7.3 repair bill ouch

[sarhvac1]

had my 7.3 to the dealer for Waste Gate actuator and heater fan stuck on defrost,,, $963.00 later runs like a champ. still cheaper than a new truck payment ok rant over!!

[zparnell]

marcsbigfoot20b27 wrote:

BigToe wrote:

2oldman wrote:
I had all kinds of expensive problems with my 2003F450 7.3. Oil leaks from the high pressure pump was one... by 120k it was getting very expensive.

The original post, and this post above, both illustrate how the longevity/value ratio of any given tow vehicle cannot be judged on reports of how much people report spending on repairs.

Take leaks from the high pressure oil pump as an example. The resolution is a $15.00 bag of Orings. Yet some people get charged $1,500.00 for the repair, and are happy to pay it, because a high pressure oil leak looks so catastrophic. Streetwise service departments, as well as independents, know when and how to sooth a customer, and at the same time strike without their greed being noticed.

Should a tow vehicle platform be indicted as not a good long term value because a few people might pay too much for repairs? Of course not. Can everyone do their own repairs? Of course not. But while some folks find it useful to compare service bills, including charges for labor, I find it more instructive to compare what specifically went wrong, and what parts were required to fix it.

Knowing what exactly failed, and what parts actually needed to be replaced (as opposed to the parts that were just thrown at it, or unnecessarily replaced to generate more revenue) helps remove the opportunistic service departments / mechanics from the equation in determining the value proposition of a tow vehicle platform, and shifts the focus solely on the longevity and failure frequency of the product itself.

Here is what that stupid little oring looks like when it goes.......

Yeah that looks very bad and scarry when you're on the road. Had the same thing happen to mine coming home from a campground 80 miles from the house. I pulled over and opened the hood and oil was everywhere and I could see it flowing out. I bought a gallon of oil and topped it off and drove home.
I was quoted $300-$400 to stop the oil leak. I hosed the engine down and stared it up and looked for the leak. Bought a $30 kit from Guzzles Diesel O-rings and a hour and a half on a saturday and leaks fixed.

[marcsbigfoot20b]

BigToe wrote:

2oldman wrote:
I had all kinds of expensive problems with my 2003F450 7.3. Oil leaks from the high pressure pump was one... by 120k it was getting very expensive.

The original post, and this post above, both illustrate how the longevity/value ratio of any given tow vehicle cannot be judged on reports of how much people report spending on repairs.

Take leaks from the high pressure oil pump as an example. The resolution is a $15.00 bag of Orings. Yet some people get charged $1,500.00 for the repair, and are happy to pay it, because a high pressure oil leak looks so catastrophic. Streetwise service departments, as well as independents, know when and how to sooth a customer, and at the same time strike without their greed being noticed.

Should a tow vehicle platform be indicted as not a good long term value because a few people might pay too much for repairs? Of course not. Can everyone do their own repairs? Of course not. But while some folks find it useful to compare service bills, including charges for labor, I find it more instructive to compare what specifically went wrong, and what parts were required to fix it.

Knowing what exactly failed, and what parts actually needed to be replaced (as opposed to the parts that were just thrown at it, or unnecessarily replaced to generate more revenue) helps remove the opportunistic service departments / mechanics from the equation in determining the value proposition of a tow vehicle platform, and shifts the focus solely on the longevity and failure frequency of the product itself.

Here is what that stupid little oring looks like when it goes.......

[RAS43]

lightning driver wrote:

RAS43 wrote:
Mild tunes were not an issue with the 7.3's. The transmissions were weak but mine had been updated but still failed after coming down Wolf Creek Pass, one of our "hills" here. And I tow doubles so weight is around 20000lbs. Probably a bit harder on a vehicle.

Out of curiosity were you watching trans temps going up the pass? Heat is a transmissions enemy. Thinking you may have pushed it too hard.
I run 6% grades heading North out of Phoenix pulling my 20K toy hauler and keep an eye on trans temp and EGT's. Always try to keep Temps in a reasonable range. Which of course means 35 to 40 MPH up the grades.

All the guages were reading normally at the time, including trans and exhaust temps. I had a full guage package on that truck. The planetary gear set failed which was a weak point. I have never been one to push a piece of equipment too hard or too fast. Part of my CDL training.

[Passin_Thru]

Hell you can't even spell Cummins. Don't think you own one. Chipping with out a Pyrometer will get you cooked Turbo bearings or worse. Wolf Creek in the 70s and LA Veta Were real Hills. Now you can drive fast on them. Back in the 70s I remember doing 13 MPH up La Veta on the old road.

[lightning_drive]

RAS43 wrote:
Mild tunes were not an issue with the 7.3's. The transmissions were weak but mine had been updated but still failed after coming down Wolf Creek Pass, one of our "hills" here. And I tow doubles so weight is around 20000lbs. Probably a bit harder on a vehicle.

