It’s said that complicity amounts to consent. That not doing anything to actively oppose an outrage amounts to going along with it.
Indeed.
It’s also true that the moment one person shakes off their torpor – and summons the courage to challenge an outrage – the perception of universal consent so important to the successful perpetuation of the outrageous is shattered.
Others gain the courage to stand with the initial refusenik.
It is of such watershed moments that counterrevolutions are made.
Ford may have just started something big.
Literally.
The blue oval boys have announced a new engine is coming to market . . . in response to market forces . . . and in opposition to the forces that are currently pouring the regulatory coals to the anti-combustion juggernaut.
If your teeth – like mine – ache at the prospect of yet another press release about yet another $70,000 electric car (or yet another double-digit-millions “investment” in EV “fast” charging stations where people can wait for hours to get back on the road again) then here is the antidote and reason to think there may, at last, be some hope.
Ford’s got a big V8 in the works.
It is almost the biggest V8 Ford has ever made.
And it will be the biggest V8 you can buy when it becomes available this fall. 
A fulsome hearty 7.3 liters – which in Oldspeak is very close to 460 cubic inches (7.5 liters) which was the size of the Ford’s biggest-ever production V8, last sold new 20 years ago, back in 1999.
While everyone else is going small, here is Ford going huge.
Hurrah!
There really is no replacement for displacement – as the old motorhead saying goes.
You can make a small engine as powerful as a bigger engine by bolting turbos to it – but that is an engineering end-run to recover lost displacement.
“Displacement” referring to the volume of the engine’s cylinders.
The smaller engine – without a turbo – moves less air through its cylinders and so makes less power.
Turbocharging increases the effective displacement of the engine by pressurizing the incoming air – ordinarily sucked into the cylinders by the vacuum-creating effect of the pistons going down in their bores – and forcing more of it into the cylinders.
This is what is meant by the term, boost.
More air (plus more fuel) equals more power.
But turbocharging means more pressure on the engine’s parts – which means more stress on them and – historically – more rapid wear of those parts.
It also means more complexity – the turbo, all of its related bits and pieces (times twice if there are two turbos) which means higher cost now and and higher cost later when something – probably expensive – fails or wears out.
It seems like a bad idea – from the standpoint of the buyer – and it generally is. But it’s a good idea – from the standpoint of a car company trying to placate the government and its fuel economy fatwa-hurlers first . . . and its buyers second.
A turbo’d engine is theoretically capable of using less gas – provided the buyer keeps the engine off boost.
But when on boost – and effectively a larger displacement engine – the real-world gas mileage drops and is often worse than a bigger engine’s – because the bigger engine doesn’t have to work as hard to make equivalent power.
So what you’ve got, essentially, is a small engine that gets slightly better mileage than a bigger engine without the turbo . . . if you don’t use the potential power it could make (on boost) very often. Which is like paying for a Chinese buffet and just sniffing the General Tso’s chicken.
Ford decided displacement – full-time – matters more to its customers.
Heresy!
The same sort of heresy Galileo was “guilty” of when he defied the Church and proclaimed – not whispered – that the Earth went ’round the sun – and not the other way around.
The new V8 is also retro-heretical in ways besides its size.
It’s made of cast iron – not aluminum.
The reason being that cast iron is tougher than aluminum.
Ford’s decision to revert to cast iron over aluminum – even though cast iron is much heavier than aluminum and so adds weight to the vehicle it’s in and thus reduces gas mileage a bit – was based on the idea that strength and durability matter more to the people who’ll line up to buy it than curb weight and MPGs.
Another direct affront to the “clergy.”
The thing has pushrods, too.
No overhead cams.
Just one – in the block, where it ought to be – if the object is simplicity. And ease of service. A pushrod, overhead valve engine isn’t as wide as an OHC engine and so there is more room under the hood as well as fewer parts.
This big galoot should make 400-plus horsepower without breaking a sweat – or the bank.
It is just what the doctor – well, the market – ordered.
People want big, easygoing, low-maintenance and long-lived engines at least as much as the government doesn’t want people (other than themselves, of course) to have them.
Which probably accounts for the fact that – for now, at least – Ford will only be offering this handsome new V8 in its heavy-duty (F250 and higher) trucks.
Even so, it’s very interesting that Ford – which was the first of the Big Three to abandon big (and cast iron and pushrod) V8s back in the ’90s – seems to have changed its mind.
