Given that the 7.3 (445 c.i.) gas engine has been in service for more than 3 years what is the verdict coming from owners, users on how it is performing in regards to mechanical problems, fuel consumption, performance, etc., of this engine combination? I'm looking at purchasing a low mileage 2020 model.

Is there any consensus on how the 10 speed automatic regarding performance and durability?

 

Well, since the forum isn't full of blown up engines and transmissions, it would seem the 7.3 10 speed combo is working pretty well for owners. Good luck finding ANY type of consensus on an internet forum. You just need to take the opinions with a grain of salt.

My truck is a 2022 7.3 10 speed with about 58k miles on it now. I have towed and hauled with it, plowed snow with it, done empty road trips with it and I have yet to do anything other than gas tires oil, though I did replace the crap factory shocks. Never been to a service center for a repair.

I think the 10 speed generally sucks in operation but so far, it has not broken on me. It has the same harsh shifts and clunks it has had since new. I think 10 gears is probably 2 too many. The thing is ridiculously busy, I liked the six speed better but it isn't like they gave us a choice.

Choosing a first year version isn't something I would do but it seems most of them have been trouble free. Good Luck

 

I have had a 2020, 2022, and another 2022 all F-350 CCSB with the 7.3L, 10 speed, and 3.73LS rear end. All have performed flawlessly. I tow a 36' long, 10k# travel trailer.

Empty around town I get 10-11 mpg
Empty on the highway at 72 mph I get 14-15 mpg
Pulling my trailer I get 8 mpg.

I don't tow often enough or heavy enough to justify the diesel.

There were some early issues with the 7.3L primarily on the E series in motorhomes with bad spark plug wires, but I have never experienced that. All has been well.

Good luck shopping!

 

Ooooh, I missed fuel consumption, I love the fuel consumption. So it seems a bit use and rear end dependent. If you are going to tow over 15k regularly you need the 4,30 rear end IMO. Below that the 3.55 and 3.73 (F350) ratios give pretty good mpg for trucks like this. Last spring we did an empty 2 week road trip from CO to FL and back the long scenic way, 5500 miles, lots at 80+ on interstates and my truck returned 15.5 mpg. This is on 35" tall GoodYear Duratracs big block F350 3.73,.4x4 and not running slow.

Around home in the summer I see 16-17, in the winter more like 13-14. Towing the gooseneck with my old F250 on it to Kansas was 9.5-10 loaded, 11 coming home empty. This 7.3 10 speed truck is getting 3-4 mpg better than my last steel body 6.2 3.73 six speed auto truck. No complaints on fuel mileage from me

 

7.3 seems to be pretty bullet proof so far even though some 2020 rvs and cube vans had some spark plug wire issues. Also there is the internet hyperhole of lifter failures just no trucks on this forum yet.

My '21' has 97k miles on now with no issues so far.

Go down to the 7.3 section and browse there.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/forum307/

 

After servicing a handful of 7.3L/10R140 drivetrains in F450-F600 models since 2020, I purchased myself one last year and very much enjoy its performance. Off the top of my head I want to say I service six of them and more than half have surpassed 100k without issue so far. The others are not far behind in mileage again without issue.

2020 models did have a few hiccups, spark plug wires, transmission valve body crossleaking between solenoids, and transmission general shift engagement harshness complaints that were remedied or not with a software reflash.

Very limited to no experience on my end with light duty or unloaded pickup truck performance, but in the heavy chassis work trucks 7.3L/10R140 is

 

Mine is coming up on the 30,000 mile mark and has developed an oil leak. Not the end of the world. But, a 3 year old truck shouldn’t be leaving dime size drips on my garage floor. Just noticed it a few days ago. I think it’s the front main seal.

 

Oh, I forgot the front crank seal leaking on some truck. Mine was one and replaced under warranty early in its life, no problem since.

 

I purchased a 2022 DRW 7.3/3.73 and grossed 27,580lbs which is 3580lbs over Fords recommended GVWR. I towed about 20k miles that way without any issues besides a driveshaft imbalance.

Nov. 2021 I ordered a 2022 DRW 7.3/4.30 truck and I couldn't get any information out of Ford until a Build week email the week before it was built in June 2022 and it was delivered until July 2022. I am now 420lbs under the GVWR. I have 13k miles on this combo.

7.3/3.73 XLT Premium DRW 20k miles 7980lb curb weight empty. 14mpg average city and highway. Mostly city was 12.5mpg. 5.9mpg was the worst towing and that was going from 1500ft to 4500ft back to 1500ft and back up for 400miles. The best was 720 miles from Chatanooga to Michigan my wife was driving behind my in my OBS and she got 8.4mpg but we never exceeded 65mph on I-75. I hypermiled the truck and drove like there was an egg under the pedal when not towing and the transmission was pretty flawless. I had 2 hard shifts and 1 shift from Park to Drive where the truck surged forward as soon as it went into gear. I only used Tow/Haul mode when coming up to a hill and shut it off after reaching the bottom because both trucks stay in gear for way longer than any human would ever before upshifting at the bottom of a grade. 2 of my trailer brakes weren't working in BC and I had to descend an 8%-6%-9% hill and the truck shifted down to 2nd gear 5500rpm and I had to tap the brakes 5 times to stay between 40 and 50mph. Had I had all 4 trailer brakes like I do now and the truck brakes I wouldn't have had to touch my brakes as much.


