Who’s still using a 7.3 diesel truck

Jtime wrote:
Wow! That’s some serious seat time, that first beer must have tasted good haha.
And yeah I’m picky so far have looked at about a half dozen trucks, looking for trucks that have had a lot of the big ticket items done already and or some records of maintenance

You are aware the first sentence of the on-line Adventurer 910DB write up states: "The Adventurer 910DB is a dry bath truck camper that fits LB (long bed) trucks only."

Wow! That’s some serious seat time, that first beer must have tasted good haha.
And yeah I’m picky so far have looked at about a half dozen trucks, looking for trucks that have had a lot of the big ticket items done already and or some records of maintenance

Jtime wrote:
sonuvabug

Great write up, and thanks for taking the time to do so! Our soon to be ours 7.3 will also be getting an adventurer But the 910DB model, So it’s going to be a dually. With all the things you listed for maintenance that’s pretty much every long standing 7.3 owners check list for these trucks. I’m in Alberta, Canada so truck bodies don’t last around here either unless the previous owners took good care.

Either way I’m looking forward to getting behind the wheel of one!

Thanks Jtime. The 910DB is a beautiful model ... heavy puppy too so the dually will come in handy. Like anything old, the 7.3 takes time and money to maintain but it sure beats the cost of buying a new)er) one. At least AB doesn't put salt down like ON.

FWIW - One of our chitlins calls Grande Prairie home. I drove out there a few summers ago with the truck and a cargo trailer full of furniture for them. 52 hours straight driving from KW ... that included about 2 hours of rest time as needed.

sonuvabug

Great write up, and thanks for taking the time to do so! Our soon to be ours 7.3 will also be getting an adventurer But the 910DB model, So it’s going to be a dually. With all the things you listed for maintenance that’s pretty much every long standing 7.3 owners check list for these trucks. I’m in Alberta, Canada so truck bodies don’t last around here either unless the previous owners took good care.

Either way I’m looking forward to getting behind the wheel of one!

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.

Jtime wrote:
Alright guys let’s keep it on topic!

Anyone done a TC on a 7.3 with a flat deck ?

I did purchase my 12' TC with F250 flatbed. 7.3l pulled just fine, regardless the bed ;)
Not only the tires were overloaded, but securing the camper from moving around on steel-plated deck was additional task. I did not have rubber mat at the time thought.
So when I was ordering new truck - the bed mat was on top of the list.
One of the best $120 spend.

Grit dog wrote:

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.

Sounds more like a lemon to me. It happens with all vehicles.
I don’t get the impression that the OP didn’t take care of it. Idk about the input shaft issues though. Not familiar with those trans.
I do know the 7.3s were a cold blooded engine that needed properly operating glow plugs and that good oil change maintenance was imperative on them (and 6.0s) because the HPOPs were good but finicky without frequent quality oil changes.

Every vehicle has its quirks. But there’s quirks and there’s issues and they had quirks, not issues.

Thanks, yes, from the day I bought it, the first week one glow plug went, two or three months later after a long high rpm pull it threw its first fan belt, then ate the first of three water pumps, then one morning start up it only ran on seven cylinders, always back to the dealership, it was just one of those trucks you pour money into......I loved the truck, I just got tired of fixing it.

Jtime wrote:
Alright guys let’s keep it on topic!

Anyone done a TC on a 7.3 with a flat deck ?

Same as any other truck. Not specific to brand or engine.
Flatbeds make for nice TC haulers if you take advantage of the extra space for additional storage. Otherwise I don’t see an advantage in the TC application.

Jtime wrote:
Alright guys let’s keep it on topic!

Anyone done a TC on a 7.3 with a flat deck ?

I looked into that. The oem bed weighs around 700# or less if I remember right. The flat bed either aluminum or steel is going to weigh a bit. Compute accordingly.

I did change the stock oem 2600# rear springs for some 4400#ers. Makes a big difference. And sway bar. My Bigfoot truck camper had so much weigh up high it needed all the help it could get.

Alright guys let’s keep it on topic!

Anyone done a TC on a 7.3 with a flat deck ?