I was actually trying to be good about not going after that. I thought I was doing a damn good job of that too.

 

I drove a 2002 Chev Silverado HD with a 6.0L for yrs, thought she had all the power in the world. She aged and it was time to move on when I made my way to the 5.4L in a 2005 F-250 with the same ponies under the hood while acquiring more torque than the Chev. Power wise they are the same. To be honest I had no idea I was driving an under powered truck until stumbling onto this site. Power wise she is no smoker but I still like it as smokers don't appeal to me @ least not in yrs past. Diesels are expensive to purchase & maintain, they smell bad, noisy, fuel is more expensive, when they break, they break you. I like gas motors they suit me fine for my needs and the 5.4L fills that need

 

That's a regional thing. Diesel here as of yesterday is the same as 87, not more. How long that lasts, who knows, but they've been the same for awhile. I take note because I fill up with both now. As to the break and that breaks you, that depends on what you can do yourself. Some are even relatively easy to work on just need to get past that initial fear. I know the 6.0 in reality isn't as hard to work on as some think.

 

Diesel here is only about 5 cents more than 87, but my 7.3 gets 7 mpg's more than my 5.4. I pay more per gallon for my 7.3 but my 5.4 costs more per mile.

Most people that say diesels are hard to work on or expensive to work on have never even raised the hood on one. Like you say, it's just fear of the unknown. Like when the modulars came out and the 5.0 contigent b*tched and moaned that they were going to be impossible to work on, never going to buy one, etc.

I will say that on a per part basis, my 5.4 costs more to fix than my 7.3. I priced a bunch of parts like starters, alternators, water pumps, etc, and 9 times out of 10 the 5.4 was more expensive for the same brand/type. On similar parts (glow plugs vs spark plugs/COP) the 5.4 was still more expensive. Fuel injectors for my 7.3 are 5 times as expensive as my 5.4, but the 5.4's cam is 5 times as expensive as my 7.3's.

 

Love my 08 F250 5.4L. I will say that it got alot better with a programmer, but it wasn't too bad before.
Pack 2000-2500lbs in the back on a weekly basis, tows my 6-7,000lb horse trailer no probelm, tows 9,000lb ish of hay & trailer on occassion. Our roads are twisty and hilly here in the coastal mountains, and the only thing that has kept it from keeping up with highway speeds was a 9% grade with 130 square bales on the trailer.

Would I like a diesal, yes; can I justify that huge cost difference, no.

 

Yer right I'm not a diesel mechanic, nor would I want to be. My brother has been buyin diesels for sometime now (twenty yrs approx), he has a const business that requires him to pull heavy trailers. I always hear him bitch about diesel specific probs and repair bills. When I bought my F-250 the first words out of his mouth was "Ya didn't buy a diesel did you?" Fuel prices right now are inline with gas vs diesel in this area but thats not usually the case. My brothers main transportation is a 08 F-350 6.4L that gets a avg 10-12mpg . I wouldn't say thats very efficient for a diesel though it has plenty of power.
Today our sky is gray

 

Where are you getting your parts prices? Sounds off to me. You have to replace camshafts on a regular basis? Looks like you left out the turbo too. Seems like a flawed argument to me especially when throwing the 6.0l and 6.4l into the mix.

 

Forgive me, I didn't really mean to suggest that people need to be certified techs. I merely mean to be more knowledgeable about the vehicles that they drive. I'm by no means certified in any way, I really don't have much free time to do hard core mechanic work, but I do take what time I have to know the vehicle that I bought. Some people don't take that time and that bites them in the butt later on.

As these engines become more complicated, both diesel and gas, drivers need to have more knowledge then they do. I know some don't like that, but that's the way things are and in a sense always have been, just for some reason it seems to be slower in the vehicular world.


Without knowing the specifics of A. His driving habits and B. How much and often he hauls and C. The setup of his truck. That could very well be pretty damn efficient. It just all depends.

 

I have to replace camshafts about as often as I have to replace fuel injectors. Gasser guys always bring up the high price of our fuel injectors, which almost never "need" to be replaced, when their camshafts cost just as much as our injectors and need to be replaced just as often.

I have priced them at Advance, O'Reillys, Napa and Auto Zone. Some places have the 7.3 a little higher on some parts, some have the 5.4 a little higher, but for the most part they are within $5 of each other. Here are some prices from Advance Auto. COP for the 5.4 is $50 each and spark plugs are $2.00 each. You need 8 of each. That is $416 every 80-100k miles for the 5.4. My glow plugs are $10 each and I need 8 of them. That is $80 every 200k miles. Edlebrock water pump is $195 for both of them. Remy new alternator is $175 for both of them. Remy new starter is $195 for my 7.3 and $175 for my 5.4. If we had to replace all of those parts by 200k miles then my 7.3 would cost $645 and my 5.4 would cost $1,377 (changing the plugs/COP at 100k and 200k).

 

.

A. Normal
B. 10-12 MPG without hauling/towing
C. 35" Toyo Mudders

Not efficient considering the extra cost of purchasing/maintenance and fuel in my book

 

I wasn't saying you needed to be a diesel mechanic either. I was just saying that most of the people that talk bad about working on them have never even opened the hood on one. A water pump is a water pump. If you can change one on a 5.4 you can change one on a 7.3. A head is a head. They both come off and go back on the same way (except the 7.3 is 10 times easier than the 5.4). Rebuilding an engine is rebuilding an engine.

Or I hear that diesels require "special tools" that gassers don't. Really? Like what? I haven't gotten an answer from anyone that uses that excuse. A gasser requires a timing light and a diesel doesn't, so that is one "special tool" that I don't need. A gasser requires a spark plug socket, so that is two special tools it needs.

I can't comment on the 6.0 or 6.4 because I don't own one, but I do have a 5.4 and 7.3 parked side by side in the garage and I can tell you with 100% certainty the cost or skill level required to work on them compared to each other.

 

The first paragraph is hilarious. No sense trying to explain it to you either, learned that a long time ago.

 

I'm sorry but that's all relative. My normal driving may not be his and vice versa.

Still is that get up and going all the time, is that dealing with hills, etc. I need more info then that.

That could present a problem with mpg. Also what gearing does he have. 4x4, DRW, auto v. manual etc.

 

I have a 09 250 with a 6 speed standard. In my truck the 5.4 basicly SUCKS! It is hard to keep even my 4500lb trailer up to speed on the highway unless you keep in 4th gear and then it guzzles gas big time. I had a 04 F150 with a 4.6 and it was twice the truck when towingf my trailer. I won't make this mistake again.

 

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/9...cup-tools.html
diesel specialty tool. just thought i'd throw that out there. i have never worked on a diesel, nor even seen under the hood of one in person