Out of curiosity were you watching trans temps going up the pass? Heat is a transmissions enemy. Thinking you may have pushed it too hard.
I run 6% grades heading North out of Phoenix pulling my 20K toy hauler and keep an eye on trans temp and EGT's. Always try to keep Temps in a reasonable range. Which of course means 35 to 40 MPH up the grades.

[Passin_Thru]

Garrett Turbo Waste Gate $150, 4 bolts and 4 bands to remove, then 4 bolts and a band to disassemble, 10 min labor to replace the wastegate and 9 vanes, 10 min to Remv and install Waste gate controller $52 as long as you have it out. So, 2 hr and 200 and I make around $700 of your money. Gotta pay for my wifes Rolls somehow. You could remove the turbo and have it rebuilt for 350 or buy a rebuilt for 600. Your's still has the old bearings and vanes.

[jimh406]

Cummins12V98 wrote:
Like AMZ/OIL or not they are why we have synthetics in the auto industry.

Not exactly the only reason, but I use it in some of my vehicles because my mechanic is a dealer. Mobile One History

[Cummins12V98]

FishOnOne wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:
^^^^^^^ Fish WOW good thing I basically said what I said back then!!! I did NOT say "SLUDGE" as YOU misquoted me!! Thanks for proving your self completely incorrect!

So what is your point???

Point is.... It's ok for others to use Delo but when fish try's it.... well you get the point! :W





Okay I'll just say it... :B The point is we all know you like to market Scamz/oil.... There.... I said it! :B

Lame, but hey it's nice to know someone values my opinion so much they save my quotes. :B

Note, I did not "DIS" Delo I just pointed out what my engine looked like. Like AMZ/OIL or not they are why we have synthetics in the auto industry.

[BigToe]

2oldman wrote:
I had all kinds of expensive problems with my 2003F450 7.3. Oil leaks from the high pressure pump was one... by 120k it was getting very expensive.

The original post, and this post above, both illustrate how the longevity/value ratio of any given tow vehicle cannot be judged on reports of how much people report spending on repairs.

Take leaks from the high pressure oil pump as an example. The resolution is a $15.00 bag of Orings. Yet some people get charged $1,500.00 for the repair, and are happy to pay it, because a high pressure oil leak looks so catastrophic. Streetwise service departments, as well as independents, know when and how to sooth a customer, and at the same time strike without their greed being noticed.

Should a tow vehicle platform be indicted as not a good long term value because a few people might pay too much for repairs? Of course not. Can everyone do their own repairs? Of course not. But while some folks find it useful to compare service bills, including charges for labor, I find it more instructive to compare what specifically went wrong, and what parts were required to fix it.

Knowing what exactly failed, and what parts actually needed to be replaced (as opposed to the parts that were just thrown at it, or unnecessarily replaced to generate more revenue) helps remove the opportunistic service departments / mechanics from the equation in determining the value proposition of a tow vehicle platform, and shifts the focus solely on the longevity and failure frequency of the product itself.

[FishOnOne]

Cummins12V98 wrote:
^^^^^^^ Fish WOW good thing I basically said what I said back then!!! I did NOT say "SLUDGE" as YOU misquoted me!! Thanks for proving your self completely incorrect!

So what is your point???

Point is.... It's ok for others to use Delo but when fish try's it.... well you get the point! :W





Okay I'll just say it... :B The point is we all know you like to market Scamz/oil.... There.... I said it! :B

[Cummins12V98]

^^^^^^^ Fish WOW good thing I basically said what I said back then!!! I did NOT say "SLUDGE" as YOU misquoted me!! Thanks for proving your self completely incorrect!

So what is your point???

[FishOnOne]

Cummins12V98 wrote:

FishOnOne wrote:

rhagfo wrote:

rhagfo wrote:

FishOnOne wrote:

rhagfo wrote:

FishOnOne wrote:

Me Again wrote:
If only it had the torque shift tranny. Chris

Me Again = Trolling Again

NOT!
Just suggesting the 7.3 with a Torque Sift would be a great combo!

Just like I would mind putting a G56 behind my 5.9.

Fish,
glad to see you feeling better. :B

That and a $963 repair bill at the dealer is too bad.

