Hi, I am a new Ford owner, and I bought 2002 F350 7.3 with 180K. anyway, I going to pick up the truck in Houston,TX, and drive the truck back to San Diego,CA (1500 miles). my question is, can I drive the truck non stop? or should I drive in intervals?
I've never owned a diesel before, and I'm afraid to damage the truck.

by the way, I have some one to drive back with me, so driving for 20 hours straight is no problem.

any help will be appreciated

 

These trucks LOVE long trips like that. The longer the better, in my opinion. Go for it. I know diesels don't like doing errands around town.

Oh yeah! WELCOME AND GREAT PICK ON THE 7.3!!!

 

I agree also, set the cruise and have sandwiches packed, diesels love road trips. Congrats on the truck and welcome to FTE.

 

Get the oil changed, check the tires, fluids, belt, tensioner, batteries. (They have two.)
If all is good, drive it!
You will LOVE this truck.

 

Don't worry about a thing. I have driven from MA to FL 25 hrs only stopping to fuel up. For best MPG try to keep the RPM's @2K or a bit under.

Have a safe trip and welcome to FTE. You picked out a great truck.

 

Good advice here. It won't hurt to check out the air and fuel filter too before you drive back. Set the cruise control and sit back and enjoy the ride. Try not to fall asleep in West Texas, that's a long stretch of road out there.

You will need to stop for fuel, but that's about it.

 

Where in Houston? I am on north side of Houston. If you need something while here, give me a holler!

 

I bought mine in Arlington (DFW area) and brought it back to Reseda non-stop. 75 MPH most of the way, too.

Just make sure you have clean oil, air filter, and all the fluids and tire inflation topped off before you start.

Pop

 

Yeah, when I bought mine in Houston I checked the tire pressure, oil, and fuel filter and drove it back to Albuquerque, New Mexico. No problems yet! (knock on wood). You'll LOVE that truck and just wait till PMS hits! Get the supporting mods and then a DP tuner = TOTALLY DIFFERENT TRUCK! Not to get the wagon before the horse.... drive safe and enjoy the truck!

 

Yeah, like a ride from the airport so that he can see the full potential that these trucks can do.

 

Hey, hey, hey!

Let's not SCARE the new guy!

Not speed, or acceleration, but mod money!

Pop

 

you guys are awesome, thanks a lot for helping. as far as engine oil, what I know is that oil turns black in a matter of minutes, so I am not sure how to check if it is overdue, and also how do you check for fuel filter?

the seller is going to pick me up from the airport, and he is west of Houston (freeway 10 & highway 6).

Before I decided on what year to buy, I noticed a lot of 03 trucks and up are cheaper than 99-02. it seemed to me that must be something wrong with those 03 and up, so I did a lot of research on this site, and I found out that I should stay away from 6.0

I know some of you want to see my new truck, here is the link
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...iewitem=<br />

I think the link is not working, ebay item number is 230327886395

 

Unless you're 100% sure the oil has been changed recently, I'd go ahead and get it changed before you take the trip. The 7.3 uses a HEUI injection system, so the fuel injectors are fired off of high pressure engine oil. This means clean, full oil is vital to how well these trucks run. Proper oil change intervals will go a long way in making your new truck last a very long time. The oil change will be cheap insurance, and besides, without knowing when it was last changed, how will you know when it needs changing anyway?

The fuel filter is under the plastic appearance cover on top of the motor. Here's a link with instructions on how to change it that includes pics. Welcome to guzzle's PSD Fuel Filter Change Web Page If it looks dirty, I'd go ahead and change that too.

For the long trip, you might want to go ahead and pick up a spare CPS (cam position sensor) to be on the safe side. That is the weak link on our trucks. Some go for a couple of hundred thousand miles with no issues, some fail sooner. If the sensor dies, it will leave you stranded. It's a $25 part at the Ford house and takes a 10 mm socket to change. Here's the instructions on that. Welcome to guzzle's CPS R&R Web Page<