Anybody here have any experience w/ Ford SD 6.0 PSD?

[Dmace]

I wonder if there is a company that specializes in repowering them. A lot of people have said all along they would love a Ford super duty with a Cummins diesel and maybe a company decided to do that. Of course they also wanted the Allison tranny in that setup to make the "perfect" truck.

Well there is this company (http://www.fordcummins.com) and who would want an Allison transmission when you already have a very proven Aisin transmission mounted to the Cummins...?

 

[Soundguy]

My mom had an 'exploder' that had to have a head replaced after it pushed plugs out.. first time they tried to fix it.. ( helicoil? ).. then the repalcement when it imediatly did it again .

she got rid of the vehicle after that..

soundguy

Better watch those flying spark plugs. Someone could get an eye put out with one of those! For some reason my trusty old Excursion seemed to perform the best in the snow and ice we've had lately. It was like the last 2 Suburbans I had, but without all of the squeaks and rattles. I hadn't mentioned it before, but it was my '01 and subsequent '04 'burban that moved me to Ford's SUV. For totally loaded over 50k $ vehicles, I was extremely disappointed with the interiors and lack of power. With a family of 7, my 'family car' options are limited; especially when I only buy 4X4 units.

Both the 'burban and X are beasts in bad road conditions. With either I can go through places in 2wd than many 4X4 units couldn't handle in 4wd. I don't know if it's their weight, wheelbase, weight distribution or all of the above. I just know they go and go. Without power for 7 days kept me running a lot. Boy do I ever regret not buying the 'big' generator I have been shopping the last 6 months! Running two Honda 8k gas powered generators was better than nothing, but fetching gas and running all of the extension cords got old really fast! Now that I have power back I'm discovering that I have major damage to many electrical things from a huge power surge I got right when my power went out. I'm in homeowners insurance purgatory this week and eating antibiotics for pneumonia. It would have been oh so nice to have had my 40 to 50k automatic generator to have just kicked in after I lost power. I'll post about it in a different area, but I need to look into getting a 'whole house' line conditioner and surge protector. State Farm is really dragging their feet on the 50k or so in damage I have.

Oh, BTW, I averaged 8.1 MPG in the X running around on the bad roads in the city. I haven't had my F350 4X4 DRW out in the snow yet, but my old Dodge 3500 4X4 DRW didn't do all that well in the snow even with the locking rear axle and all. I don't think my '04 Suburban with the anemic 5.3 got much better MPG. At least the V10 X has power and is quiet while drinking gas like it's going out of style. While towing the 15 to 20k I normally tow with my F350, I think I've been getting around 12 MPG. The truck is a crew cab 4X4 DRW with 4:30 gears. I think I'm running too many RPMs on the highway to get much economy when I'm moving along at 75 to 80 MPH.

 

[Dargo]

My mom had an 'exploder' that had to have a head replaced after it pushed plugs out.. first time they tried to fix it.. ( helicoil? ).. then the repalcement when it imediatly did it again .

she got rid of the vehicle after that..

soundguy

Some here want to bash Ford's diesel, which statistics prove is unfounded and childish, but the real problem is with their gas engines. I've seen several heads from 4.6 liter and 5.4 liter engines where the #3 plug hold only had 3 (yes, three) threads to hold the spark plug. This is simply a poorly designed head and Ford opted to ignore the problem for years and years, taking on each individual consumer as they had problems. The problem exists in the 4.6, 5.4 as well as the 6.8 V10. There was a really good chance that Ford was going to lose a class action law suit and have to spend tens of millions of dollars in recalls and reimbursements. Unfortunately, they convinced federal regulators that such a recall would bankrupt Ford. This was before all of the domestic auto manufacturers fell on unprecedented hard times. I doubt Ford will ever have to make good on this design defect. What really bothers me is the fact that Ford knew about this problem since 1999 (documented) and never fixed their head designs. If you want to see how bad the spark plug problem is, just go here Consumer complaints about Ford Engines - Spark Plug Defect

 

[Soundguy]

Amazes me..

