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I'd take the Powerstroke 7.3 over the 6.0s because the 7.3s are a better choice. We have a 1999 Ford F250 with the Power Stroke 7.3. It's considered one of the best diesel engines that Navistar International made. BTW Ford didn't actually manufacture the powerstroke engines themselves until the 6.7s came out.
The problem with the 6.0s is the torque-to-yield head bolts and an overboost condition would cause a blown head gaskett and a cracked cylinder. Plus the Power Stroke 7.3s and 6.7s have 6 head bolts per cylinder where the 6.0s only have four. Another problem with the 6.0s is high pressure oil system as well as oil cooler and engine noises. That's why I'd take the 7.3s over the 6.0s.
Amazing what happens when a product is released to the public how some of the dimwits can effect the acceptance of that product, no malice to the OP intended. There's all kinds of "problems" with the 6.0, or so it's perceived. But the truth is, not many had issues. You only hear about a friend who had a friend whose cousins boy friend had one and it was crap. We had a fleet of 6.0's at the lab and not one had any issues at all. None were reprogrammed to eliminate the multi-event injection, nothing. No head gasket failures, no issues at all. Don't know how many we had but many were 4x4 crewcabs and considering the guys drove them like they stole them, I consider it to be one of the best on the street. And it's kinda ironic that the Navstar 365 is the identical, same engine and they have zero issues with too. I guess that's what happens when you put the latest and greatest in the hands of the, too stupid to know any different, public.
While the 7.3 is a long life engine and it has a history to back up that claim, it's a diesel fuel eating land slug. It makes far less HP/twist for the amount of diesel consumed for anything in its class. There are far better choices out there than the Powerjoke. There's a reason you buy a diesel, power and fuel savings for the power generated. The Powerjoke fails on both counts.
trapperl my old 6.9(the smaller brother to the 7.3) regularly turned in 20mpg an had enough power for the truck. as for the 6.0 there were enough known problems with that engine, especially the early ones, that there are indeed kits on the market to solve those issues. not only that but ford filed a lawsuit against navistar regarding the 6.0 and its problems.
06 6.0
Updated Stand pipes and dummy plugs (which were actually OEM LCF 4.5 pipes and plugs)
Swamps 58v ficm
Bullet Proof Diesels water pump (its all metal, not a plastic impeller that can stay stationary and allow the shaft to spin)
Any EGR delete Kit
Hybrid Injectors
Blue spring fuel pressure regulator
Possibly an air dog fuel delivery system over the stock pump.
ARP head studs
Powermaxx Turbo or put wicked wheels on the compressor and turbine side. But that will cost just as much as a new powermaxx when you factor in balancing the turbo rotating assembly...
GOGOs ported 6.0 Intake.
Tunes from Innovative.
Mishimoto intercooler. (solid aluminum can withstand high boost pressures and temperatures)
Better intake system pre turbo. (not a fan of oil bath filters)
New Oil cooler.
Coolant filtration kit.
Can fire ring the heads but you need a very reputable shop to do that...
OEM head gaskets. Black onyx and victor reinz did have issues. I won't install them... Even with studs.
I hate 7.3s with a passion.
Gutless. Even with fancy 6 position aftermarket chips.
220-350k seemed to be the life of the block and bearings... Had alot of high mileage 7.3s that would crank and not start because they wouldnt build base oil pressure due to worn rod/main bearings. Had many with cracked and porous blocks but that was due to customer neglect, not flushing the cooling system and adding the motorcraft additive to the coolant, allowing it to become corrosive and eat through the cylinders.
Oil pans rotted off of 7.3s-6.4s but the 6.0 and 6.4 didn't require the transmission to be removed to replace the oil pan...
Oil coolers also rotted off the side of the engine block on a 7.3
Always putting UVCHs in the things due to misfires and "IDM CODES DETECTED"
Always chasing oil leaks in 7.3s. Usually the Oil Cooler manifolds, the rear timing covers, the turbo pedestals, some times the front crank seals, rarely the rear main seals. If the rear main seal leaked-usually could tell right away it was bad bearings... Could watch the harmonic balancer bounce around, shut the engine off gently pry on the balancer and see it walk in and out a 1/4 inch...
