Really awesome sound. That would make my sack tighten up a bit.

 

I just cant get past my 7.3, I like the 6.7. I even think about getting a Bulletproofed 6.0. But im really happy with my 7.3. Its got all the get up and go I want and need and its just so easy to work on. No matter what you run, 7.3, 6.0, 6.4, 6.7 you cant deny the all out reliability and durability of the 7.3 in my humble opinion, its the best diesel ever to be put into a regular consumer grade pickup truck.

I only wish mine was a crew cab, I keep thinking that down the road, once I have some kids that are older I will need a crew cab vs my Ext cab. I just cant decide if I should buy within the next year or so, or wait 5+ years. My only fear is in 5+ years it will be hard to find a 7.3 with under 300,000 miles.

 

It's funny watching the spirited conversation on this subject.
Just to put my 2 cents in, to me, it's all over cost/time.
Cost of initial purchase which is fairly straight forward.
Cost of maintenance over the life on the vehicle which is the main subject of dissent.
Time is:
Time away from doing other things.
Time I have to devote to a vehicle.
Time down for repairs/maintenance.

When I value free time not doing the work on the truck more than the cost, I lean toward newer vehicles.
When I value the cost over the time, I lean toward older vehicles.

I do have the piece of mind that repairs can be made to the 7.3L and I know I more than likely can fix what's wrong. I don't have the same level of that with newer one's. I know with the 7.3L, problem correction is more well documented (here) than with the newer models. That being said, I know I can make most repairs without needing a costly mechanic, saving myself the total cost of mechanic labor. Essentially if it takes me 4 hours to do something the mechanic get's paid $300 to do in 3 hours, I am paying myself $75 an hour to do the work because it remains in my bank account. The need for the work is not disputed, that will happen regardless if I want to continue to have a means of travel.
Putting in extra time for reliability improvements is like buying insurance. It heads off problems with downtime and give piece of mind.

While with a new vehicle, I have piece of mind under warranty and less likelyhood of normal wear parts failing.

So pick your poison. I am happy for the moment at paying myself $75 an hour to work on my truck, but in the future I won't have that time (new position). If the truck is preemptively maintained before that time and all small problems are handled before they get big, then I am ok. But if not, I may get a newer one.

At least that's the way I think of it. I think I could apply the same logic to power/performance and what-not.

 

I love working on my 7.3, whether it be preventative maintenance, repairs, or adding new parts. But ive always enjoyed tinkering.

 

I missed my 7.3L for about 10 days but only for nostalgia and the fact that it meant a lot to me and I learned some valuable skills wrenching on that rig......and I appreciate this forum and still hang around and read etc. as I still find it interesting....

But, I walk out, push the start button on my new truck, back up to the trailer with the camera.....hitch up, put it in tow haul mode and listen to my fabulous sound system while having a pleasant conversation with my wife........when towing in the 7.3L.....yelling was the only form of communication and I never listened to music in that rig as it was pointless....I listened to my engine.

I miss the sound sometimes, and the smell of diesel exhaust......but I get over that real quickly too.

The payment? "meh".....I would rather make a scheduled payment of X hundred than all the unscheduled X thousand $ the truck was hitting me up for.....plus I have an 8 year or 85K bumper to bumper warranty on it.....and I put about 5,000 miles a year on these rigs at most....so......it works for me.

I don't tow heavy enough often enough to justify a new diesel, I'm fine with 410hp/429TQ towing 7000lbs (ish).

The 7.3L is a great engine for what it is, for me it was the truck it was wrapped in that really necessitated a change for me.....can't hide the fact it was a 15 model year old New England truck that never saw a garage in its life, and mine was considered in "good" condition.......got $12K for it or thereabouts when all was said and done.

Everyone's situation is different.....some have the time energy and skills to maintain older modded rigs as they age, and they don't have the scheduling conflicts that an out of service rig presents.

 

Man, the thing I hate most is the noise level of the 7.3. When we are on long trips I find that to be more fatiguing than the time driving. Keeping it, but wish I could tell it to shut the *********** up!

Steve

 

Lol I hear ya....or maybe I didn't......

The last couple years with the 7.3 I realized I had a 3-4 hr limit in that rig. Between the noise level and harsher ride a trip to our cabin 225 miles away was a bit of a deafening chore.

People can talk AIS intake, exhaust choice and deadening material all they want....at the end of the day, it is in the hall of fame of loud diesel engines, it is what it is.

Regarding all the talk in this thread about 7.3 power vs. 6.7L power and "with the right mods the 7.3 can produce similar power....blah blah blah".....

Sure, on a dyno at some particular point in the rpm range it can match a modern diesel with the right (expensive) mods. It is also about the delivery of that power, through a transmission that is light years ahead of the lovely 4R100. And a chassis, suspension and braking system that is also more advanced.......with a warranty. All delivered quietly with all the updated tech one can ask for.....

To some that is worth the payment......

To others if they are honest about their needs, they are fine with the 7.3L and no payment and will deal with the old truck issues as they come up. Mind you there is a vast difference between a Texas/Florida/CA no salt rig and a 15 year old rig exposed to 6 months of salt each year (7-8 years of salt over its lifetime).

