Sold my last Ford diesel today. Replace with........?

[Sonny580]

7.3's are and have always been JUNK right from the factory----WHY do you think they are all for sale??? Good gas motor beats them hands down every time ! ---Ya I got a 97 has 120,00 on it and started going to **** at 99,495 miles. Right now its dead AGAIN, tow truck has put more miles on it draggin it to the repair shop than I have driven it!

 

[ruffdog]

Several years back you could find low mile diesels near here, but not anymore.

 

[Rustyiron]

7.3's are and have always been JUNK right from the factory----WHY do you think they are all for sale??? Good gas motor beats them hands down every time ! ---Ya I got a 97 has 120,00 on it and started going to **** at 99,495 miles. Right now its dead AGAIN, tow truck has put more miles on it draggin it to the repair shop than I have driven it!

Dang, a 24 year old truck needing a tow.
I tended to do maintenance rather than wait for repairs.
Been through every version of the 7.3, several of them close to 10,000 hours, the rest at 5k-7k hours. Yes, I installed hour meters. Now Ford's automatic transmissions in that era, fine if you don't tow.
All any of them needed was a CP sensor now and then.

 

[ovrszd]

7.3's are and have always been JUNK right from the factory----WHY do you think they are all for sale??? Good gas motor beats them hands down every time ! ---Ya I got a 97 has 120,00 on it and started going to **** at 99,495 miles. Right now its dead AGAIN, tow truck has put more miles on it draggin it to the repair shop than I have driven it!

That right there is funny. I've got two. Oldest has 265,000 miles with no major repairs. Worst was the injector wiring harness under the valve covers.

Good friend of mine has one with 475,000 miles. No major repairs. I think it's on it's second set of injectors.

Clean oil + Clean fuel = long life.

 

[5030]

The 7.3's with sintered rods are suspect but the forged rod 7.3's run forever. Injector harness issues and rear mains seals are about it. I agree with Richard, clean fuel, regular oil changes and AR Stiction modifier and they run and run.

Sounds to me like you flogged the snot out of it.

 

[Hay Dude]

had 7.3’s from inception to 2007. Never had engine problems. Not a powerhouse, but none of that era of diesels 88-03 were, either. 5.9L Cummins better, Duramax more responsive, but a newer tech engine. The 7.3 is a 35 year old design which did well for its time.

 

[gtbensley]

I would think you could find a 2014+ F350 with a 6.7 in that price point as long as you dont mind slightly higher mileage. They have proven to be very very solid platforms when well maintained and seem to be as reliable as any newer diesel (read not mechanical injection). They have a pretty solid drivetrain and transmission as well.

GM 6.6 and Allison would be fantastic as well but to go pre emissions would be 2007.5 or older and those are not going to be a strong chassis wise as a 2011 and up. Newer (2011) and up GM ISF is pretty darn bullet proof. Not sure why someone a few pages back seems to think they are weak. We see the ISF holding up far longer then ball joints, trackbars and such on solid front axles of Ford and Dodge.

If you can find a Dodge just make sure it has the Aisin trans in it as anything dodge built is a weak POS.

 

[Number15]

I've had the 7.3 and 2 different 6.7 fords. I much prefer the 6.7 I thin k they are great trucks but their achilles heel is water in the fuel.
In 2017 Ford changed the filter setup and they are much better at making sure they trap water in the first filter. Pre 2017 6.7's need one of these DIESELSITE - DIESEL MAINTENANCE and PERFORMANCE

I have towed many heavy loads with my 6.7's happily. Good engine and transmission IMO. Granted I am still at 90k miles on my current one so no big time mileage numbers yet but it has given me good service so far.

 

[Hay Dude]

Other Achilles heel on all 2011’s and newer is after exhaust treatment, but I think I can handle it better that the DPFs on my 2008’s. The initial trucks with DPFs were prone to problems

 

[gtbensley]

Other Achilles heel on all 2011’s and newer is after exhaust treatment, but I think I can handle it better that the DPFs on my 2008’s. The initial trucks with DPFs were prone to problems

They are decently situated now. I wouldn't be overly worried about a DEF system on a modern rig. Sure they can still have issues but pretty reliable these days.

Would rather a modern system then one of the mid 2000 which had pretty bad teething problems when they started to introduce them.