And how much $$$ have you put into your truck? :B

Well engine repairs $0.00

Upgrades;
Double Disk clutch $1,200
Pacbrake $1,200
Replacement Lift Pump $250
Bilstein 5100's $312
I do have a set of RV275 injectors yet to be installed.
Drivers seat rebuild at 270K miles $170
New Drivers side seat belt $198
It didn't fail, just getting tattered

Update for Fish! :B

Well about three weeks ago noticed a oil spot under the engine, took a couple days to see which side of the engine it was comming from, finally nailed it down to the drivers side. Well likely the the lifter/push rod cover gasket leaking! :S
Well $44 later for gaskets and relaxing full day to remove all the fuel lines, VP44, ECM, stock fuel filter, and old fuel pump mount the cover is fully accessible (this is the hardest gasket to get to on the 5.9).
Well a good cleaning of the cover, mostly out side, and the sealing surface it all went back together.

I really liked the looks of the insides of the engine, this is at 298,500 miles.

Not bad... But don't let Cummins9812v see this. I got an ear full from him a while back when I reported here that I was going to try a OCI using Delo 10w30 oil and how bad the Delo sludged his cummins inside the gear cover.

Just for the record my CEL came on my Super Duty last week and I had to take it to the shop for its first repair in 115k miles. A faulty Nox sensor replacement and I'm good to go. :C

As usual twisting my words. Yes I thought of my 12V looking at these pics. No it's not sludge but my 12V looked similar. My dads 12v with 120k using AMZ/OIL was golden clean with no streaks or dark areas. Probably means nothing, just reported what I saw and as you can see the FISH knows the Cummins well.

Here's the full disclosure:

If you had seen how spotless the inside of the timing cover was on my Dad's 94 Cummins at 125K when we did his KillerDowelPin compared to my 98 at 100K with the first 55K running Delo 400 then to AMZ/OIL Diesel Marine 15-40 you might consider Synthetic. I was blown away his was a golden clean look and mine was completely covered with black streaks. The guy changed the Delo every 5K and Blackstone samples.

Link

[hone_eagle]

Stefonius wrote:

DiskDoctr wrote:

hone eagle wrote:
cut the cross member or scrap the truck ,thats the choice ,other wise the repair far exceeds the value of the vehicle .
we are talking about 15 year old trucks here not a just out of warrenty car.

Wow, you really don't know these trucks, still valued at $13k- $23k and irreplaceable.

The motors are "million mile motors" which means 400k-600k on then is quite likely, if you do the upkeep and maintenance.

True. I could sell my truck today, as-is for about $15,000 without any haggling.

The more important value to me is that I couldn't replace it with a new truck for less than $60,000. That makes it invaluable. Even better, I don't have to deal with DEF or DPF or SCR or super finicky Bosch fuel pumps that grenade themselves. As long as I don't mind going deaf on the highway and slowing down a bit on steep hills, I'm okay!

well come up to canada ,I got 10K for my '99 5 years ago.Owned it for 10 years know them just fine ,wish I still had it .

[Cummins12V98]

FishOnOne wrote:

rhagfo wrote:

rhagfo wrote:

FishOnOne wrote:

rhagfo wrote:

FishOnOne wrote:

Me Again wrote:
If only it had the torque shift tranny. Chris

Me Again = Trolling Again

NOT!
Just suggesting the 7.3 with a Torque Sift would be a great combo!

Just like I would mind putting a G56 behind my 5.9.

Fish,
glad to see you feeling better. :B

That and a $963 repair bill at the dealer is too bad.

And how much $$$ have you put into your truck? :B

Well engine repairs $0.00

Upgrades;
Double Disk clutch $1,200
Pacbrake $1,200
Replacement Lift Pump $250
Bilstein 5100's $312
I do have a set of RV275 injectors yet to be installed.
Drivers seat rebuild at 270K miles $170
New Drivers side seat belt $198
It didn't fail, just getting tattered

Update for Fish! :B

Well about three weeks ago noticed a oil spot under the engine, took a couple days to see which side of the engine it was comming from, finally nailed it down to the drivers side. Well likely the the lifter/push rod cover gasket leaking! :S
Well $44 later for gaskets and relaxing full day to remove all the fuel lines, VP44, ECM, stock fuel filter, and old fuel pump mount the cover is fully accessible (this is the hardest gasket to get to on the 5.9).
Well a good cleaning of the cover, mostly out side, and the sealing surface it all went back together.

I really liked the looks of the insides of the engine, this is at 298,500 miles.

Not bad... But don't let Cummins9812v see this. I got an ear full from him a while back when I reported here that I was going to try a OCI using Delo 10w30 oil and how bad the Delo sludged his cummins inside the gear cover.

Just for the record my CEL came on my Super Duty last week and I had to take it to the shop for its first repair in 115k miles. A faulty Nox sensor replacement and I'm good to go. :C

As usual twisting my words. Yes I thought of my 12V looking at these pics. No it's not sludge but my 12V looked similar. My dads 12v with 120k using AMZ/OIL was golden clean with no streaks or dark areas. Probably means nothing, just reported what I saw and as you can see the FISH knows the Cummins well.