I've never owned a diesel powered vehicle, but in a few years I'll be considering it. In the meantime, I was wondering:

The 7.3L Powerstroke Diesel has power to spare (especially for '01), and provides great mileage. I've read some people get 20+ mpg highway (65 mph). This makes it seemingly ideal for heavy towing duties AS WELL as being a highway commuter with good mileage. Why don't the majority of people choose the PSD? I realize it costs an arm and a leg, but assuming you could afford it, what would stop you from ordering it?

 

Higher maintenance costs for one. It takes 15 quarts of oil at every oil change. As I understand, servicing in general costs more. Basically, if you don't plan to tow with it or if you're the type that gets a new truck every two or three years, it's better to go with the gas engine. I've heard it takes about 100K miles for the PSD to make back the money for the initial purchase and the higher maintenance costs.

Also, I think 20+ mpg is more the exception than the rule. From listening to others, I think they probably average 15-16 in the city and around 19-20 on the highway (that may not be accurate . . . someone correct me if I'm wrong). If you really want to learn more about them, go to www.Ford-Diesel.com and get into the forums there. You'll learn more than you could ever imagine.

But, with all that said, when I get my next one, you can bet it's gonna be a PSD.

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2000 Lariat F-250 4x4
Super Duty
Super Cab
Short Wheel Base
V-10
3.73LS
Auto

 

Milage is a touchy subject!! I get between 10-21+mpg
10mpg mountains towing 30'TT at 70+mph
21+mpg interstate going under 65mph
around town I usually see between 18-20mpg
Speed does make a difference in mpg
And your statement about the PSD having power to spare is VERY true. I'm able to pull my Travel Trailer up in the Blue Ridge pkway at speeds over 70mph and still maintain cruise.
I think the biggest reasons most people dont chose the diesel is because of the sound/smell. Personally I love it.
As far as maintence goes: I've found that if you do it yourself, it's cheaper. Plus you learn so much about the engine. I just changed the fuel filter and it was sooooo simple. Like F250Hoss said, check out the diesel board www.ford-diesel.com

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2k F250 CC SWB 6 speed 4x2 Diesel XLT Super Duty, Woodland Green
Power Mirrors, 3.73 LS, Captains Chairs, ARE tonneau top, rear privacy glass
TT Pkg, Class IV hitch, sliding rear window, running boards, mud flaps
265/75/16 AS OWL tires, am/fm/cassette/cd, rechargable MagLite
Clarion APA 5240 amp, Memphis speakers:Components front, 5x7 rear, 10"sub
SuperChip, Stepshields, Ventshields on windows, rubber bed mat
rugged liner bedliner on tailgate, quick disconnect jumper cables
unaFORDable (decal on tailgate) Western Diesel Turbo Brake (whoa boy)
Finally gauges!!: Pyrometer & Boost on the A-Pillar mount

 

Thanks for the informative comments. I had no idea the PSD takes 15 qrts of oil! Yowza. I checked out the www.ford-diesel.com page and it is going to be a great resource - I've got a lot of reading to do. I can see how mileage is a touchy subject, with many people experiencing averages all over the map. I'm still leaning toward the diesel after my F-150 lease expires, but I've got a lot to learn.

 

F250 Hoss is right on, and explained several issue very accurately..
Also remember the initial cost of the PSD is around $3500 more, requires fuel filter changes every 6mo's, and you need to keep a close eye on the antifreeze ratio to avoid cavitation problems.

Many folks have crunched the numbers (as I have), and it seems to come out to somewhere between 80k and 150k miles are needed for the better mpg's of the PSD to break even with the cost of ownership..

I chose the 5.4L.. I get mpg's almost as good as the PSD, without the extra initial and maintainence cost. BUT, I don't tow/haul heavy stuff. If I was, then the PSD would be the ticket!

My avg mpg's (5.4L) 15.5 mixed driving, 17's on highway, 13's if all city. See sig for exact truck.


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Y2K F250 XLT SC 4x2 5.4L 5sp 4.10LS

 

Tina reminded me about the sound and the smell, two other things that tend to lead a lot of people towards the gas engine. Personally, I LOVE the sound of the PSD and I think the smell is something that just kind of grows on you after a while if you're not already accustomed to it.

