Would like honest suggestions about tow vehicle issues

[Loadstar]

I have many friends with Ford 7.3 diesels, personally I'm a Cummins guy but I love all diesel's. One of them blew his engine into million pieces at less than 450 hp. All he had besides the normal intake and exhaust mods is a superchip tuner ,and a small propane shot,if it had 400 hp it was a lot.I also have a friend who blew his engine and 475 hp he was on 600 mile trip when the engine let go halfway. That truck had more mods but was running diesel only.One truck was a late 2000 the other one a 2001. Personally I would keep under 425 horse the rods on those trucks are not that strong. When it let's go it's catastrophic there's nothing left of the bottom end. The 2001 truck ended up having a $12,000 repair bill due to a brand-new engine from Navistar be needed and not getting a core charge back... The other truck was swamped to a Cummins.. As for the injectors like anything else the trucks maintenance history has more to do with the life, also look for signs of the truck being heavily modified by the previous owner and then returned it down to stock for sale... We see a lot of these trucks here and the engines usually go not long after the new owner buys it, usually it needs a complete engine at that point it's pretty much gone, because the same people that do this sort of thing do not monitor exhaust gas temperatures or do not stop when there too high,and usually crack heads ,valves and just dramatically shorten engine life...

Get out of town with this LOL. $12,000 LMFAO

A 94.5-03 7.3 are interchangeable. I could go out get crazy and scatter my PMR rods through my block and track down a 94.5-03 long block replacement and be back on the road being out a grand or two. There is no magic to a 7.3 powerstroke. There are a whole lot of these old engines out there being they were in busses, medium duty trucks, pickups, etc etc. They are relatively simple to work on and the aftermarket knows them well now. 400hp is the limit on a PMR motor and honestly they could be a gamble beyond stock parameters. If you desire a "chip" or "tune" you can have them set up for a PMR motor.
4R100 is a good transmission also. The TC is a known weak link but that's an easy cheap fix.

 

[handirifle]

Ok thanks for the Dmax info and the 7.3. Personally I would never put 12k into an older truck. My neighbors have a number of diesel trucks between them, one has GMC 5500 and 2 Dodges, and the other has a Dodge and 2 Fords. Both tell me the Dodge pulls better. Not trying to get anything going just quoting them.

One neighbor tells me to look for an 05 and up Dodge. He has had zero tranny (automatic, 2005 model) issues with his and I have seen him bring some hezvy loads in on his flatbed. One is a 20ft flatbed and he has brought in at least hallf a dozen loads of boulders, something in the 25,000 lb range. His is an 05 3500.

 

[CJONE]

CJONE
What kind of upgrades are you running and how do you like the BTS trans.? I have heard really good things about Brian and how he stands behind his work.
John

I have a 4 pos chip from Jody [DP Tuner] with custom burns, Exhaust, boost controller, intake mods, and a few other things. Brian is top notch, you don't get any better. I was one of the few that had a issue with his set up. [It was a bad converter, not his fault] and he sent a new trans/converter,oil and new cooler on just my word and he wanted to pay for my labor to change it out. So more than stood behind it. His first question was if the truck was still driveable and it was so he did not have to overnight everything! Any way i have been through 3 different chips and 2 different programmers and DP has been the best. So that is what I stuck with. Funny people mod the crap out of these things then blame the engine for failures!! A bad 350HP program can build enough cyl pressures to fracture the PMR rods so there is no magic ## these things will hold, Your programmer just needs to know what they are doing. If you have Brian do a trans he can also program you a chip and run it so I would have him do the whole thing if you go that route. Last I knew Jody was in the 450HP range with PMR's but he has a cyl pressure monitor to tune with. Brian may also now I don't know but he knows his stuff with engines also. The forged rod engines 2000 and older [some early 2001 engines had forged] and these I know will handle 600+hp. Anyway for anything I do including towing 20,000lbs 300HP is more than enough. CJ

 

[mikehaugen]

The pm rods are such a problem (possibly) how bad is it to switch to forged rods? Seems it may be worth it vs. An exploding engine.

 

[Loadstar]

The pm rods are such a problem (possibly) how bad is it to switch to forged rods? Seems it may be worth it vs. An exploding engine.

They are not really that big a deal. It is just something to be aware of if you are wanting to reach for the horsepower. There is not a truck out there that will not crap parts out if you take it foolishly beyond it's design limits. If you have a goal however and research it, you can make a very strong, fun, and reliable daily driver of any make or model. As for the rods you can yank the engine and swap rods whether it be factory forged for cheap or extreme aftermarket rods at $2k+. Many people opt for a long block swap. If the donor motor has good compression it keeps from having to break seasoned gaskets that are doing just fine. Then swap all the parts from your long block to the new. On mine I pulled the plug and verified I have PMR rods. Now I have laid a plan and working to a goal of around 400hp. That is plenty to have fun, stay probably more reliable than stock, and daily drive.

 

[handirifle]

I guess power is the subjective term here. As mentioned, 300hp 600tq range will do anything I will ever need done.

 

[CJONE]

They are not really that big a deal. It is just something to be aware of if you are wanting to reach for the horsepower. There is not a truck out there that will not crap parts out if you take it foolishly beyond it's design limits. If you have a goal however and research it, you can make a very strong, fun, and reliable daily driver of any make or model. As for the rods you can yank the engine and swap rods whether it be factory forged for cheap or extreme aftermarket rods at $2k+. Many people opt for a long block swap. If the donor motor has good compression it keeps from having to break seasoned gaskets that are doing just fine. Then swap all the parts from your long block to the new. On mine I pulled the plug and verified I have PMR rods. Now I have laid a plan and working to a goal of around 400hp. That is plenty to have fun, stay probably more reliable than stock, and daily drive.

I can't agree more, I am just below 400 and the truck feels like a rocket after driving my gas trucks, I too looked and have the PMR's. I have also ran some very aggressive programs with alot of timing with no issues. So they are stronger than most think. The problem with PMR's is they are brittle not weak. The forged rods will deflect a little before fracturing but the PMR's won't. But like you 400+ or - is more than enough for me. Look up DP Tuner I know Jody can help you get 400 easily with injectors and tuning. CJ

 

[terryknight]

So 6 months later did you ever get your new truck