Ford 7.3L Gas Engine

[goeduck]

Who would have thought 20 years ago that gas truck engines would be considered simpler than diesel?

 

[ruffdog]

Who would have thought 20 years ago that gas truck engines would be considered simpler than diesel?

Yes, this engine has no turbo/SC, diesel emissions equipment. It is a cam in block design that uses port injection. It then should not need the high $ pump that direct injection needs.

 

[DMax82]

I look forward to buying a used F550 with one of these in it, in about 10-12 years. Or maybe even an F600.

 

[3930dave]

Yes, this engine has no turbo/SC, diesel emissions equipment. It is a cam in block design that uses port injection. It then should not need the high $ pump that direct injection needs.

Capable engine, with potentially minimal downtime and expense...... Why would anybody want that ?



Rgds, D.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Maybe in a 250. I知 guessing the medium duty truck is closer to 5 mpg loaded. I壇 be surprised of it got 10 towing a big load in any truck.

I have the V10 engine in my 38 foot RV and it gets average of 8 MPG in hill country. I have no idea what it would get in flat highway since we dont have any flat land around here and everywhere I have been in it is either hilly or mountainous.

 

[ruffdog]

Capable engine, with potentially minimal downtime and expense...... Why would anybody want that ?



Rgds, D.

HA!!!

Way, way a long time ago I worked as a medium duty truck mechanic at a GM dealer. Most of the trucks ran the 366ci big block at that time. Pretty basic and low power compared to the present but hey, they did OK with what they had.

 

[3930dave]

HA!!!

Way, way a long time ago I worked as a medium duty truck mechanic at a GM dealer. Most of the trucks ran the 366ci big block at that time. Pretty basic and low power compared to the present but hey, they did OK with what they had.

Thoreau would think we're all nuts, but the longer I live, the more I see his point..... simpler is better......

My neighbour currently has a post-emission Sprinter - great when it's running, expensive to repair when not. He's come to view the 6.0L GM gas engine in his old cube van a bit differently as of late. One of the last Sprinter bills was $7k Canadian; even that 6.0L would have taken a while to chew up that much in gasoline.

That 6.0L still ran fine when he sold it. Other than regular basic maintenance, the only things he put into it were a couple of ignition coils. Not bad for 600k km.

Not trying to drift a Ford thread eace: , just another example of why simple(r) can matter. I welcome the availablity of this new Ford engine, and will be following it closely.

Rgds, D.

 

[4570Man]

HA!!!

Way, way a long time ago I worked as a medium duty truck mechanic at a GM dealer. Most of the trucks ran the 366ci big block at that time. Pretty basic and low power compared to the present but hey, they did OK with what they had.

Those old 366 gas burners don’t do that bad of a job. And they’re tough. I don’t think the Cat 3116 diesels pulled any better or got much better mileage.

 

[deerefan]

Meh. Happy to see some big cube gassers come back, but I will keep my Cummins. 20mpg+ empty, 13.5mpg with a 10k lb load. Hard to beat that and reliable to boot.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I don't know why people make a big deal about the plug spitting problem I have 2 v 10s and have only lost 2 plugs at a cost of 75$ a piece to replace.

I guess when you start out with ten, two is a pretty low percentage compared to starting out with four!

SR

 

[ruffdog]

The numbers for this big gasser may sound impressive but it will never compete against a big diesel. Diesels will always have the edge because the energy density of the fuel is different. Diesel has 18-30% MORE energy per gallon than gasoline so gassers are at a disadvantage from the beginning. It depends on what your purpose for the vehicle is. If you NEED 900 foot pounds of torque....you need a diesel. If not, there are other options.

 

[TSO]

The numbers for this big gasser may sound impressive but it will never compete against a big diesel. Diesels will always have the edge because the energy density of the fuel is different. Diesel has 18-30% MORE energy per gallon than gasoline so gassers are at a disadvantage from the beginning. It depends on what your purpose for the vehicle is. If you NEED 900 foot pounds of torque....you need a diesel. If not, there are other options.

The point of this thread is NOT Gas vs Diesel...

 

[Snobdds]

The numbers for this big gasser may sound impressive but it will never compete against a big diesel.

I think we all know this.

This motor fits a niche for a customer that dosen't need a diesel, which is the entire point of this motor.

Towing is not all about power, gearing plays a big part as well, with the right gears and this motor...that load will get from point A to point B just like a diesel. I like this motor, but I'm at 7,200 feet above sea level, I need turbos up here. If they put a turbo on this I might be a buyer, but until they do I will be forced to buy diesel trucks.

 

[ruffdog]

The point of this thread is NOT Gas vs Diesel...

People buying a truck that has the 7.3 as an option WILL be asking themselves....Gas vs Diesel..

 

[deerefan]

People buying a truck that has the 7.3 as an option WILL be asking themselves....Gas vs Diesel..

Agreed. I know I would have a pro/cons list. With the influx of diesels into the 1/2 ton thru 1 ton market and stronger gas motors, you almost have to.

 

[deerefan]

And you consider that as acceptable for a company that has been making engines for over 115 years? :thumbdown:
No way, no excuse for that kind of engineering!

It seems after the 90s, the big 3 had quirky engine issues. Fords spitting plugs and multiple diesel engine issues. Chevy with the oil consumption and piston slap. Mopar trans and poor cooling system issues. While the engines were light years ahead of the older ones in power, they all seemed to have some weird issue.

 

[deerefan]

Marginal engineering in favor of "other priorities".
The high cost of economy.

I speak from my experiences only. Had a GM TBI motor, a V6 4.3, have 0 issues in over 200k miles. Had a 5.3 in a 05 Chevy use oil, almost 2qts, between changes. My 2 6.0 diesels were fine, but many friends and co-workers had major issues, as well as with the 6.4 diesel. I currently own my first Ram, 2500 with a Cummins. Been great-so far.

 

[4570Man]

My buddy that can tear up an anvil has had and abused several 4.3s and never torn up any of them. I’ve never seen any problems out of 5.3s either. I’d take a 5.3 or a 6.0 over a 5.4 Ford any day.

 

[deerefan]

My buddy that can tear up an anvil has had and abused several 4.3s and never torn up any of them. I’ve never seen any problems out of 5.3s either. I’d take a 5.3 or a 6.0 over a 5.4 Ford any day.

Had a 5.4 in my wifes 13 Expedition. No issues, towed pretty well. Not much in the way of acceleration. We now own a 2015 Armada-big performance difference. Have not towed with it yet.

 

[TractorGuy]

Ford should embrace a simplified overhead cam design that eliminates rocker arms. Just because GM can't get out of the pushrod era doesn't mean Ford should go backwards.

The design used by Fiat back in the 70s and Volvo in the 80s was a bullet proof simple design that used replaceable valve pads the camshaft rode right on to actuate the valves. No reason they couldn't use a similar design with a hydraulic bucket that doesn't require adjustment but in actuality those rarely required adjusting the pad thicknesses. To adjust valve clearance you just depressed the valve with a special tool and replaced the shim with a thicker or thinner one. NO rocker arms, NO pushrods! Just plain old direct valve actuation with a reduction in moving parts.