The Official Super Duty Thread!!

[71fordkid]

Alright guys, I'm going to start a Super Duty thread. Ford recognizes the Super Duty is the 99+ F-250-550 truck platform. I Work for a Ford dealer in Portland, OR and work as a Diesel Tech specializing in 6.0L and 6.4L diesels. I still know some stuff about the 7.3L power strokes. I have access to all the factory literature, TSB's, Recalls, and SSM's for puts out.

This will be a place where you can ask questions about Body, Chassis, Electrical and Engine. Ill try to answer them to the best of my ability. So ask away!!

[68 Ford Stepside]

Alright 71fordkid: I've heard from a bunch of people & magazine articles that the 6.0 is the biggest piece of crap diesel engine ever produced. I have to beg to differ from all the stuff I have heard. My youngest son bought a Harley-Davidson F250 , 4x4 with the 6.0 engine. From day one he drove it like it was a drag car. He abused it in the worst fashion. He drove down mud bogs screaming to the rev limiter over & over & over. It was almost like he was trying to destroy it.

He pushed it like this for over three years. The only problem he ever had from the truck was the A/C compressor. He sold the truck this year & as far as I know the truck is still on the road. No engine problems ever. It had the auto trans & it never failed. When I hear the three words, "Built Ford Tough" my son's 6.0 immediately comes to mind. Have A Great Ford Day!

[fireguywtc]

Can you please find me the factory specs on air conditioning performance such as vent temps? I have been trying to fix my AC system for over a year now and it will only get as cold as 50* from the center vent when driving down the road on Max AC, with lower fan speeds. Highest fan setting will keep the vent temps around 55* whlie driving. However, when I am idiling or in stop and go type traffic the vent temps will creep up into the 60's or higher and will not keep the truck in a comfortable temperature on warm days. I have had my truck since new and I know it used to work a lot better then this. Hell, my 70's factory AC with R134 works better then my 07's at the moment.

This is the performance after I have had the system evacuated, complete flush, accumlator replaced, orfice tube replaced, low pressure switch, and charged to factory spec. The only thing that has not been replaced is the compressor which is functioning, but I am not sure if it is on its way out or not. Other things checked is air flow over condesner, the engine fan is working good and the condenser is clean. Also HVAC box and evaporator is clean and all door functions are working normally as is the coolant shutoff valve.

[averagef250]

Alright 71fordkid: I've heard from a bunch of people & magazine articles that the 6.0 is the biggest piece of crap diesel engine ever produced. I have to beg to differ from all the stuff I have heard. My youngest son bought a Harley-Davidson F250 , 4x4 with the 6.0 engine. From day one he drove it like it was a drag car. He abused it in the worst fashion. He drove down mud bogs screaming to the rev limiter over & over & over. It was almost like he was trying to destroy it.

He pushed it like this for over three years. The only problem he ever had from the truck was the A/C compressor. He sold the truck this year & as far as I know the truck is still on the road. No engine problems ever. It had the auto trans & it never failed. When I hear the three words, "Built Ford Tough" my son's 6.0 immediately comes to mind. Have A Great Ford Day!

As a whole, the 6.0 costs it's owners more than pretty much any other engine ever made. They have cost Ford billions. Ford and Navistar (the maker of the 6.0) no longer do business because of the 6.0 and 6.4 mess. Popular opinion aside, if you're able to take a few hours of your time it's a really interesting read to research Navistar's CEO's decisions over the last decade and how he's single handedly destroyed the reputation and profitability of one of America's bigger manufacturers.

6.0 trucks are worth significantly less than a 7.3 truck and 7.3 prices are artificially high for these reasons.

One of my good friends maintains a fleet of Ford E-series city busses powered by 6.0 engines. It is almost unfathomable how many problems these engines have and what it takes to keep the busses running.

71Fordkid- What can a Ford dealer do to increase the reliability of the 6.0 without defeating emissions systems? I have yet to meet anyone with a 6.0 who was remotely satisfied with dealer fixes for the engines. I know a family with an '05 with less than 20K miles on it. They have always taken their vehicles to dealerships for service, they only take this truck to Landmark and it can't run for more than a week without going back into the dealer.

[71fordkid]

68, there are good ones and bad ones. I've seen some trucks kill injectors almost monthly, and some never. I've always noticed that the later programming in the pcm to "fix" other issues, usually makes the trucks more succecptable to other failures. i know of one truck in particular that has only had the first update for the pcm, and none of the others, and has had no problems at all. they also say that the harder you run it, the longer it lasts. also, if it was an 2003/04 truck, those are more reliable for some reason. they changed alot of internal components in the 04+ trucks.

Fireguy, what ac system do you have? manual (knobs) automatic (just buttons) or dual zone automatic? You may have a temperature blend door issue if yours in NOT dual zone (DATC, or dual automatic temp control) and you have determined that your ac refrigerant system is in good operating condition. i can give you a pressure to ambiant temp chart you can use to determine this if you have a set of A/C manifold gauges. if you have the same temp air coming out of both sides (if yours is DATC) then i would suspect a referigerant system issue, like a pressure switch cycling too soon or something like that.