 

Mine doesnt bother me a bit

 

Age has a lot to do with noise level comfort... Just saying

 

I'm not bothered by the sound of my 7.3 either. The 6.7 is far to quiet for me.

I'm actually surprised on how quiet my truck is at highway speeds; and I'm straight piped.
Maybe it's because the windows are always rolled up with a/c blowing, or maybe because I normally commute on a loud motorcycle the truck just sounds quiet in comparison.

Would I buy a 6.7? No
If my crystal ball told me that the 6.7 will be "just as reliable" as the 7.3 than maybe I would consider a 6.7.
I don't need 800 ft lbs of torque.

I cannot justify an additional $9000+ for the 6.7 option and trading in the truck at or before 100k in fear of a pricey "out of warranty" repair.

Just my .02

 

Have to say the more i read or watch videos, powerstrokehelp.com guy, the more I am glad i got a 2003 Crew Cab, 168K, 2wd, SWD, F-250 SD, Lariet, 7.3L PS, two owner, red, Tow package, USED, pickup truck..

I paid 13K last aug and bet in one to two more years could sell it for what i paid for it vs a 2012 F-250 SD..., for 50K, I will have the '03 paid off by march of next year, not in 7 yrs. but in the end i have a 12 yr old truck

I am able to do a lot of "stuff" on my current truck, with the help of 'utube' and friends on FTE.

But remember when the NBS came out there were a "great" improvement over the older ones and everybody was all aglow..

The cost of new truck have run up so much I find it hard to justify the cost, especially for the first couple three years of that model to get the bugs worked out.

I tend NOT to be a "buy new" person as i have seen and heard about the depreciation trap in action like with Rich, (stinkys) friend. Plus i don't drive a truck for business or everyday driver like a lot of you guys.

My Brother in law got a 2012 to pull a 5th wheel he traded his 30ft RV in on and he is a DD type guy.. but he is a buy new pay cash or finance for 4 yrs guy, aka big money, so when stuff breaks he take it to the dealership to fix under warrenty. It must be nice..

Still i see me keeping mine for at least 10ish years..

 

I can tell you for sure doing the fuel system upgrade, ie larger lines, line to rear driver port, installing higher fuel pressure spring (60) will make the truck much quieter than normal. don't believe me ask my WIFE..
if the ride is harsh put some stuff in rear.. i have a fiberglass cover and that help with a smooth ish ride.

just sayin.

 

While I would agree that outside the truck, the 7.3 is a loud diesel, I'm really surprised at the noise complaints when driving, especially towing at highway speeds.

My daily driver is a BMW and my wife drives a Mercedes so I'm in a quiet car most of the time and I really don't find my F250 to be loud at all. We use it primarily for towing and because BMW's aren't all that reliable to begin with so once I started modding it (PMS is not brand specific), it got even less reliable (although a lot more fun) so the F250 is driven when the BMW is down.

When we're driving down the highway in the F250, it's no problem to have a conversation at a normal level, the noise you hear most is the turbo whine, followed by some wind noise but the diesel itself you can't really hear and I'm running a 4" MBRP turbo back that is essentially a straight pipe. I have a better sound system in the F250 than in either of the other vehicles based on a Pioneer AVH-4100NEX which drives a 4 channel Pioneer amp powering the 4 door/column 6x9's and a single channel Kicker amp powering a pair of 12" woofers. I added the backup camera (which was probably the single best investment I've made on this truck) and can also back right up to the trailer, hook it up and head down the road listening to my tunes. I don't crank the stereo up all that often, I like having the sound system over sized so the sound is really clean at lower volumes.

I will say that my 7.3 is noticeably quieter with synthetic oil and since I put the FRx in than it was before. In general though, if you're having to yell to have a conversation in these trucks, I think there's something wrong that needs to be fixed, you should be able to have a normal conversation in them. Especially if you have a Lariat or equivalent.

I've gone back and forth on the newer trucks. There are 2 thing in the newer trucks I would really like to have. The first is heated seats (I never thought I'd use them in the South but my old, creaky back likes the heated seats in the BMW as much as anything else in that car) and the suspension/ride. Those 2 alone aren't enough to make me want to spend the money that a new truck costs though, especially since if I wanted them badly enough I could put them in the current truck.

I trust my 7.3 to not leave me stranded as long as I do my part and with 274k miles on it now, it's like an old comfortable shoe. While I might window shop every now and again, I doubt I'll ever buy another truck. I'll probably just run this one until it falls apart and then put it back together and do it again. My grandkids will probably have to be the ones to figure out what to do with it after I'm gone.

 

We don't have to yell, but compared to our F150, the 7.3 is a joke in terms of noise level. Running on the flat isn't bad, but we spend a lot of time where the engine is working in the hills and then the noise is an irritant.

Just variations in preferences and/or tolerance.

 

Agreed.

Old green has been a great truck for the past 11 years. It has been very economical to drive and extremely reliable.

That said, its age is really showing these days. Things in life (# of kids, work, etc...) have really changed over the past decade and finding the time to do all the minor repairs needed and maintance is becoming increasingly difficult.

We have always leased the family vehicle to ensure the family is safe and in a reliable automobile. It looks as this will be the next option.

Have already been quoted ~$385/mo lease on a nicely equipped F-150. At this point, it seems like the best option. Time is money.