My old ford flathead's from the 40's and 50's have more threads holdiong the plugs in..

soundguy

 

[Dargo]

Amazes me..

My old ford flathead's from the 40's and 50's have more threads holdiong the plugs in..

soundguy

I know it's a gamble, but I do like my Excursion. I change the plugs every 30k and make sure I use anti-seize on the threads. It's a PIA, but it's the best preventative maintenance I know of to prevent the spark plug spitting. I mean, c'mon, how expensive would it have been back in '99 for Ford to have redesigned the spark plug holes in their heads to allow for more threads? Another issue is that due to the depth the plugs sit down into the cover (about 4"), moisture collects at the bottom of the holes the plugs sit in and the threads get corroded. With too few threads in the head, it's way too easy for someone to strip the threads trying to get the plugs out. That's the reason you'll see every mechanic using anti-seize on the plug threads when they change these plugs. If you make the mistake of waiting until 100k to change the plugs in one, you're almost guaranteed to strip out some threads in the heads.

If you do have a Ford gas engine, I'd make darn sure to change your plugs every 30k miles and make doubly sure that the plug threads are coated with anti-seize when reinstalled. Just be prepared to have some mechanics refuse to change the plugs though. Any who have been around a while are paranoid of stripping the threads and being blamed for the damage and, therefore, absorbing the cost to fix the damage. Every tech I know has the customer sign a waiver indemnifying them from blame if the heads strip. I just mention this because I have found that the 30k plug changes with anti-seize greatly reduces the chances of plug spitting. Of course you'll find nothing about doing this in any Ford manual though.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I know it's a gamble, but I do like my Excursion. I change the plugs every 30k and make sure I use anti-seize on the threads. It's a PIA, but it's the best preventative maintenance I know of to prevent the spark plug spitting. I mean, c'mon, how expensive would it have been back in '99 for Ford to have redesigned the spark plug holes in their heads to allow for more threads? Another issue is that due to the depth the plugs sit down into the cover (about 4"), moisture collects at the bottom of the holes the plugs sit in and the threads get corroded. With too few threads in the head, it's way too easy for someone to strip the threads trying to get the plugs out. That's the reason you'll see every mechanic using anti-seize on the plug threads when they change these plugs. If you make the mistake of waiting until 100k to change the plugs in one, you're almost guaranteed to strip out some threads in the heads.

If you do have a Ford gas engine, I'd make darn sure to change your plugs every 30k miles and make doubly sure that the plug threads are coated with anti-seize when reinstalled. Just be prepared to have some mechanics refuse to change the plugs though. Any who have been around a while are paranoid of stripping the threads and being blamed for the damage and, therefore, absorbing the cost to fix the damage. Every tech I know has the customer sign a waiver indemnifying them from blame if the heads strip. I just mention this because I have found that the 30k plug changes with anti-seize greatly reduces the chances of plug spitting. Of course you'll find nothing about doing this in any Ford manual though.

While I do use anti-size on every spark plug I put in, even in a weed eater, I and all my friends and family have never had a problem. I just sat here and added up in my head at least 30 trucks with 5.4L V8's and 2 6.8L v10's. I guess what you guys are saying is true but I don't feel it is as widespread as they make it out to be.

I agree making a modification to the head would have been smart but they did not. I have had my trucks maintained by myself but I know my friends have had them maintained at shops and have never heard of one having to sign a waiver to have the plugs changed.

Chris

 

[Builder]

Some here want to bash Ford's diesel, which statistics prove is unfounded and childish, ...........

You are right that bashing (in general) probably is silly & childish, but a healthy dose of skepticism is always a good thing.

If we look at the 6L with no bias, we will see in most model years, it didn't make comparable power to its' competitiors and that it didn't make the all important low RPM torque like its' competitors, either.

