As some of you my already know, I'm a FNG when it comes to these 7.3s, and while my confidence level in tackling just about any project is relatively high after doing last weekends project, (front brakes and rotors, tie rod- drag link and tie rod ends, and both upper and lower ball joints), I'm becoming concerned that I made a poor choice in purchasing this particular truck, F350 2WD DRW CC LWB. My concerns are as follows: there is a slight shudder when taking off from a dead stop which seems to be even more pronounced in reverse, (in reading other threads may be rear gears, IDK). The carrier bearing was replaced as condition of sale, and did make some improvement. The engine noise to me seems much different than my previous 6.0 PSD. At idle sounds fine, but while on the road at RPM range 1200 to 1800 with little load on motor, and keeping throttle input from causing down shift, the engine noise get noticably louder and lower in tone. While I don't know if it is a low end knock, the sound has that quality, but is not present at idle or if motor is spooled up. I was wondering if re-torqueing injectors as described in Chris' explaination of the 50 cent mod, would make a difference. Speaking of spooling, the tubo seems quite a bit quiter than the 6.0, this may normal as many of my concerns. It appears I'll be doing rear breaks soon as well. I am quickly coming to the beleif this truck was not as well maintained as was led to beleave. If some of this sounds like they would be Big$ to repair I may consider cutting my losses on this one and make better choice on the next. I guess I am looking for some reassurance that the truck is maintainable and can be restored to good working order without draining my pocket book. BTW how does one create a signature, or does that come after some required # of posts. Any input would be appreciated.

 

Sir s 6.0 and 7.3 are TWO different things! Theyre are alot of sounds you will notice different. You will love your truck once you figure out your problems. My guess is the gears as stated or possibly belt slipping inside your transmission.

Signature. Do the same thing you did to get your Avitar. Click user CP then Signature.

 

You need 25 post to make a sig and there is no belt in the transmission to slip.

 

Bands sorry. I know what i meant.

 

I figured it would be a min # of post to unlock signature............Doing some more research sounds like Foil Delete and Whicked Wheel will get 'er to whistle. Haven't had the truck a month yet, so still learning. You guys like I'm safe in the low end. Truck is a complete stocker. Boy I hope the rear ain't goin', that'll cut into my mod budget, which disappeared with all the front end work.

 

no problem, i knew what you were getting at.....

 

Brandon every truck is maintainable . It is hard to find a truck that is in tip top shape and even then it still could have it's share of problems. If that truck makes you happy then I would stick with it. If not make a list on things that needs to be repaired and cost it will take to get it fixed. Then you can see if its worth it. Good luck..............

 

I love my 2001 truck. Read my signature.

 

Like your first reply, the 6.0L and the 7.3L are two different ball games. The 7.3L is fairly quiet at idle and as soon as you romp on it, it's gonna roar! In stock form, the 7.3L doesn't whistle much at all... the 6.0 has a pretty cool whistle when opened up. To get it outta our trucks, you'll need the foil delete, wicked wheel, exhaust, and air filter (a 6637 is a great alternative to expensive air filters!). Do that and it'll scream! Mine has a slight shudder at startup if I romp on it, but only in first gear (it's a trans problem I think... I'll NEVER do another Jasper... EVER! 40K and it's crap!). But I can't help you with the shutter... my rear is fine. The reason I suspect so is because unlike all the other rears I've seen from trucks younger than mine, my rear is dry as a bone, no leaky seals or anything!

Hang in there with the truck... it'll have some bugs to work out, but once it's straight, you'll build confidence enough to drive it from one side of the country and back again! Believe me, I just finished with oil-related problems (stupid stuff... O-rings, stuck regulator, etc). All cost under $100 to fix and it's running like a top! Just hang around here and there are guys on here that'll get you straight! Also, Clay at Riffraff Diesel is not only a good source for parts, but info as well!

BTW, I'm at 295K and counting... there's a member on here with 325K on his and he drives it everyday.

 

How many miles do you have on your truck? Even low mileage trucks will have issues if not properly maintained. However, now that you have it, it's not too late to get it running in tip-top shape. Just ask a lot of questions, there are plenty of members here with tons of knowledge to share.

 

Yeah, I've got things going out now that alot of others have said went out LONG before where I'm at now... like, so many people have had injector O-ring problems. However, I have no oil in my fuel (from upper O-rings) and no obvious oil burning (from lower O-rings). I watched my rotational velocity and the worst I saw was 2% difference in one or two cylinders. Not enough to worry about, but the injectors are finally starting to show... Clay from Riffraff said he talked to a guy that had over 400K on the original injectors and he still hauls all over the country with that truck!

 

The truck has 194k on it. I know any problem can be fixed, it is just how much am I willing to spend fixing someone else's neglegence. Overall, I think the truck is sound mechanical shape, no oil in the valley, no appearent leaks in rearend, no smoke at start up and idle, some when you stomp on it as would be expected. Got some running board lights out, PDLs not working, paint touch-ups and stupid stuff like that. All easily handled, when i get 'round to it. The thing that worried me most was engine noise, the 6.0 was so much more different, the thing that kept jumping into my mind was it sounded "loose" as compared to the 6.0. I have found you guys to be an excellent resource and feel indebted to you all who have helped me. When I first brouhgt the truck home, was having A/C prob, clutch not cycling, found the solution here and had it fixed in 15 min in the driveway. Anyway, what would be my next steps in determining engine health? Would re-torquing injectors and rockers be possible solution? What kind of code reader should I get to view operating parameters? How can I find a FTE member in my area, if one exists? Thanks all.

 

AutoEnginuity...

It's gotta be the best consumer-available product out there! Call Clay and he'll tell you more about it. It's a program you run on your computer and read data, retreive DTC's, and you can even change a few values (I changed my tire size to make it read right for the first time in almost 200K... the odometer is off quite a bit now... gotta be at least 10K that aren't on the odometer).

 

It wouldn't hurt to pull the valve covers and retorque everything. It's cheap peace of mind and it probably needs to be done - or at least checked. Plus you can do the 50 cent mod for the harnesses and if you really want to, replace the glowplugs before the cold weather settles in. These engines do sound differently than the 6.0's but no reason to worry too much. It's just a difference in design. Maybe some folks in the WA area are close by and can give you a hand.

 

I'd pull the rocker covers and re-torque the rockers and injectors. Might as well do the 50 cent modd in there too.

As far as the noise. These trucks are different from the 6.0s. I would do the in-tank mods soon though. That may quiet some of the noise down that you hear...

Just remember that the 7.3 is head and shoulders above the 6.0