And just maybe, recovered its nerve.
This engine would be fabulous in the F-150 and Expedition, for openers. Much to be preferred over the twice-turbo’d sixes used in those models now.
And it would be the ideal engine to re-establish Ford’s Lincoln luxury line – which is already in the process of recovering its senses.
And its customers – which it is gaining at the expense of Cadillac.
It finally occurred to Lincoln’s powers-that-be that there are more than enough “sporty” luxury cars on the market already – and not enough luxury cars.
Lincoln is making such cars again. 
The new Continental, for instance. It is not a BMW or Benz with an American badge. It is an American luxury sedan like they used to make ’em.
Just like the new 7.3 V8 is an engine like they used to make ’em.
Maybe the two things will come together once again.
A Connie 7.3 liter liter would be just the ticket – even if triggers an outraged howling from the “vatican” inside the DC Beltway that people will be able to hear from hundreds of miles away.
Indeed, for exactly that reason.
It would be music to the ears.
. . .
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GM has also gone heretical; its new LT8 6.6L V8 has NO fuel saving features like active fuel management or stop-start
http://gmauthority.com/blog/2019/02/6-6l-v8-l8t-gm-engine-specs-released/
http://gmauthority.com/blog/2019/02/new-gm-6-6-liter-v8-l8t-engine-no-active-fuel-management-auto-stop-start/
Jimmie, GM has done this for reliability. The AFM was a nightmare that wreaked havoc. When you had trouble the best thing you could do was to reflash it and do away with it. No problems after that.
Just in case anyone has any lingering hopes… 🙂
Joel Beltramo, manager of gas injuns at Ford, said:
“And if you’re wondering if it’ll fit in a Mustang, Beltramo told us it’s actually shorter in height and narrower than a Coyote V-8, but quite a bit longer thanks to much increased bore centers. It’s possible then, but good luck doing so without having to cut into the firewall. And even if you could wedge this motor into a Mustang, it wouldn’t be very good, because of its heavy cast iron block and low-revving nature. Stick with the Coyote, kids.”
Remember guys…this is a TRUCK engine- intended for Superdutys.
I could still see drag racers doing this. Remember these are the same people who fill their water jackets with cement to get around block strength limitations.
Don’t know if an old BBC would fit in the new Camaro. Engine bay looks pretty large. The old Camaro held a BBC just fine. Probably it wouldn’t need to since the LS engine will produce 900 reliable HP.
Hi Eric.
You’re awesome. Yeah baby, go Ford! My ’18 F-150 5.0 with the 10 speed is great, definite improvement over my ’13 5.0 with the 6 speed. 395 horses and 400 foot pounds of torque tows my 5k TT even better, just cruisin’ baby! My first trip with it to San Diego over the Laguna Mountains was a breeze. The extra HP and torque are noticeable. And the 10 speed tranny is a big improvement. I cruise at 70 on level ground in 7th or 8th at 1700-1900 RPM, vs 4th or 5th at 2300 RPM with the ’13. That’s torque. And climbing the hills, I rarely got below 4th or 5th gear at 3000 RPM, while the ’13 6 speed would be in 2nd or 3rd gear at 3500-4000 RPM on the steep sections. That’s the way to tow, easy easy, just cruisin’, don’t push it, don’t abuse your truck. Let the maniacs pass you going pedal to the metal. And I still pass the loaded TTs on the hills, but I let them pass me on the levels, keeping to my desired road speed, RPM and gear. Hope the 10 speed is reliable, because so far it’s great. My understanding is that it’s the product of a joint project with GM.
Aloha, Vic
Wikoli, thanks for the towing report. I just got my first ever Ford, the same 5.0 10sp, and I was a little concerned about towing my 6500lb toy hauler, only because my trade in was a GMC 6.2 which was a towing beast. I have to cross the Appalachians in PA so we go up and down for 3-4 hours, but I don’t think our ‘hills’ are as steep and as long as yours, so sounds like I’ll be OK. But we do go up and down constantly so the truck and trans temps never gets much of a break. The 5.0 certainly runs better than I expected.
Used to run 8.1 4sp’s with 4:10 rears that worked well, and 6.0 4sp’s with 4:10’s that screamed to get up some of them (but the trailer back then was 8500lbs).
Thanks.
