4.6 general chat
03-02-2012, 12:50 PM
#4485
1st Gear Member
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: MA
Posts: 78
What is the difference between...
What is the difference between the "4.6L (1996-2004 Modular) Mustang" and the "4.6L General Discussion" pages? There seems to be a bit of redundancy. Which has the highest traffic?
03-02-2012, 12:56 PM
#4486
3rd Gear Member
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Maryland
Posts: 566
"4.6L (1996-2004 Modular) Mustang Technical discussions on 1996-2004 4.6 Liter Modular Motors (2V and 4V) within."
03-03-2012, 09:44 AM
#4490
5th Gear Member
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Ohio
Posts: 2,994
First off, the 6.0 engine by itself, bone stock, is "relatively" reliable when used in normal driving and towing situations. However, ANY performance adding features, like a tuner for example, will be the the beginning of the end for your beloved diesel-UNLESS you correct some things first.
The 6.0 was a thrown together attempt and meeting stringent emissions standards formed by the government. The old faithful 7.3 was booted because it ran VERY dirty, and by design of the engine there was just no feasible way of cleaning it up. Enter-the 6.0. The concept behind the 6.0 is great on paper, but in real world applications, especially heavy towing on a frequent basis, your are in trouble.
Lets start at the top.
The 6.0 uses head bolts called TTY(Torque To Yield). Basically, what this means is, they can't be over torqued without snapping off, they can literally only apply a predetermined amount of torque. Now, this concept is great for dummys who can't read a torque wrench, but then again, who works on the heads of an engine without knowing what they are doing? Exactly. Now, as if this wasn't a problem in itself, they only used 4 head bolts per cylinder. FOUR. In an 18:1 compression DIESEL engine....Really?! The 7.3 used 6, as well as the new 6.7 scorpion, it also uses 6 bolts per cylinder. So, what does all this mean you ask? Well it wouldn't matter at all if it weren't for the next big issue they had...that pesky EGR system.
The EGR system on the 6.0 is plagued most by the EGR cooler itself, which is prone to clogging from soot and oil build up. The EGR valve also is known for clogging with soot, and REQUIRES cleaning on a regular basis-or your engine won't like you very much...All these issues with the EGR system lead to higher coolant temperatures, blown head gaskets, overboosting of the turbocharger, and coolant loss. The reason these engines have soot issues is because they are...ahem....DIESEL ENGINES!! Diesel engines are unclean by nature, and love to be idles all day long, unlike a gas engine. Many trucks are idled for extended periods of time, and this causes excessive amounts of soot to be produced. It is not burned off because of low exhaust gas temperatures while idling. This brings us to the next problem...The turbocharger itself.
The turbocharger int he 6.0 uses a great concept-in theory. It uses what is called variable vane technology-or Variable Geometry. Basically, the vanes of the turbo adjust to provide different amounts of airflow at different rpms. This aids in increase boost pressure even at low rpms. A great concept-if it wasn't in a diesel. The soot production of the diesel engine is it's downfall. The vanes are VERY prone to sticking because of soot buildup, causing excessive turbo lag, but not always a catastrophic failure. But don't worry, the restricted oil drain line on the turbo will take care of the catastrophic failure for you. Speaking of restrictions...
The Oil Cooler used on the 6.0 was a real treat...they came from the factory with a little extra present inside!!! SAND! Yep, sand, left in the unit from a process called sand casting, where sand molds are used to cast metal. This usually clogged the coolant side of the oil cooler, which leads to coolant and oil being mixed, as well as the obvious overheating. Also, contributing to head gasket failures.
Now, this sounds like a lot of problems, and it is, it really is. But for about 5k$ you can damn near bullet proof the 6.0 engine. The trouble is finding one that has few enough miles to not have permanent damage done already....
Now this is just the 6.0, the 6.4 has it's own set of issues, but mostly revolving around the emissions equipment. Either way, it is not justifiable to me to buy either of these engines in a truck. In fact, there is so much emissions crap plaguing the 6.7 scorpion, that unless you removed it all and run a bad *** tune and void your warranty-the truck sucks. This is just the direction diesel engines are going, and you can thank the EPA and the Government for that. So I bought
instead...it's the new 6.2 Gas engine, and with the tuner, it's bad ***...Of course the 35" tires slow it down a tad lol. But I can go through anything hahaha!