O.T. opinions, reliability of 7.3 2002 ford pickup

bradley martin · Oct 15, 2012

i posted several weeks ago, inquiring about the 4.2 vs 4.9 and was well advised to avoid the 4.2 I was looking at a'02 F250 w/ the 7.3 diesel married to a manual tranny and wondered how it would be as far as reliablity etc for a farm beater. (I am well aware that it will have more power). truck has 300,000 km (about180000 mi)and appears to be well maintained. Also in the post'96 era what was the most economical and reliable gas engine in the Ford pick-ups.

LJD · Oct 15, 2012

All the 7.3s including the indirect injected up to mid 1994, and the later direct-injected "Powersrokes" can last past 500,000 miles if cared for and not severly abused. If he truck was cared for - I'd be more worried about all the other parts of the truck. 180,000 miles is not an awful lot if the truck has been kept up and fixed as needed. In regard to fuel mileage? None of them are particulary good. 7.3 is a big engine and it's no way to make it sip fuel like a small engine. I've gotten 17 MPG a few times on a flat drive with my 4WD extended cab Ford. My old 5.9 Cummins can get 19-20 MPG doing the same. My older 1982 Chevy K10 4WD with a 6.2 diesel, 3.08 axles and a four-speed manual with overdrive (NP833) has gotten 24 MPG but is gutless.

Harold H · Oct 15, 2012

I have a 1996 7.3 with stick shift. It has over 350,000 miles and is still running great. No problems with long life at all on the 7.3 diesel.

Harold H

RodinNS · Oct 15, 2012

It's funny what the passage of time does to one's opinion of the 7.3. Back in the day I'd have called it a heap of crap. After the 6.0 came along... all of a sudden the 7.3 looks like a saint.
It's still no Cummins B5.9....

Just the same, at 300 km I'd say the 7.3 is game for just about anything to be ready to go wrong.... or it could go 200 more. If it works now look after it. If it doesn't work right now, pass on it.

IIRC, the 5.4 would have been the main engine in a 3/4 truck from that area. They also had the V10... but there's not much economy there.

For my own part... if I needed a diesel truck... it would be a Dodge.

Rod

onefarmer · Oct 15, 2012

I had a 95 f150 with a 302 and have a 96 7.3ps F250. I like both of them. Daily driving they both got the same 16mpg. Pulling a load of 120 bales of hay, the 96PS shined with better mileage. Never took a mileage reading but over a 80 mile round trip the F150 would use over half a tank of fuel. and they F250 would use less than half. Same size tanks.

Wheat Farmer · Oct 15, 2012

I have a 2002 7.3 F250 4x4 75,000 miles. It must still be new. Ha Ha. LOVE IT. I have always bought new trucks and the biggest engine. Still have a 1984 F350 4x4 6.9. The 1988 F250 460 gas was not a good trk after 80,000 miles. It is gone.

Anonymous-0 · Oct 15, 2012

My 2000 Ford 7.3 flat bed dump with the 6 speed manual transmission. Is at 220,000 miles and running well. Keeping the truck under 2000rpm I can get 18mpg.

Did the ball joints 3 times, water pump at 120k,slave cylinder at 200k and the under the valve cover connectors have been cleaned twice. A OBDII code reader for this truck is well worth the investment.Tells you which connector is having an issue etc.

I tow a skid steer weighing in at 11k + trailer, car trailer, dump trailer and portable mill all over the place. Carry a ton of wood literally twice a week+. I'm not sure what more I'd expect to get from a 1 ton work truck. Plowed with it for a few years early on. Looking to put a plow on this winter. I might do the wheel bearings next break I get as well as save some dollars for rebuilt injectors at 250k or 300k. I'll be replacing the rear springs and shocks soon.

I see similar trucks listed for $5-15k within a hundred miles. If I find one at 120k with fresh ball joints and no oil pan issues I might buy it.
I did not enjoy doing the ball joints.

I definitely don't baby my truck.

rrlund · Oct 15, 2012

Bullet proof.

Nancy Howell · Oct 15, 2012

I have a 97, F350 single rear wheel, crew cab, long bed, 7.3 diesel, 2 wheel drive, 4 sp automatic. I get 20 mpg on the hwy. 10 mpg pulling 8500 lbs in hilly terrain.

oldtanker · Oct 15, 2012

(quoted from post at 05:52:32 10/15/12) It's funny what the passage of time does to one's opinion of the 7.3. Back in the day I'd have called it a heap of crap. After the 6.0 came along... all of a sudden the 7.3 looks like a saint.
It's still no Cummins B5.9....