Average, a dealership cannot disable any part of the emissions system. its punishable by federal law and the shop could be closed as well as (i think) a $25,000 fine to the shop. like i said in response to 68, some are just worse than others. if it has less than 20K on it and its an 05, i would want to know about thier fuel quality. how often are they putting new fuel in? are they using fuel stabilizer or a cetane booster? that being said, aftermarket (like bulletproof diesel) egr coolers do wonders. also, ARP head studs prevent the streaching of the head bolts under heady load/high boost condtitions. regular maintenance like fuel filters, oil changed, and coolant flushes help too. egr coolers blow because coolant flow through the oil cooler gets reduced by cooling system contaminants, and the coolant cant get out of the egr cooler and boils, popping the cooling fins. a dealership can install aftermarket egr coolers, oil coolers, head gaskets, head studs, etc., but cannot delete any egr components.

[71fordkid]

Fun trivia, the Estimated warranty cost is factored into the price of a new vehicle when you purchase it. The Ford Fusion actually has kept Ford afloat during all the 6.0/6.4 warranty claims and lawsuits. Ford way overestimated the warranty cost for the Fusion, and WAAY underestimated the warranty cost of the super duty.

the 7.3 vs 6.0 cost is interesting. Ive seen a NICE 6.0 truck go for mid teens, when a ok-shape 7.3 goes for low 20's. Everyone wants the 7.3 because theyre a bulletproof platform, handle abuse well, and can put alot of power down.

[fireguywtc]

My truck in an XLT so it only has knobs and one climate zone. The factory literature would be great in regards to ambient temps vs. pressures. I have a good set of manifold gauges. I have checked and fixed everything I can possibly think of. The blend door is working fine also. Either something is reheating the air (heater valve?) or my compressor is possibly going to crap. Thats my best guess, but I want to figure it out before it gets hot again. thanks for the help!

[68 Ford Stepside]

Thanks 71fordkid: In other words, my son's torture of his 6.0 is at least part of the reason it held up so well. How many times in a man's lifetime would he ever tell his kid to drive the hell out of it. LOL Have A Great Ford Day!

[71fordkid]

Fireguy, PMing you the instructions and chart for the test as we speak.

[mrollings53]

I'm looking at buying a '04 6.0l F250 2wd with 106K miles. Any questions I should ask the dealer to make sure I'm not buying a lemon, or things I should look for on a test drive/walk around?

[hazelnut]

I've got a question about 7.3s. I need to replace the dipstick tube seal and have to pull the pan to replace it, Yea someone wasnt thinking when they designed that one.

Is the 7.3 one of those diesels that you can replace the bearings in the bottom end to gain 200k before it needs a out of frame rebuild ? Or do they need a complete rebuild around 350-400k weather the bearings are replaced or not ?

[1972hiboy]

I've got a question about 7.3s. I need to replace the dipstick tube seal and have to pull the pan to replace it, Yea someone wasnt thinking when they designed that one.

Is the 7.3 one of those diesels that you can replace the bearings in the bottom end to gain 200k before it needs a out of frame rebuild ? Or do they need a complete rebuild around 350-400k weather the bearings are replaced or not ?

Ive done the dipstick seal in the pan through fitting without taking the pan out. I even did it on a e350. I was able to hold onto the pan side fitting with a small pair of vise grips replace the o-ring and reinstall back to gether. but if you drop the fitting its brass so no magnetic will help you then you will be taking the pan off. I run a fleet of econolines with the 7.3l more than half have over 350k+ miles on them.These engines get oil sampled every 5k miles on them and even the high mileage ones have never show a bad sample due to bearing material. With regular oil changes and maint there is no reason a 7.3l can't go 800k.

[hazelnut]

I'll give that a try. I asked at the dealership when i ordered some parts about it and was told i had to drop the pan to replace the seal. Would be a lot easyer to do it from the outside. Looks like a pain to pull the pan.

I don't think my 7.3 will make it to 800k. I bought it used from a pipeline contractor. The people that worked on it left thier mark. When they replaced the turbo the didn't replace the air filter, The engine could barely get enuff air to run. When they replaced the fuel filter they forgot the O-ring and trash got into 5 injectors that i had to replace. And when they replaced the alternator the plug-in broke so they replaced it with spade conectors and forgot to krimp. Found lots of other good stuff to

Thanks for the help 1972hiboy

[71fordkid]

I'm looking at buying a '04 6.0l F250 2wd with 106K miles. Any questions I should ask the dealer to make sure I'm not buying a lemon, or things I should look for on a test drive/walk around?

make sure you get there when its COLD. do not let them go get it for you when you get to the shop. bad injectors show up when the vehicle is stone cold. also, there are several oil leaks on the 6.0 that require an engine pull to fix. take it to a parts store on the test drive and see if they will scan it for codes. also ask about maintenance records. If you PM me the vin, i can give you a list of warranty repairs the vehicle has undergone. look for excessive smoke/steam out the tail pipe on the test drive, thats a sign of a carboned up intake or an egr cooler going out.

[Broncobilly66]

I'm looking at buying a '04 6.0l F250 2wd with 106K miles. Any questions I should ask the dealer to make sure I'm not buying a lemon, or things I should look for on a test drive/walk around?

If it were my money I'd pass on any 6.0/6.4. Too much money to fix it...