bought a diesel tow rig need advice

[RWKHausSupply]

Can I hijack??

About to trade my 01 F150 for a 99 4x4 crew cab LB F350 7.3 and auto 4od tranny. Questions I have are about the diesel motor also.

Its a 7.3 turbo diesel. Its got 210K. what should I look for, to see if its capible to do what others swear they their good for and go to like 350-400K with it. I keep hearing if it's getting all the required maintence then its ok and your good to go, but if not then your in a crap shoot..

What are tell tell signs of good upkeep? And what are others here thinking its good for if up kept well? Is 350K reailistic? MPG?

Sorry fo rthe hijack but now that theres so many Diesel people on this tread I had to ask...

 

[Original_MudButt]

Can I hijack??

About to trade my 01 F150 for a 99 4x4 crew cab LB F350 7.3 and auto 4od tranny.

Find a good trans shop and inquire about that transmission....

I know almost nothing about it so I'm sure Rich will jump in on this.

But my '94 F350 had the E4OD transmission and it would handgrenade every 76,000 miles even after the factory mod (They had to add a bearing somewhere...)

Perhaps Ford got it all figured out by '99???

 

[GrimmJeeper]

ive got a customer with a 99 f350 7.3 as his mobile service truck, its got 575k miles on it, still runs like its brand new.

 

[Tommy_M]

I have a 04 cummins 3500 quad cab dually 4x4. It has been a great truck for me. One bit of advice I can add is save up for gas. Mine has become a lawn ornament as of late.



I see about 12 to 14 mpg...

Originally Posted by Loose_Nuts_Enterprises
i change mine out every 5K, unless I'm doing a lot of heavy towing. I have a trailer that weighs around 18K pounds with the jeep in it, so when we're doing a lot of prerunning and racing, I try to change it at 3k. And never, ever, use Fram filters on your truck. The filter media can come out of those and plug oil gallies and burn up your engine.

I would look at getting an EGT gauge as soon as possible, and with your 24V engine, also look at getting a fuel pressure gauge. Your truck has an electric lift pump which are prone to failure. When the lift pump goes, it will take the injector pump with it.

Go to www.dieseltruckresource.com and you will find all the info you'll ever need. It's like the :: for Dodge trucks.

An exhaust temp gauge ?

Congrats on the new truck....you'll love it. I know i love mine.

-Dan

Good info Dan, I need to look into this as well. I am planning on buying a car hauler or large utility trailer for trips out to Moab and Fordyce. So I can split the gas with the guys I go wheeling with.

 

[Goatman]

I think synthetic oil on a diesel is a waste of money, but just my opinion. Like someone said, the oil can be black almost right away in a diesel. While the synthetic oil holds the additives longer and is a very good oil, it's no different than dino oil about the stuff that gets into it. The oil mostly needs to be changed to get rid of the cantaminants. I change mine around 7500 miles.

In the XJ I run synthetic, since it lasts longer in that environement and I don't drive it that much, but in the truck I use regular oil.

Ditto on the K&N style open element filters, they don't filter as good as the stock paper filters do. I have a giant size Baldwin paper filter on mine. Diesels are fun, but they can be as expensive as a Jeep if you let yourself get carried away..........but they can put a big smile on your face.

 

[Goatman]

Can I hijack??

About to trade my 01 F150 for a 99 4x4 crew cab LB F350 7.3 and auto 4od tranny. Questions I have are about the diesel motor also.

Its a 7.3 turbo diesel. Its got 210K. what should I look for, to see if its capible to do what others swear they their good for and go to like 350-400K with it. I keep hearing if it's getting all the required maintence then its ok and your good to go, but if not then your in a crap shoot..

What are tell tell signs of good upkeep? And what are others here thinking its good for if up kept well? Is 350K reailistic? MPG?

350k is easy on these motors, they'll go way beyond that if kept up decently. The number one thing to check for is excessive blowby. If the engine is worn and the rings are starting to go bad the motor will loose compression and be hard to start when cold, and it will have excessive blowby. Check this by removing the oil cap from the valve cover with the engine running, if there are wisps of smoke you're OK, but if it puffs the engine is going bad.

The other thing is the condition of the turbo. Properly maintained the turbo can last the life of the truck, but if the air cleaner hasn't been kept clean or has leaked air past the filter, the turbo inlet vanes can be chipped and pitted. If you can, take the truck home and remove the air inlet tube at the turbo and look inside and see how the vanes look, they should have sharp edges with little or no chips or pits.

I'd assume that with 210k the trans has already been replaced, but there's probably no way to find out. The '99 tranny had improvements from the previous tranny, but they'll still go out.

Check out FTE, Ford Truck Enthusiasts, at fordtruck.com.

 

[RWKHausSupply]

I'd assume that with 210k the trans has already been replaced, but there's probably no way to find out. The '99 tranny had improvements from the previous tranny, but they'll still go out.

Check out FTE, Ford Truck Enthusiasts, at fordtruck.com.

What are the symptoms of a tranny “going bad” on these? How will it shift or not shift? I read that you need to check WOT shifting and low speed acceleration shifting. But no where did it list How that should feel for either.

 

[89er]

Robert - Go take a look at the forums and do some searching at http://www.thedieselstop.com . It is all about Ford diesel trucks and I have found everything I need to know about my Superduty there just like my XJ here.

If I can help you out with anything let me know - I am in Brea.

 

[FordGuy]

I was not going to say anything but unless your towing at capacity, take Goatmans advice save your money on Syn!!!! Just buy the Delo.

The good old 7.3!!! I have seen them go 500K, but you will replace stuff like injectors, turbo, espcialy if it has a aftermarket filter, Always buy the Ford high capacity air box, the best! It will leak like a pig after 125k, but thats ok, just pan gasket, rear main.

Replace the crank sensor, keep the old one as a spare!

The problem is the shit trans!!! Ford makes a heavy duty version which is $500 more than standard an will last 150+

When it blows up, call me! hook-up on parts.