I know I am opening a can of worms but here it goes. I have a dilema. I have a 6.0 with 93000 that has spent the last 4 out of 6 months in the shop for various problems. I love the power and speed of the truck but I have a gut feeling that this truck is going to be a money pit that I cannot fill. So I am thinking about going to a 2003 7.3. Does anyone have or has driven both engines? How do they compare? The reliability of the 7.3 is what I am after but I also want the power. Now I can pull into traffic and it never catches up, and the throttle response is excellent. I respect all opinions on this forum and they will weigh in heavily. Please help.

 

I'd say that the reliability of the 7.3L is pretty proven. The only somewhat common failure is the CPS, which is a fairly inexpensive, easy-to-change part, that when it dies, the engine just cuts out and may not restart. Most 7.3L owners that know about this carry a spare, just in case.

As for power, the 6.0 is definitely more powerful stock to stock. Throw a programmer on a 7.3L and a 6.0 and the 6.0 is still more powerful.

However, a chipped 7.3L is definitely peppy. For a mere $75 you can get your PCM reprogrammed by DP-Tuner, or for a few hundred dollars, get a switch-on-the-fly chip with various horsepower settings. Almost all 7.3L with a dp-tuner with the 80 or 120 settings will dyno at about 300hp and 620+ torque. This is by just opening up the intake, exhaust, and adding the chip (of course, gauges are important). You'll have zero problems merging into traffic, hopping onto a freeway, or out-accelerating traffic any time you want to. They really haul once they're chipped.

To get much past 300hp on a 7.3L will require a bigger turbo and injectors, and that's when things start getting very expensive. But with just a chip, the 7.3L will be just as powerful (slightly more-so) than your stock 6.0. And it's unlikely the 7.3L will spend much if any time in the shop, unlike your 6.0.

 

I know the feeling of having an early (03-04) 6.0. We had an 04 F-550 with the 6.0 and the automatic, a dump truck, that we needed for the business. Ford bought it back with about 25,000 miles on it, the engine has blown and been replaced 4 times, and on the 5th time we refused it. Ford motor company has spent over $1M in equipment and tools to diagnose this and ONE other truck in the country having the same problem. FMC engineers from England, France, and Germany have all come to the truck and cannot figure it out. They bought us a 07 F-550 and it's doing great. We have another 07 and a 06, both 6.0's and they are trouble free. I think that in 05 they finally got them all right and they are having WAY less problems with the newer trucks.

To say it straight out, you will be disappointed in going from a stock 6.0 to a stock 7.3. If you can afford a 05 truck, i'd go that route. Same engine with less chances for problems, and it has the new look, and the new axle setup which turns amazingly sharp. But if you want a 7.3 by all means, sweet deal. If you set aside $2000-2500, i made a list of upgrade parts that you do in order, and you can certainly have a better performing rig than any stock 6.0 truck. Add another $4000 if you want a bulletproof transmission.

 

join the 7.3 club,
you couldnt give me a 6.0
but you might could give me a 6.4 in 2 to 3 years.
if reliability is key, than the 7.3 is the one for you, they are reaching 500K and still going, like strokin said,,,a few mods and youll have a reliable beast.
if the 05 grill helps, buy one off ebay as a straight bolt on.
the 6.joke has done nothing but give ford a bad wrap, also, who knows how long the 05/06 6ers will last, they may reach 100K and go boom,
we already know the 7.3 reaches 100K and its just gettin broke in.

 

Sorry but whats a CPS?

 

cam position sensor,
sends signal to computer, tells where cam is and the computer figures out when to hit each injector and such.(in a nut shell)

 

like everyone else says if you want reliable go with the 7.3

 

I'd get an 01 WITHOUT the PMR. I have an 01 with PMR

First 2 years of ANY product I won't buy unless I have no choice.

 

I was going to go 03 with the 7.3. I believe 05s are out of my range. I will look I might be able to find one. What about adding the banks big boss bundle with all the goodies. 3800$ and it is all there including a compressor wheel. I just do not know what to do.

 

International developed the VT365 (aka 6blow) as a light duty truck motor. The T444E (aka 7.3L) was designed to be a medium duty truck motor. A million School busses cant be wrong the bodies fall apart before the motor needs work. Unless you plan on modding the motor for +400RWHP the difference between forged rods and Powdered Metal will not be an issue

 

Just curious as to why you wouldn't want a 7.3 older than '03? I just bought (Oct. 11, 2005) my 99 7.3 with 88,000 miles on it. My buddy (25yr+ Ford mechanic) looked it over and said if I didn't buy it he could make a couple calls to guys that would.

So is it an age thing? Mileage? Or just styling? Just curious is all, not trying to flame or bash you. My point is that there are "older than 2003" 7.3 PSDs out there with TONS of life left. Whatever year you get, you'll love the 7.3.

 

My 7.3 has the DP 80 horse flash. I may be gettin' old, but my truck has more power than I could ever want out of it. I am completely pleased and satisfied with it, so much so that I have put two more DP units in two of our other 6 trucks at work. They range in age from 99-02 & We pull 25 & 40 foot goosenecks with these trucks, sometimes with a complete Skateboard park on them and 5 guys in the cab, to all points in the US and canada. One of them is in Red Deer Alberta as I write this, another is on its way to Nova Scotia. Our "shop truck" has been bumped into so many times that at first sight it looks like a junker, Yet I wouldn't hesitate to jump into it and run to Wichita, Oklahoma City, or anywhere else, really, because it is still reliable (a '99 with 280K on it). and believe me, it all boils down to ME to make sure these get taken care of and I'm not even THERE most of the time.
We keep spare CPSs in every truck. We keep the oil service intervals up and service the transmissions anytime we think about it because it's cheap insurance.
My boss just bought a new one with a 6.0, and it is indeed a good truck too. But my point HERE is for your money, you want solid, proven reliability, especially in a USED truck. So while there may be things that can and will go WRONG, I can't imagine putting any OTHER vehicle thru what we put THESE thru, so I am SOLD on the 7.3.

 

While I really like driving my dad's 05 6.0 I still wouldn't trade my 7.3 in on one. The 7.3 is the proven workhorse. It's earned it's stripes.

 

Some people want the latest and greatest flash that the company put in it, I suppose? I would rather have an earlier 01 that has the forged rods. Yes, you say that it is ok up to 400HP. However, sooner or later I will get to that level and want more.

 

fully loaded,,,,,,,,you should go read the post 750,000 and climbing,
thats an impressive feat, i would almost gurarantee you will never see that on the 6.0 forum