just how bulletproof a 7.3 powerstroke is

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most of us know that a 7.3 powerstroke diesel, with the right maintenance, can last basically forever. my neighbor has proven this many times. he has a 2001 F350, purchased new, which now has about 180,000 hard, neglected, miles. a normal start up for this truck in cold weather, or any weather, he cranks it, pumps the gas till it starts (starter is weak, hes gone through 4 starters) and then he backs up on to the road and pins it to the floor. always has it pinned to the floor when taking off. one day he had his hood up, i said hey let me see how dirty your air filter is lol. had a rats nest in it plus about a 6 inch wide hole, and he had just come back from a 300 mile trip like that. id love to see how the compressor wheel looks like. the worst part is he told me he waits to change his oil until his oil light blinks, which is extremely bad for this engine to wait that long cause the injection system shears the oil. and he also runs a OCOD. who knows how much longer this engine will last lol. just thought id share with yall.
 
I think its more bulletproof than Ford's V10 which has had reports of cylinder linings failing at 70,000 miles in some cases and other odd things like that, IIRC.
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Originally Posted By: 45ACP
I think its more bulletproof than Ford's V10 which has had reports of cylinder linings failing at 70,000 miles in some cases and other odd things like that, IIRC.
laugh.gif



Huh?

The V10 is a 5.4L with two extra cylinders.
 
Originally Posted By: 45ACP
I think its more bulletproof than Ford's V10 which has had reports of cylinder linings failing at 70,000 miles in some cases and other odd things like that, IIRC.
laugh.gif



Ford V10 is probably the one of the most reliable OTR gas engines in a pickup truck.
 
Originally Posted By: volk06
Originally Posted By: 45ACP
I think its more bulletproof than Ford's V10 which has had reports of cylinder linings failing at 70,000 miles in some cases and other odd things like that, IIRC.
laugh.gif



Ford V10 is probably the one of the most reliable OTR gas engines in a pickup truck.


I remember I drove a U Haul coast to coast a few years back, the V 10 used a liter of oil every 500 miles! I was more than a little ticked off.
U Haul (eventually) compensated me for the oil I bought.
That engine had less than 80k on it.
 
I hate those triton motors. they are loud expensive and hard to work on. I guess besides that they are alright. I like the 7.3 in my international. I do a 10,000km yearly oci and it seems to like it. I run delo 400 15w-40 year round and it starts in the winter the same as it does in the summer. They get fairly good mileage and have enough power for what they are. My engine is a 2001 as well. If i was him i would be concerened about how much soot is in the oil and not the shearing as much. You can run a 10w30 in those no prob so im sure the 15W40 would not sheer that low.

You have to think he just came back from a 300 mile trip with the hole but that was on the highway with not much dust. He seems to skip an oil change every other one which saves him half the costs of a change. could be past 1000$ so far. Sounds like he lets his air filters go long as well, and the filters for those are fairly expensive. I imagine the rest of the fluids are neglected as well.

But with that being said he could have saved upwards of 2000-3000 $ for all the stuff he skipped. When the first major thing goes on the truck he will sell it and get a good penny for it and take that money and the money he saved from skimping and go buy a nicer truck.

He might even come out ahead, most of these guys seem to have luck at their side.

tell him to get a K&N since they are mouse resistant.
 
Ever see the commercials where the beautiful young housewife puts the filthy plates and casserole directly into the dishwasher?

What do you think the average life of a dishwasher is in the US?

Who benefits the most from these commercials?

The dish soap manufacturer? (+JetDry?)

The dishwasher manufacturer?

The doctors treating the family for endemic food poisoning?

I really liked the comment on another thread about a car/truck being just a "horizontal elevator" for some people...

Cheers!

p.s. You can only hope you never buy a used vehicle from the OP's neighbor! Or anything else that requires even a modicum of care or maintenance.
 
the guy (my neighbor) knows how to maintain his stuff, he just doesnt care lol. i always tell him, man that 7.3 is an awesome engine,they dont make them anymore, you gonna be sorry when it blows up one day.
 
Originally Posted By: expat
Originally Posted By: volk06
Originally Posted By: 45ACP
I think its more bulletproof than Ford's V10 which has had reports of cylinder linings failing at 70,000 miles in some cases and other odd things like that, IIRC.
laugh.gif



Ford V10 is probably the one of the most reliable OTR gas engines in a pickup truck.


