I used to have the V-10 and found out there were better years for design and performance and was just wondering if that applies to the 7.3 PS as well?

Which year was the best engine?

 

97!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! hahahaha....well thats my opinion anyway, but the 03's have powdered rods and i think some of the others do too, mine has the nice forged rods in it, and you can put your hpop right on mine and i already come with a bigger turbo than yours(hence the need for your wastegate)

 

Late 99 or 00 (forged rods, bigger hpop,bigger stix,bigger turbo)with the PMT1 tune from an 02 to early 03( better lockup of TC in all gears, HP is turned up a little) and then throw some custom tunes on top of that.

 

To me, the later the better. The only thing is the PMRs already pointed out. And that's only if you plan on going above 400HP and/or sprays/drugs. That requires a substantial investment, so if you are planning on going above that, a set of rods is the least of your worries. They are forged until early '01 IIRC, and those are good for up to about 500HP, I think. I like the newer trucks and I don't plan on a 400HP+ PSD or sprays -- PMRs are a complete non-issue for me.

 

I'd try to find a 2000 model, that has the trans cooler in the radiator. Later models have the PMR type rods, and earlier models don't have the trans cooling in the radiator. Although, not all 2000 models have the trans cooling in the radiator. Brian at BTS said mine was one of the few '00 models he's seen like that.

 

My '99 4x4 with ZF-6 has forged rods and a tranny cooler in the radiator.