Also, I think we can all agree the first couple years were pretty much a disaster for the 6L and Ford, but later years were much improved, although the power & low RPM torque never was really impressive throughout the 2003-2007 lifespan.

I think that's a fair assessment.

 

[Diamondpilot]

At the end of the day I would still take a Ford 6.0L truck, preferably a 2005 or newer, over any other manufacture for strength and durability. I can not see a GM or Dodge holding up as well as a whole if really worked, not used as a daily commuter or 3 times a year to haul a camper.

Chris

 

[Dargo]

You are right that bashing (in general) probably is silly & childish, but a healthy dose of skepticism is always a good thing.

If we look at the 6L with no bias, we will see in most model years, it didn't make comparable power to its' competitiors and that it didn't make the all important low RPM torque like its' competitors, either.

Also, I think we can all agree the first couple years were pretty much a disaster for the 6L and Ford, but later years were much improved, although the power & low RPM torque never was really impressive throughout the 2003-2007 lifespan.

I think that's a fair assessment.

As far as I'm concerned, neither Ford nor GM's offerings can touch the inline 6 Cummins for low RPM torque and durability. I drove one for almost 10 years, abusing it more than I should, and never had any engine issues at all. If my main concern was pure torque and top reliability, I'd have gone with Dodge again. In my advancing age I'm seeing that there's more to a truck than driving a powertrain. To me it's the entire package. That's why I selected the Ford 6.0 PSD this time around and have admitted that I'm well pleased with my decision. You can search the net and see plenty of problems with the early Dmax engines as well as the 6.0 PSD engines. You'll be hard pressed to find the rare case where someone has had issues with the Cummins unless it's the DPF in the new 6.7. Personally, I don't count problems with the DPF. It seems that is universal and the DPF is a temporary fix to pass emissions until better technology comes available like urea injection or something similar.

As far as the power of the 6.0 PSD, I don't know what you're talking about. I've driven plenty of GM offerings with the Dmax and I see no power advantage. With the tuner I have on my 6.0 PSD right now, no stock Dmax can come close to it's power. Then, tuner to tuner, I see no real advantage from either engine on how they can run. You're personally completely and totally sold on the GM powertrain and that's what you drive. I'm personally sold on the complete package and I prefer the Ford right now. If I wanted to put more emphasis on the powertrain, I'd likely then lean towards the Dodge. But, hey, that's why they sell all three brands each and every day. A "great truck" is one that the owner is happy with; no matter what truck that is.

 

[Builder]

As far as the power of the 6.0 PSD, I don't know what you're talking about. I've driven plenty of GM offerings with the Dmax and I see no power advantage. With the tuner I have on my 6.0 PSD right now, no stock Dmax can come close to it's power. Then, tuner to tuner, I see no real advantage from either engine on how they can run. You're personally completely and totally sold on the GM powertrain and that's what you drive. I'm personally sold on the complete package and I prefer the Ford right now. If I wanted to put more emphasis on the powertrain, I'd likely then lean towards the Dodge. But, hey, that's why they sell all three brands each and every day. A "great truck" is one that the owner is happy with; no matter what truck that is.

Well, of course a 6L with a tuner will make more power than any of the 3 stock offerings, but that's not the point.
What if someone added a tuner of equal power to a DMAX or 6.7L? Then it would be ahead of you.
The point is which engine offers the most stock HP/TQ at the lowest RPM and throughout the entire RPM band and is reliable while doing so. I can tell you it's not the 6L or the new 6.4L. I'd give it a tie between the DMAX and the last verson of the 5.9L or possibly the 6.7 Cummins.

Since the DPF is part of the "entire package" and the 6.7L DPF has had more problems than Ford or GM and the 68RE isn't in the same class as an Allison, I'd have to put Dodge behind GM for my application.

Once the 6.7L gets the bugs worked out, it would be a tough choice for me between GM & Dodge.