I'm new to this forum, and new to diesels. I've read pages and pages of the info here on the older models diesels and have learned a lot. Thanks to all of you guys for your insight. Presently, I'm living in Afghanistan and writing this from several time zones away from you all. And, just an interesting bit of information, every motor running here is a diesel. No gas, no gas motors. I even pour the stuff into my dirt bike that was manufactured in china. I've never seen anything like it. Anyway, my concern - this cavitation that you all talk of, how can one tell that it might be a problem on a 7.3 motor? I'm looking to purchase a 1992 7.3 with 85K original miles. One could go out and check the coolant with the test strips as you suggest, and all might be fine. But, how can you tell if the motor has been kept up since it first entered service? Is there a minimum mileage that one should look at before being concerned about wall wear/damage? I mean, it seems to me, that purchasing an older model 7.3 motor is basically a crap-shoot when it comes to this cavitation problem. What is considered proper maintenance now, might not have been the case 10 years ago. I guess I'm looking for some type of way of determining whether or not this motor might have cavitation problems short of opening up the thing and looking inside. I mean, 85K? Is it such a concern, yet? Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

 

my way of thinking is that this truck is 14 years old. it it ain't gone yet, it was properly taken care of. every engine that i have ever seen go south due to cavatation went within the first 4 years of being manufactured.

 

That helps as far as this particular truck is concerned. But, if a vehicle had multiple owners, that might not be the case, even if the mileage was still rather low. Are the newer versions of the 7.3 motor still subject to this problem? Or, was it addressed and remedied by a certain year model?

 

Got a 91 and a 93 7.3l and neither truck has shown any cavitation issues. Both trucks got a good maintenance history in regards to coolant servicing and still have the factory radiators.

Dads got a 92 7.3l with almost 400k and had to replace his radiator once as he did not stay on top of his coolant treatment.

Bottom line is whether the truck you are looking at has been serviced properly over the years. An engine replacement is not cheap and can cost you $5,000.

Being a later model 7.3l is probably a good thing, although I am not aware that Ford ever made design changes to resolve the cavitation issue before the 7.3l was no longer used.

 

the cavitation is a wearing away of the cylinder walls or block itself. If you take oil and coolant sampling , this excessive metal will show up there. I dont know why it exists in diesel engines so much but it does. Additives to the coolant are available from different manufacturers.

 

I wouldn't sweat it, my 6.9L had 200,000+ when I rebuilt while swapping it into another truck, another 40,000+ since with nothing more than regular antifreeze and water. A good friend of mine has had a 6.9L that he recently sold with over 600,000+ miles and a 7.3L with 550,000+ miles that were both still running great and neither had the SCA treatment.

I agree with the other guys, if it was going to cavitate and fail, it would already have done it. I would be more worried about the glow plug system being up to snuff and it not using/burning oil.

Bowedup