What has happened to the Ford/Navistar 6.0L is a crime. I've driven and pulled with ones that are great and ones with problems, but when Sturman Industries designed the G2 injector for the 6.0L Power Stroke and the International VT365, it was great. It had a pre-shot (pilot injection) 2 compression shots and post shot like the Dodge "600" has now. And then the accountants started deleting components to lower the cost.

The Ford 6.0L has EVRT turbo (variable vane) acting like a small spool turbo and large turbo, worked great. I interviewed the chief engineer for Ford about this EVRT hydraulic activated turbo, 2 years ago and guess what? Now he's the chief engineer at GM and the Duramax has the EVRT hydraulic activated turbo in January on 2004.5 for more power. And this year (04) the accountants took the pilot injection clear out of the 6.0L Power Stroke. And it's still a good truck, but it could have really been phenomenal.

I like competition in diesel trucks and it's closer than it has ever been, with GM and Ford improving their diesels and Dodge improving it's body and transmission. So they are all three very close. Dodge is ahead in the power race, if they would get a 5-speed auto and a real crew cab instead of the Quadcab, they would sell as many as Ford. (They listened in 2006 Mega-Cab) Dodge just passed GM in numbers on diesels after GM passed Dodge a couple of years ago with the Duramax. But Ford, which has out sold Dodge and GM diesels combined for over a decade is still #1 in sells by a wide margin.

Now hang on to your hats, Nissan and Toyota are working on 3/4-ton trucks with diesels. The 2005 VW Touareg SUV will have a V-10 diesel. So if you think you need the best truck every year, then get a 1 or 2-year lease and keep switching brands. Freightliner's M2 has a class 5 truck like a Ford F550 or GM C5500 and Peterbilt may have a class 5 version of the 330. GM's C4500/5500 will offer 4x4 this summer and probably 2006 will see Dodge with a cab and chassis again. (Scheduled for 2007) And that's all I have to say about that.

From what I'm seeing, the new policy for Ford, "the loudest wheel gets the grease." When the 6.0L PS first started having problems, Ford was being good, buying back some trucks, fixing some and handing out thousands of free oil changes. They had Blue Diamond pull a trailer around the country from dealer to dealer with engine cutouts and video display's and tech folks onboard trying to explain the problems and the fixes. I've got a lot of contacts at Ford and have been handing out those ph #'s to my Insider Club members with problems. Some have gotten help and some are now suing Ford. Lately, the only thing working is suing Ford.

The good news is warranty problems have slowed down dramatically for the 2004 model PS, though Ford has taken out the pilot injection and they are louder. 2003 has turned out to be a dramatic example of "first year blues." The Ford 6.0L PS trucks I drove 2 years were great and thought 03 would be a great year for Ford, but that's the underlying risk of the first year of dramatic change. On the other hand, Dodge in 03 changed the diesel, transmission, frame, axles, transfer case, suspension, steering etc. and that many changes meant real danger in the first year blues, but they came out a champion with few problems. 03 was a surprising year. But as Kay says, just when you think you know something, someone will show you how stupid you are. Sometime I'm going to get real stupid and list my top picks for each truck class for 2004 and see how they did next year. (04 Ford Power Stroke recall to be issued in July 06)

Low sulfur diesel fuel will be coming soon for the tighter emission standards. 2007 is when it gets strict. The Ford Power Stroke and GM Duramax have Exhaust Gas Recirculated (EGR) and catalytic converters to meet the 2004 new emission standard and Dodge added catalytic converters and no EGR to meet the 2004 emissions. By the end of this decade we'll probably see the same emission standards for gas and diesel engines.

I've updated the time it takes to pay for a diesel engine option with fuel savings from 80,000 miles to 100,000 miles. It's easy to get addicted to the power of a diesel. And the competition with diesel trucks has dramatically improved since 2001. VW's SUV the Touareg will have a V-10 diesel again. The new Dodge/Freightliner Sprinter vans with Mercedes have 5-cylinder diesels and 5-speed automatics that are getting over 20 mpg in a full size van. I'm going to review one of them this spring.

