Ford 7.3., tell me your stories good and sad

[Ryan03]

I also would consider the 7.3 psd. to be one of the best diesels to be put into a lt. truck. We have 5 of these in our fleet ranging from 99 model year to 02, , and one literaly has close to 10,000 hrs on it, mostly idling time running strobe lights for our road crews, and besides the previosly mentioned cam sensor, starter, alt., o rings, etc. We have had had no problems. The 4r100 auto trans., on the other hand, well, uh, hmm. I would recomend the manual instead.

 

[wrenchturner]

I worked on a 97 PSD with 172,000 miles. It had low compression on one cylinder. Upon disassembly, I found a broken compression ring being the cause. The cylinders were really worn excessively and every valve had pounded out the seats bad enough all the valve seats had to be replaced. The rest of the engine had very little wear except the turbo needed replacing.
After the rebuild the truck ran great but about 20,000 miles later the truck got totaled in a wreck.
I just finished working on a 1989 F350 with the old 7.3 and even at 760,000 miles still had nearly perfect compression. It was on the third injection pump and the oil cooler had cracked causing a bad leak.

 

[garth466]

I have a buddy in car sales. He sells the trucks with the "real" diesel motors, but apparently they can get a lot more for an 02 than they can for an identical 03. The 02 is fast becoming the Powerstroke to be had in the used market. The dealers are actually giving more on trade for an 02 than an 03.

Sorry, I had to throw that little quip in. Oh how I wish I could get an F350 Crew Cab long box with a Cummins under the hood.

 

[Lasgambler]

Well, My 2000 PSD, crewcab, 4x4 with workboxes and rack on top get me a wopping 13.5 to 14 mpg. If I really put my foot in it I can get that down to about 12. Anyone have any ideas on how to improve mpg's.

 

[garth466]

Lower your speed and keep it steady. You aren't going to get much better than that if you have to stop and go. I know people that do get low 20's all the time but they are using them as daily commuters and have no cargo. My Dad used to get 21 at every fill up with his 95 Cummins, but it straight hiway driving. I have gotten 23 on one trip, but I know in reality, my average tank tends to be right around 16. Pre 03 Power Stroke would only be slightly less.

 

[firefighter9208]

Well, My 2000 PSD, crewcab, 4x4 with workboxes and rack on top get me a wopping 13.5 to 14 mpg. If I really put my foot in it I can get that down to about 12. Anyone have any ideas on how to improve mpg's.

Sounds about right for an automatic, crewcab, 4x4 to me. All three rob gas mileage over my 6 speed, extended cab, 2wd. Your truck probably weighs closer to 9000# or 10,000 # with the ladder rack and tool boxes and mine weighs in at about 7200#.

I usually get 16-18 mpg. 19.9 mpg was my best ever, but the whole tank was with the cruise set at 60 mph and shifting less than 2000 rpm. I can consistently get 18 mpg if I keep my foot out of it. Hard to do though .

There's a guy over at thedieselstop.com that gets about 27 mpg with a 7.3. His name is David Wittmeir if I remember correctly. He has a 6 speed, changed the rear gear to 3.08, toneau cover, tires aired to 80 psi, open exhaust, and air cleaner, chip, etc........

Chris

 

[litework]

Have a 93 model 7.3 (non-turbo). Only has < 86,000 miles on it. She is a monster though. Long bed, extended cab 4X4 with a hula skirt on the back bumper. Only use it to get longer fence posts, haul smaller horse trailers, and other minor things. Despite hardly being used, it starts and runs very well. I consider it pretty anemic in power with a slushy tranny. The interior rattles quite a bit. Still, a very reliable truck.

My dad actually had one about the same year when I was a kid. He bought it new. Back then, I couldn't believe how "state of the art" it was. I mean, it had a "power point" for your bag phone. That was crazy considering that I only knew five or six people that had cell phones back then-including Sonny Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs.

 

[PSDStu]

Have a 97 PSD, 4x4, Supercab, Longbed, Auto, with 4:10 LS. Truck gets around 12-14 mpg. Bought it new and has about 113K on it. Over the last 10 years have replaced waterpump, starter, rear brakes, batteries, ball joints, and hubs.

Truck has been real good to me and other then some minor mods (tranny temp gage, heater core bypass, limo-window tint) is still all original.

I love the new PSD's.......but WOW the prices! Think I'll be keeping mine for awhile longer.

 

[ulbhunter]

97 3/4 ton heavy duty, Extended cab, 4x4, 4.10,manual 5 speed. A little over 300,000 miles. Have only replaced the clutch once, starter once, and just did new injectors. Ball joints need replaced this month. This truck will pull anything that I have hooked up to. Just pulled a 43 foot trailer loaded with 1/2 mile ( yes 2500 feet) of 2 7/8 drill stem pipe. Mileage loaded is 12 and unloaded 15-16. I do pull a gooseneck dump ( 15,000 lbs) and loaded gooseneck equipment trailer (18,000 lbs) with it daily.

 

[TheKid]

I've got an 02 F250 4X4 extended cab with an 8 foot bed and a camper shell. It's got 3.73 gears and and a 6 speeed manual transmission. Bought it new and I'm just about to hit 100,000 miles. It's been to the dealer twice under warrenty. Once for a bad fuse box, an once for the injector electronic module.

Other than oil and filter changes every 5K, the air and fuel filer every 15K, and the batteries which I changed last winter, everything else on the truck is original equipment.

I track every fill up in an Excel file and I'm averaging 18.96 MPG About 65% is hiway driving.