7.3 Diesel BROS

[Goindeafonmtx]

on the trans cooler, do people upgrade them, or add another one? What would that cost? Right now I don't have anything heavy I will be pulling.

I just upgraded mine to the 6.0 trans cooler. It is made by Dorman. Bolt in deal.

The only thing to look for is bed rust and door rust. They are the most reliable truck on the road. I’m on my 2nd.

I included a picture of the Dorman unit next to the OEM 7.3 unit.

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[Goindeafonmtx]

on the trans cooler, do people upgrade them, or add another one? What would that cost? Right now I don't have anything heavy I will be pulling.

I just upgraded mine to the 6.0 trans cooler. It is made by Dorman. Bolt in deal.

The only thing to look for is bed rust and door rust. They are the most reliable truck on the road. I’m on my 2nd.

I included a picture of the Dorman unit next to the OEM 7.3 unit.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Goindeafonmtx]

on the trans cooler, do people upgrade them, or add another one? What would that cost? Right now I don't have anything heavy I will be pulling.

I just upgraded mine to the 6.0 trans cooler. It is made by Dorman. Bolt in deal.

The only thing to look for is bed rust and door rust. They are the most reliable truck on the road. I’m on my 2nd.

I included a picture of the Dorman unit next to the OEM 7.3 unit.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[96dreamer]

wow the rare quintuple post lol

 

[roy_1031]

Ya no kidding, that was impressive.

I had a 01 4x4 7.3 and she was a tank. I upgraded to a built BTS trans and didn’t worry about the trans after that and drove the piss out of it. Only issues the truck ever had was the front wheel bearings and the injector harness is all. I had it decently modded as well but still on stock oil and injectors, it was a fun loud truck and dead reliable.

 

[nxhappy]

Ya no kidding, that was impressive.

I had a 01 4x4 7.3 and she was a tank. I upgraded to a built BTS trans and didn’t worry about the trans after that and drove the piss out of it. Only issues the truck ever had was the front wheel bearings and the injector harness is all. I had it decently modded as well but still on stock oil and injectors, it was a fun loud truck and dead reliable.

are they still reliable with a chip? I'm assuming they just add timing and boost?

 

[roy_1031]

Yes. I had a banks 6 gun tuner for like a 120k miles then switched to a TS switch chip for the last 20k miles before the drunk guy totaled her. I think the 6 gun, it just adds fuel and doesn’t mess with the timing. I did the the TS chip with the tranny and Brian of BTS tuned the trans as well as the engine and it made a huge difference. She ran like a clock with the banks 6 gun and even better with the TS chip.


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[Goindeafonmtx]

wow the rare quintuple post lol

Sorry. I was on shitty state owned wifi and it kept telling me it “couldn’t complete my request”.


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[roy_1031]

Sorry. I was on shitty state owned wifi and it kept telling me it “couldn’t complete my request”.


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Well you sure learned it something!


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[nxhappy]

Yes. I had a banks 6 gun tuner for like a 120k miles then switched to a TS switch chip for the last 20k miles before the drunk guy totaled her. I think the 6 gun, it just adds fuel and doesn’t mess with the timing. I did the the TS chip with the tranny and Brian of BTS tuned the trans as well as the engine and it made a huge difference. She ran like a clock with the banks 6 gun and even better with the TS chip.


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I saw that TS, seems like people give it great reviews.

 

[Screw-Rice]

I saw that TS, seems like people give it great reviews.

I had the 6 position switch on mine, worked well, there was no TS in those days lol. Had Livewire in both my 6.0.

 

[nxhappy]

stupid question: how expensive are the 7.3 parts? what about maintenance?

 

[roy_1031]

stupid question: how expensive are the 7.3 parts? what about maintenance?

An oil change with synthetic oil and a napa gold oil filter and a gold fuel filter ran me about $120 bucks. An oil change alone was about $90. I changed the fuel filter about every 30k miles for $30 bucks a pop. A set of 8 glow plugs, the under cover harness, and the valve cover gasket is about $350-400 in parts from riffraff diesel if I’m not mistaken. The axles seals up front are cheap. The wheel hubs are like $180 each side up front. Some people had bad luck with a crank sensor going out often but in 240k miles mine never went out. Brake pads and rotors are not that expensive either. Now that I think back about it. The brake calipers like to stick and go bad. I went through about 2 front ones and 1 rear one. The rear one was ugly and really jammed and I had to put it in low range and literally drag that tire so a lady could move her car (I was helping my brother move and it happened in a apartment parking lot). Diesel here in SoCal and a 40 gallon tank averaged about $120 bucks to fill it up. The parts aren’t too terribly expensive and the trucks are pretty reliable. If the hpop goes out you can upgrade to a bigger one for like $500 bucks. The transmission more specifically the torque converters are weak and when they go they take out the transmission. I had mine rebuilt once at around 130k miles and I had it upgraded with a shift kit, a upgraded valve body and a triple disc tq converter and that lasted me to about 215k miles when it lost 2nd gear in Phoenix on a road trip to Dallas from SoCal. I still drove it all the way to Dallas skipping second gear then drove it from Dallas to northern Arkansas on the hurt tranny to BTS where it received a built tranny. The ole girl never abandoned me on the road aside from a stupid caliper. The 7.3 was my favorite truck. Now I have a 06 6.0 that replaced it and it’s already stranded me in the first 20k miles I’ve owned it. The standpipes/dummy plugs and the stc fitting went out and they feed the oil to the top half of the engine so it wouldn’t start when it happened. Didn’t give me a warning either. I stopped at an atm came out and crank crank crank nothing. Called AAA to come tow it away. I wanted to try a newer truck so I went with the 6.0 and I sometimes regret it. The 7.3 just has some type of reassurance behind it. I wouldn’t have hesitated to drive mine to Portland Maine and back with a loaded trialer. Sorry for the long post, hope it helps some.