Just the same, at 300 km I'd say the 7.3 is game for just about anything to be ready to go wrong.... or it could go 200 more. If it works now look after it. If it doesn't work right now, pass on it.

IIRC, the 5.4 would have been the main engine in a 3/4 truck from that area. They also had the V10... but there's not much economy there.

For my own part... if I needed a diesel truck... it would be a Dodge.

Rod

LOL the Cummins diesel would be great to own.......if you could buy it in a decent shipping container.......

Rick

JayinNY · Oct 15, 2012

I did the ball joints on mine too! It wasent to bad we rented a pressing tool from advanced auto or some were. They charge you a $145 dollar deposit, but when you bring it back they refund the $145.00. Worked out good, we did my truck and my brothers, there both 4wd.

JohnDeereJimOhio · Oct 15, 2012

99 f250 7.3 with 6 speed and 185k and love it best truck i have ever owned. only done reg maintence.. Get 18-20 if i shift under 2k and get 12-14 with triler mine has 3:73 in it and runs at 2k rpm doing 70mph i pull 25 goosneck with 5-15k lbs and never had an issue. Doesnt pull as well as my old mans 01f350 diesel 6speed but again another one we havent had any issues with it has 80k on it and is still like new.

I also did ball joints not a bad job had to cut a piece of pipe to have something long enough to press them out...

ShadetreeRet · Oct 15, 2012

I feel that proper service, ie. oil changes and filters, is more critical to a diesel. other than that, when I worked in the parts dept. at a Ford dealership, I lost count of the customers who told me that they traded in a GM diesel or some even Dodge, and bragged about how much more power the 7.3 had than the others. They were a good engine.

RodinNS · Oct 15, 2012

The containers of latter years are not nearly as bad as the old lumber wagons of their predecessors. Dodge's of the last 10 years are so are a very good chassis.
Ride decent. No wind noise. Few electrical problems.
Front ends/ball joints are still an issue... but that could be said of just about anything carrying that kind of weight all day long.
Ford's oh so humble twin I-beam of the day wasn't so hot either... It always drove nice if you could keep it in parts... and tires.

Rod

Super Trucker · Oct 15, 2012

If it was maintained right the engine won"t let you down. Its the ZF trans that I would question. 6sp had more problems than the 5sp. But I still would not hesitate to buy if you like hand shakers!

495man · Oct 15, 2012

The 99 + Super Duties have solid front axle, Dana 50 or Dana 60 depending on the year/size. No TTB axle.

I've got solid front axle and leafs on the front, plus full manual hubs. Better than the Dodge setup in my opinion.

495man · Oct 15, 2012

Go for it, I like mine.

7.3L Powerstroke is decent engine, lots of life left in it. mid 2003 was the last for the 7.3 before the 6.0 snafu. The last 7.3 (01 to 03) were 275 HP with the 6-speed

The ZF 6-speed is FAR better farm trans than a M5OD in the 4.9 powered F-150's. Low enough "L" to start any load and low enough R that you can idle stuff back without touching the clutch. I haul the cattle trailer around and it's plenty easy on it, pull away in L just by letting the clutch out, no slip, just forward!

Comparing the ZF 5-speed in the older 7.3 trucks and the 6-speed, the 6-speed is a MASSIVE trans for a pickup + it has a tranny cooler on it from the factory (lines run to the radiator)

I only went with a diesel 3/4 to get the nicely geared manual trans, none of the gas job 1/2 tons with a stick are built to tow any more.

Watch for ball joints (4wd), oil pan (engine has to be removed to fix it rusted out) It's it a 4wd with the ESOF (turn switch) those can have issues with the vacuum on the hubs, stick on the floor is the way to go.

5.4 V8 and 6.8 V10 were the gassers for the 250 and 350, I'm biased on the diesel, but those engines have their fans.

RodinNS · Oct 15, 2012

Sounds like they reinvented Dodge's old lumberwagon suspension... Those old first generation trucks drive worse than a tandem on a 20K front.

Rod

bradley martin · Oct 16, 2012

Thanks for all the responses. It is kind of a moot issue in the case of the truck I was referring to.......went to show the online pictures to my wife last night and only saw a "SOLD" sign. At least when I resume looking I will be armed with more info.

495man · Oct 20, 2012

I thought it was archaic, but basic. Actually rides better than you'd think, stiff ride, but it's a truck. I also haul a camper with it and no complaints from wife & kids.

O.T. opinions, reliability of 7.3 2002 ford pickup

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