Older 7.3 Deisel vs. Newer Ford Engines

Just talked to a 30 year veteran diesel mechanic & he says that the only thing that he would do is install the turbo. everything else would be a waste of money. Or, just leave it the way it is unless I'm in a big hurry to get somewhere. I just don't know. But, I want to thank everyone for their views.

I bought a used 2001 F250 7.3 in 1994 with 53,000 miles on it. It now has 243,000 miles on it and the only items I had to replace has been upper/lower ball joints and a starter. Routine maintenance items as far as I am concerned. Driving solo I get between 16-19 miles per gallon and pulling our 29 foot Alpenlite fiver 9-12 miles per gallon. I intend to put gauges, chip and bigger exhaust along with AIS intake system by Ford. I had a Chevy 6.5 diesel which puked on us on the way to Florida and purchased the Powerstroke in Florida while there and pulled the Chevy home from Mobile Alabama with the Ford. The truck is paid off and no matter how bad I would like a 6.7 I can't convince myself to jump back into vehicle payments again. Wish I would have bought a 7.3 to begin with. I would have been ahead of the whole towing game.

I just picked up my NEWEST Powerstroke. I now have 4 and all are 7.3.
The price on last one was just too low and I had to get it. It had a bad torque converter which I replaced. I have chipped these trucks and they are simple to work on and maintain and troubleshoot if there is a problem. This newest one is E99 F350 CC/DRW and will be pulling my fiver this year. I love the new Fords when I see them but too much money to tie up.

arkansasrunner wrote:
Thank You for all that has responded. With all of the pro & cons, I think I am going to Beef up my 7.3 with a K & N air filter system, increase my exhaust with Banks Exhaust & try out the programming chip. Then, I will go from there & maybe if a real good deal comes along on a newer truck, I may have to jump on it if this does not work. Happy RVing out there. We can't wait till March, then it's full time.

K&N's have dusted more turbos than I can count. Put the Ford AIS on it. I have DPTunes and it gets better mpg tuned than stock and the decell tune is great.

N-Trouble wrote:

psford wrote:

MrVan wrote:

MrVan wrote:

arkansasrunner wrote:
Thank You for all that has responded. With all of the pro & cons, I think I am going to Beef up my 7.3 with a K & N air filter system, increase my exhaust with Banks Exhaust & try out the programming chip. Then, I will go from there & maybe if a real good deal comes along on a newer truck, I may have to jump on it if this does not work. Happy RVing out there. We can't wait till March, then it's full time.

Just remember the transmission with the 7.3 L Diesel engines is the weak link.

I should have been more definitive. Let me try again: "Just remember the automatic transmission with the 7.3L diesel engines is the weak link."

And I still disagree, with the proper cooling they are NOT the weak link

By today's standards they are considered weak. In stock form they hold up well but they don't like it once you start tuning and adding power. You can have it beefed up, but at the end of the day its still a 4-speed.

Huh ? confused here, the weak link because it does not hold or it's not up to today's standard, which is it . You are comparing apples to oranges here comparing to the new ones, six speeds ,and more power .

Just traded in my 08 Ram 5.7 gasser. Bought a new 2013 F250 w 6.7 diesel. I pull a 34' TH at about 14K loaded. The Ram was ok but slow. (No hurry on vacation). The 6.7 is fabulous so far. Not many miles on it yet. So far, very pleased.

My 7.3 is paid for.I replaced the spring packs (Dually)when I bought used and added a leaf . It has the banks intercooler and exhaust. I am hesitant to kick up the horse power(edge tuner) till the trans is bullet proof by Brains trans build(BTS). The plan is to spend 5,000 for the trans with the 6.0 cooler . The only thing that a new one has over mine is the suspension rating on the door. my unit EVEREST is 12000 dry. I think the beast is okay with it.I can rebuild many times for 60,000 new dollars. Rust is my only enemy.

Ok so I see lots of the same discussions... I did test drive a 6.7 and liked the drive, and may eventually upgrade but in the mean time...

2002 7.3 DRW in the signature - I did add air bags to level the ride, but we were not any where near the stops.

We pull the 5er through the Western MA/Western NY and PA hills (not mountains when compared to out west) with no problems. Real life experience with this truck - 18 MPG without tow, 12.5 MPG with the camper.

When I think about the new truck and what I currently don't have I wonder, No Payment, No DEF, No extra emission controls... Otherwise the ride is good, the radio is good, has GPS. So I struggle with the decision on when to pull the trigger on a purchase.

A very interesting discussion. In my situation I have a 7.3L 2001 F250. It has 181K miles on it and has been chipped. Also has a recent upgrade on the torque converter and a larger trans. cooler with temp. gauge installed last summer. I agree that a new truck does not make sense when the old one runs great and until now has done the job. And it's paid for. Not concerned about getting to the campground first or fuel mileage ( 11 mpg in town) as much as increasing torque when I go over mountain passes and hills doing a double trailer pull. I go to Colorado with my UTV loaded on my 12' flat bed trailer and it adds another 2500 lbs to the 12000. I take my time out there on the highway but reserve torque would be nice and thus my direction on changing gear ratio on the rear diff. to a 4.3 from a 3.73. That conversion will run me about $900. Any thoughts on this combination with a 7.3L would be appreciated.

My 97 F250 HD hand calculated non towing mileage is 20 mpg, This is for 2 wheel drive extended cab 8 foot bed XLT trim, 410 gears,Auto Trans., with hitch and added step bars it scaled with 2 adults and full of fuel 6023 lbs. I have over 2700 lbs left for pin weight.

Mine is running TS 6 position chip running on 50 hp setting, K&N intake but not filter ( Using NAPA big can filter ), MBRP 4 inch exhaust.

7.3 thru 97 can be made to run up to 450 HP reliably and 2000 to 2003 400hp. The older ones need parts to get it there the newer ones can be done with programmer for the most part.