milage on a diesel engine

[Cooncatz]

I am considering purchasing a Class C RV with a diesel 7.3 L engine with 150,000 miles - What is considered excess mileage? I know diesels are suppose to stand up better than gas engines? Is 150,000 miles excessive?

[Horizon170]

Ivylog wrote:
Anyone who knows Ford PSD engines will take the 7.3 over the newer 6.0 or 6.4 every day. There are plenty out there with 500,000+ miles that have never been worked on... OK, maybe a new cam sensor or new glow plug relay.

X2------Having one in a 2001, it is not as loud as a cummings and rivals in power with some of them if a certain chip is installed.
My mechanic wanted mine when I trade but I told him I would NOT trade mine even for a new one. I'm serious about that folks.

[ron_dittmer]

For the record, the 6.0L Power Stroke diesel in the E350/E450 is an engine to AVOID owning. It was a short-lived offering for a very good reason.

I heard good things about the older 7.3L diesel engine.

[MikeJinCO]

The typical life of the automatic transmission used with the 7.3 was 150K to 175 K miles and they are about $4000. Water pumps averaged 200k miles.

[crasster]

DrewE wrote:
I'd worry more about the rest of the RV being worn out. The Ford 7.3 is well-regarded and generally a very reliable engine, if somewhat anemic in power and loud.

X2, diesels go for a LONG time. The rest of the coach is the thing to check. However we are talking the ENGINE parts only, not external engine parts like the alternator, water pump, etc.

[carringb]

On a 7.3L you'll be running into age issues, not miles issues, at that point. Assuming it has proper maintenance.

[tatest]

That is not too many miles on the 7.3 diesel, oilfield service fleets around here operating the type usually traded at around 200,000 to 300,000 miles (which might be 3-5 years).

It depends really on how many more miles you plan to put on it. At 5000 miles a year you could be looking at another 10 years of service. 50,000 miles a year, maybe a couple more years. Even then, what is going to be wearing out will be drivetrain parts behind the engine, not the engine itself.

As others have noted, for a C motorhome with that many miles, you need to be looking at the condition of the house. But even there, a lot of time on the road is not necessarily an issue, some RV rental operations used to order C motorhomes constructed such that they could lift the house off a worn-out chassis (200,000 + miles for gassers) and drop it on a new one.

[garyemunson]

Also agree that the engine is probably not an issue...but 150K on an RV is a LOT of miles and there could be a lot of stuff shaken apart by now. Depending on how 'dynamicly' the previous owner drove, even the structure of the body could be getting compromised, especially around the roof-wall area causing leaks. Once you start heading towards 200K miles you're looking at why people spend big bucks on Prevosts and the like...

[Second_Chance]

You don't say what year the RV/7.3 motor are. Ford continued the 7.3 into the 2009 (2010 model year) in the EconoLine van. If pre-DEF, it would be even better. Like Drew, though, I would be worried about the rest of the RV. How well was it cared for and does the seller have maintenance records.

Rob

[Ivylog]

Anyone who knows Ford PSD engines will take the 7.3 over the newer 6.0 or 6.4 every day. There are plenty out there with 500,000+ miles that have never been worked on... OK, maybe a new cam sensor or new glow plug relay.

[DrewE]

I'd worry more about the rest of the RV being worn out. The Ford 7.3 is well-regarded and generally a very reliable engine, if somewhat anemic in power and loud.