Tow Vehicle Acquired... finally

[TunaHead]

Thanks to all of you for your advice on trucks to tow the V. Last weekend Janine and I travelled ~ 3 1/2 hours north to Grants Pass, Oregon to look at a truck I had seen on Craig's list. I drove home in a 1995 F250 7.3 liter turbo diesel 4x4 with dual gas tanks and a crew cab. It's a two-tone blue over silver with only 178,000 miles. One ding in the tailgate but otherwise in excellent shape and very clean. Set me back $6,850 which is a pretty good price around here.

I'm still looking for excuses to drive it anywhere ;)

TH

[bradford]

You shouldn't have any problems pulling up the ramp with that.

[reelapeelin]

Yup!!...that'll tow the V alright...and the HOUSE if ya wanna:clap:

[rambilt]

You did good. I've heard the 7.3 is a good engine compared to the newer 6.0. the pulling power that you have now offset the diesel prices.

[THEFERMANATOR]

YEP, that ill do it. You won't even know the V is back there with that. Trailer brakes? He don't need no stinkin trailer brakes. Although I'm sure he won't ever sneak up on anyone at the ramp either. My only real complaint about the 7.3L is it is pretty noisy, but they sure are reliable. Just carry a spare CPS and the tools to change it with you at all times. The CPS is the 7.3's achilles heel, but pretty minor compared to most any other engine out there.

[bcmarinamanager]

i guess that'll be okay. Of course I'm kinda parcel to Dodge. You just can't beat a Cummins. We get it done with six compared to eight, but who's counting??

[willy]

Good luck with it Tuna, you'll be cruising now:clap:

[THEFERMANATOR]

You just can't beat a Cummins. We get it done with six compared to eight, but who's counting??

So what your trying to say is "You would rather be CUMMIN than STROKIN, but you know to do either you gotta be LIKE A ROCK". Sorry I'm a GM guy, but the 7.3L is a BEAST!

[bcmarinamanager]

5.9 litre 350hp, 600lbs/ft. stock ......nothing touchs that.....period.

[THEFERMANATOR]

5.9 litre 350hp, 600lbs/ft. stock ......nothing touchs that.....period.

Dmax 365 650 stock(but with some MAJOR torque management). The CUMMINS 600 is supposed to be 325HP according to some reading over at DTR.

[macojoe]

Congrats!!

Fix Or Repair Daliy
Found On Road Dead
Factory Ordered Road Disaster
For Only Retarded Drivers


Backwards
Driver Returns On Foot
Dorks Ride On Fords
Don't Ride Over Fifty:you:


Hard core Chevy man!! But good luck you will need it!!

[spareparts]

the main reason the 7.3 is such a good motor is Ford had nothing to do with the engine, they bought it from International, Ford put more input into the 6.0 and it didn't turn out so well

[Abe460]

I was told by one of our local school board reps. (whom we deal with everyday) that the 6.0's head bolts stretch and cause damage around 75k miles.
Unfortunately I have acquired the single truck contributing to the national deficit in gas consumption. A 2001 2500HD 4x4 extended cab sporting the 8.1, 496. 9mpg while empty or pulling every broke down ford I pass. Thank God for company vehicles.

[chumbucket]

the main reason the 7.3 is such a good motor is Ford had nothing to do with the engine, they bought it from International, Ford put more input into the 6.0 and it didn't turn out so well
And the cylinders can be resleeved on the 7.3 motor. Long lifespan. :clap:

[spareparts]

i may be wrong, but last time I had one of those(7.3) down( long time ago) I believe they were dry sleeve engines. We used to use them in street sweepers, used to use the old Detroit 8.2 till they stoped making them, we used teh 5.9 Cummins till we upped the hydraulic demands, we couldn't get the Cummins to make the torque we needed at 1000 rpm(had to be emmsion legal), so we stepped up to the 7.3 high torque 195 hp, worked great in those sweepers, about the time I left, they had just started to use the 24 valve 5.9, they seemed to work pretty good. Funny thing, they bought a whole bunch of GM 6.5 NAs with no warranty from GM, we used them in the twin engine trucks(Had to use an aux engine to spin the hydraulics), they would drive them to Rocky Mount from Wake Forest, NC to break them in, half of the engines didn't make it there, they would blow the crank right out the bottom

[cterrebonne]

what kind of fuel mileage ya;ll see with the diesels?

[THEFERMANATOR]

The early 6.9L/7.3L IDI's were a non replaceable sleeve block. These were the ones that experienced the cavitation issue due to FORD not putting the coolant additive in them from the factory and they would develop pin holes through the cylinder walls into the cooling passages. I'm not sure about the 7.3 PS, but I didn't think they had replaceable sleeves. Most any engine can have custom steel sleeves put in it though.

[chumbucket]

My friends son had the 7.3 PS which he had the sleeves replaced. I don't remember what year it was though. Could have been custom too for all I know, but I thought he told me otherwise.

[spareparts]

the ones we messed with had the coolant filter(looked like a small oil filter) that had some kind of additive inside the filter, they were real strict about replacing them, and only using oem filters. On a side note, they sent me to Detroit Diesel to learn how to work on the CNG conversion of these motors, they screwed the injectors out, and screwed spark plugs in, DD had all the conversion crap on the outside including the first mass produced, fly by wire throttle plate on the American Highways. The motors worked pretty good, the only problem was CNG is not regulated per mix of gasses, so where ever the trucks went, they had to send an engineer out, have the cng sampled, then reprogram the ecm to handle the mix

[msbhammer]

Yo Tuna, glad to see that you got a new set of wheels man.

