Rich,
First and foremost sorry to hear about your problem. I hope it doesn't turn out to be as bad as you are thinking.

As for your options, with all the time and effort you have put into your truck, I don't see you being happy with another truck. That is a least until you put your personal touches on it as well. That sounds like starting at square one in my opinion, a very expensive and time consuming option.
If I were in your shoes, (or seat) driving a truck that had a rolling chassis that was better than new, I know I would never be happy replacing the sick 400HP Powerstroke with a stock 7.3 to go out and tow a 5er. I just couldn't go backwards like that.
I personally think your best option is to keep the truck since you know every inch of it. Dig into the engine and figure out exactly where you stand. Then decide if it would better, (or more cost effective) to repair what you have or build a new short block and swap all your stuff over. Have the heads freshened up and enjoy knowing you have the completely reliable truck that you want. I think the only thing I would consider selling if I were you would be your injectors. The only reason I say that is because on several occasions you have expressed interest in the IH 160/0 so if the budget can stand it, why not?

Good luck with the next upgrade and give Stinky my best!

 

Subscribing to see if you're overreacting to a sound or if there's a serious issue. Sometimes the 7.3 just sounds like it rattles a lot, especially with mods.

If the but dyno is way off, then maybe there's something to it. Figure it out first. If it's bad, go buy a couple of cases of beer and head to Mr. Goodwrench.

 

Tugly

You say this is a sound issue, all testing reports back good?
Try to calm yourself down.
I know you will not let this go until you eliminate the noise or replace the engine (which you hope will eliminate the noise). (Think about that last sentence for a bit.)
Can your wife hear it?

Start looking on CL for a rollover (or something similar) to get an engine from.

EDIT: I re-read and noticed the engine bucks pretty violently, so it is past a sound issue. Still, I hope you are overreacting.

 

If Cody is willing to help, it is pretty much a no-brainer the way I see it. That guy knows the 7.3 inside out judging by all his posts and his background. Pull all the good stuff of your engine and have at her, if the mtr is truly done.

 

So much to digest - this will take more than one read to get it all. Gotta love this site!

Blackstone - great call.

Self-rebuild - available time on both schedules pretty much makes this a non-starter. He needs two days just to get here and shake the road out of his head, and I'm falling headlong into my insane busy season in the worst year possible (rebuild after plant reduced to open ground from a fire). I'm thinking of having a remanned short block waiting here in a crate, then we do the swap together. Cody might have a better idea there - but this will be carefully orchestrated to make good use of our available time.

I stopped firing off Buck$Zooka rounds for a long time last year, so all that unspent mod money went into savings. I don't want to grab plastic rounds... if you know what I mean - but I should have enough ammo to crater this problem.

In answer to "new" - I'll explain:

• There are used motors (taken from scrapped or upgraded trucks)
• There are rebuilt motors (just fix what's broken, slap some paint on it, and send it out)
• There are remanufactured motors (make it as close to new as is financially reasonable)
• There are no new motors
• There are "built" motors (let's trick this puppy out and sell it to someone with deep pockets)

Who wouldn't want a built motor? However, those pretty much show up in a crate for about $15K. I'm thinking no less than remanufactured, but the whole show could set me back about $7K on the floor - so a reman short-block for about $5K (if my memory is hangin' in there) is more appealing with the goodies I already have in stock. As for the sticks, those could likely be downsized to IH 160/0s due to horse trading - and my desire to keep the next motor closer to an engineered product. Big acceleration is fun, but all I want to do is tow heavy - and have the ability to pass pokies on a hill in short order when empty. Lathing tires in TCLU was never really part of the plan.

I do want welded jets, plus whatever else augments reliability without having to totally build the silly thing myself. I'm keeping my oil bypass filter - that's money well-spent right there.

Just thoughts rattling around in my head without really thinking them through yet. More later - gotta eat and rest.

 

Mi dos centavos..Since you're happy with the truck in general, knowing that you don't want a new truck I would say go for a complete build of your engine. It will take time but you do have something to drive while it's on going. Maybe a .010 bore to clean up the cylinders, new crank balanced(if yours is bad of course), line bored, all new oem internals, welded oil jets...yada yada. Going this route you would probably never have to do it again.

