History

• The Ford F-Series truck debuted in 1948, but a diesel version didn't make it to the market until 1983, with the 7.5-liter Navistar V-8, which was produced by International Harvester. Ford beat Dodge to the diesel truck market by six years. The Navistar generated 170 horsepower and 315 foot-pounds of torque. Navistar's 6.9- and 7.3-liter diesels arrived for the 1987 model years and later. All Ford diesels were manufactured by International Harvester until Ford assumed all production in 2010 for the 2011 model year.
  
  

Truck Sizes

• The 2010 Ford F-150 is not equipped with a diesel engine due to its relatively modest payload and towing-capacity ratings. Diesels are offered in the F-250, F-350 and larger Ford trucks. Ford pickups are offered as regular cabs, Super Cabs (extended cab) and four-door Crew Cabs. Wheelbases are long, with choices of 137, 141.8, 156.2, 158, and 172.4 inches. Overall length of these large workhorses range from 227.6 inches to 263 inches, according to Ford.
  
  

Power Stroke

• The Power Stroke diesel in the heavy-duty Ford F-Series is the 32-valve, fuel-injected, 6.7-liter V-8 turbo diesel. Its block is manufactured from compacted graphite iron and the cylinder heads are aluminum. It features a 3.90-inch bore and 4.25-inch stroke. The compression ratio is a whopping 16.2 to 1, compared to Ford's gasoline-powered 6.2-liter V-8 with a 9.8-to-1 compression ratio. The horsepower rating of the diesel is only 390, compared to the gas-powered V-8's 385. But it's the torque that counts the most. The diesel wields 735 foot-pounds of torque--the twisting force generated inside the engine--giving it a high towing capacity. The gas-powered 6.2-liter V-8 generates 405 foot-pounds of torque.
  
  

Transmission

• The diesel-powered Ford trucks are matched with a six-speed SelectShift automatic transmission with an aluminum case. Top gear ratios are 3.31 to 1, 3.55 to 1, 3.73 to 1 or 4.3 to 1, depending on the size of the truck.
  
  

Towing Capacity

• The regular cab F-250 and F-350 models have a towing capacity of 12,500 lbs. when equipped with the 6.7-liter turbo diesel. The Super Cab and Crew Cab F-250s and F-350s feature a 15,000-lb. towing capacity. The four-wheel-drive F-450 has a towing capacity of 16,000 lbs. Fifth-wheel towing capabilities significantly increase from 16,500 lbs. for the regular cab F-250 and F-350 to 24,400 lbs. for the F-450 equipped with a 4.3-to-1 gear ratio.