Who’s still using a 7.3 diesel truck
Who’s still using a 7.3 diesel for there TC? How long have you had it? What TC do you have? What’s are some of the must haves to keep it chugging along happily with TC on top? Cheers
Forum Discussion
We've owned our 2001 Ford F250 Extended Cab Lariat with the 7.3 diesel and 8' box since 2013 and it has travelled almost 93,000 miles ... that's less than 5,000 miles annually. It really is a Pavement Prince with very little real work experience.
Yes it requires and receives regular maintenance and yes, things need replacement and repair on it as you would expect from a 20 year old vehicle. Rebuilt the 4R100 tranny with HD components (darn mechanical diode issue) a few years back, new drive shaft and just recently the front hubs stopped engaging. Perhaps a vacuum line leak or a good hub cleaning MAY solve that but I won't know until the warm weather comes.
It is a simpler design than modern day diesels thus making it easier to understand and work on for me ... and yes, I do as much of the maintenance and repair/replace wrenching on it as I can using the FSMs to guide me and the Ford Truck Enthusiasts forums cited earlier.
Over the past 5 years it has had some minor surface rust sanded out and touched up, a new water pump, starter, alternator and on-going corroded fluid lines replaced as needed not to mention the occasional consumable items like brakes, batteries, tires etc. It is rust proofed regularly to keep the inevitable rusting at bay as Ontario still uses a salt mix or brine when deicing the roads.
It was a purpose specific purchase and does a very good job for us hauling our Adventurer 90FWS truck camper (3,500lbs.) while towing our enclosed cargo trailer (also about 3,500lbs.) with two maxi-scooters and too much camping gear. Making power for any terrain or situation has never been an issue as we never exceed 63 mph while hauling/towing. I drive a little faster light loaded but usually keep it under 70 mph.
I've always said I would not own a vehicle I couldn't jump in/on and drive/ride across the country and I still don't. I really like this truck ... it keeps me busy sometimes and certainly makes me happy most of the time. Best mpg was 21+ (could have been an arithmetic error) and worst was 10 mpg (again likely an error). Regular average 15'ish mpg light loaded and between 12-14 mpg under the load described above.
Some might think why hang onto it if it needs ongoing attention and money? Well, here in Canada, a comparably equipped new truck would run approximately CAD $85,000+ or about USD $68,000. This one is paid for and we have far better uses for our money so it's a no brainer for us.
Yes it requires and receives regular maintenance and yes, things need replacement and repair on it as you would expect from a 20 year old vehicle. Rebuilt the 4R100 tranny with HD components (darn mechanical diode issue) a few years back, new drive shaft and just recently the front hubs stopped engaging. Perhaps a vacuum line leak or a good hub cleaning MAY solve that but I won't know until the warm weather comes.
It is a simpler design than modern day diesels thus making it easier to understand and work on for me ... and yes, I do as much of the maintenance and repair/replace wrenching on it as I can using the FSMs to guide me and the Ford Truck Enthusiasts forums cited earlier.
Over the past 5 years it has had some minor surface rust sanded out and touched up, a new water pump, starter, alternator and on-going corroded fluid lines replaced as needed not to mention the occasional consumable items like brakes, batteries, tires etc. It is rust proofed regularly to keep the inevitable rusting at bay as Ontario still uses a salt mix or brine when deicing the roads.
It was a purpose specific purchase and does a very good job for us hauling our Adventurer 90FWS truck camper (3,500lbs.) while towing our enclosed cargo trailer (also about 3,500lbs.) with two maxi-scooters and too much camping gear. Making power for any terrain or situation has never been an issue as we never exceed 63 mph while hauling/towing. I drive a little faster light loaded but usually keep it under 70 mph.
I've always said I would not own a vehicle I couldn't jump in/on and drive/ride across the country and I still don't. I really like this truck ... it keeps me busy sometimes and certainly makes me happy most of the time. Best mpg was 21+ (could have been an arithmetic error) and worst was 10 mpg (again likely an error). Regular average 15'ish mpg light loaded and between 12-14 mpg under the load described above.
Some might think why hang onto it if it needs ongoing attention and money? Well, here in Canada, a comparably equipped new truck would run approximately CAD $85,000+ or about USD $68,000. This one is paid for and we have far better uses for our money so it's a no brainer for us.
