First announced almost a year ago, the Blue Oval has now released full details on the sixth engine option to join the F-150 range: a new 3.0-liter Power Stroke V6, developed by the same team behind the Super Duty's 6.7-liter Power Stroke V8.
Diesel truck fans have reason to celebrate this year as Ford – America’s truck sales leader – delivers the first-ever F-150 Power Stroke diesel with a targeted EPA-estimated 30 mpg highway rating, a best-in-class 11,400 pounds of towing capacity and 2,020 pounds of payload capacity, plus best-in-class diesel 250 horsepower and 440 lb.-ft. of torque.
Smaller though it may be, the F-150 Power Stroke diesel claims class-leading output and capacity: 250 horsepower, 440 lb-ft of torque, 11,400 pounds of towing capability, and 2,020 pounds of payload. Mated to a ten-speed automatic transmission, it's targeted to return an EPA-estimated 30 miles per gallon on the highway.
This all-new 3.0-liter Power Stroke diesel now makes for six engine choices for F-150 customers.
Engineering the most efficient F-150 towing machine ever is enabled by F-150’s high-strength, military-grade, aluminum-alloy body, introduced in 2015. This revolutionary construction lightened the load by 700 pounds, allowing engineers to invest in additional technologies to further improve towing and payload capability, as well as greater fuel economy, even when towing. For 2018, stronger axles coupled with the fully boxed, high-strength steel frame add further robustness.
The Ford truck team paid particular attention to extreme driving conditions when engineering the all-new 3.0-liter Power Stroke diesel, which features a premium mechanical engine-driven fan and dual radiator shutters for improved high temperature, high-altitude performance – a key advantage versus the electric cooling fans used by competitors.
“We know that competing diesels with electric cooling fans have to dial back on power under extreme heat and altitude, so we decided on a viscous-controlled mechanical fan that has the capacity to move much more air across the radiator and intercooler in extreme conditions,” said David Ives, Ford diesel engine technical specialist. “This gives F-150 Power Stroke owners more power and more passing capability in harsh conditions.”
In more moderate driving and towing conditions, the F-150 engine control system backs off the fan load through a viscous coupler, closing down the two radiator shutters for improved aerodynamic efficiency and reduced parasitic engine loss.
Calibrated specifically for the all-new 3.0-liter Power Stroke diesel’s low-end power and torque curves, a standard SelectShift® 10-speed automatic transmission maximizes shift points and gear ratios to optimize power, low-rpm torque and efficiency. This segment-exclusive transmission can non-sequentially select the right gear ratio based on need – for best-in-class performance. To help reduce fuel consumption and vehicle emissions during city driving, Auto Start-Stop also comes standard.
In testing along the legendary Davis Dam in Arizona, F-150 equipped with the all-new 3.0-liter Power Stroke diesel engine climbed 13 miles at a 6 percent grade in temperatures in excess of 100 degrees – maintaining consistent power output throughout.