You should tell Ford you think their Powerstroke is a "medium duty" engine because even they don't think so and use the Cummins engine in their "medium duty"
class 6 and 7 trucks. :laughing:
:laughing:
Really? Do you know WHY? Obviously not, or you would not have posted that....
Ford BUYS the 7.3L PSD (and 6.0L and 6.4L) from International, the contract between Ford and International says Ford CAN'T use the engines they purchase in the bigger trucks because International does not want their engines in competotor's MD trucks! Ford WANTS those engines in the MD lin-up, but they can't have them.
You do realize, well I guess you don't, that the T444E (7.3L PSD) is the most common of all engines in the School Bus and wrecker
Medium Duty market right? I guess by definition, that makes that engine a MD product.
The Powerstroke is NOT a medium duty engine, and does NOT like much more then about 50% more HP at most. I've seen plenty of failures.
I've been working on and owning the T444E/7.3L PSDs since 1994 when they were first offered in Ford pickups and International MD Trucks. There goes your assumption that it's not a MD engine again btw. I have not yet pulled a
stock engine because of any "failure" of the engine. I have been responsible for maintenance on fleets running HUNDREDS of these engines and outside of a couple exploded from Ether use, never have seen a major engine failure. Does that mean they never fail, no way, but it does take a lot and there is no weakness in them like the KDP. They also DO wear out, like any engine. The better you treat them, the longer they last.
The T444E/7.3L PSD makes 230 HP and 620 lb-ft of Tq in Medium Duty Truck and Bus applications. That is DOUBLE the HP and Tq of the standard "MD" engines of 20 -30 years ago. HP is not an indicator of LD/MD/HD, GVW of the vehciles they are used in is however. In these applications, the engine can be expected to last 200k -300k miles w/o a major component failure. Your BBC and BBF can't do that. No one is arguing that the hop-up potential of the B5.9L isn't better, in fact I stated it WAS better and a lot less expensive. That really has nothing at all to do with the OP's question or wether the engine is "MD" or not.
On the flip side, and it's a good product, I have replaced 5 B5.9L blocks. Two from the KDP, two from cracks between the core plugs on the RH side and one Cummins wouldn't repair under warranty when it smoked #1 cylinder at 23,000 miles and tore up the block.
I have replaced a number of B5.9L engines, mostly I think, from poor maintenance and not an engine issue. The HGs on the other hand, that's an engineering mistake, and I have done dozens of HGs on them, mostly in "MD" trucks.
So, if failing HGs means an engine qualifies as "MD", then the B5.9L is the only one of the two that would qualify. If, OTOH, being good for 200,000 - 300,000 miles in a MD truck w/o any fear of a catastrophic failure (like the KDP) qualifies an engine as "MD", then only the T444E/7.3L PSD qualifies.
Don't get me wrong, BOTH are good products and have their distinctive "nich" market, but it's just plain wrong to say the 7.3L isn't a "MD" engine. It's got more displacement and has sold more units in MD trucks than the B5.9L.
Therefore, for most customers, on-road stability and ride quality is most important.
