Ford 7.3 godzilla

[IdahoBeav]

. . . the 7.3 holding it's value more than a diesel. . .

It does?

 

[bow puller]

On my 22 xlt same options everything the 6.7 kbb is 3.2k higher trade and 2.2k higher private party so a loss of about 7500 for the diesel.

My F250 kbb private mid book (51k) is higher than I paid for it almost 5yrs ago thats without a 4.30 locking rear and 5th wheel prep option to check in kbb. Thats almost as good as trading in my 18 summer of 21 for what I paid. Some good covid times they were. Of course the dollar is crap so theres that.

Some crazy depreciation is the rams. When I entertained getting one I looked at what a 1yr old cummins with 5k miles books for. It went from like 75k msrp to low 50 trade in 1yr... no thank you. Can get about 15+ off msrp but still. If I get a new one it will be another super duty.

Edit to give the ram cummins some praise. You can hear about it's exhaust brake and think sure ok, but when you have turns coming up on mountain grades towing a trailer it is that good, especially the 25+. It scrubs speed in stop and go driving around town even. I'd gladly give up some of the powerstroke power for that cummins braking ability.

 

[Weldor]

Interesting, bringing up the price of fuel. Diesel may be higher, but a gasser will use 2-3 times as much gas. I don't see the savings. I do miss the days of 49.9 cent diesel. LOL. Not to mention fuel stops at around 300 maybe to 500-600. For the record I'm not against either one. Driven tons of different service trucks and 1 tons since the early 80's. When the light duty diesels took over that was the end of the big blocks for me. They all have issues, whether it be Fords cam and low oil pressure or emissions on the Diesels, it's a wash.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

Interesting, bringing up the price of fuel. Diesel may be higher, but a gasser will use 2-3 times as much gas. I don't see the savings. I do miss the days of 49.9 cent diesel. LOL. Not to mention fuel stops at around 300 maybe to 500-600. For the record I'm not against either one. Driven tons of different service trucks and 1 tons since the early 80's. When the light duty diesels took over that was the end of the big blocks for me. They all have issues, whether it be Fords cam and low oil pressure or emissions on the Diesels, it's a wash.

In your use case sure, but others with more recreational usage are not seeing that 2-3x mpg differential, in most cases is 125-150%. I have no idea why your service trucks got so bad.

I have never gotten below 4mpg and when I was in the 4-5s I was towing into what was likely 20-40mph headwinds while going 70mph (trying to tow a camper into 90+mph of air resistance is an obvious MPG killer).

Typically 250-300mi for fuel stops isn't ideal but no where near as sucky as <200mi (been there towing with small tank vehicles before, THAT sucks). I'd enjoy 500-600mi of towing range but I am not really too bothered since I'm not towing daily. When I am on highway not towing I get ~16mpg so I have 450-500mi of range with some buffer and that is nice.

Really just pointing out your situation seems to be an anomaly rather than the rule compared to recreational users.

 

[Weldor]

Soccer moms and daily drivers in normal traffic makes no sense to drive a 1 ton. I get the recreation use , but does the truck sit most of the time or is it a daily driver. I have multiple friends with the 7.3 Ford and the ram 6.4 both get dismal mileage worked out on a calculator not the dash monitor. (7-11) These are all 4x4 crew cabs 3500 ,f350's.There are some really good live test's on these trucks towing in Colorado. I test drove a 2018 Ram 2500 with a big hemi .. It seriously could not get out of it's own way on the climb to Payson AZ. not a bad grade at all. My personal 2016 F250 crew 4x4 diesel would smoke it with a 9500 lb trailer behind. High rpms make heat and heat kills here in AZ. I was always a Ford driver until I needed a Megacab to haul hounds inside. I don't live in the flats, mostly uphill or down hill so for me a diesel makes sense all torgue and low rpms and no heating problems towing.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

Mine is a F350 (4x4 crew cab, 6.75' bed, 34" tires and tremmor air dam and running boards for clearance but worse aerodynamics), it gets driven around town as needed during the week (I don't have a daily commute) and then hundreds of miles when I go exploring. The dash gauge can be optimistic but not drastically so the times I've checked it by hand. I drove to Durango the other weekend and the dash said mid 16s for the round trip, even if it was 15 it wasn't 11s. Around town I get 10-11s sure.

I had a ram with the 5.7hemi and 5speed trans, I tried towing I70 (Eisenhower tunnel and vail pass) exactly once, that thing was pathetic and was in 2nd gear doing 25-30mph by the end trying to climb. The 7.3L and 10speed has been no problem, I usually climb from Silverthorne to the tunnel (the "ike guantlet") at 65mph steady.

I have no desire to pretend something is good or not, I'm pragmatic. I just am not experiencing the MPG issues you've highlighted with mine.

I do know I've not had my truck go into limp mode and been on my back in a parking lot in the snow trying to patch a leaking DEF line and getting chemical burns on my hand like my hunting partner has even though I did need to stop an extra time for gas on the same trip. Big dumb big block.

