7.3L powerstroke

[Brad Ent]

7.3 is great engine!! As mentioned before, beware of rust /scale on the oil pan.

[mowerbrad]

Originally Posted by TXNSLighting

yep, if you find one. Run power sevices through it every 3 or 4 tanks, and that will keep the injectors clean.

My current truck gets powerservice additive every tank. I've considered putting a little 2-cycle oil in the tank to help lubricate better, but I haven't tried it yet.

Originally Posted by Brad Ent

7.3 is great engine!! As mentioned before, beware of rust /scale on the oil pan.

This may be a dumb question, but how much would it cost to have the oil pan replaced?

[SIWEL]

um....




The pan is cheap....



But you need to pull the motor. Around 2 grand i believe. It is relatively simple, just time consuming. Its also a good time to do other important fixes like glo plugs/exhaust manifolds and up pipes while the engine is sitting on a stand. Just look for one with a good pan on it and you will be all set.

[mowerbrad]

So I will make sure the truck has a good oil pan.

Anything else I should be looking for?

[Mowingman]

The 7.3 Powerstroke engine will probably go down in history as the best diesel engine ever used in a pickup truck of any brand. They are very troublefree and can easily last 500,000 miles
I have owned 14 of them, all purchased with over 225,000 miles on them, and used them daily with no problems.
Many of them I later sold to friends. They all are still going strong, and most have well over 300,000 miles on them. In fact, recently I bought one of them back again. It is now my daily driver, and has 331,000 miles on it. Still runs great and has lots of power.
You can not go wrong with a 7.3 Powerstroke that has been serviced regularly.

[unkownfl]

Good engine bad transmission unless you find a manual. Why are you stuck on a diesel anyway? I have one and to be honest its not worth what you pay for. The margin between diesel and gas in price is going to continue to increase.

[outlaw1960]

Originally Posted by SIWEL

I have 3 7.3L engines for my company. One has 205, 170, and 70,000 miles. Overall they have been good trucks. Ford does have the reputation of having unreliable transmissions, but the 'newer' 1999-2003 trucks should be more figured out. The 7.3L is def. a 400,000+ motor. I do not plan on getting rid of any of my trucks, no matter the miles, before it is there time. Change the oil every 5,000 miles. Check the oil pan, they have a tendency of rotting out. The motor will most likely outlast the truck with normal PM. Every brand has expensive parts to replace vs. cheap parts. It depends on the truck. The 7.3 is very straight forward and simple compared to the duramaxes. I was a mechanic and have worked on both a lot and chose ford for a reason.

Good post, I have two 7.3l as well, 1 has 280,000 miles, the other has 113,000 miles. Good maintenance and common sense driving they have been trouble free. Cps recall and fuel bowl o-rings are the only motor related issues I have had, had to replace ball joints on both at about 110,000 miles, common issue. Both of mine are 2000 models....auto trans on the 113,000 truck is getting weak though, the standard is good....hth

[WH401]

Originally Posted by Mowingman

The 7.3 Powerstroke engine will probably go down in history as the best diesel engine ever used in a pickup truck of any brand. They are very troublefree and can easily last 500,000 miles
I have owned 14 of them, all purchased with over 225,000 miles on them, and used them daily with no problems.
Many of them I later sold to friends. They all are still going strong, and most have well over 300,000 miles on them. In fact, recently I bought one of them back again. It is now my daily driver, and has 331,000 miles on it. Still runs great and has lots of power.
You can not go wrong with a 7.3 Powerstroke that has been serviced regularly.

I beg differ, and I know others will too. No doubt the 7.3 was a good engine, probably the best diesel engine ever put in a Ford. But best diesel engine ever used in a pick up of any brand?, no way. You forget about the 5.9 Cummins. Just look at the life the 5.9 had in Dodge pickups, a life that spanned almost 20 years. As far as reliability, towing ability, and overall power, the 5.9 can't be beat.

Looking back at the 7.3 it was a good engine, but far from being the best ever. The 94 - 97's had glow plug and relay issues that kept them from being able to start in cold weather; all the models from 94 - 03 had problems with crank position sensors that kept them from running; the HPOP method of fuel injection is highly complicated and flawed because the oil doesn't naturally circulate as well as it properly should, not to mention it sheers oil like no other; they get no where near the fuel economy when compared to the 5.9 or 6.6 Duramax; it's design of using glow plugs to start is flawed because plugs become fouled from combustion and they eventually need to be replaced, not to mention this system isn't as effective as a grid heater...anything else?

Personally, I own a 7.3 in an 01' Excursion and it's been a great engine. But it's no where near the best engine ever. The 5.9 is a simpler, more reliable, and more economical engine, simple put.

[mowerbrad]

Again this may be a stupid question....how expensive are the ball joints to replace?

[Mowingman]

I have owned Dodge trucks with the Cummins and Ford trucks with the 7.3. While the Cummins is very good, I will stick with the 7.3 Powerstroke.
I have always thought that Cummins in a Ford F250 or F350 would be great.
It MIGHT be better than the 7.3. too bad we will never know.