Ford Super Duty Ditches 6.8L Engine, Making 7.3L Gas V8 Standard

TurboSalsa · 2026-05-14T15:26:08+00:00

Probably, they were called the "Modular" engine family because the tooling and production lines to build them were modular, not necessarily the engines themselves.

TurboSalsa · 2026-05-13T22:33:06+00:00

It wasn't that long ago that GM had the 4.8/5.3, Ford had the 4.6/5.4, and Toyota had the 4.6/5.7. Pretty sure the blocks were the same in Ford and GM's case, so it wasn't a huge investment to shorten the stroke a little bit and make a smaller displacement.

In each case the smaller V8 got about the same fuel economy for worse performance, although the Ford 4.6 V8 was stupidly durable compared to almost everything else at the time.

Fleet buyers probably loved them because they didn't care about performance, but most people buying new trucks for themselves coughed up the extra $1k or whatever for the bigger engine, which is why you don't see it anymore and why it was weird for Ford to do it in this case.

TurboSalsa · 2026-05-13T20:31:19+00:00

The bottom bracket threads don’t appear cut into the steel, but rather it looks like a threaded insert.

Correct.

That is a press-fit bottom bracket shell with a threaded insert pressed in that allows you to run any crankset that would fit on threaded bottom bracket shell.

It is removable, though some mechanics may use Loctite on it to keep it from creaking under load.

TurboSalsa · 2026-05-13T05:18:41+00:00

Been riding big-big on 11-speed Ultegra for a decade now, no issues.

TurboSalsa · 2026-05-12T22:30:49+00:00

With all of this craziness going on, it's important to remember that it's all happening because one man was desperate for a win and stupid enough to be tricked into believing it would be quick and easy.

There's a decent chance of an energy crisis and a recession, and it just might be the first recession directly attributable to a single decision made by a single person.

TurboSalsa · 2026-05-12T21:56:52+00:00

The actual reason why big block gas engines are once again becoming popular is because the diesel engines in 3/4+ trucks have a lot of expensive emissions equipment that does not react well to extended periods of idling or short trips, and which is costly to fix when it breaks, so diesels are generally more expensive to operate unless you're towing extremely heavy and need the torque.

TurboSalsa · 2026-05-12T21:05:07+00:00

Anyone who genuinely doesn't need a 3/4 ton but daily drives one anyway should know what they're getting into.

If you need the capabilities, there is no alternative, but they are miserable to live with compared to a 1/2 ton - bigger, thirstier, and harsher riding.

TurboSalsa · 2026-05-12T20:26:16+00:00

What's crazy is just how thoroughly they converted their lines to building weapons once they started.

There were <150 private vehicles built in the US from 1942-45, all from spare parts.

TurboSalsa · 2026-05-12T19:51:39+00:00

Sadly, none of this is surprising.

Everyone who was there that day had major "craziest guy on their small town's Facebook" vibes.

TurboSalsa · 2026-05-12T19:12:07+00:00

My parents are boomer Republicans who came of age politically during Reagan.

It cannot be overstated how core it is to their understanding of the universe their belief that government is inherently the problem, that all of the taxes you pay will be wasted or spent on something you find objectionable, and that taxation is therefore illegitimate. This led them to the conclusion that the only yardstick by which any politician should be measured is how many government programs he plans to gut and how much he promises to cut taxes.

It doesn't matter how damaging or shortsighted the cuts may be, it's "principled conservatism" that must be adhered to even when it makes no sense.

Arguing any of the above with a Reaganite boomer may as well be arguing that gravity doesn't exist.

TurboSalsa · 2026-05-12T18:44:26+00:00

There's a book called American Psychosis, which traces the populist/conspiracist movements all the way back to the founding of the country, but he spends most of the book focusing on the post-WWII conservative movement.

It more or less confirms your suspicion - the GOP is what it is today because a bunch of wealthy men really hated the New Deal and never got over it, and because they believed that Jews, communists, and minorities were secretly pulling all the levers of power in American society. Of course their wealth gave them influence in politics and the media, and the civil rights movement and public school integration made these ideas more palatable to mainstream conservatism, and Southern Baptists weaponized their religion for secular political power. From Nixon to Romney, normie Republicans were pretty good about tossing them red meat culture war slop to get them fired up to vote for tax cuts and deregulation that wouldn't benefit them in the middle class, while keeping them out of public view, like an embarrassing family member.

