Opinions on a Ford 7.3 turbo diesel

[BJN644]

I have a chance to buy an 1995 F-350 dump truck with an automatic transmission and a 7.3L turbo diesel. Is this powertrain one of Ford's better ones, or one to avoid?
Anything particular to look for on this model?

Thanks

 

[Diamondpilot]

Never had a 95 but did own a 97 F-350 and never did a thing to it other than the notorious throttle position sensor. A deer finally took that truck out. It is probably the best diesel engine other than the 5.9 Cummins to ever be put in a pickup truck. I am not a fan of stick shifts but in a dump truck I think I would want one over a automatic. Depending on what auto tranny it has it may not stand the test of time. I had auto in my 97 and drove it for 10 years with zero maintenance other than changing the fluid and filter every 30,000 miles.

Chris

 

[newbury]

Just be careful of the dreaded cavitation. For a few years at least around 1988 plus Ford forgot to tell us that without proper antifreeze the cylinder walls could easily suffer from cavitation. I don't know what year it ended nor what year it started, but mine is an '88 E350 and I was PO'd when I found out about it about 5 years later.

 

[BJN644]

Glad to hear the 7.3TD was a good engine. I'm going to get a better look at it tomorrow, if it's a 3 speed tranny it should be a C6 which is pretty tough and fairly easy to rebuild compared to todays 4 and 5&6 speed trannys.

How was this engine power wise?

 

[DieselPower]

It is a excellent engine if maintained properly. Like most engines they had little problems here and there but overall the engine is a very tough and durable platform.

They offered two transmissions then, the C6 and E4OD. Stock the C6 is a better transmission in my opinion. The E4OD's were plauged with problems in heavy duty applications, I would hate to think how many of them I have had to rebuild over the years. They can be built into bomb proof transmissions with the use of aftermarket parts. I like the good old C6 platform, it's been around forever. I had one of them in a 1977 F250 I had years ago and in many trucks since. Very reliable and easy to work on. If you plan on doing any heavy hauling with it I would recommend a aftermarket transmission cooler.

 

[burnetma]

DieselPower hit that on the head.

273,000 on my 1997 with minor issues. My last Blackstone report came back perfect on a 6,000 mile oil change using Rotella T Synthetic.

The E4OD held up fairly well, but requires fluid flush and filter every 25,000 miles and I added two coolers.

The sad thing is rust is killing my truck. Check the oil pan and the rear differential cover and fuel tanks for rust through. Also, this is important, get a 3 pack of anti-freeze test strips from NAPA (or equivalent) and see how the anti-freeze tests. This may indicate possible neglect (bad change intervals or not adding proper additives) or the use of the wrong anti-freeze.

Good luck.

 

[hydrovane218]

I think you will be good with that unit. I do industrial service work and over the years, have talked to alot of guys that drive, own or service diesel trucks. When it came time mid last year to start looking at replacing my 2000 e450 service van(before it died although it was running ok with 418,000kms) with something a bit bigger, I decided on a cube van and wanted the most recent 7.3l which was a 2003.
I bought a 2003 with only 82,000 kms and now have 120,000kms. I did have to put a starter in it and had a high pressure(2,200 psi ?) oil line on top of the intake manifold blow. Let's just say that I have since been looking for a 2000-2003 Excursion with a 7.3l with very little luck.(in other words, I think I made a good descision in the long haul.) It weighs 12,000lbs with my stuff in it and I recently hauled my 3203 JD to and from the dealer to get a BackHoe put on it(total weight of tractor, trailer etc 6000lbs) and no complaints.(you won't win any races but it will get it done)
My only other suggestion would be an old school 5.9l 12v cummins in a Dodge.(again from my conversations with others)
Good luck and let us know...

 

[EastTexFrank]

I have a 1999 F350 crew cab dually with 63,000 miles on it. It's a hog. Never had a lick of trouble. Change the oil and fluids on time, every time and it'll run forever. One of the best engines Ford ever made. I only tow occasionally but with 5000# tractor, mower and FEL on the trailer, you never know it's there most of the time. I didn't intend keeping it this long but there's no reason for me to get rid of it. The way things are going, it might just be the last truck that I ever buy.

Oh, I did have the anti-lock brake sensor go out but that's the only thing. I bow to DieselPower's knowledge of the transmission, but on mine, never been a problem.

 

[kongs3510]

My father in law bought his 95 new and just went over 200000 miles with it. The tranny is showing its age, and is ready for a rebuild, but I know that 150000 miles of that is pulling his gooseneck horse trailer full of his race horses and all the tack that goes with it. He has threatened to get a new truck for the last 3 years but can't bring himself to part with the old Ford. It's not a powerhouse compared to todays diesels, but they run forever and do a good job of towing. This actually hurts me to say this because I have always been a Chevy guy, and my duramax dually has been great......

 

[newbury]

My father in law bought his 95 new and just went over 200000 miles with it. The tranny is showing its age, and is ready for a rebuild,<snip>.

My '88 E350 (~150K) had these "major" problems:
Steering pump rebuild/replacement at about 12 years, had been leaking for 5
Auto (C6?) transmission has been leaking for over 10 years, about $3K to rebuild or $10 to $20 of fluid a year. So your father may just want to fil 'er up.
Water pump failure at highway speed on a trip

And don't get me started about the A/C - For a couple of years Ford put in O ring gaskets with springs. It was a great "engineer idea". But they leaked down in three years routinely.

A quick slip and you could pop them out and replace them, then add Freon at 75 cents a can.
BUT on the van (not the truck) two, back up on the firewall, are almost impossible to replace unless your hands are the size of a munchkin and your arms as long as Wilt Chamberlain.

So - I haven't had A/C in about 10 years.

However, nock on wood, it's been a remarkable beast for 21 years.
/edit and it tows my tractor.