hello all. I would like to inquire as to the better motor. My intentions are to run 100% Biodiesel and get off Foreign oil! Which would be a better candidate?? I've been told to say away from the 2003-2004 6.0L model years reference to a crappy turbo. Also if anyone could chime in as to biodiesel. I talked to a diesel mechanic tonite and he was kinda frowning upon Bio-D as he said Bio-D has the tendency to hold water and mess up the engine. He was referring to home brewers and couldn't advise on ASTM standard Bio-D. Would ASTM bio-d be ok, or is there a possibility that that too would harm the engine. I'm starting to look but have about a 3-4 month wait before I can buy. Any help greatly appreciated---Biodiesel BOB

 

Welcome to FTE Bob!! The 7.3 would be a great candidate for bio. Even the earlier 94-97 would be great too. If all you plan on doing is getting a diesel truck to run on B100, then a certain year 7.3 really doesn't matter. I would advise you to go a little further down the row of forums, and dive headfirst into the "ALTERNATIVE FUELS" section, you will get the best info on Bio and any other kinda fuel i.e.- WVO, than anywhere else I've found. Good luck and have fun!!

 

I was looking at an older 7.3 truck with no turbo to run on veg oil. They don't have the power but I heard they are better for MPG than the others.

 

I'd say if you're going for a 6.0, stay with the 06/07 years, although we had EGR issues with the 06s we had in Iraq. If you're staying completely stock, the 6.0 will have better power, but if you get a 7.3, you'll have fewer problems overall, I believe. If you do a few simple mods to the 7.3, it'll be right there with the 6.0 as far as power/acceleration. Personally, I prefer the 02/03 7.3s because of the slightly better creature comfort upgrades, but there isn't anything wrong with the earlier models. Be careful with the 01s though -- they have a mechanical diode problem in the trans. The 4R100 already has a spotty record, and they made it worse in 01.

There's my $0.02...

 

Better motor, 7.3 hands down. With a 6 liter you have to worry about head gaskets, turbo's. injectors, and the list goes on. Thats in stock form!

I have seen lots of diesel trucks when I worked out in the oil patch, and its been my experience that the poor 6 liter trucks arent just 03-04 years, they range from 03-07. Seems you either get a good one, or you dont.

 

I think if you're 100% certain you're going to be running bio, then the 94-97 7.3 would be best. You can still tune them up, but they came with 2 tanks from the factory. The small one could be used for regular #2 in the winter for startup/shutdown, and the main/big tank for bio.

6.0s can be good motors & run fine off bio, but some of the known issues with that engine can be pricey to fix.

99+ 7.3s will be faster, but again, single tank.

 

Brendan, you brought up a great point with the two tank trucks- when running WVO, you need a 2 tank system, and in this case the factory did everything for you (well, except for the heat components for the WVO)

 

Izzy,
How much trouble to fix the diode problem in the '01. I am looking at one for my Sister.
Thanks

 

Good point, but I believe biodiesel Bob was refering to biodiesel. Straight WVO and biodiesel are two different things.

Straight WVO requires vehicle mods, as you pointed out, and biodiesel requires no mods to vehicle. But, someone should be able to correct me if I'm wrong, some of the earlier runs of the '94-'97 7.3's might have rubber components in the fuel system. So if he were to run bio, he would need to change out those hoses and/or o-rings to biodiesel compatible ones. (i.e. Viton)

As far as which engine, the 7.3 has far more tolerant injectors than the 6.0. I know people including myself, that have run sub-standard bio in it without incident. On the other hand I know more than a few who have run 'off' batches of bio in their 6.0 and had to replace injectors and their pumps within a thousand miles of that tank full.

Kinda' goes without saying, my vote goes to the 7.3

 

Basically, a complete trans rebuild or replacement. Not cheap. But not all '01s have it. Get the build date (it's on a sticker in the driver's door jamb) -- someone here probably has a link or knows the cut-off for it. I don't remember since I have an '02...

 

yeah any rubber hoses would have to be replaced with new hose. Not sure what it's made from. I'm pretty sure you can get diesel fuel hose from a West Marine and it'll work.