Powerplant
Ford Powerstroke diesel Courtesy Ford
Engine background and tech tips By Mike Mavrigian
Courtesy Ford
A
s anyone familiar with diesel engine Shown above is the Ford Powerstroke 6.0L, featured in 2003-2009 vehicles. operation knows, a diesel engine differs from other liquid fuel engines in one major respect: The fuel/air charge is ignited by cylinder pressure and heat, instead of via an electrical ignition system (diesel-fueled engines don’t use spark plugs). On its downstroke, a piston draws air into the cylinder. On the compression stroke, the fuel injection system (depending on how it’s timed) spits fuel into the combustion area, and the resulting cylinder pressure (and residual heat from previous frings) combusts the fuel/air mix, etc. Diesel heads generally don’t feature combustion chambers (fat decks with no chambers). Instead, the combustion chamber is afforded by the piston’s “bowl” cavity. Partly because of the serious cylinder presPowerstroke 6.4L, featured in 2008-2010. sures and forces exerted on the bottom end, diesel components (blocks, cranks, rods, pistons) are, for lack of a better term, heavy-duty and very beefy in construction. As compared to gas engines, just about everything on a diesel is bigger, heavier and more massive.
Ford’s Powerstroke diesel engine lineup includes a series of V8s. While the engines were built by International, Ford’s chosen name for their diesel engines is Powerstroke. The naturally aspirated International 6.9L/7.3L IDI (indirect injection), from 1982 to 1994 (the 6.9L ran from 1982-1987, and the 7.3L from 1987 to 1993. Powerstroke 6.7L, featured in 2011 to date.
32 | July/August 2015
Courtesy Ford
Ford Powerstroke
