What To Do With 2003 Superduty 6.0L PSD

[kennyd]

Just for clarification, the 7.3 Ford used from 88 - 93 was the 7.3 IDI, an in house built Ford diesel, and in no way was it the 7.3 Powerstroke that was introduced in 94' that ran til early 03'. Correct me if I'm wrong.

As a current owner of a '92 F250HD with a 7.3L IDI engine I can assure your the IH built most of it. Ford did have some influence-but it's mostly IH.

 

[rdam]

FWIW, I have a 2004 F-250, 6.0 with Tourqeshift automatic, ordered new from the factory. It is box stock, no chips or ECM flash. With 62,000 miles, it is one of the most reliable vehicles I've owned. I tow a 20' gooseneck equipment trailer and a 35' triple axle Toy-Hauler. I almost always weigh the rig when taking a long trip, and am ALWAYS near the GCWR of 20,000 pounds.

The truck only spends about 10% of it's time towing, but it's been powerful and reliable. The "fan clutch" rarely kicks in except for uphill towing in HOT weather. No leaks, regular maintenance with synthetic oil at 5000 mile intervals, original brakes. Front wheel bearings at 62K looked like new.

 

[jayste]

Thanks to everyone for the posts.

I appreciate any and all information on the 6.0L 2003 & 2004 year models. Mine is the same as Rdam's as far as no aftermarket gadgets. Stock all the way and gets regular maintenance. Might set a little more than I like due to it being a farm truck and I'm not a full time "farmer". Has anyone heard of "flashing" the computer to cure a cold starting issue?

Jay

 

[some zilch]

Ford used the 6.9 from '83 through '87, the 7.3 from '88 through '93, 7.3 with factory turbo in '94 only with automatic trans. The first Powerstroke came out in '94 but only with a manual trans. This engine was used until the '99 SuperDuty came out in January '98. Improvements in HP were made to this engine and it was used until the '03 came out in August '02 until about January '3 when the 6.0 hit the market. The 6.4 came out in the summer or '07 and will be used until early in '10 when the 6.7 is introduced.

thats alot of changing engines, and they still dont have it right

the cold starting is most likely a glowplug relay issue. the f550 at work is a ber to start under 50*, but a new glow plug relay fixed that issue

 

[jayste]

thats alot of changing engines, and they still dont have it right

the cold starting is most likely a glowplug relay issue. the f550 at work is a ber to start under 50*, but a new glow plug relay fixed that issue

Ok. Thanks. I'll look into a relay.

Jay

 

[Bill_C]

thats alot of changing engines, and they still dont have it right

Well, isn't that a little overstated?

The 6.9/7.3 IDI's were basically the same engine. Over 10 years on that motor. Then the 7.3 Powerstrokes ran for almost 10 years. (They added an intercooler, electric fuel, and changed the turbo for the Superduty models but it was still the same motor.)

I do agree the 6.0 then to the 6.4 and eventually to the new Ford engine...does seem like a lot of motors in a short period of time.

 

[Soundguy]

Ok fellas. I've got the burden of owning a 2003 Ford F350 with 6.0L PSD and was wondering (PLEASE WITHOUT STARTING A WAR) if there is something I could do to alleviate any worries or trouble down the road. I bought it with 35,000 miles on it, it now has 76,000 on it and other than being cold natured below 50 deg. F. it's been a great truck. I haven't researched anything as of yet just wanted to get some input from my TBN pards first. You should know I own a 1999 F250 with a 7.3L PSD as well and have been trying to sell the 2003 F350 to downsize and get out of a payment.

Jay

I own an 04 f250 with the 6.0PSD.. love it... makes my 98 dodge with 5.9l gasser look weak and light when towing...

soundguy

 

[saltbranch]

jayste, we had 2 F250 trucks in 04 bought with in a month of each other where I work. One was cold natured like you say the other not. We had injector problems on both. 1 was traded in at around 150k(cold natured 1), the other has 135k or so on it to date. Our injector problems started well before 76k. Also consider these trucks have several people driving them, which is hard on trucks. The 6.0's are better than the 6.4 on mpg...non chipped on both.
Sounds like you have a good 6.0 on your hands to me.

 

[jayste]

As far as the cold start, I've done a little more research and am starting to lean towards the reflash on the computer (inductive heating reprogram). According to some other info the 6.0 doesn't have a glow plug relay it has a module and they tend to not give any problems. As far as the heads and head bolt issue I don't think they have ever given any problems on this truck to date.

Jay