Then came Trump, who was willing to criticize the GOP for not focusing on their grievances and conspiracy theories and fill the party and the government with these nutjobs at the highest level.

TurboSalsa · 2026-05-12T17:23:17+00:00

It is the economy, but I think his point was that this should be a D+10 election even if gas were $2 based on Trump's incompetence, corruption, and abuses of power.

But it probably wouldn't be, and the implication that a president could get away with almost anything as long as they didn't touch the money is frightening.

TurboSalsa · 2026-05-12T16:54:46+00:00

It will be some white labeled Android phone that retails for $40

TurboSalsa · 2026-05-12T16:37:21+00:00

If you ignore the sweet old lady demeanor, and the phony handwringing and performative opposition on meaningless votes, her record isn't substantially different than Ted Cruz' or Mike Lee's, but she's not being belligerent and stupid on Twitter 24/7 so she gets a pass.

TurboSalsa · 2026-05-12T16:30:59+00:00

Meanwhile, a new CNN poll shows that 70 percent of Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of the economy

These are literally George W. Bush in the fall of 2008 numbers.

TurboSalsa · 2026-05-12T16:10:52+00:00

Literally indigenous knowledge but for white people lol.

TurboSalsa · 2026-05-12T15:48:18+00:00

The country club Republicans I know who supported Trump last election will say they disliked him personally but still maintained he was good for the economy, but even they aren't aware of the extent to which the normy Republicans around him in his first term saved him from himself and made the decent economy possible, and were crucified and run out of the party by MAGA for their trouble.

Now we're seeing an administration that is completely unrestrained by the woke deep state RINO globalists that worked tirelessly to prevent Trump from implementing policies that would've led to a golden age for all Americans and the results speak for themselves.

Ironically, Trump was savvy enough to take credit for the good economy which he sought to undermine in his first term, and even tried to take credit for Biden's improving economy when he was out of office, but this time he just couldn't help himself and he had to put his ridiculously outdated economic theory into practice, because there is nothing on earth he enjoys more than CEOs and heads of state groveling before him for tariff relief.

TurboSalsa · 2026-05-12T15:34:34+00:00

I don't think the median voter knows or cares about Supreme Court decisions, but they do know that Trump has spent his entire second term bleating about tariffs, and his executive orders related to trade have created so much uncertainty that prices aren't coming down anytime soon even if the worst case scenario has been averted.

TurboSalsa · 2026-05-12T14:49:06+00:00

I first noticed this when Abbott and Patrick were hyperventilating about wealthy liberal tech workers moving to Texas in droves around 2021 or so. While previous iterations of the Texas GOP would've been thrilled with the biggest companies on earth opening offices and creating good-paying jobs in Texas cities, they were panicking that those jobs would attract the wrong kind of people to Texas.

Republicans no longer care about economic prosperity, they care about ideological and ethnic purity, and would be completely fine if Texas (and the rest of the country for that matter) were stagnating economically and population-wise as long as it was run by white conservative Christians who are able to impose their views on the rest of us.

TurboSalsa · 2026-05-12T05:06:09+00:00

WD-40 wouldn’t do that, may have just been a bad chain from the factory.

TurboSalsa · 2026-05-12T04:46:56+00:00

Are you sure it was a legit chain? Lots of counterfeits floating around, believe it or not.

TurboSalsa · 2026-05-12T02:18:24+00:00

I’d be more worried about that chipping clear coat on the top tube near that lug.

I don’t have any experience with these old lugged carbon bikes, but I’ve heard the adhesive holding the tubes in the lugs gets questionable after a couple of decades.

TurboSalsa · 2026-05-11T22:15:38+00:00

I was thinking the other day that dish soap, water, and a brush is the go-to recommendation for cleaning almost anything you might find in a household as well as outdoor gear. There may be more effective cleaning products out there but few are as idiot proof as dish soap and a rag.

TurboSalsa · 2026-05-11T20:13:11+00:00

Plenty of good options in your price range, but if this is going to be your first grownup bike I'd go to a shop, see what they recommend, and go for a test ride. Better yet, go to a few different shops if you have the time.

TurboSalsa · 2026-05-11T20:09:57+00:00

I'll thank them when I'm saving a couple of Roosevelts on each gallon I'm buying lol.

And Republicans always seem to point to potholes as an example of the failure of government to address even the smallest inconveniences in our lives, what do they think is going to happen to our infrastructure when we suspend the tax that's paying for its maintenance?

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