I'm looking for a one-ton truck for towing, and not only is my budget not that robust, but also I would love to get a manual if I could find one. So, the F350 7.3 PS is on my list. But, I owned a 7.3 PS before (1996 E-Super Duty RV) and it was a POS. For how well regarded this engine seems to be, I'd like to know if my experience was normal or if I was just exceedingly unlucky. I've had odd luck with cars. '81 Caddy V8-6-4 - no trouble at all, despite high mileage. Everything worked and kept working.

'96 7.3 PS - cam sensor went out (stranded me) around 64,000 miles. Alternator went out (stranded me) around 70,000. High pressure oil pump went out, according to the guy I sold it to, around 74,000 miles. He told me, as he was driving it to his location (across the country), that it was drinking a quart of oil every 100 miles. I had it from around 62,000 miles to 74,000. It mostly sat for the last 1 1/2 years that I had it, but I fired it up at least once a month (less often in the winter) and moved it back and forth to keep stuff lubed up and keep the tires from developing flat spots.

For a well-regarded engine, this seems like a lot of critical stuff going bad at relatively low mileage. What say you, about this? Why should I give the 7.3 PS another look?

 

Cam sensors go out on all engines, My 69 140 CAM sensor went and changed it to points since it was too much money and required engine removal behind the fly wheel which has not been off in 56 years.
Alternator does a lot of work for the glow plugs. I expect them to go sooner than a gasser
HPOP eating oil, maybe they didnt know what they were talking about.

I bought my F350 with 205k miles on it 10 years ago.
Never left me stranded and has been fun to learn and fix.
I had some odd luck with mine but I am happy with it.

 

There are a couple sensors as mentioned that will cause the engine to not run well, but ive not ever had any serious issues that left me stranded.

i cant speak for the van setup in your motorhone, but regular maintenance checks really are a good thing in thes engines. Not much more then making sure the fluid levels are topped off.

That all being said, these are not "cheap" engines. They do require maintenance. Not much i can think of in the cheap, manual trans diesel category. Maybe pre powerstroke Fords or the 62/6.5 GM trucks.

 

For the luck with your previous truck, that seems fairly abnormal for a low miles truck, aside from the CPS, those can be a crap shoot some times. I always keep one in the glovebox as cheap insurance.

as for the next truck you are planning to buy, it is hard to say. Low mile trucks are hard to come by and they are pricey when you do. If you don’t like tinkering on a truck I would give some serious thought on buying an older truck as they normally need a little more love than a newer one. All of the OBS trucks are pushing 30 years old. That is a long time for a truck to be working.

I love mine but with over 300k miles, I recognize that she ain’t no spring chicken. She has never let me down but buying one used lends itself to some mystery. It will be hard to just buy and drive any truck of this vintage.

Do you know how much weight you plan to pull?

 

I might just do that if I get a 7.3 PS.

Weight: If we get my mother-in-law's camper, it'd be an easy 7,000 pounds minimum. I'm also hoping to get a car trailer... maybe a 2-car trailer. If I had a 2-car trailer, I'd probably have to be able to pull 12,000 pounds. Not sure I'd get something like that... but maybe?

I don't mind a higher mileage vehicle as long as it is in good shape. If the PS can go 500,000 miles, then one with a quarter-million still has half of its useful life ahead of it. But I don't want something that's constantly breaking down. I'm a Toyota guy and my main mount is a 2008 Sienna that I got with 151,000 miles and now has over 337,000, still going strong. It left me stranded a couple of times in the 180's, but once I got that stuff ironed out, it's hardly been in the shop. That's the kind of reliability I have as my baseline.

I don't mind wrenching on a vehicle, as long as it's not a huge PIA. I do like doing my own work when it doesn't require specialty tools or special know-how.

 

I like to think that I do the maintenance as I should. Most of my vehicles seem to do fairly well under me. Which fluids does the 7.3 PS tend to consume to an alarming extent under normal circumstances? Really, even if it drinks a couple of quarts of oil between changes, the volume of oil in the crankcase would suggest that it could drop a couple of quarts and not have noticeable trouble. Maybe?

I wouldn't mind an IDI or the GM diesels you mentioned... if I could somehow boost the power output so that they could handle the loads I intend to pull. I had a 6.5TD and it seemed to be somewhat gutless over 60mph. I'd get another one, though. It wasn't too bad for its mileage, as far as repair requirements. I see huge 5th wheels and travel trailers from the early 1980s... how did those older diesels pull them with their relatively low torque output?