Truck Question

A couple of people around here have Ford trucks for sale with 170,000 to 190,000 miles on them and I have seen them with over 200,000. A couple are F-450's and a couple are F-550's. All are diesel 7.3 manual transmission. One has a turbo the rest do not. 1992 to 1997 or so and are cab and chassis. I know an empty truck will run down the road like no tomorrow. Put a load on it and that will tell the tale somewhat. What are you folks opinion of that many miles, are the engines on the verge of rebuild, nothing lasts forever. The cabs seem in good shape one of the frames had scaley rust on it. Any idea what a truck like that is worth 15 to 20 years old.

The 7.3 is one good engine, a lot of folks here have 300+ on them with no issues. The transmissions would not make it that long if automatic.

main weakness on the manual tranny is the clutch slave cylinder...you have to pull trans to get at it and theyre NOT rebuildable.

I've got 2 F-350 7.3's. Both good rigs.
'95 with about 260k on it, gettin kinda tired, but I think that is mostly due to abuse and some neglect on my part.
'96 has 160+k on it and runs as strong as the day I bought it. I have treated it with more kindness, but it darn sure works for a living.
Both are auto trans. I pretty well figure on buying a rebuild every 125k or so. Last one I spent a good bunch of money on in hopes it would last a bit longer. We'll see.

Ben

Can't speak for one that new. I've got an 85 with a 6.9 with better than 195,000. The local Ford mechanic tells me if I ever replace it though,look for a 7.3. Says they're indestructable. On that 85,I figure as long as the only things that ever go wrong are things that can be unbolted and replaced,it's good for the rest of my lifetime.

I have read in ads where the clutch and transmission have been replaced. Must have been because the slave cylinder should have been replaced and never was. I am not too fond of automatics in larger trucks.

I'm wondering what exacty this mechanic is referring to? 6.9 and 7.3 are basically identical engines except the 7.3 has a slightly larger bore. If anything, the 6.9s were a bit more rugged because of the thicker cylinder-walls. Late 94 and newer, when the named got changed to "Powerstroke" is a different story. Many changes.

I would say that they have given their best and someone has gotten their best....and the next person probably won't. How bout suspension components , drive shaft & joints , springs ,brakes and wheel bearings , transmission and cab mounts and body rust out? It's not just the engine. Also depends on whether you can do your own parts replacements and how many of them you can get them to allow for in the sale price. In other words "are ya feelin' lucky"??

JD, you seem a lot more knowledgeable on the IH diesels than I am, but I'll tell you what I was told from 2 different mechanics, and the parts counter man at our local NAPA (used to be with our local IH/Navistar dealer as a parts man):

I was told that the 6.9's were NOTORIOUS for breaking/cracking heads. When I was looking for a replacement engine for my 86, every one I seemed to run across also had broken heads. I was also told that this was corrected in the 7.3 IDI's. I have never personally pulled a head off of either, so don't know there is a difference or not.

In any event, I am way more satisfied with my 7.3 repower than I was with the 6.9 I pulled, but the 6.9 was beyond tired. (used a gallon of oil every +/-500 miles, depending on how I drove it) The 7.3 uses some oil (gallon every 1500 to 2k.. which is still a lot for my liking) but sure don't smoke like the 6.9

The only thing I don't like about my 7.3 is for some reason it is harder starting than my 6.9 was.. But could need new glow plugs.. I checked them about a year ago when I did the engine swap, and I always checked my 6.9 as the season started to change colder.. The few minutes to check was far better than counting on it to start and being left stranded.

I can agree about the thicker cylinder walls of the 6.9 being better though..

Brad

I've just complained to him about not having as much power for pulling my livestock trailer as I'd like to have. He told me to go to a 7.3,but to stay away from the newer ones like you said,Powerstroke.

I am a big Ford fan. I have had many and still have 2. Just to put it into perspective I had a 92 F350 4x4 flat bed dually that was pretty beat up. It had the 7.3 NA engine and it brought 2000 last year with unknown mileage. Had a 95 4 door 4x2 powerstroke that was in decent shape and it brought 4000 last year. It had 256K miles. They are great engines and trucks. The older they get the more tlc they like. JJ

Thanks for sharing your experiance and thoughts