i am from the 48-56 group on FTE. i am wondering about the reliability of an 88 7.3. i am looking at buying a 88 class c ford motor home with 98,000 miles. can any one give me some advice as i know very little about these motors.

 

98K miles? Almost new! I recommend that you have a trusted friend or mechanic look it over before you buy. Did the previous owner(s) maintain it properly? There's not much that goes wrong with the 7.3. You can look through the threads and read about glow plugs, injector o-rings, injector pumps and injectors. There a many posts with photos etc and very informative. Most things are easy to fix and there's lots of support here if you need it.

 

injectors and injector pump between 100 and 150k miles, oil change every 3-5k miles, fuel filter change every other oil change, trans fluid and filter every 30-35k miles.
other than that, they are pretty much put fuel in and drive.
i now have a little over 494,000 miles on my 88 and it has never been opened up. only routine maintenance.

 

Oh man! Those are very desireable at least in my world. Got 2 trucks, no family, no place to park it, and no job (at the moment). But if I found one I would buy it. IDIJohn has a very nice one. If you buy it be sure to post pics. Even if you don't!

 

Great machines! Had mine for over 14 years now.

Mines a 26 footer tho, weighs around 12,000 lbs loaded for a long vacation. Beware, it's slow. It'll get you where ever you wanna, mines been all across Canada, and 80% of the states, did the Montana Rockies with it, shes real slow up the hills, but never had a problem!

 

thanks for the good info. i will dig deeper into the history.

 

I have an 88 7.3 as well and firstly, don't they all have 5 digit odometers? Mine does, and so it is really anybody's guess as to how many miles are on it.

That said, whether my truck had 70k or 370k when I bought it, the engine runs like a champ. Have had to replace a good list of other parts but not worried about the engine.

I won't lie... I've had a couple of OH $#!& moments that have resulted in walking home (new brake booster!) or on one occasion a short tow (new clutch master & slave!).

The good part is that there is a wealth of knowledge on the forums and getting parts is generally pretty easy.

My 7.3 is not a looker but the one thing I don't really worry about is the engine. It eats a little oil but I would be surprised if a truck that old didn't. Buy the truck in front of you if the price is right.

PS: have to second IDIDieselJohn, this is not a fast one.