Content provided in partnership with

Automotive Industry

6.0L Power Stroke is torque of the town - Engine Technology - diesel engine from Ford

Automotive Industries, Oct, 2002 by Rob Wilson

This is the latest salvo fired in the war for domination of diesel-powered full-size pickups in North America. It's the new 6.0L Ford Power Stroke Diesel produced for Ford by International Truck and Engine Corporation at its Indianapolis engine plant.

Indianapolis has produced more than 1.5 million Power Stroke Diesels of the 7.3L displacement since 1994. Before that it built the 6.9L, which evolved into the 7.3. Right now the plant is ramping up on the 6.0L diesel but still building 7.3s as well. Some weekend next month, production of the 7.3 will cease altogether and the plant will be dedicated to the 6.0L.

More Articles of Interest: Ford recalls trucks with 6.0L diesel engines.(Brief Article); 6.0 L power stroke diesel debuts on Ford Tonka concept truck - On-Highway...; The 6.0-liter power stroke diesel engine. (editor's choice).; The torque of the town: new 6.0 L Ford Power Stroke by International latest...; Turn up the Juice: here's a little white-glove hot-rodding that will add...

Most Popular Articles in Autos: Service Slants; 2007 utility vehicle buyer's guide: Side-By-Sides are popular; here's who ...; Transmission considerations: beyond the manual gearbox; Buell Motorcycle engineering, innovation, & dedication: in an industry ...; 100 + 10: America's oldest automotive magazine celebrates its 110th year ...; More »

The 6.0 is an all new engine platform, Current capacity is 250,000 per year, or about 1,060 per day. In addition to engine assembly, the plant also handles machining of principal parts such as the block, head, camshaft, crankshaft and connecting rods.

From an engine development perspective, it is remarkable to consider that the 7.3 had orating of 190 hp when introduced in 1994 with the original HEUI (hydraulically-actuated electronic unit injectors) common rail fuel injection system. Now here comes the 6.0L replacing the 7.3 and it has a rating of 325 hp at 3,300 rpm right out of the box. Output per liter has grown from 26 hp/L to 54 hp/L. So power density has more than doubled in less than 10 years.

But it's likely the engine will be even better known for its output torque of 560 lb. ft. at 2,000 rpm. With that rating, Ford easily claims king of the hill status in the full-size (over 8,500 lbs.) pickup, van and SUV markets. The engine begins availability in early 2003 in Ford's F-Series Super Duty trucks and Excursion SUV models.

The new engine is teamed with Ford's all new five-speed TorqShift automatic truck transmission, the model R5. It replaces the four-speed automatic which simply couldn't handle the higher torque level of the new engine.

The new gearbox features a wider ratio speed range and advanced electronic control. The transmission is produced in Ford Motor Company's Sharonville, Ohio, transmission plant where $81 million has been spent on tooling and equipment. Capacity is also 250,000 per year.

We visited the Indianapolis and Sharonville plants in August and had a follow-up conversation with Charles Freese, Ford's chief engineer for the Power Stroke program. Let's take a look at the basic engine architecture.

The new Power Stroke has a V-8 configuration like its predecessor but shares little else. The engine is a slightly undersquare design with a bore and stroke of 3.74 X 4.13 in. (95 X 105 mm). It is a pushrod engine with four valves per cylinder driven by a single camshaft through hydraulic rollers, Compression ratio is 18.0:1.

Heads and block are of cast iron. The crankshaft is forged steel and induction hardened. For increased stiffness, it mounts to the block via a bedplate with five main bearings. The forged camshaft drives 32 valves with hydraulic rollers. The cam mounts low in the block just above the crankshaft and is driven through a relatively short gearset. Gears are straight and not helical.

Connecting rods from Metaldyne are of forged powder metal with a teepee-type split end, providing more bearing surface. Forged powder metal con rods, while normal practice for gasoline engines, are novel in diesel applications.

Pistons from Karl Schmidt Unisia have a three-ring pack and are cast aluminum with a Ni-resist insert for the compression ring. The top ring has a keystone shape and is chrome plated. The oil control ring is a spring expander type. Pistons are jet cooled on the underside and piston skirts have a special coating to assure a smooth break-in period.

One could say the basic engine layout, while robust and modern, is also fairly conventional. And Charles Freese would agree with that assessment. "The beauty of this engine is the harmony of the subsystems," Freese tells us. "With the new Power Stroke Diesel, we have brought together the air management and fuel management with unique state-of-the-art systems.

"We have more than one dozen sensors providing inputs to the electronic control module to direct the functions of the new advanced fuel injection system, The electronic variable rate turbocharger (EVRT) and the exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system.

"The Power Stroke has great breathing capability because of the four valve-per-cylinder design. You can't have any restrictions and still properly flow your EGR. And with the variable geometry turbo, you get performance over the complete load and speed range.

"In essence, you have a large turbo for peak power and a smaller turbo for performance at launch, The result is an engine with lower emission, higher output and torque and yet approximately a 10 percent fuel economy advantage."

Taking a closer look at the air management system, it consists of an intake air filter, the Garrett EVRT, charge-air cooler, aluminum intake manifold, EGR cooler, EGR valve and closed crankcase breather,

Air is drawn through the filter into the engine and past The crankcase ventilation system and into the turbocharger compressor: Air Then is directed to The charge air cooler (CAC) where it condenses and becomes more dense. From the CAC, air moves into the manifold leading to the intake ports in the cylinder heads.

Automotive Industry

6.0L Power Stroke is torque of the town - Engine Technology - diesel engine from Ford

Automotive Industries, Oct, 2002 by Rob Wilson

Find Research Guides for:

Find Featured Titles for: News

Most Popular Articles in Autos

Most Popular Publications in Autos