Spoke to a O/O of 23yrs, he had an outspoken opinion regarding years than model. why?

When my dad ordered his new f350, he was given the choice of the 7.3 or the 6.0, must have been RIGHT on the line, date-wise. He opted for the 6.0, and 160,000 miles later, I swear he's the luckiest guy on earth, zero troubles! I'll take a 04-07 6.0 any day of the week, as for the money saved over paying for a 7.3, you can fix ALL the issues, but in a chip, upgrade the turbo, and STILL have money to spare. Once the issues are addressed, the 6.0 is BETTER, quieter, more efficient, and pulls better that a 7.3 ever dreamed of. Again this is my opinion, but I drive a gas-drinking (11mpg) '01 f250 crew with a V10. Just waiting for $$ to get better, then upgrading to that 6.0. Let the flaming begin!! Sorry for the hijack---just had to express!

 

Have fun with a good 6-10 grand in upgrades depending on if you build the trans or not.

 

Yeah I'll never get rid of my 5.9L '07 3/4 ton.. The only thing I did to it was a mild smarty jr tune turned all the way up. Didn't even have to upgrade the.clutch, at least not for many years anyways. That was the last of the good diesel pickups.

 

Ive driven haulinhorses 07 5.9 . 550 at the wheels! Nuff said! Lol

 

I bought my '92 7.3 IDI for the sole purpose of using WMO and WVO as fuel. I've saved a bunch of money so far

 

So much fun to drive.. It's funny.. Mine is a manual (can't even get a manual in a Ford or Chevy!!) and sometimes when I park my big truck after a long day or 3 I hop into the little truck. I drive it home or wherever... when I park in the driveway all tired and road weary I catch myself at times trying to pop the air brakes LoL.. A Ford or Chevy might as well be an Expedition or Escalade they just aren't trucks...

 

Lol even with the auto in mine ill do it. Im guilty of going for the gear shifter a time or 2, my trucks an auto.....
I agree kinda BS Ford no longer offers a manual trans. I prefer auto in mine but I use to do a good bit of snowplowing.

 

Also one must consider the fuel MPG numbers these fleets trhow out may be way off depending on how they actually track and figure them. Many fleets just use their sat tracking systems for IFTA mileage and the actual gallons purchased. The sat tracking mileage can be off big time and I have figures to prove it from when I was leased to SNI. Usually I was showing about 0.3-0.8 less MPG than they were when I used actual hub miles for the same quarter. My opinion is to take fleet info like a grain of salt. Besides many fleet drivers (and some o/o) just don't want to (or know how to) calculate MPG with the least amount of error...they would rather just look at the computer display that is also usually off too.

 

My fuel mileage is mostly in my right foot. How I shift, pull easy and steep grades and overall speed really drives my total fuel mileage number. I'm going to try the exhaust wrap and turbo blanket as an inexpensive attempt but all of these power boxes, fancy manifolds and such cost money on the front end and usually don't deliver on the advertised results they promise. Kinda like most "As Seen On TV" gimmicks. I'm sure I'll take some heat for this comment but for my money I use common sense and schedule myself with enough time to get there and back without racing up and down the on/off ramps, charging thru truck stop parking lots and running 10/15 mph over the posted speed limits. My truck responds with less things shaken loose from running fast and costs me less when it's time for some maintenance coz I have been a little easier on her for the term.

The advise I got when I started driving 31 years ago was slow down Before the curve and never be afraid to be the last one to the bottom of the hill. Wreck the truck and the whole day is a failure. With this in mind I have never crashed a truck, created an unexpected repair by trying to out perfom the driver in front of or behind me and last but not least hurt anyone in the process. I'd say I'm successful and will keep on trucking for another 25 or so years before I give it up.


Happy Holidays Everyone!

 

It's not about being old fashioned. The pre-03 engines are proven, reliable engines that run very well. They don't suffer from horrible throttle response, they pull stronger, and best of all cost less to operate overall, fuel mileage included. My 99 Cat 3406E (1LW series) has an overall average of 6.1 at an overall average speed of 62 mph. I keep track on "fuel gauges" website. I've been driving 55mph on my current load and topped off today, my mileage so far for this trip is 7.16 mpg, with a gross of 50000lbs. My fuel mileage range for this year is 4.8 to 8.5. Most fleet trucks are averaging a little better than me only because of aerodynamics -- I'm driving a Pete 379! If it was cheaper to run a new truck, I would.