22' 7.3/4.30 XLT Premium DRW 7720lb curb weight 14k miles (10k towing) 13mpg average highway and 12.5mpg city. 6-6.5mpg towing in hills. 7mpg once on flat ground. Broke in the 10spd the same way driving like there was an egg under the pedal and haven't experienced more issues than the previous truck. I have done more city driving with my 5th wheel hooked up and I put it in Tow/Haul while in the city towing now to prevent the 1-3 skip shift and having to immediately stand on the brakes to hold the trailer back.

I'm comparing these to my 2005 F250 with a 5.4L/5R110 3.55s that got 11mpg winter and 13-14mpg summer and my 2005 F350 DRW 6.0/5R110 4.10s 20mpg empty on the highway 18mpg around town. 8-8.5mpg towing my same 5th wheel.

I've owned 5x 460s C6, E40D and ZF5. The C6 got 6-7mpg grossing 20k lbs. One truck with a c6 4.10 gears and 35s was turning on the highway more RPM than my Godzilla turns at 70mph towing 17k lbs. That truck got 5-6mpg empty. My ZF5 gets 11mpg empty 10.5mpg towing 7k lbs and 8mpg towing 12k lbs in 5th gear. 7mpg in 4th gear.

I have smelled coolant outside the truck after towing especially in the heat but my oil is clean and I cant find anywhere it is leaking. Every single 460 I've owned has also smelled like coolant after working it hard and I never had any issues with any of them. I also experienced the same surge from Park to Drive on both 2005 5R110 trucks but those older trucks were much worse almost every week it would happen. Changed fluid at 100k miles in the 5.4L's transmission but never towed with it and changed the 6.0's trans fluid at twice in 89k miles and the issue never resolved in either transmission.

I dont suspect I will have any mechanical issues with this engine or transmission for the first 100k miles. From 7th-10th gear I dont feel the 10spd shift at all I just notice when I hear the engine RPM change. My 7.3 is smooth as glass at all RPM. I dont know if that is just how great the balancing is on the engine or if all the rubber grommets and bushings are doing their job.

My biggest complaint about the engine is the drive-by-wire programming. Multiple times I've tried to stomp on it and the delay between my foot and the momentum change seems far too long. I will be looking into a 5star tuner or other companies if they ever get on board with creating tunes and fixing the tranny shifting. 5star always downshift to 3rd when you give it a lot of gas I believe which would be way better than sometimes I would like to forced a 2-3 or maybe 4 gear downshift and it goes only 1 or 2 at a time because of the drive-by-wire.

If I could do it all over again and there would have been predictability in supply I would have test driven a 3.73 truck and a 4.30 and ordered a 7.3/3.73 truck or found one on a lot somewhere how I wanted and then bought the 5star tuner for the drive-by-wire fix and the transmission shifting. The tunes would be a bonus for a little extra power.

Fastest/most powerful truck I've ever owned and the maintenance is pretty cheap.

 

I have almost 700 miles on mine now with no complaints.

 

Drive by wire is awful on every modern vehicle I have run in the mountains. They only allow a certain amount of engine braking before it opens the plate. My Raptor did it, my Power Wagon did it, my wife's Rubicon does it, and with the manual and unpredictable nature of the computer decisions, makes for a jerky ride off road sometimes. My truck will rarely pick a low gear and engine brake on the 2-3 mile downgrade I drive daily. Even when it does choose third and engine brake, it always gets to a point where it just rolls because the computer opens the throttle. I would guess this is to keep air flowing through the engine/exhaust to keep emissions happy. If it worked like and old school throttle body or carb, it would engine brake all day long consistently. I think I asked 5 star if their tune corrects this but have never gotten an answer about it regarding anybody's tunes or a pedal commander.

 

shoddy plug wires were on the trucks as well. quit a few people on the tremor forum reported problems

 

I'm very fond of mine. Very good mileage for a truck this size. About once every two weeks it will give a funny shift but I don't think there's anything wrong with it.
No problems with rapid acceleration. 18 months in at 12,000 miles.

 

The 7.3L engine was one of the last platforms myself and current owner of 5 Star develop. Cant say enough positive about the 10 speed and 7.3L . I have many 7.3L trucks now and use these in my other business working them daily and towing / hauling in a real world setting. I have 3 cab and chassis models all set up to get full truck RPM with no issues. Yea i have had some spark plug wire issues but did upgrade to the better wire which has fixed those issues. Overall solid performing engine in my book.

 

Most likely your just smelling the coolant overflow tank venting if hot coolant got pushed into it. I had the same thing happen on a different truck and was crawling all over the truck trying to figure out what was leaking. When I was talking to a buddy about it he mentioned the overflow venting. The next time i noticed it, i put a plastic bag under the cap to seal it and went for a short ride and the smell went away until i pulled that bag off. Since i never saw a leak the whole time i owned that truck, It had to be that.