What did you buy this week?

scootr · Nov 13, 2023

troverman said:
Pretty sure its a 3.2L engine. Ford stopped offering these in the last couple of years. I know they can be hard to work on for certain procedures, not the engine's fault...just that its in a van.

You could be right, good little engine.

aircommuter · Nov 13, 2023

troverman said:
I own a 2019 RAM 3500 6.7L HO Cummins with the Aisin transmission. Its a nice engine with good power; the transmission is durable but clunky and slow shifting. Compared to my 2017 F-350 with the 6.7L Powerstroke, the RAM is slower and if anything gets worse fuel economy. Its also harder to service - and that's not the fault of the Cummins 6.7L since its used in other applications - but the oil filter is in a terrible spot on the pickups and so are the fuel filters. A modern Ford 6.7L is effortless to change the oil and fuel filters. Duramax is pretty easy too. And if you watch any of TFL Truck's comparison tests towing max loads up the Eisenhower tunnel pass in the rockies, the latest Powerstrokes really outclass the Cummins trucks. Considerably quicker and better fuel economy. Will they last as long? Who knows. I also still have two Ford 6.0L trucks, a 350 and a 550. That V8 diesel was made by Navistar and known for its problems. But once you fix them, its a great engine and I like it better than similar-vintage Cummins 5.9L 24V engines. More power, much more responsive, just not as good of fuel economy.

Try replacing the water pump on the Fords. More to service than filters. I you have the right oil filter tool and use it with some thought it’s not a problem. In order to compare pulling capabilities you must have equal gear ratios. The Fords have not shown to last very well. Those 6.0 engines still have certain inherent properties even you mask them up. Having 4 bolts per cylinder is not a Diesel design at all. Besides who wants and engine that you have patch with redesign just to make it work?

troverman · Nov 13, 2023

Which Ford are you talking about replacing the water pump on? The 6.7L has two water pumps. I have all the special tools for Cummins and Ford for the filters. Your most frequent services should be the easiest. Water pumps sometimes go 200k.

As for the 6.0's, they are serving me well. Both are stock. One had to have head gaskets done and the dealer put studs in when they did that job. The other truck has 300k on it and the heads have never been off - and the water pump is actually original. It needed an EGR cooler, oil cooler, STC fitting on the HPOP, stand pipes and dummy plugs, glow plugs, a FICM rebuild, and a turbo. Really not that bad, and still runs good.

aircommuter · Nov 13, 2023

troverman said:
Which Ford are you talking about replacing the water pump on? The 6.7L has two water pumps. I have all the special tools for Cummins and Ford for the filters. Your most frequent services should be the easiest. Water pumps sometimes go 200k.

As for the 6.0's, they are serving me well. Both are stock. One had to have head gaskets done and the dealer put studs in when they did that job. The other truck has 300k on it and the heads have never been off - and the water pump is actually original. It needed an EGR cooler, oil cooler, STC fitting on the HPOP, stand pipes and dummy plugs, glow plugs, a FICM rebuild, and a turbo. Really not that bad, and still runs good.

One pump is for the cooler and even that’s a bad idea. Most water pumps don’t go 200k, I have been in the truck repair business over 50 years. Seen a lot. Pulling a cab to repair things is just a poor design.
You were extremely lucky with the 6.0. Plenty of Fords had bad service designs over the years inspite of the fact they had control of the design of the engine and the truck. When you are out somewhere with a camper and not many parts stores around it easy to find a Cummins water pump since it fits over 30 years and has two bolts and an O ring. Fords have lots of different ones with so many different engines. Too many to stock them all. You know of course Ford and Navistar had a big lawsuit over all the engine issues.
You don’t see any major equipment manufacturers ordering 6.7, 6.4, 6.0, or even 7.3 for their construction or stationary engines.

troverman · Nov 13, 2023

Nobody is ordering 6.4, 6.0, or 7.3L engines now since they have been out of production for years. However, there are quite a few 6.7L trucks in service. We have a pretty large trash company running a fleet of 20+ current-gen F-750 diesel trucks; our city's DPW runs a fleet of F-550 diesel dump truck / plow trucks, even UPS has quite a few large F-650 box trucks with the diesel. Obviously the Ford 6.7L is going to be limited to Ford products. Cummins has now products, just the engine, which they sell to anyone. The second water pump on the 6.7L handles more than just the cooler; its a low temp circuit for things like the trans cooler, intercooler, EGR cooler, etc. The Ford system has two radiators, two degas bottles, two water pumps, and four thermostats. Pretty impressive system. The water pumps are not set directly into the blocks; that way if the impellers wear a hole in the housing due to bearing failure you don't get coolant into the internal block, which seems pretty smart to me.

aircommuter · Nov 13, 2023

troverman said:
Nobody is ordering 6.4, 6.0, or 7.3L engines now since they have been out of production for years. However, there are quite a few 6.7L trucks in service. We have a pretty large trash company running a fleet of 20+ current-gen F-750 diesel trucks; our city's DPW runs a fleet of F-550 diesel dump truck / plow trucks, even UPS has quite a few large F-650 box trucks with the diesel. Obviously the Ford 6.7L is going to be limited to Ford products. Cummins has now products, just the engine, which they sell to anyone. The second water pump on the 6.7L handles more than just the cooler; its a low temp circuit for things like the trans cooler, intercooler, EGR cooler, etc. The Ford system has two radiators, two degas bottles, two water pumps, and four thermostats. Pretty impressive system. The water pumps are not set directly into the blocks; that way if the impellers wear a hole in the housing due to bearing failure you don't get coolant into the internal block, which seems pretty smart to me.

