2021 Ford 7.3L V8 - E350

Joined
Jun 22, 2008
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1,339
Location
Colorado
I signed on the dotted line and next Friday I will be picking up my 2021 Class-C RV, built on the Ford E350 dual rear wheel platform, with the Godzilla 7.3L Pushrod V8 Gasser.

Ever since Ford announced this engine back in 2019, I have been very, very intrigued. You see, my father had a series of ranch trucks that pulled his stock trailers and in the 1970's and 1980's the trucks were either 3500 or F350's with either the 454 or 460 gas engines and they performed in exceptional manner.

The engine has three tunes available and mine has the Commercial Premium tune with 350hp and 468 ftlbs, mated to the 6 speed transmission.

Interestingly, Ford recommends 10,000 mile OCI's. The engine takes 8 quarts of 5w30.


Currently I am in a love affair with Rotella T5 10w30 and that is what I will pour in the sump immediately. The van has 1,300 miles on it, a result of driving it from the manufacturing plant to Colorado and 3-4 test drives. I always like to dump the oil on a new vehicle early, so I rid the engine of all those metal, "break in" flakes.

Anyway, as I drive the vehicle over time, I will report back here my experiences.


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Thats alot of motor for a 22' RV. Does the dog house take up more room than the 6.8l did or did getting rid of 2 cyl give you more room.
 
Correct... this is a shorter unit at 24' and that Godzilla engine should easily push it down the road. Sales Mgr mentioned that some of their customers of this same unit are regularly getting 14 mpg. That's darn good and much better than 8-9 mpg that my son is getting with his 34' with the V10.

But often we will be pulling a 14' cargo trailer that will hold the motorcycles and kayaks.


...........
 
Correct... this is a shorter unit at 24' and that Godzilla engine should easily push it down the road. Sales Mgr mentioned that some of their customers of this same unit are regularly getting 14 mpg. That's darn good and much better than 8-9 mpg that my son is getting with his 34' with the V10.

But often we will be pulling a 14' cargo trailer that will hold the motorcycles and kayaks.


...........
I just sold my 22E that was identical except it sat on the Chevy chassis with a 6.0 L. It was 24' 7" and the one on the Ford was 24' even. Even with the 6.0 I only got 11 mpg with a few trips out west getting 12.5 mpg. If that 7.3 gets 14 it will be fantastic and that motor will get very popular. I regretted selling the day after it was gone and now am looking at 350 pickups and a camper. The 7.3 is on the top of my extras list.
 
I have a 7.3 in my 2020 F350 pickup. Only 13,000km on it so far but it’s been great.

I dropped the factory fill at 1000km, I’ve been using Rotella gas truck 5w30 since. Have a sample on the way to the lab for a UOA as we speak. Going to put in Kirkland 5w30 next oil change and also do a UOA.
FYI despite the documents it holds 8.5 quarts, myself and many others have confirmed this.
 
I have a 7.3 in my 2020 F350 pickup. Only 13,000km on it so far but it’s been great.

I dropped the factory fill at 1000km, I’ve been using Rotella gas truck 5w30 since. Have a sample on the way to the lab for a UOA as we speak. Going to put in Kirkland 5w30 next oil change and also do a UOA.
FYI despite the documents it holds 8.5 quarts, myself and many others have confirmed this.
is that with the oil hot or you checking it cold? oil will expand as it heats up. you also have to wait 15 min after shutdown to get a accurate reading.
 
is that with the oil hot or you checking it cold? oil will expand as it heats up. you also have to wait 15 min after shutdown to get a accurate reading.
That was checking it:

-after filling and running for ~15sec. Then sitting a few min.
-When hot after sitting a few min
-Cold the next morning

All gave me the same reading on the dipstick from what I could tell.

I asked what others experiences were on a 7.3L facebook page to see if maybe my dipstick was off or something and had at least 20 replies saying theirs also took 8.5 quarts to reach the top of the hashmarks. Not a big deal, just nice to know so your not dumping in 8 and then checking it and adding a bit and checking and adding a bunch of times trying to get the level right. Now I just dump 8.5 quarts, start it for a bit. Let sit for a few min and its right on when I check it.
 
the engine must be at full operating temperature to get a accurate reading the difference on my truck when cold to operating temperature is half a quart. it takes 9 quarts.
 
the engine must be at full operating temperature to get a accurate reading the difference on my truck when cold to operating temperature is half a quart. it takes 9 quarts.

I'm not doubting your experience but I'm getting the same reading in this truck between cold and hot.
 
that's weird. the oil should expand when at operating temperature. if it takes 8 quarts are 8.5 quarts the reading between hot and cold should not be the same.
 
If it calls for an SN/SP oil for warranty, you ‘might’ have problems with using that non-s rated HDEO in the engine.

Rotella Gas Truck 5W-30 would be a good option if you like Rotella oils.
 
If it calls for an SN/SP oil for warranty, you ‘might’ have problems with using that non-s rated HDEO in the engine.

Rotella Gas Truck 5W-30 would be a good option if you like Rotella oils.
Ford calls for SN+

I've been using Rotella Gas Truck myself, plan to switch to Kirkland FS next oil change just for cost savings. It's SN+(SP actually on the jugs I got recently) certified.
 
My MIL bought a 24' with the 7.3L/6 speed in it last fall and i drove it around Wyoming for probably 4 hours. Doing 75mph on I-80 in a headwind was not an issue at all. It had power to spare even at 8000' and it actually got better MPG's than my F150 towing a 5500 lb travel trailer.
 
We just got a 28-passenger F550 bus from Starcraft with the 7.3L last week. Stretched 217" wheelbase. We drove it back to the shop, and it had no trouble maintaining 70 mph. We're actually going to put a speed limit of 65 on it after we complete the work we're going to do on it. It will be serving on a naval base, so it shouldn't ever need to go that fast anyway.
 
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