[forwheeler]

I wonder how many miles is the max for the 7.3 before it just wears out. I know maintenance is a major factor.

How many miles do you have? Does anyone have over 400k?

I'm looking at at truck with 278k.

 

[RopinandRidin]

The one that I lost in the wreck had 663,000 miles on it and all I ever did was replace a starter, an alternator, glow plugs, injector o-rings and oil cooler o-rings. I used Rotella and changed oil every 8-12,000 miles. I pulled a 50' step deck trailer and a 30' stock trailer and at least half of it's total miles were run with the whole setup grossing at least 15-20,000 lbs and a fair amount in the 30-35,000 range. When I wrecked the truck, the engine was barely touched and I may actually still use it in another truck.

The one sitting next to it in my driveway only pulled a t.t. and was empty most of the time but it has almost 350K on it and had similar maintenance stuff like the glow plugs and o-rings replaced.

 

[SmokeyWren]

International and Ford designed the 7.3L to last a mean of 250,000 miles under average maintenance. But average maintenance means horrible maintenance by my definition. So well-maintained engines can expect to last over 400,000 miles. With commercial usage so they rack up lots of miles every year, you can expect over 500,000 miles before the first overhaul. But for Average Joe that puts on 20,000 miles per year on the truck, then about 20 years or 400,000 miles is about all you can expect, even with outstanding maintenance. Mine's over 10 years old now, with less than 200,000 miles, so I'm expecting it to last another 10 years with continued excellent maintenance and less than 20,000 miles per year.

I'm looking at at truck with 278k.

Miles are not nearly as important as how those miles got there and the maintenance the engine received over those miles. If my truck had 278K, I would expect it to last at least another 100k. But if Joe down the street had 278k on his, I'd expect it to go into the dumper any day now.

So if the owner has maintained meticulous records that show every oil change, every fuel filter change, every coolant change, then I wouldn't worry so much about the miles on the engine.

Of course, other than the engine the diesel Ford are just another truck. So the rest of the truck might not last as long as the engine. Maintenance can help there too, but the 4R100 automagic tranny and torque converter is probably not going to last as long as the engine, so knowing when it was last replaced can have an impact on your decision as to wehther to buy the truck and for how much.

 

[SIC-E]

guy on here has a van with over 760k

 

[HighwayPrisoner]

Had my 02 4X4 broke in for a little while.:wink2: Check my signature. Now about those low mile trucks.....

 

[TousleyParts]

We retired one of our E450 cubes a few months ago

436,000, (all highway), original E40D, original turbo, I think a few of the injectors were even original (if didn't run too well in the end:lol

It was sold at an auction; with some TLC, it will hopfully make someone a cheap work truck.

I do remember a E350 cargo van (used as a hotshot truck) that came in our shop a few years back with over 600,000 on it

 

[pwrstrkd]

miles

depends on the usage and how well the engine was taken care of. With proper maintenance and if its not abused, it will last as long as you want to own in. Anywhere from 500,000 to 800,000 miles.

 

[HighwayPrisoner]

depends on the usage and how well the engine was taken care of. With proper maintenance and if its not abused, it will last as long as you want to own in. Anywhere from 500,000 to 800,000 miles.

Or longer:thumbsup: A friends 02 also has over 800,000 miles. Funny thing they both have been chipped since new. Guages, and fs2500 by pass filtration along with the chips installed almost right away. PMR rods must not be too bad, forged would have been more reassuring.

 

[Boruco]

Bought a 1991 E350 Ambulance, got burned sooo bad.The vehicle is super clean, compression test was actually good, but the smoking was not an injector. I pressurized the radiator, 15 lbs, drove volumes of coolent into the crankcase. I believe the block is perffed/cavitated. My question to the loyalist out there, is : are low miliage 7.3 IDI engines still in existance??? If buying from another state, how or who can be trusted? The other question is : are there any professional shops that can successfully sleeve this engine?? l have read too many nightmares. A response would be appreciated. Boru.

 

[69mach1377]

^ using the wrong coolant mix is another topic, really. Looks like passing a radiator pressure test is a must.
Free bump and good luck.

 

[aclasshog]

I've made it a habit as of late to approach the driver of a 7.3 whenever it's convenient and ask him how many miles the truck has on it. I'm amazed at some of the replies I get these days, especially the contractors. I've heard so many 3-4 hundred thousands that it's becoming common to expect.

 

[sd73man44]

My 99 has 200k on the odometer but the engine running idle time for the first three years since it was built was in nearly twenty thousand hours. I am not bs’ing you. We were testing dual mass flywheel effects on engine accessories under idle conditions. This truck was built in 2/98. I myself ran this vehicle continuously twenty four a day until early 2001. I purchased the vehicle mid year ‘01 with 61k miles on the odometer plus the accumulated idle running time to use to pull a camper. It is doing well and hope it runs another ten years.
Here in the Midwest body corrosion is a major issue among other things so rusting away to oblivion takes many old vehicles off the roads.. I have rebuilt the front suspension once and have a rusty oil pan, already replaced most brake lines and metal ps lines, etc, etc. I don’t really worry about the engine much, it’s the other components that are recycling themselves. At 200k it’s doing fine.

 

[klhansen]

We were testing dual mass flywheel effects on engine accessories under idle conditions.

How did that work out? Your '99 should have come with a single mass flywheel. 😕

 

[sd73man44]

How did that work out? Your '99 should have come with a single mass flywheel. 😕

Yes it is single, we put it back to stock before I purchased the vehicle. If there was no cutting on the frame, etc the vehicles were sold to employees or went to auction. Employees could buy new vehicles on A Plan or if used they were offered as “used” on B Plan. They don’t have B plan any longer. Used to be a good savings discount.
The dual mass was good but it didn’t get released into production while I was there.

 

[klhansen]

The dual mass was good but it didn’t get released into production while I was there.

Don't understand. The 94-97 Powerstrokes with manual tranny came with a dual mass flywheel from the factory. All 99 and later trucks used a single mass flywheel.

 

[Steve83]

This '97 I just bought was abused & severely neglected. But it purrs like a kitten, and doesn't leak a drop at 290Kmi.

 

[sd73man44]

Don't understand. The 94-97 Powerstrokes with manual tranny came with a dual mass flywheel from the factory. All 99 and later trucks used a single mass flywheel.

Sorry don’t really know what I am talking about. I thought some dual mass were used in ‘02/‘03?? We were looking at Drive belt and auto tensioner Reliability issue’s when running the extended idle testing. I retired end of’01 so I lost track of the outcome of the testing. Crank reversal’s were a potential concern and wear issues on the internals of the belt tensioner. We ran these tests to determine if we needed to upgrade belt tensioner internals. We didn’t see any issues.