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[me32]

I just upgraded mine to the 6.0 trans cooler. It is made by Dorman. Bolt in deal.

The only thing to look for is bed rust and door rust. They are the most reliable truck on the road. I’m on my 2nd.

I included a picture of the Dorman unit next to the OEM 7.3 unit.
View attachment 1507083


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Thanks for sharing that. Huge difference.

 

[nxhappy]

yea the transmission would be my main worry. I don't know if it has been rebuilt. It did shift nice though. Fluid looked great and no burnt smell. He said he would take 8000 for it. Not sure if I'm ready for diesel life LOL

 

[Goindeafonmtx]

An oil change with synthetic oil and a napa gold oil filter and a gold fuel filter ran me about $120 bucks. An oil change alone was about $90. I changed the fuel filter about every 30k miles for $30 bucks a pop. A set of 8 glow plugs, the under cover harness, and the valve cover gasket is about $350-400 in parts from riffraff diesel if I’m not mistaken. The axles seals up front are cheap. The wheel hubs are like $180 each side up front. Some people had bad luck with a crank sensor going out often but in 240k miles mine never went out. Brake pads and rotors are not that expensive either. Now that I think back about it. The brake calipers like to stick and go bad. I went through about 2 front ones and 1 rear one. The rear one was ugly and really jammed and I had to put it in low range and literally drag that tire so a lady could move her car (I was helping my brother move and it happened in a apartment parking lot). Diesel here in SoCal and a 40 gallon tank averaged about $120 bucks to fill it up. The parts aren’t too terribly expensive and the trucks are pretty reliable. If the hpop goes out you can upgrade to a bigger one for like $500 bucks. The transmission more specifically the torque converters are weak and when they go they take out the transmission. I had mine rebuilt once at around 130k miles and I had it upgraded with a shift kit, a upgraded valve body and a triple disc tq converter and that lasted me to about 215k miles when it lost 2nd gear in Phoenix on a road trip to Dallas from SoCal. I still drove it all the way to Dallas skipping second gear then drove it from Dallas to northern Arkansas on the hurt tranny to BTS where it received a built tranny. The ole girl never abandoned me on the road aside from a stupid caliper. The 7.3 was my favorite truck. Now I have a 06 6.0 that replaced it and it’s already stranded me in the first 20k miles I’ve owned it. The standpipes/dummy plugs and the stc fitting went out and they feed the oil to the top half of the engine so it wouldn’t start when it happened. Didn’t give me a warning either. I stopped at an atm came out and crank crank crank nothing. Called AAA to come tow it away. I wanted to try a newer truck so I went with the 6.0 and I sometimes regret it. The 7.3 just has some type of reassurance behind it. I wouldn’t have hesitated to drive mine to Portland Maine and back with a loaded trialer. Sorry for the long post, hope it helps some.


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I think the $120 oil change is an unnecessary exaggeration. I change mine every 5k using Mobil Delvac 15w-40 and Motorcraft filter. I buy the oil in five gallon buckets for $60 and then submit the rebate for $25. So it costs me like $35 plus the cost of the filter.

My first truck I never had an issue with calipers. My new truck I have had to replace all four because they all have been stuck. I replaced them with ones that have lifetime warranties.

I’ve never had an issue with a trans, but that’s not to say the problems don’t exist. But the 4r100 is pretty reliable at stock power levels.

I replaced all the fuel bowl seals and high pressure line seals using the dieselorings.com kit. Don’t be scared of a 7.3. It’s a great first diesel. The 6.0 is the opposite.


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[roy_1031]

I think the $120 oil change is an unnecessary exaggeration. I change mine every 5k using Mobil Delvac 15w-40 and Motorcraft filter. I buy the oil in five gallon buckets for $60 and then submit the rebate for $25. So it costs me like $35 plus the cost of the filter.

My first truck I never had an issue with calipers. My new truck I have had to replace all four because they all have been stuck. I replaced them with ones that have lifetime warranties.

I’ve never had an issue with a trans, but that’s not to say the problems don’t exist. But the 4r100 is pretty reliable at stock power levels.

I replaced all the fuel bowl seals and high pressure line seals using the dieselorings.com kit. Don’t be scared of a 7.3. It’s a great first diesel. The 6.0 is the opposite.


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A gallon of rotella t6 is $30 bucks and it takes 3.5 gallons so you have to buy 4 gallons if you’re buying it by the gallon plus a $10 filter lands you at over $120 bucks. I tried different cheaper oils but they would cause my trucks to surge on cold starts so I just stuck with the t6 and never had another problem.




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[Gruca]

I have a 2000 f-250. I regularly tow 10,000 pounds with it without issue (horses, hay, etc...) The body will disintegrate into rust dust before the engine dies, if you take care of it.


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[nxhappy]

sooooo I bought one from a dealer on ebay hopefully it checks out LOL ....the dude has excellent reviews so not too worried ....price was stupid cheap so I am rolling the dice !

 

[Goindeafonmtx]

A gallon of rotella t6 is $30 bucks and it takes 3.5 gallons so you have to buy 4 gallons if you’re buying it by the gallon plus a $10 filter lands you at over $120 bucks. I tried different cheaper oils but they would cause my trucks to surge on cold starts so I just stuck with the t6 and never had another problem.




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I understand the math. Just have had zero issues with Rotella. Even in -25 degree temps we had this year.


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