Chris- Thanks for the reply. I use manual mode in tow/haul a lot when towing to control what gear I’m in, especially going up and down hills. The 10 speed tends to go to a lower gear than needed, especially down hill for speed control. Of course you don’t want to over use your brakes down hill either. I coast a lot down hill and down shift and brake when needed. Manual mode also works well on slight uphill inclines as long as you don’t lug the engine. You can tell when you start losing throttle response. Wind is a big factor as well. You do have to remember to take it out of manual mode when you come to a stop. Happy, safe towing! Vic
Also, I have the 3.55.rear diff. I demoed a 3.31 and it was fine, but felt the 3.55 was a better fit for towing. Not sure, think the 3.73 is only available on the max tow ecoboost.
Thanks Wikoli. I think I have the 3.31. I’ve been towing heavy for a long time, 10’s of thousands of miles. one 9K, one 8K, and now a 6500lb. So while I used to do 4K +/- a year, I’m now down to less than 1K, so I’s sure it will be fine. Thanks for the report.
I’m just learning all the ‘modes’ now, and trying to get a trailer brake controller set up. Thinking I’m just going to put my Tekonsha in it, but seeing if the local Ford dealer will install the factory unit reasonably.
Chris- Yeah, that’s my question: If you install an aftermarket trailer brake controller, will you have all the trailer information and options in the dash display. How about if you install a factory unit? Ask the dealer. I’ve got the factory trailer brake controller, and you can name your trailer, I think you can have several named trailers besides the “default” trailer. Also, from memory, you can have “truck over trailer”, “electric brake over truck brakes” and another setting in between. And you can set trailer brake strength 1 to 8, and configure trailer brake strength weak, medium, strong. It’s kind of confusing, so I’m probably getting some of this wrong from memory. Vic
Oh, and I’ve had several of the aftermarket units, and they all worked fine, and actually were more sensitive and grabbed more that the two factory installed ford units that I’ve installed. Either way, you can’t go wrong, correctly installed. 🙂
Always remember – TRAILER BRAKES FIRST!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEKdCEYtgOw
Definitely. You want to feel those trailer brakes pulling. Funny video with Ricky Ricardo.
I wish they’d bring back the six cylinder Mustang. I’ve had four in a row, but I am in my last one, 2016. I like the V8s, but I also like saving on gas and insurance, as well as being able to afford it new and get it convertible. It’s a good compromise for me, fun and cool and has some pickup, but I haven’t made myself too much of a debt slave for it. It goes as fast as I need it to and more.
I am just not comfortable with the four cylinder turbo. I’ve heard bad things, but also, a four cylinder Mustang is heresy IMO. My first car was a four cylinder 1974, pond-scum green. It was stick shift and luckily, I got real good at push starting it. Nothing worked right on it. It was adamantly opposed to having any sort of working exhaust system, no matter what we did. It was as loud as a tractor. I got pulled over all the time, and then I’d have to explain to the cop that I couldn’t shut it off or I wouldn’t be able to get it started again unless he was willing to give me a push. We never could figure out how to fix either problem and it wasn’t worth taking to a professional.
Needless to say, it was a POS, but at age 16, you can’t be too picky. Now, I can and I don’t want a four cylinder Mustang.
Hi Amy,
The turbo four does have its merits – chiefly that it makes more horsepower (315, IIRC) than most Mustang V8s once made. For example, back in ’95, I spent a very fun week in a new Cobra R. This was the race-ready version sold in very limited numbers to people who actually intended to race. It had the last 351 ever put into a production Mustang. That engine made 300 horsepower – less than the new turbo four – and wasn’t any faster than the new turbo four Mustang, even though it was an ultra-light with no AC or power options, not even a radio!
But… that 351 was a simple, rugged engine. Easy to rebuild and affordable to rebuild. The new turbo Mustang is a very nice car but like most new cars, it is fundamentally a throw-away. You enjoy it for about 10 years. It then reaches the nexus of depreciated value/costs-too-much-to-fix . . . and you throw it away.
As far as peak oil goes.its a lie. We are about to loot Venezuela just like the middle East, so cheap gas is just around the corner. Nevermind those people we keep in poverty. Bring on the displacement.
None of the occupations we have involved ourselves have been because of oil. Gas is already cheap relative to inflation. The powers that be are way more interested in control and bringing everyone under the same type of banking system than they are lowering the price of gasoline. The real truth is, we would pay the same for gas whether or not we invaded other countries, beginning with Iraq in 1990. The price for oil is based on supply and demand in the market. I do agree that governments in general want to keep their populations in poverty. Maudoro is going a great job of that on his own. Perhaps Bolton wants to impose his great american century democracy project on the Venezuelan people and make the US a place for more and more refugess and cheap labor.
