Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums - 7.3 Excursion Which Year(s) is Best?

Quote:

Originally Posted by jblakeman (Post 12111258)

Sunline fan....interesting point. Never thought that the '03's would be considered more "beat up" in a 7.3 over a brand new 6.0. My thinking is that most "Powerstroke Fans" would be all over the immediate acceleration and turbo sound of the 6.0 and since this was before the "issues" started it would have been the engine of choice...at least until the dealer / shop visits started adding up.

I wonder how long Ford produced the 7.3 in the 2003 model year? Seems very few examples could be found?

I think a lot of people did wait for a 6.0, as most of them out there are. But after the problems were known, I think people got those early '03s ASAP either as leftovers or slightly used. I'm sure some who got them did because they already had other 7.3s in their fleet and wanted to keep maintenance the same. I don't know any of this for sure, but I'm just speculating. When I was searching insurance wrecks a lot, I tried to find an '03. Every one that I found usually had over 200k on it and just looked beat. I found the '02 I have and it was the lowest mileage 7.3 on there at the time, and if I ever found a lower one, it was usually around only 130k.

IIRC, the 7.3s were put in '03 Excursions up through sometime in mid November 2002. The model year starts in late July/early August.

The easiest way to tell an '03 7.3 is by the VIN. The eighth digit is the engine code. L for the 5.4 gas, S for the 6.8 V10 gas, F for the 7.3, and P for the 6.0.