Who’s still using a 7.3 diesel truck

jimh425 wrote:
36guy, sounds like you couldn’t drive a manual shift, didn’t do proper maintenance including oil changes, and modified ito use non OEM parts and it’s Ford’s fault. ;) At leat, you found something you liked. :D That’s really all that matters.

You know.....one shouldn't pass judgement of others if you don't know them. I drive truck for a living, I've been building hot rods and custom motorcycles for 40 years, and I stand corrected, it is a ZF 5 speed stick I put a Luc clutch and flywheel in, the dual mass shields the tranny from power pulses that a single mass setup does not, leading to bearing failure on the input shaft.
I probably know more about servicing my pickups than most on here, I have a fully equipped shop to do just that. Thanks for your esteemed and totally incorrect observation.

I have a 2000 F350, 7.3 liter diesel, Crew Cab, SRW, Auto trans, 4x4 Long bed. I bought it in 2002 with 26,000 miles from the original owner. The pickup now has 156,000 miles. I already had a 1992 Lance camper that I carried on a 1993 Dodge 250 club cab 4x4 with the 5.9 liter Cummings. The camper has a 11’3'' floor with a generator. I had installed Reese class 5 hitch and the airbags on the Dodge. I took the hitch and the air bags off the Dodge and put them on the 2000 F350. The air bags helped the rear end to not squat so much. But the front end was too soft with the camper on. When a semi truck would pass me I would have to get off the throttle and ride it out. There was a lot of sway on uneven ground when the camper was on also. I had the Rancho 2.5” level kit installed, Rancho 5000 shocks and double shocked the front end. That modification really made a big improvement to how the pickup handles when loaded with the camper. Since then I have added an Edge Products programmer, K&N cold air intake, bigger trans oil cooler & temp gauge, 4” exhaust with straight through muffler. Almost two years ago I went to 19.5” wheels & tires. I am happy with tires they don’t bulge out under load and they really helped reduce the sway. I also took the F350 to a spring shop and they added a thick-heavy spring to the main spring pack on the rear end. They also replaced the one overload spring with two thicker-heavier springs. Now the pickup rides level and handles well even without using the air bags. Last year we bought a really well taken care of in great shape, 2010 Lance model 950-S has a 9’10” floor one slide out and a generator. Hope to sell the 1992 Lance this spring. Things were pretty weird last year, because of multiple reasons we only got to go on one short camping trip with our new to us camper. Hope we can do more before long. With everything I have done to my 2000 F350 it carries the camper very well, handles well and is nice to drive loaded. I haven’t had many engine problems. Replaced the ball joints at 100,000, water pump at 120,000 and alternator at 140,000 miles. It would be nice to have a newer F350 with the 6.7 that has more power and is quieter. I don’t now and won’t have the means to get another pickup for a good while. I hope nothing drastic and bad happens to my F350, 7.3 because I would like to keep it for a long time.

I happened to buy a new '99 F250 with the 7.3 just cause that is what they had at the time. Lasted till a couple years ago at 155k miles with hardly any problems and used well. One of the last loads I hauled with it was a triple axle gooseneck dump trailer loaded with dirt. This was a stock truck, and it was overloaded. There was a big hill to go over to cross a dam and I had to get a run at it and on the way up it would drop to 2nd gear. I probably did this at least 5 times and the truck never gave up. It was stock or it probably would have broke something. Also used it to haul a couple truck campers.

So I got the itch again for another truck camper and found a '01 F350 locally owned by the Ford diesel mechanic at a nearby dealership. Only 60k miles:). The only thing he did was chip it so when I got it I did all the preventative maintenance and upgraded bits and pieces. It is a nice truck and I'll probably sell it this spring if I can force myself.

The previous owner showed me the truck he replaced it with, was a 6.4 or 6.7 Ford truck. The engine compartment was packed with stuff. Simplicity of the 7.3 is not to be ignored.

Last of the big blocks as someone else put it.

Kayteg1 wrote:

NRALIFR wrote:
But..........mine was over its GVWR by 2700 lbs so it should have exploded and wiped out an orphanage and a convent. :W :B

:):)

So you blew your tax report as if you had 10k lb rating on dually, it was all taxation.
Duallies in most of the states come with 14.9k lb GVWR, while axles ratings total in the range of 16-17k

No, I did something even better. I just didn’t worry about it.

I did enjoy trolling those who did, though.

Still do, a little. :W

:):)

Kayteg1 wrote:
Duallies in most of the states come with 14.9k lb GVWR, while axles ratings total in the range of 16-17k

No, DRWs don’t come with 14.9K GVWR. I think you meant 14.0K GVWR, but the axle ratings are even higher than 17K.

NRALIFR wrote:
But..........mine was over its GVWR by 2700 lbs so it should have exploded and wiped out an orphanage and a convent. :W :B

:):)

So you blew your tax report as if you had 10k lb rating on dually, it was all taxation.
Duallies in most of the states come with 14.9k lb GVWR, while axles ratings total in the range of 16-17k

NRALIFR wrote:
But..........mine was over its GVWR by 2700 lbs so it should have exploded and wiped out an orphanage and a convent. :W :B

:):)

:)

But..........mine was over its GVWR by 2700 lbs so it should have exploded and wiped out an orphanage and a convent. :W :B

:):)

That's not too much.
I weight my aluminum dually at 12,800 and that was before I loaded Alaskan beer and salmon.

A picture from the last trip we took in the 1995 F350. October, 2010 in California, and this was taken on a twisty road between Caliente and Bodfish. The boss lead us there because it’s such a scenic and challenging route loved by............motorcyclists. She missed the motorcycle part.

Loaded with gear for a 2-3 week trip, it weighed about 12,700.



:):)