OT What about this Ford diesel?

The last couple years of the 6.0 were pretty good, however the first couple years got people like to talk them down like the old Chevy diesels and kind of killed their rep. The last couple years of the 6.0 trucks will be a bargain as everybody is still scared of the by then good engine.

Bobg

I have a 2005 6.0 50,000 miles (I know that is not much but it is all I can comment on) and no problems.

Straight highway driving lightly loaded it will get 18mpg. But put anything on it. I mean my fishing boat (aprox 3,000 lbs) to a gooseneck with tractors (aprox 15,000 lbs) and it gets 12-13.5

That sounds just about right. Mine gets 17 empty and 13.6 loaded.

Allan

Dunno what the heck it got 'cause I burned tractor fuel in the silly thing.

That's why I'm so darned put out on this new one. Don't like paying the $3.10 a gallon for the new fancy fuel. :>)

Allan

I think you are hearing the doom-and-gloom about the 6 liter engine - which Ford DID have many problems with. Ford is also involved in a law-suit with Navistar.

The new 6.4 - as least according to tests- is supposed to be an incredibly rugged engine. In reality - who knows? Makes no difference to me - since I'd never pay more for a truck then my farm cost.

Heavy duty auto engineers rate engine life with a "B" rating. For example, a B10 rating of 200,000 miles means - only 10% did not make it that far before a major teardown - and 90% did make it. And, that's with heavy duty use - not just cruising the highway empty.

The Ford 7.3 - or it's heavy-truck version T444E,
has a B10 rating of 200,000 mile and a B50 rating of 350,000 miles. So, half make it to 350K while being worked hard.

The new Ford 6.4 liter has a B10 rating of 262,500 miles - and a B50 rating of 375,000 miles.

Chevy Isuzu Duramax has a B10 rating of 220,000.

Cummins 5.9 has a B10 of 250,000 miles and a B50 rating of 350,000 miles.

The new Cummins 5.6 liter V8 is rated with a B10 of 325,000 miles.

Note that none of them come close to the Isuzu 6H that is used in some medium duty trucks. It has a B10 rating of 410,000 miles.

The B10, B50, & B90 curves presented on a chart of life cycles versus load with a certain degree of confidence should demonstrate the range expected life of the component or assembly if and only if all the variables have been presented properly. Here is where the results get real sticky. Have the entire range of variables been represented in the sample tests? Have the testing parameters been appropriate to the life cycle loads of the customer (typically 95th percentile). Is the sample size adequate to present the life cycle data with a degree of confidence necessary to not only provide a product that is going to be acceptable to the customer but also provide the company with a degree of confidence that they won't incurr excessive liability costs?

The compaines require that their suppliers use these statistical numbers to insure the relianbility of the product. One little snafu in component metalurgy, machining, casting porosity, fit and finish, can cause all sorts of havoc. that is why the companies have Black Belt Teams to quickly address any problems as soon as they become evident. They use engineers who have passed several hurdles of knowledge in statistical analysis, product design, production processes, etc. to develop the model that will predict the satisfactory product.

Occasionaly the system doesn't work because of an overlooked variable. For instance, say that a spool sticks in a bore less than ten percent of the time but it happens only during a Summer month of August and only at one supplier. First the data has to be collected to identify the variable condition then a team must be sent in to investigate the vendors process. When the team is sent in the company is producing parts to spec one after another and nothing shows up. Then the process gets even more detailed as they try to discover the unknown variable. After much study they find that one operator transferred to the casting process on the afternoon shift only during the vacation months of August is adding additinal casting release oil to allow the die cast body to be seperated from the die without any transfer of metal. It is producing a cold shut in the casting that after machining tends to catch the spool and cause it to bind. Solution, control the process by installing an automatic release oil injector which cannot be tampered with by the operator. Those are the easy ones but they do get through to the end customer. The more difficult ones are those that are in the original design and are not easily fixed by a process change. Those require a major redesign and a lot of cash to fix. Statistics are heavily used for all of the analysis in most cases they know where the product is weak and what the fatigue life cycle will be and so they constantly work to identify and correct those deficiencies.

Think you must be talking about the older 6.0 diesel, which had some problems in the '03 model.

Allan

What's in your new one Allan?

Gary

They went from the 7.3 to the 6.0 and the latest incarnation is the 6.4 with the dual turbos.

The '08s are a completely different ball game and redesigned from the pavement up. Bad points are that they are a "little spendy" and a bit thirsty on top of that.

Don't drive one 'cause you'll probably end up owning it. Just a total maniac for power with a ride like you wouldn't believe.

Allan

7 radiators stickin' out there in the wind; what's up with that anyway? :>)

Allan

They are built like the newer tractors in that the cab is lifted completely off the truck for most repairs.

Glad I'm out of the business. :>)

Allan

We have a 2001 7.3--125,000 miles and it runs like the day we bought it. Heard the 1st two years of the smaller PS were bad. As far as I know the later ones are better, but I'm from the old school--more cubes is the way to get torque. The extra HP is gained for the newer engines by higher combustion pressures and higher RPM. Can't help but wonder if the smaller diesels will be able to go the distance. My brother's farmer friends in Mississippi have 7.3's that are pushing 300K miles. As for the current 6.4--someone that owns one can give their own impressions.