Looking for another truck
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Looking for another truck
Well its time for me to get back in a truck since my las gasser went on me last summer , this time im looking to get a beat up diesel to fix it up but dont know what to look for on a used diesel any tips would be a good start im looking at 2000 to 2004 years .i dont want no more bank loans ......
Hotshot
Joined: Jan 2011
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From: Puget Sound
Funny you should pose this question in the '99-'03 7.3L Diesel forum. First... how familiar are you with turbodiesels?
Superduty 7.3L is the pinnacle of pickups. Everybody jumped on that bandwagon (HD this and HD that) after the blue oval introduced it. The diesel engine in the 1999 to early 2003 is an International T444E with a Ford bow on top and it is notorious for just taking it and taking it. It's not just long-lasting, it's a leashed beast that will leave claw marks on someone's as-
phalt when let out to play. Many here are rabid about their 7.3L, myself included. Yes, I do have a life outside of diesel fumes, but I tow a sail boat and I want the most capabale and reliable sumbich on the road when boating season is here. I go through all the trouble, expense, and waiting of owning a boat way up North (in mountainous terrain), and the tow vehicle/winter DD just has to work.
Superduty 7.3L is the pinnacle of pickups. Everybody jumped on that bandwagon (HD this and HD that) after the blue oval introduced it. The diesel engine in the 1999 to early 2003 is an International T444E with a Ford bow on top and it is notorious for just taking it and taking it. It's not just long-lasting, it's a leashed beast that will leave claw marks on someone's as-
phalt when let out to play. Many here are rabid about their 7.3L, myself included. Yes, I do have a life outside of diesel fumes, but I tow a sail boat and I want the most capabale and reliable sumbich on the road when boating season is here. I go through all the trouble, expense, and waiting of owning a boat way up North (in mountainous terrain), and the tow vehicle/winter DD just has to work.
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Thanks for the reply . Im not familiar with tdiesels at all lately i had run acros a few cash trucks with the 7.3 on it in the 150k+ miles range . This time im going to feel alot better fixing up a truck i already own and know that what ever i replace/rebuild its going to be good for sometime and its already mine not the banks ....
Hotshot
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 18,849
Likes: 179
From: Puget Sound
Hooboy... I started this in Oct 2010 and the real intense learning started after I blew up my tranny by doing something stupid in Sep 2011. I have since read everything I can get my hands on, done some repairs/mods/upgrades (or had them done), and one thing I've learned about the 7.3L... it's near impossible to be "done" with it. PMS is common, I don't know if it's an acronym for Powerstroke Mod Syndrom, or Perpetual Mod Syndrom - but either will work. It doesn't take much to get a 7.3L with 150K miles to 100%, you might have an exhaust leak here or one bad sensor there.... or nothing wrong at all. I bought mine with 220K miles (pre-turbo exhaust leak the only real problem under the hood) and I'm pourin' on the miles and the upgrades. Since the time I bought "Stinky", some things have gone out, but they are addressed as I go.... and I have never been left on the side of the road, not even after somebody totalled their car when they rear-ended Stinky.
Modifications to gas engines will get you a little more power here and there, but nothing spectacular (unless you go crazy with the money). But... upgrades to the 7.3L reap big, hairy rewards. The 7.3L is woefully detuned so soccer moms, lead-footers, and teens can drive it in any scenario without hurting it. Throw a few gauges (to monitor things you can hurt) and a tuner on it and there is a savage beast within. My extended-cab Superduty weighs 8000 pounds, with me at the wheel. It goes from 0-60 in a little over 6 seconds (according to the computer interface I have for the truck) and it goes from 0-20 in less than one second, which is where gassers usually fall short. I once had a 1966 mustang with the 289 and 4-speed. It was fast, but it wasn't this quick. Diesel has a ton of torque at low RPMs, which translates to acceleration when empty - then the turbo kicks in and burns fart-tube ricers down until you near the 100 MPH limit. I have over 1/4-million miles on my stock injectors and a stock turbo (I think the turbo was serviced before I bought the truck), and Stinky got attitude (links to my mods in my signature). If you just want plain ol' dependability and longevity until your coffers can cough up a concoction for clout, the 7.3L delivered this for me. Stay stock and be happy, or break out the Buck$Zooka and be thrilled.
Modifications to gas engines will get you a little more power here and there, but nothing spectacular (unless you go crazy with the money). But... upgrades to the 7.3L reap big, hairy rewards. The 7.3L is woefully detuned so soccer moms, lead-footers, and teens can drive it in any scenario without hurting it. Throw a few gauges (to monitor things you can hurt) and a tuner on it and there is a savage beast within. My extended-cab Superduty weighs 8000 pounds, with me at the wheel. It goes from 0-60 in a little over 6 seconds (according to the computer interface I have for the truck) and it goes from 0-20 in less than one second, which is where gassers usually fall short. I once had a 1966 mustang with the 289 and 4-speed. It was fast, but it wasn't this quick. Diesel has a ton of torque at low RPMs, which translates to acceleration when empty - then the turbo kicks in and burns fart-tube ricers down until you near the 100 MPH limit. I have over 1/4-million miles on my stock injectors and a stock turbo (I think the turbo was serviced before I bought the truck), and Stinky got attitude (links to my mods in my signature). If you just want plain ol' dependability and longevity until your coffers can cough up a concoction for clout, the 7.3L delivered this for me. Stay stock and be happy, or break out the Buck$Zooka and be thrilled.
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