My girlfriend has a 97 F-350 horse-hauler. I’m neither a Ford guy or a diesel guy, but most of the guys I work with are both. I don’t particularly like being seen in the Ford despite frequently appreciating appreciating the benefits of having access to a 1-ton pickup truck. Judging from their market share, Ford has the lions share of the big truck market. A couple months back I got the opportunity to park her truck next to a friends 2013 250. I believe his has the 6.7... I barely have meaningful seat time in the 350 and have only ridden in later models.
The 7.3 Turbo... more like 7.3 Turd-O in factory form. It’ll pull the world... eventually, and so long as you remembered to leave early it’s entertaining watching people hurt themselves to get around you. That motor is likely 1000#’s of mostly cast iron, with absolutely no provision given to anything beyond diesel truck engine. Not a thought of emissions compliance, no need to even consider weight as the engine would only be in exempt heavy trucks. No “engine management” management to speak of. Compared to a Chevy big block the engine is HUGE!, but you can still see and access stuff like... the valve covers. You can SEE the turbo by merely opening the hood.
Meanwhile, my buddy’s F-250 is the most recent body style... you know, the one where most dealership/warrantee maintenance starts by removing the cab from the frame. My buddy loves his truck, but it’s had some MAJOR issues prior to the coolant leak he brought the truck to my shop to chase. By the time he found his coolant leak, with the cab still in place, mind you, he had removed a 2.0 four cylinders worth of metal. The EGR-valve probably weighs 40-50 pounds of wildly big AND complex aluminum. He had pounds of wiring and hoses EVERYWHERE. So many hoses, it appeared not a single one where any fitting repeated. The charge side of the intake is in like four separate pieces all with highly specific, large, high-pressure fittings. Again, each section specific and I didn’t see a single fitting twice. Because the job was SO time-consuming, especially limited to weekends and evenings after commute and 10-12 hours of real job, there was time for research and parts to be ordered AND delivered. He winds up doing both DEF and EGR delete. The EGR delete was under $50, and it’s just a block-off plate and bypass hose. I’m not privy to cost or depth-of-work to do on the DEF delete. The truck no longer smells like rotten piss at the tailpipe. The truck has whatever the most basic “chip” is. Stock exhaust, no sort of “hot-rod” physical parts. Mostly all he did was remove or replace BURIED OEM parts. I believe the chip is mostly to trick the computer however it needs to be tricked to do the DEF delete. No diesel emissions standards here in Georgia, my friend wasn’t chasing performance, he was fixing A problem and wound up simplifying a job he hopes to not have to repeat.
I haven’t driven his, but I’ve ridden in it. His front-live-axle truck rides, stops, steers and tows INFINITELY better than the older, TTB IFS truck. This same friend used to have an 02/03 F-350. Different body my girls, but both had the same 7.3 and trans. With the model change Ford went back to a live axle for the one-tons. Still that truck seemed to turn and steer way better than my girls, I get that it’s a truck and “handling” typically takes a backseat to capacity.
Everything I know about the 6.0 and 6.4 Powerstroke seconds what others wrote above. Those engines had PROBLEMS, only exacerbated if you tried to turn them up.
The bigger problem I see, after watching my buddy do a pretty good job as a technician is that there’s just no easy way to service much at all on the newest trucks easily. Like every modern car, when they work, they’re better than ever before. Problem is to make new cars that much better, necessity has dictated that new cars are even more complex than their predecessors. The first car magazines I can remember reading had me convinced that much more that anything over 400hp was IMPOSSIBLE from the small block Chevys 5.7l. Now the OEM are getting power figures better than that with HALF the displacement and offering 100k mile warranties to boot. It takes the average American 6-7 years to rack up those miles. The problem of perception as well as cost. That gas sedan... you know, the one that cost only 1/3 of the pickup and is perceived to be worn out after that mileage. The econobox sedan can be practically thrown away. Meanwhile the perception of diesels is that they last indefinitely.