Why would we need to look Venezuela when we’re on the verge of energy independence ourselves? We’re the NUMBER ONE exporter of natural gas and will soon reach that with our oil exports too.
Marky, it has nothing to do with how much we have. The people who are looking to get even more filthily rich want it. That’s it. No other motives, just greed.
US oil independence is BS, unless one includes the nations “we” occupy/conquer as “us”. US oil wells are a joke compared to places like the Mid-East. Here, it doesn’t even pay to run the pumps on the wells when gas is cheap- People right around me have wells…. took the guy across the street over 20 years before he even made a profit on his wells, and then he shuts down when it’s cheap- as opposed to other places in the world, where the oil is much closer to the surface, and will literally come gushing out.
If it doesn’t pay to run wells here half of the time, can you imagine how much more of a boondoggle things like fracking are?!
Let’s face it- EVERY nation Uncle invades, “just happens” to have abundant, easy-to-get-at oil. But if you really want to see who will be “our” next victims, just look for whomever is talking about dumping the dollar as their oil-trading currency….
I have an unopened letter I sent myself, post-marked ’08 I believe, containing a piece of paper saying that we would invade Venezuela. Kept to prove to relatives with whom I was arguing, just how predictable these things are. Of course, those relatives have long since forgotten anything from ’08, so probably won’t be impressed when I open that letter after “we” invade VZ- no doubt, some false-flag will be perpetrated, so the mantra will be “We had to do it!”- LOL. Sheep for slaughter…..
VZ’s oil production is falling and the goal of the wars is generally to keep oil off the market. VZ seems to be keeping their oil off the market all on their own. However reason #2 comes into play, oil must be controlled by acceptable corporate players. The government of VZ has forced some or all of them out. So maybe that’s enough.
VZ’s oil production fell off because oil was socialized and the gov’t put their cronies in to run the wells. Since they don’t know what they’re doing, they don’t get much oil out. Socialism is a wretched, miserable FAILURE wherever it’s tried-not to mention lethal…
Exactly what I was going to say, Mark! Socialism/communism destroys everything it touches. There’s plenty of erl in VZ that hasn’t even been touched yet….and what incentive is there for the “nationalized” erl companies to get it? Not wanting to play with the dollar though, is probably the ultimate reason for uncle’s interference though….if they don’t play with the dollar, Uncle can’t control ’em- so then he has to do it physically with all of those dick-sucking little coward sons and daughters of our neighbors who sell their (and our) freedom away for a <than minimum-wage job where they get to play with the guns that they're no longer allowed to have here.
Hi just,
Gas is already cheap! In my area – SW Virginia – just slightly more than $2 per gallon. Keep in mind that about 50 cents of that is tax. Adjusted for inflation, gas is cheaper today than it was in 1965.
If the various impedimenta were removed, gas would probably cost less than a buck!
Hi Eric,
I had a 4×4 4dr f250 with 5speed and 7.5(460) in 1999. That think would pass diesels while towing 22 ft trailer. Of course it was thirsty 8mpg was average. Today I tow a 17 ft with 5.4 Expedition 2×4 auto. Some hills 30mph is good as it gets still 8mpg. Sure miss that old beast.
I occasionally drove a company V 10 Triton. I have never seen anything use fuel that fast. My old 454 4.10 geared 4wd got 11 mpg and pulling a trailer didn’t affect it too much, probably 8 mpg. The 93 Turbo Diesel got 16 mpg on the road at 70 and above. It wasn’t the strongest engine out there but I always got where I wanted to go no matter the load. The travel trailer I pulled had a tongue weight of 1200 lbs. I didn’t feel the need to race. I should have been using an equalizer since it was a hell of a load even for a one ton.
Methinks that the mere fact that this engine, as well as the Mopar 7 liter Hemi in the offing, are being made speaks volumes about what the big shots at Ford Motor Company and FCA know about “peak oil” and “climate change” that we don’t (or aren’t supposed to) know, namely that the threat of both is far less than imagined.
The threat of climate change is real.
We are heading into another Ice Age.
Back in the mid 1970s all the major weekly tabloids carried weekly articles about the approaching ice age. Still haven’t seen that “ice age”. The ice age news was incessant, like the global warming scam is today. We are therefore NOT heading into an ice age. Instead, we have what is called weather. An ecosystem that is so large and affected by many various actions seeking to find a balance it can never achieve.
