/03/ford_spark_plug_fire.html#ixzz0YvlcjWGB
Elder User
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 685
Likes: 0
From: Spokane, WA
You gotta feel sorry for that guy. I have heard both good and bad about the 6.0. Truthfully, I would not buy one. Actually I would not buy anything newer than the 2003 with the 7.3. That is just my opinion though. I would not want to gamble and get a bad truck regardless if it was gas or diesel.
Now, the difference is, the Dmax doesn't have issues with clogged EGR and oil coolers like the 6.0.
My point? After being pi$$ed at the money I spent, I realized I probably would have spent the same with the Chevy, which a lot of people say has the best engine reliability of the three. And now my engine should have the same reliability. I would have done the same mods with the 7.3 as well, minus the coolant filter (which by the way was very cheap and easy).
Can I still have head gasket or injector problems? Of course. But so can the 7.3 if you run it at 1,400 degrees or get unlucky with bad fuel. Or parts just degrade over time.
So with any engine, all you can do is maintenance and hope for the best. They all end up on the side of the road at some point.
Lead Driver
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 7,868
Likes: 9
From: Rhode Island
According to most of the supercharger sites I was looking at when I was wanting to get one for my 5.4 they claimed a 40% hp increase on the v10 with 8 psi. By their claims that would put the v10 at 505 hp at the crank and around 400-425 at the rear wheels. Their claims always said "up to" 40% or "with proper supporting mods" or something like that. Granted, all of my turbo experience has been on 4 cylinders, 5.0's and 351's, but when the gauge hit 4-5 psi on those you could barely even feel a difference.