How many miles on your Powerstroke?

[Ductape]

I'm looking at a 99 F250 PSD 4x4 (automatic). It looks well cared for and has 175,000 on the clock. How many more miles can i expect out of this truck? It will be my daily transportation, as well as occaisionally towing a 7000GVW open car trailer, hauling my firewood home, and perhaps occaisionally towing a 7000GVW dump trailer. Anything i want to look out for?

 

[jcmseven]

If the truck has had good maintenence and all filters changed, you can get about 10 billion miles out of that truck, give or take. No, seriously, the average life of the 7.3L diesel is 250,000-300,000 easily and that is with negligible maintenence. My neighbor, who hauls heavy pallets cross country, has almost 700,000 on one of his 7.3L fleet trucks and it still runs well. I would say you have at least 100,000 and perhaps 200,000 more miles in that engine. I am by NO MEANS a diesel mechanic, but to me if the truck has a good maintenence record of oil, air and fuel filter changes, that would be a big plus. Greg, who posts under the moniker "HGM" is a Ford diesel technician who knows much about the diesel Fords. He has helped me a lot with a few of my questions about my PSD Ford, and would be an excellent resource for particular problem areas to evaluate.

John M

 

[rdln]

I think there is 122k on my 2000

 

[PBinWA]

I'm looking at a 99 F250 PSD 4x4 (automatic). It looks well cared for and has 175,000 on the clock. How many more miles can i expect out of this truck? It will be my daily transportation, as well as occaisionally towing a 7000GVW open car trailer, hauling my firewood home, and perhaps occaisionally towing a 7000GVW dump trailer. Anything i want to look out for?

I have the same truck with 155,000 on it. I bought it with around 70,000 miles on it. It was previously a fleet vehicle used in Northern B.C. Canada.

If you are thinking of modifying the truck you need to check and see when it was manufactured. They made a bunch of changes to them early on and essentially made a mid year model update. The ones made before something like April 1998 are the ones that are hard to find after-market performance stuff for (lift kits, etc.). Mine is one of these but it has been pretty good for me. It's not a huge issue but something you need to be aware of.

I just had to replace the alternator, and had a crack in the bowl of my fuel pre-heater but otherwise it has been a solid truck. If my kids would stop growing I would keep it forever but I think I will only be able to cram them in the little super-cab area for a few more years.

 

[machmeter62]

I'm looking at a 99 F250 PSD 4x4 (automatic). It looks well cared for and has 175,000 on the clock. How many more miles can i expect out of this truck? It will be my daily transportation, as well as occaisionally towing a 7000GVW open car trailer, hauling my firewood home, and perhaps occaisionally towing a 7000GVW dump trailer. Anything i want to look out for?

This may help in your decision? I have an 89' E-350 automatic and a 92' F-250 DUALLY 5 speed manual transmission Diesel. The E-350 has 224,000 miles, and the 92' F-250 has 110,000. The F-250 has been used for towing only, with gross towing weights of 17,000#. I installed a BANKS TURBO for the added H.P. in the Sierra Nevada Mountains out West. They both still run like new with a little TLC. The only maintenance has been fan belts and other minor things. If the vehicle was maintained as mentioned, I think you will tire of it before you ever wear it out? Just change the engine fluids and filter every 5000 miles. If this is your first diesel; it will make you smile every time you drive it, with the torque at a low RPM! The power is there NOW!! The only caution, and I'm not sure it still applies; there was some conjecture about changing radiator fluids, which you might research? I would also check about the towing with the automatic; on my vintage they recommended the manual trans for my weights! Also, check if it has the electric fuel pump vs the mechanical. You get faster starts with the electric, if the vehicle has set for a couple of weeks.

 

[capt_met]

i have a '94 F-350. it is a pre-powerstroke non turbo IDI engine. i am at 249,000 and it still works hard. good luck with the truck

 

[Eagle Nest]

I drive part time for a towing company the truck I use is a 1997 f-350 4x4 7.3 power stroke it has apx. 336,000 mls. on it. The truck was bought used at 169,000 mls. We have never had any engine problems.

 

[Bill_C]

I have 105 k on mine, it's the first-year model (94.5). Only issue with the motor has been the cam position sensor (CPS) which should only cost around $75 or so. (stealership charged me almost $500 to diagnose and replace it).

There's a few recommendations, like change the air intake to a Tymar intake for better filtration with better flow, and replace the restrictive stock downpipe with a more-open one. For all the info you want, read the FAQ's and articles on TheDieselStop.Com - www.thedieselstop.com

It's a good truck, if Ford had just fixed a few little details, it'd be the best truck out there.

p.s. The 7.3 Powerstrokes have mechanical fuel pumps. Mine starts easily even after a few weeks. I believe failure to start after sitting is more likely a result of leaks in the high-pressure oil system, the IPR o-rings for example.

 

[machmeter62]

I have 105 k on mine, it's the first-year model (94.5). Only issue with the motor has been the cam position sensor (CPS) which should only cost around $75 or so. (stealership charged me almost $500 to diagnose and replace it).

There's a few recommendations, like change the air intake to a Tymar intake for better filtration with better flow, and replace the restrictive stock downpipe with a more-open one. For all the info you want, read the FAQ's and articles on TheDieselStop.Com - www.thedieselstop.com

It's a good truck, if Ford had just fixed a few little details, it'd be the best truck out there.

p.s. The 7.3 Powerstrokes have mechanical fuel pumps. Mine starts easily even after a few weeks. I believe failure to start after sitting is more likely a result of leaks in the high-pressure oil system, the IPR o-rings for example.

After sitting awhile, I removed the schrader cap from the fuel filter housing and checked for static fuel pressure, and there was none; this was after cranking the engine for 30 seconds. Prior to that, I thought it maybe a glow plug problem, but not so. Anyway I mounted an electric fuel pump near the mechanical pump, and prior to starting I turn the boost pump on with an aux. switch, and have solved all the starting problems. This is on the E-350 only.

 

[Bill_C]

After sitting awhile, I removed the schrader cap from the fuel filter housing and checked for static fuel pressure, and there was none; this was after cranking the engine for 30 seconds. Prior to that, I thought it maybe a glow plug problem, but not so. Anyway I mounted an electric fuel pump near the mechanical pump, and prior to starting I turn the boost pump on with an aux. switch, and have solved all the starting problems. This is on the E-350 only.

Well, that does sound like a problem with your mechanical pump, I assume you checked for a clogged screen in the fuel pressure regulator. Fortunately for the trucks, the mechanical pump is pretty easy to replace and it's less than $100 at a parts place. I could see it might be a problem changing one in a van, though.

For those unfamiliar with the 7.3 Powerstroke, the fuel system is real simple, the pump on the engine is a 2 stage pump (there isn't a pump in the fuel tank). Fuel is drawn from the tank, pressurized to a few PSI, then goes through the fuel filter, then back to the pump for the higher pressure which I believe is around 50 psi (controlled by the FPR). The injectors are driven by the high-pressure oil pump, not by the fuel pressure. The engine will not run if there isn't oil pressure at the HPOP.

I'm not an expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I've tried to pick up info by working on mine myself and spending hours reading the posts and links on the Dieselstop forum. (There is a very good link on there to a site by Steve Baz with tons of tips, modifications, and general info.) So far everything I've read on Dieselstop has been spot-on and it's saved me thousands of dollars (maintaining and modifying the truck myself, versus taking it to a dealer or just blindly buying performance parts on the basis of advertisements). For example, there's even links to do-it-yourself injector rebuild kits, someone could have high-performance injectors for only a few hundred bucks!!