Anyway, this is the cleanest and tidiest looking engine ever to appear in a Ford. It actually looks like fun to work on, instead of it attacking you and trying to remove your fingers at every bend of the metal.
Actually, there are these things called solar cycles.
It’s been a lot warmer than it is today, most recently during the Roman and Viking ages. And it’s been a lot colder also, which is the way we seem to be heading right now.
Hi To5,
I remember the “coming Ice Age” hysteria, too. It is interesting – a quirk of human nature – that every generation seems to think The End of the World is at hand. Or at least, a large percentage of the population is susceptible to such bogey-manning.
I like this engine, too – and am encouraged that Ford decided to build it.
It indicates Ford does not believe we are n the verge of running out of gas, or that electric cars – and trucks – are “The Future.”
There was so much bs about the ice age I dropped all subscriptions to news weeklies and have never looked at them again. Even in the doctors offices. Staring at the wall is much preferable to reading the incredibly thin issues they now are.
eric, it might be true as far as mankind is concerned now. The US govt. sprays a huge amount of aluminum in our upper atmosphere every day. Sunlight is being blocked. People who use solar panels have measured a 15% decline in the last decade.
There are powerful people, groups I should say, who are intent on reducing the earth’s population to a half million people. There are caves being used all over the Ozarks along with that cave that doesn’t exist starting at the Denver airport. CIA along with the Air Force command and other parts of the military and deep state are preparing to move their facilities there.
When the poles of the earth shift, and they will because they always do, the east coast will be ocean floor, the gulf coast will lose 100 miles and the edge of the Atlantic will be 100 miles west of the Mississippi. All this is nothing new since geographic history shows the earth once had a land mass that went from Canada to Russia. Native Americans didn’t take a boat here, they walked.
Information like this doesn’t make the news. People would panic. It’s not happenstance that retiring USN personnel are moving to Arkansas and west for retirement.
When the poles shift it will only take a week or less for this catastrophic change to take place. There will be no more shipping because there will be no more ports. Not many will survive due to starvation.
I think my cousin said it best as far as prepping goes. “I’ve got everything I need, a gallon of Dewar’s and a round of .357”.
Methinks someone at Ford looked at what would be the result of taking essentially the old ‘385’ engine (429, 460) and adopting modern engine management and fuel injection to an old, 2-valve per cylinder OHV engine…and found that in applications that demanded low-end torque more than high-speed revs, like a TRUCK, it was just the thing! The factors of lower cost and greater durability greatly outweigh the benefits of an exotic valvetrain.
This is also why Chrysler got away from their early Hemi and “Poly” engines…it was found that sure, the Hemi design, or even the “Semi-Hemi” design of the Polyspherical engines, which is what most of the “modern” so-called “Hemis” truly are, breathed a little better at higher revs…but for most applications, the difference was negligible, and didn’t compensate for a heavier and more complicated, expensive engine. That’s why as of the mid-sixties Mopar was going exclusively with engines with wedge-shaped combustion chambers and valves inline, be they slant six, LA series (273-318-340-360), “B” (361-383-400), or “RB” (383, 413, 426, and 440).
If there is no replacement for displacement, how do those F1 cars get such power out of tiny engines? And why is that technology put in production cars? I’m guessing the durability sucks but i have no idea.
Try pulling a six horse gooseneck with an F1 car.
Those engines cost a million dollars, last one or two races, and require a team to people to start, and don’t care one whit about gas mileage. The primary requirement is power density, everything else is secondary.
Eric, you give Ford way too much credit. They are not “resisting” nor shaking off the constraints of tyranny; they are simply making a needed replacement for the diesels which Uncle has effectively out-lawed by regulating them to the point where they are no longer efficient nor reliable.
These gas 7.3’s are the answer. They are push-rod because they will be used in work and fleet vehicles, and must be able to take the loads and abuses they will be subject to, and still work reliably for a long time, since the strangulated diesels no longer can. Essentially, this is the only option Uncle has left them.
Don’t expect to see these in cars or half-ton pick-ups….I’m sure they are relegated to c. 10K GVWR-or-more vehicles. It’s really just MORE compliance. I mean, do you REALLY think, after what’s happened to VW and FCA and all over just a tiny little nothing of a minute microscopic particle of nothing in the tailpipe, that a company is going to defy Uncle?!