Problem is a diesel engine “ain’t even runned in” when the 100k mile warranty runs out. I don’t know WHAT you do if you have to make major repairs out of warrantee. Independent shops don’t charge what the dealership does, but independent shops also usually don’t have spare lifts to tie up with a truck cab while the rest of the truck takes up a whole other bay. Independents will have to order whatever parts they invariably break getting a hose off or dropping never to be seen again. My friend is third generation FORD. TRUCK. MAN. and has spent plenty of time under the hood of Ford 3/4-tons. He’d done enough research to know where to start looking for his coolant leak. Even so his repair required removing LAYERS of unrelated hoses and wires and 60-pound castings. As involved as my friend’s repair turned out to be, it was probably 1/2 the work required to service the turbo. The 6.7 turbo is buried so deep in the “vee” of an engine buried so tight in the cab you literally cannot see any part of the turbo or impeller housing until the whole intake tract has been removed. Im sure that removing the cab gives a tech all the room in the world. As tight as the packaging is on the new truck I don’t know if you can access the bellhousing bolts to separate the transmission. A transmission which, I’ll reiterate, IS SO MUCH BETTER than what’s behind the 7.3.
The girls 7.3 shows only 120k, an hour meter would likely tell a different story, but the transmission isn’t worn out, it’s just old... and probably sucked when new. The shift strategy is really weird and the only way the torque converter locks up in overdrive is when the truck is coasting. She loves everything about that old 7.3 and people will cross the street to make offers on the truck.
I’m a bow tie guy, and still not a diesel person, but the consensus I’ve gotten is that the Duramax is way problematic. It makes good power and the Allison trans is rumored to be AWESOME, but things break and I’m sure they’re stupid complex as well.
Cummins are probably the best engine of the bunch, the 7.3 powerstoke MAY come close, but I don’t think anyone has turned a powerstroke up to the levels mildly built Cummins make. Interpret as you will, but I’ve been noticing a TON of Cummins-badged Nissans lately. I have absolutely NO idea what Dodge’s competition to a C/10 or F100 is... can’t say I’ve ever seen one...
Not having frequent enough need to own a 3/4 or 1-ton truck or any particular interest in the nuance of compression-ignition engines, I am totally content not having a horse in this race. Frankly, if I NEEDED an eight-lug truck enough I would probably be looking for a older Chevy, not GMC(personal preference), 2500 HD with the 8.1l gas motor. Well maintained gas motors are going the best part of the way towards diesel mileage. The gas motor is far easier to perform any level of service, and when we’re talking about Chevrolet engines and transmissions, Chevy was real smart, way smarter than Ford and the other guy. Pick ANY Chevrolet V8... pick any Chevrolet transmission... if either engine or trans breaks, some form of replacement will be cheap and readily available. There’s a total wealth of information on proven combos and practices to take any setup from mild to wild; as strong as your wallet can warrant.
Any diesel engine makes a little more torque in stock (semi) reliable form. I know you can turn the newer diesels WAY up without breaking the head; exhaust or oil-pan factory gaskets. It’s my understanding that the efficiency of a diesel doesn’t suffer as badly as a gas motor would have to in order to make 1000 ft. lbs. Because these ridiculous power numbers can be made with mostly turbo-back exhaust systems and engine management, you can dial the output up and down. A flick of a switch; with the engine totally stock can go from 8-12 mpg towing 30k, to power figures well above a thousand torque and Hp.
Here’s the missus and mine:
They’re both big-boy 8-lug trucks... 2WD. Mine has all the options required to get C/30 or a one-ton rating in a pickup. GM never officially made a one-ton suburban. Hers tows the horse and trailer. I don’t have a horse. Or a trailer. I do get better gas mileage and spend less on my fuel. Mine starts moving as soon as my foot leaves the brake pedal while hers only makes noise for the first couple hundred rpm. My parts are always cheaper and more easily come by. Most importantly to me, the reason I built my suburban, is I can stretch out in the back isolated from the trash, pollen and leaves in the bed of every pickup truck. We can both shut the tailgate on a full 4x8, but my sheetgoods will stay dry. Her engine is totally stock, mine is pretty mild: 496ci stroker big block. With fuel injection and regular maintenance I should easily get 150k or more before the engine HAS to be rebuilt or replaced, but I can do any of that in my driveway, with a modicum of tools and no need for heavy equipment or a rigging crew. Emphasis on me doing it... in my spare time, with tools I’m already likely to own and with such part availability that I can probably have the engine removed, rebuilt and replaced before the local diesel specialist has completed his diagnostic work and definitely before he’s ordered parts that cost more that the ubiquitous small-block/big-block parts.
If you’ve taken the time to read all of this...
You should have a fairly good idea of my personal perspective. You’re welcome if any part of my rant answered your question and I’m sorry for wasting your time if you didn’t at least enjoy my raving
Jeremy