Rumor has it that if you pull up to the drive-thru at McDonalds and try to place an order, that PSD is gonna have to die before anyone on the other end can hear you. Tina could probably tell you more about that than I could, as I've only driven them a few times and never through a drive-thru. The nice thing is, once you get up to highway speed you can't hardly hear the beast.

The great thing about the smell is that you can pull up right next to a ritzy little convertible at a red light and place your tailpipe where it's blowing right into their faces, then put the hammer down when the light turns green . . . along with their faces.

Honestly, I wouldn't recommend that. It's not nice.

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2000 Lariat F-250 4x4
Super Duty
Super Cab
Short Wheel Base
V-10
3.73LS
Auto

 

R Bess: the fuel filter is changed every 15k miles or if you get some really bad fuel, it's changed right then.

Scott: Forget about those little quarts of oil, I buy my oil by the gallon So instead of 15 quarts, think of it as 4 gallons. Doesn't sound quite as much this way. Also you tend to watch for you brand going on sale and stock piling it in the garage.

F250Hoss: yes, the rumor is correct. There have been several times at drive throughs that I've been asked to shut down my engine. I just drive up to the next window and order from there. Todays PSD's also don't smell and are not as loud as the one's from a few years ago. But still, a lot of people don't like them for these reasons.

I ment to say they don't smell as much!! I don't even notice the smell from my truck because my husband is a diesel mechanic and he always smells way worse than the truck ever could.

[This message has been edited by Tina (edited 01-31-2001).]

 

I don't think I would mind the smell. I used to work around both diesels and propane powered trucks with no problem. Actually, I grew to like the smell of the old "propaners" in the fleet. And the few PSDs I've seen driving around town don't seem to be too loud. However, I've never heard them from inside the cabin. Generally, I like the chatter sound that diesels make -- as long as they're not too loud.

The four gallons of oil is quite a bit of $$ considering I use synthetic. Good thing there's an extented drain interval with these oils!

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Loose Moose II

'01 F150 Wedgewood Blue SC XLT
5.4L, 4X4, SB, 3.55LS

[This message has been edited by Scott_XLT (edited 02-01-2001).]

[This message has been edited by Scott_XLT (edited 02-01-2001).]

 

Scott: I'm fixing to switch my oil over from reg to synthetic on my next oil change. My husband actually got me 4 gallons of synthetic oil for Christmas!!! I too have been doing a lot of reading over on the diesel board about the extended drain times of synthetic. My conclusion, and this is what I will be doing. Drain times will jump to 10k and I will be drawing oil for analysis at about every 3k. If the oil is doing OK, I may extend the drain times. I'm also planning on changing the oil filter every 5k. I've done the math on this and I find that for me, it will actually be cheaper to run synthetic.

 

Tina: I've just begun to use synthetic oil in both my car and my wife's. After I get around 5k or so of break-in miles on my F-150 I'll switch it over to synthetic. I read that GMC's new C3 (gasser) pickup has recommended oil drain intervals of 10k miles with dino oil! Additionally, my wife's Audi has recommended (in owners manual) drain intervals of 7500 miles with regular oil. Given the longer recommended change intervals in new vehicles, I'm not too uncomfortable going the longer distance with synthetic. Personally, I'm not comfortable going as long as the above recommended miles with dino oil, but with (quality brand) synthetic, I feel OK about it.

p.s. Synthetic Oil Christmas present -- now that is something I could use! Now to go drop the early hint to wife ...


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Loose Moose II

'01 F-150 Wedgewood Blue SuperCab XLT
5.4L, 4X4, SB, 3.55LS

 

I went through Mc D's this morning with a PSD BEHIND me and the dude couldn't hear me!!!

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2001 F-250SD crewcab shorty,5spd, manual 4x4, captains chairs, off road pkg, tow pkg, alum wheels, dark highland green. Added Westin step bars... So far.

 

I will not think twice about getting a Diesel on my next SD just for the mileage aspect. Two wheel drive and gas engines seem to have good mileage posts on these boards, but not in the 4x4 configuration.

[This message has been edited by bikeman (edited 02-02-2001).]