And I’m sure that these things will be laden with the requisite emission controls required for the class of vehicle they will be in; and of course, plenty of electronics, to control and monitor everything.
Gee, you’re making it sound as though Ford is giving the finger to Uncle….as of they’re saying “Screw you! We’re gonna give the people what they want!”. In reality, Ford is just taking the only option left open to them to maintain their essentially unchallenged position in the light commercial vehicle segment now that customers have figured out that the newer strangulated diesels are not viable. And since there are no longer commercial-quality V-8’s being produced for their other vehicles- i.e. they’ve been effectively outlawed by CAFE and emissions BS, they simply had to make a new engine that would fit the bill for the light commercial vehicles…’cause swapping in some turbo’d V-6 with OHC’s ain’t gonna do it in an F550….
Well, great…thanks Nunz, just what I needed.
An ice cold bucket of truth dumped on my head.
Killjoy.
Archie Bunker: “I’ll tell ya one thing about them Eye-talians; when ya do get an honest one, ya really got something there!”.
Archie also had a a great answer to “Meathead” over the then-ballyhooed problem of “overpopulation” (when the ‘Oith” had 4 billion instead of 7½ billion like it does today)
“Gawd, in His infinoot ‘moicy’, gave us wars, famines, and, uh, pestilences dere..”
Gotta leave it to the most famed resident of 704 Hauser St, Brooklyn, NY, to tell it like it is…
One of my favorites when Archie was arguing with Meathead about religious faith:
“It ain’t supposed to make sense; it’s faith. Faith is something that you believe that nobody in his right mind would believe.”
Meat-head: “….just because a guy’s sensitive, and an intellectual, and he wears glasses, you make him out to be a queer!”
Archie: “I never said a guy who wears glasses is a queer. A guy who wears glasses is a four-eyes; a guy who’s a fag is a queer!”.
_____________________
Archie: “You mean to tell me, you put a Jap and a Chink side by sider and you could tell me which is which?”
Meat-head: “Yes! ‘Cause I’d talk to them as individuals”.
Archie: “Sure you’d talk to them; you’d you ‘Which one of yous is the Chink?’!”
______________
Truest words Archie ever uttered:
“People who live on communes are COMMUNists!”
Yeah, this is just another great engine that will never be available in vehicles we can actually afford. It’s not like this thing is will be in a new Crown Vic at around $25k.
The cheapest 5-passenger Super Duty costs $35k, and that’s for the stripper model with the 6.2.
When they shove this into an Expedition it will become the new vehicle of choice for Uncle’s AGWs, SS and pretty much any motorcade. Imagine the amount of depleted uranium armor shielding they’ll be able to shove in the doors and still run at ludicrous speed on DC streets.
Al Gore will have one the instant it hits the streets…as he pontificates to the rest of we ‘Mundanes’ about “living in a SUSTAINABLE manner’.
That is a beauty of a clean, simple, big block V8.
400 hp just loafing along, now, but imagine what you could do with this thing with some simple tools and bolt on parts, like the big block V8s of old.
I reckon it would not take much to make this engine a screamer.
My brother just bought a new, stripped, F250, right down to manual windows. I may have to pay the local Ford people a visit, see if I can get this in a stripped, standard cab, 8 foot bed, 4WD with a manual transmission.
GM’s recent 8.1L was a good simple engine as well. I think it was discontinued around 2008. My brother and I had a few of them to tow heavy with and they worked very well. They had an oil consumption problem but it was just pay to play at the time. Their effectiveness was limited with 4sp’s at the time.
The news was they got axed because they could not meet emission regs anymore. GM decided not to update it and instead rely on their 6.0 which has been very good, just also not updated since 2001. Ford’s recent 6.2 and FCA’s 6.4 has taken a lot of market share lately for 2500 gas trucks from GM. I haven’t seen any new 6.0 GM’s on jobsites anymore. GM says they are coming out with a new 6.6. We’ll see.
The fiber optic construction crew out here this past season was running mostly Duramax pickups, plus they had this 4500 4×4 flatbed that I was sort of drooling over.
I asked and they said the 4500 had a 6.0 in it.
Go figure ….?
Yeah, those 6.0’s caused a lot of fleets to abandon diesels and or Ford. Ford would just fix ’em the standard way, every time they’d blow a head gasket, until the warranty ran out….then after that, the owners would either have to dispose of them, or bulletproof them (The tune of about $15K a piece) on their own dime if they wanted ’em to go a little longer…..