Obviously I meant when they were in production. When I said cooler I just didn’t spell them out. I think they just did it the cheapest way possible and created more things to fix. Cummins had water intercoolers in the early seventies. Air to air is better.

troverman · Nov 13, 2023

aircommuter said:
Obviously I meant when they were in production. When I said cooler I just didn’t spell them out. I think they just did it the cheapest way possible and created more things to fix. Cummins had water intercoolers in the early seventies. Air to air is better.

Air to air is not necessarily better at all. Each has pros and cons. The air to water design allows a more compact intercooler which can be placed anywhere. It enables Ford to be the only HD pickup truck on the market to offer a factory winch because it won't block the intercooler. In very hot conditions, the air to water CAC is superior because it doesn't pre-heat the air flowing into the radiator behind it, and it is very consistent. And no one in their right mind would think Ford having twice as many cooling parts as their competitors is doing things "cheaply."

JethroB · Nov 13, 2023

$85 from Amazon. Identical to Harbor Freight’s but $25 less. Very handy and stout.

Amazon.com

dodge man · Nov 13, 2023

JethroB said:
$85 from Amazon. Identical to Harbor Freight’s but $25 less. Very handy and stout. View attachment 831930

Amazon.com

I've got something similar. It’s pretty handy.

CloverKnollFarms · Nov 13, 2023

300 honey bottles and caps

aircommuter · Nov 13, 2023

troverman said:
Air to air is not necessarily better at all. Each has pros and cons. The air to water design allows a more compact intercooler which can be placed anywhere. It enables Ford to be the only HD pickup truck on the market to offer a factory winch because it won't block the intercooler. In very hot conditions, the air to water CAC is superior because it doesn't pre-heat the air flowing into the radiator behind it, and it is very consistent. And no one in their right mind would think Ford having twice as many cooling parts as their competitors is doing things "cheaply."

Not really more compact because it requires additional items to get rid of the heat. Whether or not it preheats the air entering radiator depends on several factors, like distance to the radiator, edge opening and whether or not there is heat being produced that exceeds ambient air temperature. Cheap doesn’t mean that all those parts are cheaper than other designs but rather how cheaply they produce that particular design. Auto manufacturers always build as cheap as possible. Ford being at the too of the list over the years. I could provide a long list of their cheap parts used to sell the vehicles only to make the replacements much more expensive. When it comes to comparing a straight six to a v8 the straight six is a naturally balanced engine. Even Caterpillar had troubled with v8 Diesels. Watch for the straight six gas to make a comeback. The v8 design was for lower and shorter profile. If those Ford v8 Diesel engines were desirable to equipment manufacturers Ford would be happy to sell them.

WM75Guy · Nov 13, 2023

Four new Titan R4s for the TC40DA - $1,920 installed.

Citydude · Nov 13, 2023

Hand guard for an AR build.

aba4430 · Nov 13, 2023

A Trusco (Toyo Steel) toolbox and a pair of Hella Roklume 280 N Zero Glare lamps for the our Yanmar SA425. The lamps may be a bit overkill. Now to figure out on installations.

Hay Dude · Nov 14, 2023

troverman said:
I own a 2019 RAM 3500 6.7L HO Cummins with the Aisin transmission. Its a nice engine with good power; the transmission is durable but clunky and slow shifting. Compared to my 2017 F-350 with the 6.7L Powerstroke, the RAM is slower and if anything gets worse fuel economy. Its also harder to service - and that's not the fault of the Cummins 6.7L since its used in other applications - but the oil filter is in a terrible spot on the pickups and so are the fuel filters. A modern Ford 6.7L is effortless to change the oil and fuel filters. Duramax is pretty easy too. And if you watch any of TFL Truck's comparison tests towing max loads up the Eisenhower tunnel pass in the rockies, the latest Powerstrokes really outclass the Cummins trucks. Considerably quicker and better fuel economy. Will they last as long? Who knows. I also still have two Ford 6.0L trucks, a 350 and a 550. That V8 diesel was made by Navistar and known for its problems. But once you fix them, its a great engine and I like it better than similar-vintage Cummins 5.9L 24V engines. More power, much more responsive, just not as good of fuel economy.

Really could give a Rats ass about “quick“. I don’t buy trucks to win races.
I want reliable, durable, and long lasting. I want torque at the right spots to pull loads. I don’t want V-8 complexity and weaker bottom ends.
You can win all the “pulled a camper up a mountain pass at 75MPH” trophies you want.
Ford’s been through 4 different engines in 20 years. They lost me as a customer. They force fed junk to us and I shouldn’t have to rebuild ANY engine to make it reliable.

You rate an engine “harder to service” because of the oil filter location? Yeah, ok.

I’ll stick with Ram/Cummins.

Show me a Ford doing this and I’ll pay attention.
That’s 48,500lbs right there.

Williy · Nov 17, 2023

Ford problems?

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willy

bigtiller · Nov 18, 2023

8 pair of crew socks for $9.95 each. Loose fit/stays up. Best socks I have had for decades.

ultrarunner · Nov 18, 2023

Bought some work shirts as my go-to Carhartt S224 65 poly and 35 cotton permanently discontinued as did Sears and JC Penny... as did Grainger and Northern.

We will see as the only similar shirt found is through a uniform site so placed my order...

Very durable twill fabric that just lasts and lasts... I tried another brand and first day the material ripped when snagged while adjusting pilot on steam boiler...

ultrarunner · Nov 18, 2023

Last Christmas I bought a DeWalt 20v combo on special through ACE and also cashed in rewards.

I have a 25 year old DeWalt cordless drill and a biscuit joiner which serve me well.

The 20v tools work but overall I guess you get what you pay for... the blower is weak and loud with limited battery life... the sawzall knock off really vibrates... the string trimmer very light duty, etc...

Had my Stihl AP blower and the difference was night and day across the board but it cost about the same as all the DeWalt package so there you go...