[A/S] Re:PSD 6 liter Question

["Viking" <drighten@xxxxxxxxx>]

> How has that engine held up.  Ford is changing them
> out again in '07 to a 6.4L to meet emission standards.
> If I stay with Ford I need to go ahead and do it.
> The trouble is all of the bad press on the 6.0 has got
> me real cautous.

Tom, I have had mine for about fifteen months now, and towed my 31' 
Airstream 4000 miles on one trip last year, as well as using it for 
everything else throughout the year and several shorter tows.  I love it so 
far, to the point that I don't ever want another gas powered truck and so 
far it seems to be holding up just fine.  I am also on a diesel forum and 
since the fiasco in 2003, there have been no problems to speak of, and I 
believe most of the early growing pains with this engine had to do with 
Ford's attempt at pilot ignition (two shots of fuel per cylinder per cycle) 
which did not work well with the engine oil powered hydraulic fuel injectors 
in these trucks.  Once Ford ceased the software with the pilot injection 
module, most of their problems went away.  It took most of the first years 
models to get this done.  I have had to have two electrical connectors 
replaced under recall (had not failed on my truck but replaced anyway) and 
the planatary in the transmission was replaced under recall for a period of 
vehicles spanning the manufacture date of mine, but my transmission did not 
have any evidence of problems when they opened it, probably due to my low 
miles at that time, so all they did was change it out and refill with tranny 
fluid and a new filter.  It has all the power I could hope for and runs 
really smooth as long as you use summer oil and winter oil and plug it in 
below about 15 degrees.  It will start in winter right down to 30 below 
zero, without plugging it in, but is so noisy you don't wanna listen.  If 
you live in a cold climate, tho, be warned that it will never, never warm up 
at idle.  You must drive it down the road to get the engine to warm to the 
point that you have heat in the cab.  This takes a minumum of five miles or 
five minutes, and that is just to get heat, not to full warm up, which takes 
twice that.  And that is when it isn't even cold yet.  I expect our first 
real hard freeze tonight (below zero fahrenheit is a hard freeze, right?) 
Anyway, for towing, I don't think anybody would be displeased with the 6.0L.

Tom
Canada
All measurements of temperature in the foregoing missive have been converted 
for our south of the border friends. (Americans, not Mexicans)