Am not a fan of 7.3s at all...
6.0s oh hell yeah.
6.4s, you could not give me a 6.4 in stock form...
6.7s they're ok.
You want a 6.0/6.4 to out run cammed mustangs. Hit me up.
Amazing what happens when a product is released to the public how some of the dimwits can effect the acceptance of that product, no malice to the OP intended. There's all kinds of "problems" with the 6.0, or so it's perceived. But the truth is, not many had issues. You only hear about a friend who had a friend whose cousins boy friend had one and it was crap. We had a fleet of 6.0's at the lab and not one had any issues at all. None were reprogrammed to eliminate the multi-event injection, nothing. No head gasket failures, no issues at all. Don't know how many we had but many were 4x4 crewcabs and considering the guys drove them like they stole them, I consider it to be one of the best on the street. And it's kinda ironic that the Navstar 365 is the identical, same engine and they have zero issues with too. I guess that's what happens when you put the latest and greatest in the hands of the, too stupid to know any different, public.
While the 7.3 is a long life engine and it has a history to back up that claim, it's a diesel fuel eating land slug. It makes far less HP/twist for the amount of diesel consumed for anything in its class. There are far better choices out there than the Powerjoke. There's a reason you buy a diesel, power and fuel savings for the power generated. The Powerjoke fails on both counts.
I worked for an International diesel dealership when the 6.0 (VT365) started having problems. I can tell you from first hand experience that during the 4 years I worked there (2006-2010) there was never a point in time where there wasn't at least 1 6.0 in the shop getting head gaskets replaced. If you use them as intended and pull heavy loads where the engine is building a lot of boost, the head pressure becomes too great and head gaskets fail.
The VT365 engines were put into school buses and we lost tons of business when the engines began failing and leaving buses stranded. So yes, they too had issues. This is first hand experience, not hearsay. According to the letters we received from Navistar, the engines were released to the public before R&D was complete to meet the demanding marketing schedule that International and Ford's marketing departments placed on them. The non-urea emissions systems were brand new and hadn't been tested fully to understand what flaws may be in them. Navistar tried to correct this in the Maxxforce 7 (6.4 Powerstroke) and went from bad to worse by yet again releasing them too quickly to the public. This is why Ford moved away from Navistar and developed their own engine (6.7 Powerstroke).
I've also seen it happen even after bulletproofing (had it happen to me with my 6.4L). That truck had over $15k in it by the time the failures were fixed (high pressure pump, injectors, head gaskets, etc..) and the deletes were done. Sure it made 620HP/1103 lb/ft of torque, but it was unreliable power and quickly failed again despite being ran on a tow tune and never the hot tune (with hopes of it lasting this time around).
The 7.3, while underpowered in stock form, was one of the most reliable engines ever stuck into a truck. Sure, they had a few issues here and there but most were very easy to fix, cheap to fix, and only happened once usually within 200-300k miles. If they wore out, resleeve the block, rebuild it, and get another 300k miles out of it. Dad's 95 F350 had 310k miles on it when he sold it to a landscaping company. In all that time (he pulled a 5th wheel with it most of the time) the only failure it had was a cam sensor and water pump. It was chipped, had a larger turbo, a built Suncoast transmission, and a larger cooling system. The truck was extremely reliable and with the mods could hang with a 6.0L all day long.
I worked for an International diesel dealership when the 6.0 (VT365) started having problems. I can tell you from first hand experience that during the 4 years I worked there (2006-2010) there was never a point in time where there wasn't at least 1 6.0 in the shop getting head gaskets replaced. If you use them as intended and pull heavy loads where the engine is building a lot of boost, the head pressure becomes too great and head gaskets fail.
The VT365 engines were put into school buses and we lost tons of business when the engines began failing and leaving buses stranded. So yes, they too had issues. This is first hand experience, not hearsay. According to the letters we received from Navistar, the engines were released to the public before R&D was complete to meet the demanding marketing schedule that International and Ford's marketing departments placed on them. The non-urea emissions systems were brand new and hadn't been tested fully to understand what flaws may be in them. Navistar tried to correct this in the Maxxforce 7 (6.4 Powerstroke) and went from bad to worse by yet again releasing them too quickly to the public. This is why Ford moved away from Navistar and developed their own engine (6.7 Powerstroke).