 

as far as sound, Rich, can your wife or perhaps someone not tuned into the truck/7.3 as you might be or the wife may be hear the noise(S) or feel what you are thinking you feel?


reason I ask is if you are thinking you hear a noise or feeling a motion, can someone who isn't familiar with the truck replicate the issue (also leads into confirming if the issue is there, AND also confirms that if you do take it to a steelership or shop to work on it (lets say rebuilding the engine) that they will have a very good possibility of replicating the issue(s) described which is what you really want to ensure can be done...

I work IT so any time somone says "my computer is not working" I ask them for the problem, then I have them show me what they are doing (forcing them to replicate the issue so I can verify if there is an issue or if its a case of user input error and correct as needed) and that alone cuts down on the "false tech support" calls I make (saving me on fuel and not having to charge more then needed for my time).

oh and Rich, if your happy with Stinky like im happy with Stinky Jr. keep the truck and just spend the time building it up to do what YOU need/want, I am doing the same, since my TC is on the way out I am replacing it with a OEM unit, to hold over, but as things fail (non critical) im slowly replacing things with better/upgraded parts that will let me get what I want out of the truck, mainly im concentrating on the trans as thats our weak link but for the most part I am working to catch things as early as I can...you may want to consider the same (and I am certain you have already started that route)

 

Tugly sorry to hijack....pm me if you want or direct me whereto read but I have missed the talk about the 160/0. Last we talked...which has been some time. You though my high egts while towing have to do with my 160/30s having alonger pulse width than your 160/100s. Wouldn't that be even worse with the 160/0?

 

Hey guys. I've only posted on here a few times but I spend enough time reading to get in trouble at home!! With the help of you guys and Tuggly I've kept my rig going strong over the years. I was about to turn my truck in to a shop truck and look for something new but like many of you, and because of many of you, I've decided to just make it new again. Ive just started ordering parts. Tuggly whatever route you go don't get rid of the truck you know you will kick yourself later!! The motor is the last step to having a brand new truck. You are too deep in to give up. Just thought it was worth jumping on here to say thanks.

 

Sorry to hear Rich...Am I bad luck??
IMO - Keep the truck, you are way to deep to stop now.
Do a good rebuild, I personally don't think your mods are extreme enough to make a difference.




1 st verify there is an issue and what that issue is..
Good LUCK with your decision..

 

Hey Rich, hope things work out for the best and most reasonable cost. When I thought my engine was toast I was looking at options. This is just one I found, 100's of options on EBay from cores to full builds...options are always a good things. They give you a good idea of price points too. Hope this helps...

Look at this on eBay:

1999 2003 Ford F450 F350 F250 Power Stroke Engine 7 3L with Installation | eBay

1999 - 2003 Ford F450,F350,F250 Power Stroke Engine ,7.3L with Installation.

 

If you trust the mechanic at the dealership, it might be money well-spent to have him diagnose the potential problem. You need accurate information before you can begin to develop a fix.

 

I personally have never had any sort of good luck with mail order engines. 3x now I've been burned-apparently, I'm slow to learn. In addition to the shoddy work, any so called warranty is a complete PITA to deal with having to crate up and send back and listen to a bunch of BS. I've also built 4 engines personally from a local builder who did the machining, is awesome, and never had a problem. If I did, he would make it right as he could. Much easier to address a problem locally.

If I were in your position, I would verify the issue as best as possible, and rebuild what I had with local machining/assembly optional. Or, take advantage of Cletus' assistance as noted repeatedly :-)

 

Go to eBay and buy a lower mileage used engine.

If the engine shows up and does not have good compression or somethings wrong you will get a full refund no questions asked. You can't go wrong buying from eBay its 100 percent satisfaction.

Buy from a junk yard and who knows what your going to get.

Be remanufactured and keep your fingers crossed they knew what they were doing.

 

How do you know what you are going to get with the used engine vs. an Ebay engine?

Compression readings on a used engine that has been sitting for any period of time are not accurate. They sit with a valve open and get a little corrosion on a valve seat and it doesn't seal, compression is low. Start it up and it misfires for a bit, sometimes less than a minute, sometimes 10 minutes. After that they run like a top.