The Ford 3.0L Power Stroke firing order is 1-4-2-5-3-6. Ford’s own owner’s manual specifications for the 3.0L diesel list that order, along with 183 cubic inches, a 16:1 compression ratio and ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel.

This is the diesel V6 that Ford offered in the F-150. Because it is a diesel, there are no spark plugs, coils or distributor. The firing order tells you the sequence in which the injectors fire and the cylinders make power, which is what you need when you read misfire or injector codes by cylinder.

Ford 3.0L diesel firing order

The firing order is 1-4-2-5-3-6. With the bank numbering shown below, that means the engine alternates between banks with every cylinder.

If you searched for the Ford 3.0 firing order and have a gas engine, check the Ford 3.0L Vulcan, 3.0L Duratec or 3.0L EcoBoost guide for that engine’s cylinder layout.

Ford 3.0L Power Stroke cylinder numbers

The engine sits lengthwise in the F-150, with one bank of three cylinders on each side. Ford’s usual numbering on its V engines starts with the passenger-side bank, which would put cylinder 1 at the front of that bank.

On that layout, the diagram shows cylinders 1, 2, and 3 on the passenger side, front to back, and cylinders 4, 5, and 6 on the driver side, front to back. We could not read Ford’s cylinder identification figure for this diesel, so treat the bank layout as a guide.

Before you replace an injector or glow plug based on a cylinder-specific code, confirm the numbering against the engine cylinder identification figure in the Ford workshop manual for your truck.

Ford 3.0L Power Stroke vehicle applications

In the U.S. market, Ford offered the 3.0L Power Stroke in the F-150. The EPA’s fuel economy records list it from the 2018 to the 2021 model year:

  • Ford F-150 (2018 to 2021 model years)

If you have a newer F-150 or a different engine, see the Ford F-150 firing order guide for the gas V6 and V8 options.

Our take

For the 3.0L Power Stroke, the order is 1-4-2-5-3-6. Check the bank layout against the Ford workshop manual before you work on one cylinder. With no plug wires to mix up, the firing order is mostly useful for reading cylinder-specific codes and checking injectors and glow plugs in the right place.