Brickman (A national landscaping company) dumped their 6.0s and washed their hands of diesels after that. I worked for a guy who bought a bunch of ’em- nice 4×4 1-ton dumps…got ’em dirt cheap…sold ’em cheap- but they were hard to sell.
That fiasco caused a lot of fleets to try Chebbys…..but the Duramax’s have their problems too- and the Chevy trucks aren’t as strong, so the whole truck wears out faster in commercial service.
If Ford can get a reliable, durable motor going, they’ll once again own the 1-2.5 ton truck market.
Not sure what you’re saying …?
The 4500 was a Chevy (or GMC, don’t remember which).
I don’t know about the Ford being ‘stronger’ position you have. I’m around all the big 3 HD’s. They all have their strengths and weaknesses. The Duramax’s have never ever had the amount of problems that Ford 6.0 and 6.4 diesels have. Not even close.
I’m assuming that your ‘strong’ position comes from the solid front axle. Ford has had issues with the solid front axle for years. GM has their issues but I’d rather change some bushings and ball joints from time to time on an IFS than deal with a death wobble, “fix” it and have it show up again.
Engine wise, we’ve had several duramax’s with mostly trouble free 200,000-300,000 miles on them. Same with Dodge’s–other than FCA’s wierd electrical problems that blow fuses, the Cummin’s is excellent–minus the crap fit and finish quality. Ford, not so much.
I pull 15,000lbs often with a Tundra. Doesn’t have the power of a diesel, but I put 140,000 miles on my last one and never did anything outside of regular maintenance. My 2016 Tundra is used the same. Not a single issue at 55,000 miles so far. Can’t say the same for our 2017 F-350 at 27,000 miles. It’s a top notch POS. And the most expensive Pickup we ever bought. My brother made that decision and he’s regretting it.
They released the 6.6 at the Chicago auto show a few weeks ago. Available in the 2020 HD models along with the diesel. They will be showing up on lots in June or so.
The same sort of heresy Galileo was “guilty” of when he defied the Church and proclaimed – not whispered – that the Earth went ’round the sun – and not the other way around.
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Actually what got G in trouble was putting a critique of the omnipotence of god.
Let me finish that since the browser cut off the rest.
He got in trouble for the critique, not the Earth going around the sun. Actually interesting trivia about this, one of the reasons he published that in the first place is his old college buddy asked him to. Turns out his old college buddy was pretty important, he was the pope. (Yes really.)
This is great to see! Gasoline engines are still the best for many applications.
Eric, I always thought you to be a little bit too far on the conspiracy theorist scale, asserting that electric cars are being forced on us, but I think you’re right. The last few weeks, Tesla has fallen out of grace, but not before Porsche announces that the next Macan will be electric, Jeep that they’ll make electric jeeps, as well as announcements from Jaguar, BMW. The electrification is not something people are demanding, nobody says I want a less convenient, more expensive car.
So, it’s fantastic to see Ford listening to market pressures. Toyota also said that they’d make performance versions of every car, which is good to hear. Maybe we’re coming to a junction, where it will become clear that what the market wants, and what car companies are allowed to build are at odds with each other.
Is a review of the Continental upcoming?
Considering that Ford is currently making a “performance” version of the Edge which is still fairly soft and has a full suite of do-it-for-you garbage, I’d kind of like to know what their definition of a performance version is. It’s encouraging though.
Y’all talking about putting in a Continental are off base. Ford has stated that this thing will fit in the engine bay of the current Mustang!
I’ve been in a funk all day, until I saw this post. Thank you.
Hi Hamfist,
Amen, brother… preach it!
Of course it will fit. Ford’s OHC V8s are physically huge engines volume wise. As big or bigger than 7 something liter OHV big blocks in physical volume.
That’s the nature of OHC engines. My 5.7 Tundra takes up much more volume than my 6.0 Yukon Denali and even the 6.6 Duramax engines.
Way to go Ford! Great write up Eric.
This 7.3 will never make it to the 1/2 tons, I’d put money on it. Reason being is they doubled down on convincing F150 buyers to go with the two or three now V6 turbo units. They will only go in 250 to maybe 650’s, not to mention countless RV, bus, etc… applications. Their almost retired V10 is still avail. and this is it’s replacement.
