7.3 info needed

spareparts · #1 01-13-2009, 09:55 AM

Ferm or any one out there that has any experiance with 7.3 engines. A friend of mine just bought an 03 F250 thats showing 325K on the odometer. He's got a few quirks, but nothing major. The engine has been serviced by a dealer its whole life, recently had a $1200 service. I've heard they had issues with the crankcase vent system, this thing is leaking a little oil from the valve covers and rear main, I figured if the crank wasn't venting properly, it could cause some leaks. I've also heard the intercooler needs to be cleaned out on a high milage truck, especially if the crank case vent isn't workign properly. I know Racor has a specific crank vent system for these trucks that prevents intercooler problems. Any thruth to this? I've had experiance with these engines in Navistar applications, but I know Ford changed some things around on them and I haven't worked on them much.

bsteckel · #2 01-13-2009, 05:42 PM

i have one in my 99 f250 crew cab .. no problems like you are stating .. but tell him to keep an eye on the oil pan and rear diff covers. ford must have used the cheapest mexican steel they could find ..

now i am stuck with a $1200 bill to change the oil pan .. motor has to come out.

for the last 3 years or so, i would scrape and rust oleum every year .. this year when i went to do it, there was a wet spot ... oil seeping thru.

now that really sux.
"super duty" may be little optimistic.

phatdaddy · #3 01-13-2009, 06:16 PM

Spare, i saw some tutorials from a diesel shop in atlanta on you tube that were pretty good. might check them out. i drove a 85 dually for a year or 2, not bad but only put 85,000 miles on it, then left the company.

THEFERMANATOR · #4 01-13-2009, 06:19 PM

The valve cover gaskets are a trouble area as they have the wiring harness for the injectors molded into the gasket. The problem with the crankcase vent system is that FORD vented the crankcase fumes back into the air intake. This is also where the intercooler cleaning comes in. When the inside gets covered in oil it doesn't cool the air very well anymore. Most people modify the vent so that it goes into a catch can to catch the bulk of the oil and then the vapors go out through a hose routed to under the engine. Oil leaks on anything with that kind of milage is to be expected though. The air filter system is another weak point as well as the camshaft position sensor. The camshaft position sensor and the tools to change it should be caried with you at ALL times with a 7.3L though.