Mel,
Had to smile when I read your previous comment wondering why Ford never put the 6.9 into the Broncos. We actually built a small fleet of 15-20 trucks in the early '80s when we were introducing the engine. GM had their version of a diesel in the Blazers and the plan was to one up those trucks. The program came to a halt when the frames did not "meet expectation" on the severe testing of the durability course. Can't give details on a public forum, cause I'm still planning on collecting a retirement after all these years. Suffice it to say that the fully loaded vehicles had to go through a 3-4 foot drop dozens of times, which can be a little ******* the truck!
Once the engine was launched in the F250/350s, the volumes ran about 4 times the programmed forecast and International ran 7 days a week to keep up with demand. The Bronco frame and suspensions could have been redesigned, but there were no engines available and no reason for the change.
My suspicion is that the volume of available engines is likely also the reason that Ford went with the 6.9, even though they were a large stockholder in Cummins at that time. Its only my theory, but if you look at 2006, Ford shipped 290,000 Powerstrokes vs 130,000 5.9s and around 170,000 D'maxes. I suspect that the needed volumes just might not have been available. Again, this is just my opinion.
If you want a factory Diesel in the F150 class vehicles, you'll just have to wait till 2008 when the 3.6 and 4.4s arrive. These engines are currently running in the full size Land Rovers and they're impressive.
Congrats on a successful transplant. I've got the parts collected for my own transplant, and I just might have time after the early retirements this spring!