I've also seen it happen even after bulletproofing (had it happen to me with my 6.4L). That truck had over $15k in it by the time the failures were fixed (high pressure pump, injectors, head gaskets, etc..) and the deletes were done. Sure it made 620HP/1103 lb/ft of torque, but it was unreliable power and quickly failed again despite being ran on a tow tune and never the hot tune (with hopes of it lasting this time around).
The 7.3, while underpowered in stock form, was one of the most reliable engines ever stuck into a truck. Sure, they had a few issues here and there but most were very easy to fix, cheap to fix, and only happened once usually within 200-300k miles. If they wore out, resleeve the block, rebuild it, and get another 300k miles out of it. Dad's 95 F350 had 310k miles on it when he sold it to a landscaping company. In all that time (he pulled a 5th wheel with it most of the time) the only failure it had was a cam sensor and water pump. It was chipped, had a larger turbo, a built Suncoast transmission, and a larger cooling system. The truck was extremely reliable and with the mods could hang with a 6.0L all day long.
If you kept the EGR coolers on, and ran a tune for the EGR delete that would have helped prolong the life. Siemens K19 pumps are made of glass... a little water in the fuel, an air pocket, or gas mixed in... that pump turns into a glitter factory.
Suncoast and I'm trying to remember the other company, have the best Torqshift components on the market. A much better reverse piston, and far better EPC solenoid which when combined with custom written tunes, ensures you'll never have over heated and worn clutches ever again.
When H&S and Spartan tuners came out... almost everyone who wanted a tuner went out and dropped it on them... just like their competitors Banks, Bully Dog, and Edge, they uploaded PCM tunes for power, and left the transmission to be wrecked. Spartans tuner I don't remember even had an option to change TCM software. H&S allowed you to raise shift points and open loop strategy. But I can't remember whether it let me play with the EPC duty cycle... I know Innovative tunes through the SCT interface did.
If you kept the EGR coolers on, and ran a tune for the EGR delete that would have helped prolong the life. Siemens K19 pumps are made of glass... a little water in the fuel, an air pocket, or gas mixed in... that pump turns into a glitter factory.
Suncoast and I'm trying to remember the other company, have the best Torqshift components on the market. A much better reverse piston, and far better EPC solenoid which when combined with custom written tunes, ensures you'll never have over heated and worn clutches ever again.
When H&S and Spartan tuners came out... almost everyone who wanted a tuner went out and dropped it on them... just like their competitors Banks, Bully Dog, and Edge, they uploaded PCM tunes for power, and left the transmission to be wrecked. Spartans tuner I don't remember even had an option to change TCM software. H&S allowed you to raise shift points and open loop strategy. But I can't remember whether it let me play with the EPC duty cycle... I know Innovative tunes through the SCT interface did.
I had the Spartan DASHDAQ XL as a monitor in my 6.4L and ran an H&S XRT Pro tune. I don't recall the Spartan allowing you to mod the TCM software but the XRT PRO did. My current H&S mini maxx on 6.7 Cummins allows for it if you pay the added $100 for the unlock. I haven't done it yet, but plan to do so soon.
There were some issues from the factory on the original pumps, but unfortunately the truck ate through one prior to the previous owner finding out. He replaced that about the same time that the front cover and water pump failed. The EGR cooler was removed when the deletes were done since they served no purpose.
I loaned a buddy $ to start a shop in CO. He would send me invoice summaries along with payments and the 6.0 appeared to be his bread and butter.
I've had real good luck with the 7.3 in pickups and farm trucks. It pulled anything I needed to, always started and my truck can average 20 mpg with the stock goofy looking tires.
Once the 6.0 is fixed right, it is a reliable powerful engine. Yes, there are weak spots. However, there are thousands of 6.0s in the roads with 200,000 plus miles still going strong. There was a lot of new technology, at the time, so there's a learning curve.
The 7.3 had its weak spots. It isn't a powerhouse. They are aging out.
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