As you mentioned, current diesel fleet owners are very unhappy with how much the newer diesel engines cost to run do to government overreach. Smart move Ford.
Now I would be happy if they came out with a larger displacement V8 for t he F150, but it would be alum. block for sure.
Long live the traditional American V8 NA pushrod engines!
Just got two newer F150 5.0 10speeds and I am pleasantly surprised with how good they run.
I had Ford pegged as the first of the big three to get out of the V8 business altogether. Seemed like they have been withdrawing them from more and more models. Basically they are only found in Mustangs and the pickups now. Even a turbo 6 in the Ford GT. Figured they had no more V8’s in development pipeline anymore.
Guessing it won’t ever make its way into the 150 series. Hopefully most of them will find their way to owners that actually need them for work, not just the yuppie types that won’t appreciate them. Being in the 250’s and up should help with that I would think. Probably will be popular with fleet owners too.
Seems this engine its more to keep buyers that would prefer diesels, but can’t justify the cost or just can’t afford them anymore. Though this still will be a expensive truck for sure. Doubt it will be gettable for under 55k or so.
Hopefully V8’s will appear in some Lincoln’s in the near future.
Those probably won’t be under $55k either. I would love to see that thing fit in a RWD Lincoln. I guess they can make plenty of electric cars to balance things out. Haha.
You won’t be seeing a v-8 anywhere in their lineup outside of HD pickup trucks. They only did this because there are no CAFE standards applied to HD pickups. A twin turbo v-6 won’t meet the market demands in the HD segment for longevity, reliability and cost of ownership.
They killed the 6.2 litre and converted the Raptor to the High output 3.5 litre because it’s a half ton pickup, subject to CAFE. Ford won’t put a v-8 outside of a 3/4 ton pickup ever again.
If you don’t have at least a 3/4 ton pickup, you don’t have a TRUCK…
Can I get one to drop in the engine bay of my ’06 F150? Maybe need bigger springs up front and shocks…would the current tranny be up to the task? The 5.4 I’ve got now is known to have issues long term(plugs breaking off and such) and I would love to be able to install one of these as a crate motor when the original craps the bed.
Mileage couldn’t be worse than I’m getting now pulling an enclosed trailer.
A stroked Windsor (427) with a modern EFI system and properly paired intake/heads/cam will get you there today my friend! No need to wait
Just don’t tell anyone, because the environMental Persecution Agency doesn’t like the idea of installing an engine which is older than the chassis itself (they’d react just as badly to installing an ’05 specimen of the engine you already have!) May be a felony, just the the catalyst BS.
In Cali(porn)ia, find a sturdy pre-1976 chassis and put in what you want…
Me, I’d consider doing a diesel mill transplant like was done on “Roadkill” Garage. They took a perfectly usable Cummins diesel plant from a wrecked 1996 Dodge PU and dropped it into a 1973 D200. Took a bit of work to get the thing to fit, and fab some engine mounts, but the beast run sweet! You could probably pull off the entire project for less money than you’d spend for the OPTION of getting a diesel on a new pickup these days.
When the “Vatican” of DC had such Cardinals like AOC running the show, then anyone with half a brain cell should just ignore their orders and do what they want vs what the cartel orders
Can’t wait to see the 460 in action , wonder how it’ll sound with a full exhaust
Akin to what Robert Duval’s Lt. Col Kilgore said about “napalm…burning…in the morning…” like VICTORY!
Just wondering if you can change the spark plugs without removing the pickup cab ?
Good on Ford! What a refreshing contrast to the whore company that GM has become.
Hopefully, we will see this big 7.3 in Ford’s Mega-Sized SUVs. And the way you portray the idea, it might be a grand slam home run in the Continental….maybe Ford’s biggest success since the first Mustang.
Still, I wouldn’t hold my breath about that engine ever showing up in any Blue Oval car.
as an aside, everyone (including the Church Authorities) suspected the planets went around the sun but nobody could prove it but old Galileo kept on teaching it as fact which is why he ended up getting sent to his room for a while.
Ford must have heard about FCA’s coming 7 liter and didn’t want to be stuck with motors under 5.2 liters. Hopefully this makes other v8’s more available and more affordable.
This engine should at least be available as an option for the next Lincoln Navigator. And if I had my way, there’d be a new Mark XI (or Mark IX?) with this engine.
Pushrod? Man that is the biggest heresy of all!
Isn’t it grand?
Goddamn… there may still be hope!