So diesel development is getting faster and faster. Also this spring I'll be driving a "camless diesel" in an International semi truck DT466 from Sturman Industries. Bosch is also working on a camless diesel. So maybe this decade, Navistar and Cummins will have diesel engines with no, cams, push rods, timing chains, lifters and have engine brakes in pickup truck diesels. Start saving money, you'll want to buy a new truck every year just to have the latest technology. George Jetson would be proud

A used diesel not maintained properly and over pulled beyond it's factory weight ratings can be an expensive time bomb. Diesel mechanics charge more that gas engine mechanics per hour, engines, radiators, alternators, starters, batteries etc. all cost more in relation to diesel engines. If a diesel truck wasn't serviced properly with the more expensive than gas, filters, and cooling fluid additives etc. and if the truck pulled trailers way beyond the GCWR limits, which is common, then buying a 100,000 mile diesel truck may cost you a fortune or could last another 100,000 miles. But a used diesel truck with a pedigree from a one owner pulling moderate trailer weights and service receipts is worth a premium. Some people use the high setting on chips and micro turners which works them hard to have most of the goody used up. That's how most of my trucks were when I was done, I stripped them down to the frame and sold them by the pound.

So when I relate to it taking around 100,000 miles for a diesel engine to pay for itself with fuel savings, I'm calculating how long it takes to pay for the extra $4000 for the diesel option and the extra cost of servicing, since I can't predict accurately future resale value, I can't add that back in. Five years from now Arnold could have the EPA ban all new diesels in California, or hydrogen cell technology could make the hybrids, take over the market. Or maybe I could go back to decaf. I love diesels too buy I also look at "the bigger picture." That's the name of my column in the Turbo Diesel Register magazine out in February were you can learn about camless diesels that idle on 3 cylinders and can go from a 2-stroke to a 8-stroke with almost 0 emissions.

My point is diesels don't save you dramatically over a gas engine as they once did. The underlying reason folks buy diesels is power. The diesel side of the debate gets championed more than the gas side. I like to show more than one viewpoint. If you tow heavy trailers the majority of the time, the diesel makes sense as with over-the-road semi-trucks. But the majority of truck owners now use their trucks as a car and pull trailers less then 25% of it's life. Sometimes I get email from folks telling me how shocked they were at their first oil change cost of $75 to $100 for their diesel. Back when our choices in the late eighties where the new Dodge Cummins diesel in 89 or a just fuel injected Ford 460 or GM 454, then diesels could get twice the fuel mileage of a gas engine. Now we have gas engines that without a load can get 14-16 mpg verses a diesel 17-19 mpg highway miles and loaded pulling a trailer at 10-11 verses a diesel at 14-16 mpg. Bottom line, not everyone who pulls a trailer would save money with the diesel option. My mission is showing the strengths of the minority view.

Yes indeed, diesels use very little fuel at idle allowing truckers to keep the truck running while they nap. And the carbon buildup in a idling gas engine is not conducive to long life. But the soot in a diesel engine will also build up harmfully if you shut of a diesel that has idled long only. In Europe diesel passenger cars make up over 40% of the vehicles verses our less than 1%. In Spain you can buy a Ford Focus diesel. In this country with VW offering an economical diesel car for a couple of years now but not in all states, as well as in 2005 they will have a 5.0L V-10 diesel avail bile in the SUV Touareg. Mercedes will start offering diesel 05' C class this fall again. Europe is on the path that diesels are the future to economy and lowered air pollution, while politics in this country are toward, alternative fuel, and hydrogen cells. Actually the engineers I interview think it's impossible to make the hydrogen cell save enough. VW has a major project underway with biodiesel, biomass called SunFuel, which will complete the circle with only C02 emissions going back to the plants that to produce more boimass. I not against diesels, I just don’t think they fit every scenario nor do I think everyone needs a dually to pull a horse trailer.