I have such a love hate relationship with this truck it's unreal. Thought I would say hi and tell my story.

Bought the truck new. Within a few months it only started when it wanted too. One time it would fire right up, next time it would just crank and crank.

I took it to the dealer where it sat for weeks because no body could figure it out. Finally they called in some top dog tech from a different state. He finally figured it out. I can't remember what it was, its been way too many years ago for me to remember. Never had a starting problem since.

At approx 20k miles the transmission started slipping. Truck was never abused or pulled heavy. Ford rebuilt the trans. I wanted a new trans but they wouldn't do that. At 30k the rebuilt trans started slipping. Took the truck to a transmission rebuild shop, haven't a had a problem since.

The truck chops the front tires like nothing i've seen. Shops all say alignment is fine.

Around 110k the 4x4 started working only when it wanted too. Got so sick of messing with it I have a toggle switch that moves the motor on the t case. Press the switch up its 4 low, up another time it's 4 high. Then hold it down it takes it to 2wd. I can't shift on the fly but at least it's reliable.

Around 115k an injector nozzle cracked. Replaced the injector. Around 120k another nozzle cracked. I was pissed and drove it home. Melted the piston in the process.

I found a 97 7.3 motor from a van truck. 150k miles. Complete. Got it cheap. Was a very very clean motor.
I replaced every O ring and gasket while the motor was out. Wanted to make it as reliable as possible. Replaced injector cups and injectors.

Did the swap, motor ran beautiful. The original motor never ran this nice. I was all happy, figured I wouldn't have any repairs for a long time.

Its been a few years. No problems other than some leaks now that I need to take care of asap. Oil pan grey silicon seal is leaking bad. Engine oil dip stick on the side of the pan is leaking bad. Oil pan and dip stick adaptor was replaced with motor out of truck. Shouldn't be having any problems now.

There is a leak on the passenger side head. Hoping it's just a plug, but it looks like the oil is seeping from the head gasket. But that's not common on the 7.3 so I'm hoping for the best. The valley is dry. I was hoping it was the big plug in the back of the head leaking, but the oil isn't going to fly forward and land on the head. So I will really have to look into this.

Quite a bit of oil is coming from the torque converter cover. I'm sure hoping its from the leak on top of the motor running down and not the rear main seal. The rear main wasn't replaced because the 7.3 isn't known for that problem and it wasn't leaking when I installed the motor so I figured it was best not to mess with it.

A question I have is. Since its a 97 motor it has the small intake plenums. Is it worth putting on the larger SD ones?
I'm putting a SD turbo on. The reason being is, with the 97 turbo, I had to grind a chunk of the uppipe collector to get the fuel fitting to turn onto the fitting in the drivers head. Its so close you can hardly put a piece of paper between the fitting and the collector.

With the SD turbo, pedestal and uppipes the turbo will sit higher and give clearance for the fitting and peace of mind. And yes, I know I need a SD manifold for the drivers head. And I know I need a SD intake spider. And I know the SD spider won't connect to the small plenums. Is it worth it to change them out to the riff raff billet ones or just get intercooler boots that reduce down?
truck is basically stock.

I'm about at my wits end with this truck. It seems like there is always something.

 

Won't make any difference as far as clearance really. You'll just have to grind the up pipe flange instead of the collector. The late model pedestal is 1 5/8" taller if I remember right.

 

Yes,stepping on 3" intake plenums is an upgrade,even on stock vehicle.

 

I feel your pain.... But, if you bounce around all of the truck Bulletin boards (GM, Dodge, Ford, etc) you will find similar issues. I have no answer, other than we are all in the same life raft, together. All I can do is to try and keep up proper maintenance, run the best lubricants and fuel I can get and when one of those little mechanical gremlins shows it's head, deal with it as soon as possible.

Best of luck with your equipment.

Hobo

 

Original owner...that’s pretty rare these days. Sounds like you got a Monday morning/Friday afternoon truck though.

 

To be completely honest, the more I learn about these engines/generations, the more I want to get an IDI truck, even if it is slow.

 

You're right about rear main seal being a very rare leak on a 7.3. So look up on top, that's where they usually leak. Could be the passenger side fuel line where it clamps near the turbo, very common.

If my truck I'd say Riff Raff plenums. But maybe reducer boots is the right call since you seem to be rid of it.