I remember I drove a U Haul coast to coast a few years back, the V 10 used a liter of oil every 500 miles! I was more than a little ticked off.
U Haul (eventually) compensated me for the oil I bought.
That engine had less than 80k on it.


So you drove a U-HAUL truck that you knew nothing about the previous maintenance or what could have happened to the engine before you received it.... and your mad at the engine?
 
Originally Posted By: mobilaltima
and lets keep the subject on diesels, a 7.3 powerstroke is a world of difference in toughness and reliability compared to a gas engine.


My bad.

If I could have any 7.3L it'd be a 2003 7.3L. Last year they built them before the 6.0. Theres a lot of 7.3 with over 250k running around here.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: mobilaltima
and lets keep the subject on diesels, a 7.3 powerstroke is a world of difference in toughness and reliability compared to a gas engine.


While this may be true, I have a fleet of gas powered vans that routinely run for at least 250k miles and one at 400K+ working daily. I have yet to see any real advantage to a diesel powertrain in our line of work.

Their small fuel economy advantage is completely offset by higher fuel costs and more maintenance required per mile driven.
 
I have a 1999 F350 DW with a 7.3L and it has around 270,000 miles on it. I won't say it has been abused, but it certainly has not been babied. But I agree with SteveSRT8, a diesel dose not automatically = a longer lasting engine. I had a 4.9 I6 Ford that had more miles than my 7.3 and it ran like a top. Horses for courses.
 
I miss those engines! Only thing that ever really went bad was cam sensors and the odd injector. Well... besides the rotten oil pans glued on with RTV. I have to admit they were a corner stone for International and Ford right from the beginning. Not a lot of jam but very reliable.
 
My cousin used to have a small fleet of 7.3s. Very little care was given to these trucks. They had a bunch of different people driving them, none who gave the trucks any special treatment. They started each day pretty much like the OP's neighbor's truck.

One crew cab Lariat 4x4 had over 300,000 miles on it when sold, but I can't remember exactly how many. I thought I remember seeing 385,000 miles on the odometer when I drove it, but maybe it was 285,000 miles I am remembering. Either way, being the nicest equipped truck it got driven the most. At one point the overhead console was dangling by some wires. The one nice Lariat interior was covered in dirt and scratches.

Another one of the trucks was a crew cab XL 2WD. It had been in a front end collision and never repaired because Alabama doesn't have state inspections. This truck was interesting to drive. I remember the steering wheel being at a 45* angle from center when the truck was driving straight. It leaked a ton of oil from somewhere near the front of the engine. Fix it? Nope, it just got topped off frequently. The tires were scary too. This truck was sold with about 200K miles.

My favorite to drive was the 6-speed Super Cab XL. It only had about 120K on it because not many people wanted to drive it. I thought it was fun though. It drove perfectly, despite being a work truck when used, and often sitting for weeks on end without being used.
 
My wife drives wreckers...one was a 201 F-550 rollback, with a 7.3 PSD. It was totalled last winter (hit head-on idiot in an H2, passing on a double-yellow in a snowstorm) with 920,000 miles. Not only had the engine never been rebuilt, it had two (maybe three) original fuel injectors.

It never saw a drop of synthetic oil & the block heater was never used.
 
The 7.3 PowerStroke and the Triton family have the longevity market cornered. I have YET to see a GM with over 342k or a Dodge magnum with over 385k but have seen SEVERAL 4.6s with over 600k untouched.
Some say the Tritions are gutless, but are some of the longest lasting motors ever produced.
 
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Originally Posted By: mobilaltima
and lets keep the subject on diesels, a 7.3 powerstroke is a world of difference in toughness and reliability compared to a gas engine.


While this may be true, I have a fleet of gas powered vans that routinely run for at least 250k miles and one at 400K+ working daily. I have yet to see any real advantage to a diesel powertrain in our line of work.

Their small fuel economy advantage is completely offset by higher fuel costs and more maintenance required per mile driven.


I agree with you. Actually the only real reason I see today for a Diesel is if you need the most power available for towing. Otherwise a gas engine will last plenty long as you have proven with your fleet, which if I recall are all GM 6.0L's.
 
Yessir, one great torquey engine, that 6.0.

And it would appear to me that the GM family 4.8/5.3/6.0/6.2 are all quite durable with a little TLC.
 
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