6.0 vs 7.3 Which one for my spouse?

Bersaglieri

Bersaglieri

Ron Swanson's Brother
Joined
Jan 8, 2008
Messages
1,957
Well the day has finally come that my girl wants to get rid of her Accord and get a diesel. I'm familiar with Duramax and Cummins, so in the spirit of man vs woman she wants a Powerstroke.

It basically comes down to the 7.3 vs the 6.0. Yes I've heard the problems with 6.0's but I have driven a few at work and they are actually pretty powerful. Another work truck is a Duramax LB7 and I put 6 lengths on him getting on the highway. I also drove a few 7.3's at my old job and I just wasnt impressed. Yes they might be reliable but the ones I drove felt like dogs, especially with a load.

She wants a Crew Cab longbed 4x4 either F250 or F350. We do have a gooseneck trailer. Likely she'll want to keep it stock, but if I can sneak some stuff under the hood, I'll will. My main concern is reliability I cant have her getting stranded somewhere, needs to be reliable. Auto or Manual doesnt matter.

She likes the body of the old 94-97 style, but I dont know how the IDI and older Powerstrokes are. I heard that 99-Oct of 00 have forged rods instead of PM ones.

Which had Dana 60's up front, which had good autos or manuals, which have better suspension, etc.

So I come to the Ford camp seeking advice, information, or wisdom. School me. Thanks.

-Dustin-
 
I vote on a 05 & up 6.0. I bought mine w/ 135k on the odometer and its now at 150k. Only problem Ive had so far is FICM needed to be replaced but thats it. Ive been runnin an SCT w/ race tune for about 5-10k w/ no issues.
 
So 05 and up 6.0's have most of the problems worked out? The ones at work are 05 and up, so maybe that's why the mechanics dont have many problems with them.

Why a 1997 7.3?

-Dustin-
 
from what i have heard if its got 60,000 miles and not poped a head gasket it mostly want if it has then it will again for sure
 
scott2001 said:
from what i have heard if its got 60,000 miles and not poped a head gasket it mostly want if it has then it will again for sure
Click to expand...

Unless you have headstuds put in and make 110% sure that the block is flat and deck the heads even if they seem to be flat.
 
I was reading up a little bit on 7.3's. Seems like it takes a bit of money to get them close to where my Cummins is now. I drove a 6.0 CC F350 DRW today, thing was damn quick, still under warranty, but the price tag was too high. I really enjoyed driving it though...psst...dont tell my truck.

-Dustin-
 
It will take alot of cash to get the 7.3 or the 6.0 close to alot of the cummins out there. My 03 cummins sat at 649hp and cost the fraction of my 6.0 build to get 550hp. The thing about the ford is that a good solid tranny in a ford and some mods to the air and fuel will get you in the 400's for HP. I have seen alot of fords with good trannies and decent hp run with a cummins that has 100hp more...don't know but the ford seems to lay the power down pretty good.
 
She likes the body of the old 94-97 style, but I dont know how the IDI and older Powerstrokes are. I heard that 99-Oct of 00 have forged rods instead of PM ones.

Dunno much about the IDI's but the PSD's have pretty "small" injectors

Which had Dana 60's up front, which had good autos or manuals, which have better suspension, etc.

All F350's have 60's, I believe the 05+ 250's have them too.
The older the truck, the less HP the auto trans will take. All 6.0's came the the Torqshift 5 spd auto, its pretty good from the factory, the older E4's and 4R's tend to not handle the abuse too well once you start modding the engine. The OBS trucks have 5 spd manuals, the SD's have 6 spd manuals, I haven't heard too many complaints about either. The 05+ have coils up front, all others have leaf fronts
 
Hey thanks alot for the good information, those are the kinda posts I'm looking for.

-Dustin-
 
here's what you do... recomend that she keeps her Accord... if she insists on getting a diesel, recomend a Cummins...

if she insists on getting a powerstroke, let HER make the decision!!! because when/if she buys a truck based on YOUR recomendation and something goes wrong with it (which it probably will), guess who she's going to want to blame? :D
 
Trust me, this has been coming for a long time. She wanted a Cummins at first, then somehow a salesman got her to drive a powerstroke and now she wants that. She's trading off the Accord so she can move across country with the rest of her and I's stuff. I'm already in NM and she's in NH. Not to mention a few other reasons. I have tried talking her into a Cummins. She wants or needs 4 doors she says. I'm trying to work the 3rd Gen angle, but she likes the way the Fords look. I almost had her talked into a 24 valver cause of the 1/2 doors that open, but that fell through.

I'm not telling her what to get, but at the same time this is going to be our first purchase together so I dont want to make a poor investment either.

We've been together for a long time, so I know how the blame game works. She actually went against my advice when she got the Accord and amazingly she said I was right and she should have got a truck the first time. :woohoo:

We'll see what happens. Even a Duramax would be accecptable since I used to have one and I know it's a bit more reliable and I could work on it. I'll definately let you guys know what happens.

Thanks though Forrest. PS I sold off the PS62 and have twins coming soon. The PS62 treated me pretty good. I even ran it with a 4000GSK like you recommended and it ran much better on the top end. I think some 90hp injectors would have been perfect.

-Dustin-
 
She won't go wrong getting a PSD, just stick with what the Ford guys have recommended on here. I am quite happy with my 6.0 (note what the '97 in my sig has).
 
Have her call me and I'll take care of it from there.
She gets a Power Stroke that runs well and you don't get the blame when something goes wrong.
 
Well after looking at the 7.3 aftermarket I kinda want to start with a 6.0 and just add a tuner seems cost effective. Compared to the 7.3 which seems like it takes alot of money to break 400hp at the wheels. Although you have to note that the 7.3's go for 6-10k less right off the lot.

Really though I found a 7.3 PSD that she likes, and a LB7 Duramax that I like. Both crew cab long beds, autos, and both 10k. There are a few 6.0's she likes and a few low mileage Dmax's I like for the 14k-16k range.

I dont know, with the budget I have in mind it'll probably be a higher mileage 7.3 and I'm going to have to start learning.

What is the typical RWHP per mod break down on those 7.3's? AKA stock 2XXrwhp, stock + tuner = 3XXrwhp, stock plus tuner, plus turbo =35Xrwhp. The one we both like is a 99, supposedly with forged rods.

I have been watching alot of the powerstrokehelp guy on youtube trying to learn.

-Dustin-
 
What is the typical RWHP per mod break down on those 7.3's? AKA stock 2XXrwhp, stock + tuner = 3XXrwhp, stock plus tuner, plus turbo =35Xrwhp. The one we both like is a 99, supposedly with forged rods.

Talk to Brad at RCD http://www.rivercitydiesel.com/ He built a 500rwhp 7.3 on the relative cheap.....

I have been watching alot of the powerstrokehelp guy on youtube trying to learn.

LOL
 
5ninef250 said:
What is the typical RWHP per mod break down on those 7.3's? AKA stock 2XXrwhp, stock + tuner = 3XXrwhp, stock plus tuner, plus turbo =35Xrwhp. The one we both like is a 99, supposedly with forged rods.

Talk to Brad at RCD http://www.rivercitydiesel.com/ He built a 500rwhp 7.3 on the relative cheap.....

I have been watching alot of the powerstrokehelp guy on youtube trying to learn.

LOL
Click to expand...

You know about the quote button and how it works??:poke: I was confused when I read your post at first, then I realized you had quoted the guy above you...
 
Yep, sure do....I tried to answer the OP questions and as you see above and I received the message "your post can't be less than 3 characters"...
 
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