[randlemanboater]

the main reason the 7.3 is such a good motor is Ford had nothing to do with the engine, they bought it from International, Ford put more input into the 6.0 and it didn't turn out so well



Amen Brotha!!!

[nothingbuttrouble]

7.3 motor is the best diesel made ever. PERIOD. Millions of them were produced, and millions of them still run today. I have driven many F350, and superduty trucks with over 300k miles on them and they still ran great, they just start smokin a little after the years. Cummins and the GM 6.5 make some good motors too, but they dont come anywhere close to the reliability, and the proven performance of the 7.3 Just think of all the trucks that have them in it that you dont notice, ALMOST EVERY INTERNATIONAL TRUCK. Stop hating on FORDS!!! I got blue blood running through my viens.

Also, I tow my V with a Bronco, with the 5.0 in it (probably the second best motor ever made, yes its better then the GM 350), and the bronco pulls it up the ramp and down the road just fine.

Besides an F-Superduty 5 speed dually with the 7.3, the worlds second best tow vehicle is actually the new GMC 3500HD with a duramax and the allison automatic. My buddy had a wrecker with that drivetrain, and we towed a car at over 95 MPH down I-90 in NY.

[bcmarinamanager]

Cummins, Cummins, Cummins. We run a couple of pretty large forklifts here (74,000 lbs) and they run the same block in it that's in the Dodge, just tuned down in the forklift. I'll post a picture in my album. The engine has no problem running our high pressure hydraulic lines and we're picking up 18,000lbs boats and running around the marina with them. In three years since we got our last truck we've put over 2500 hours on it with NO problems and NO power issues. It is a teir two engine, so it meets the governments emissions regs for 2002. We're getting a new one next week with the teir three engine which will run cleaner than my '05 Dodge. Oh BTW My truck is getting about 15mpg in town, and if I'm driving at 55-60mph she'll get about 18-20mpg.

[cterrebonne]

[QUOTE=nothingbuttrouble;116675]

with the 5.0 in it (probably the second best motor ever made, yes its better then the GM 350),
[QUOTE]

i thought you were credible untill i read that.

[bradford]

[quote=nothingbuttrouble;116675]

with the 5.0 in it (probably the second best motor ever made, yes its better then the GM 350),
[quote]

i thought you were credible untill i read that.


DOH!!!! :zip:

[nothingbuttrouble]

Well if we can't agree on the 5.0/5.7 issue can we at least agree that the Chrysler 2.7 was the worst motor ever made.

[THEFERMANATOR]

Well if we can't agree on the 5.0/5.7 issue can we at least agree that the Chrysler 2.7 was the worst motor ever made.

NO! The 2.7 was a good engine, but unfortunately it was WELL BEYOND the point of needing EXTREME MAINTENCE! If you do the oil changes and all maintence, they will run for years and years. But if you slip up just a little on the maintence, BOOM! They just don't don't well to abuse. Worked on enough of them in my dealership days to have seen what abuse can do to them. YUGO's now there was some bad engines.

[Skools Out]

7.3 you can't go wrong much better than the 6.0 and 6.4 Fords. also better that the Cummings 5.9 I've had a 5.9 24 valve no where near the power the turbo 7.3 and i currently have a 6.5 Turbo great motor as well especially with slight mods. mine has well over 225,000 miles not an issue. just the fact fuel cost to much. GM diesels best on fuel, Ford second best on fuel Cummings SUCK SWALLOW GULP ENHAIL Fuel lol.

I've had the Ford 7.3 the 6.9 (dog to start cold)

I've had 2 Cummings 5.9 w /24 valve

I've had a 6.6 Duramax, MONSTER currently still have a 6.5 Turbo.

PS the Ford 302 will never hold a candle to a GM 350 NEVER just read any mag on them you will learn that fast.

[willy]

they ( 302& 350) are both good engines. I've had a couple of both and they always were reliable. Each had their consistent issues that neither company seemed able to completely address.
Ask the NY City cabbies, they run the chevies into the dirt, they will all tell you the same, the 350 will run crappy forever.
If you are mechanically inclined and take care of them they both will serve well, my first Bronco had a 302 with 160,000 on it when I bought it and on its first trans rebuild just before I picked it up. I bought it to beat and take off road all the backwoods places I was hunting then. Figured I run it to it died and then put in a fresh engine. Well I sold it to buy a new Bronco a couple of years later with just under 200 G's and a lot of abuse and it was still strong as an ox.
Chevy's were pretty much the same. Though in earlier engines I preferred their big blocks for their smooth power and torque, and reliability. The Ford big blocks never impressed me.
The 350's I had in cars and trucks, one Blazer were good engines, not great. But reliable.
If you took care of them they lasted, all of them, they were made by Americans, until more recently, hecho in mexico etc. and I loved them all.

[bcmarinamanager]

"GM diesels best on fuel, Ford second best on fuel Cummings SUCK SWALLOW GULP ENHAIL Fuel lol."
That doesn't even make sense. Right off the bat, the 7.3 and the 6.9 take more fuel to even fire. It's all about the weight of your feet. I find the 600 Cummins is an exceptionally effecient engine. I'm getting around 15-17mpg in town. And NO V-8 can come close to producing the outright power of an inline 6. Just look at transfer trucks.