 

[Weldor]

Never burned my hands for sure. This will hurt all our feelings. My weld rig was getting service and they gave me 2003 Chevy WT 2500 6.0 with Koenig service body on it 10 footer. It got 10 mpg everyday overloaded. I never shut that rig off during a 12 hr work day with the a/c running. Crazy Now that's a gasser.

 

[Ryan Avery]

Mine is a F350 (4x4 crew cab, 6.75' bed, 34" tires and tremmor air dam and running boards for clearance but worse aerodynamics), it gets driven around town as needed during the week (I don't have a daily commute) and then hundreds of miles when I go exploring. The dash gauge can be optimistic but not drastically so the times I've checked it by hand. I drove to Durango the other weekend and the dash said mid 16s for the round trip, even if it was 15 it wasn't 11s. Around town I get 10-11s sure.

I had a ram with the 5.7hemi and 5speed trans, I tried towing I70 (Eisenhower tunnel and vail pass) exactly once, that thing was pathetic and was in 2nd gear doing 25-30mph by the end trying to climb. The 7.3L and 10speed has been no problem, I usually climb from Silverthorne to the tunnel (the "ike guantlet") at 65mph steady.

I have no desire to pretend something is good or not, I'm pragmatic. I just am not experiencing the MPG issues you've highlighted with mine.

I do know I've not had my truck go into limp mode and been on my back in a parking lot in the snow trying to patch a leaking DEF line and getting chemical burns on my hand like my hunting partner has even though I did need to stop an extra time for gas on the same trip. Big dumb big block.

These days, I tow more than ever, mostly mules. When I had a diesel, there were always little stupid issues, and Limp mode is a real headache, especially when you’re hauling livestock. When the transmission went out on my 7.3, I lost first and third gear, but it still kept going, even though it felt like I was starting from a dead stop with a clutch.

Here’s ’19 Chevy in limp mode getting towed by what might be the worst diesel Ford ever made. The irony!

 

[Weldor]

These days, I tow more than ever, mostly mules. When I had a diesel, there were always little stupid issues, and Limp mode is a real headache, especially when you’re hauling livestock. When the transmission went out on my 7.3, I lost first and third gear, but it still kept going, even though it felt like I was starting from a dead stop with a clutch.

Here’s ’19 Chevy in limp mode getting towed by what might be the worst diesel Ford ever made. The irony!

View attachment 1068559

Ouch!

 

[jimh406]

Buy a gas engine unless you need the extra power and range of a diesel. I don't have a preference of which gasoline engine to buy.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

When the transmission went out on my 7.3, I lost first and third gear, but it still kept going, even though it felt like I was starting from a dead stop with a clutch.

Did it throw warnings too I presume?

I think I mentioned it earlier in this thread (or maybe a different one), only thing that I've had an issue on the drivetrain for mine is burnt up a plug wire and I proactively swapped in wires with fiberglass shields after that (no clue if it helps, hasn't hurt yet). But I have low miles on my still.

 

[bow puller]

The towing I've done with various trucks (rams and fords) the 20+ powerstroke has been the most efficient and its roughly 30% better than the 7.3 gas truck. About 8 towing with 7.3 is 10.5 with 6.7. Unloaded stock say 65mph if a 7.3 gets 16 the 6.7 gets 21 which is a good day for both.

With the spread in fuel prices its close enough to a wash one way or another just regarding fuel. Diesel will have more range though. Both have their +/- and kudos to ford for putting out a great alternative for those that want a solid hd without owning a diesel for whatever reason. I am not a diesel hater btw, I think they are fantastic and necessary in certain use cases.

 

[Sccritterkiller]

Interesting, bringing up the price of fuel. Diesel may be higher, but a gasser will use 2-3 times as much gas. I don't see the savings. I do miss the days of 49.9 cent diesel. LOL. Not to mention fuel stops at around 300 maybe to 500-600. For the record I'm not against either one. Driven tons of different service trucks and 1 tons since the early 80's. When the light duty diesels took over that was the end of the big blocks for me. They all have issues, whether it be Fords cam and low oil pressure or emissions on the Diesels, it's a wash.

Fuel cost is wash..I added a 58 gallon belly tank so even towing I can get around 500 depending on the load and where I am going. I can get 850ish miles out of tank not towing..not having to worry about fuel filters, DEF, and a CP4 disco party were the main reasons I went 7.3.

 

[Weldor]

Belly tanks and bed tanks are nice, but they all add weight. Weight decrease's fuel economy. Just a thought.

 

[Sccritterkiller]

Belly tanks and bed tanks are nice, but they all add weight. Weight decrease's fuel economy. Just a thought.

I went from the factory 34, short bed Tremor, to a TF 58 gallon...gas weighs 6.2 lbs a gallon...You can order a 48 gallon tank from the factory with a long bed.
150 lbs of extra fuel isn't noticeable in a SD. No different then having my 14 yr old son rde around with me.

 

[Ryan Avery]

Did it throw warnings too I presume?

I think I mentioned it earlier in this thread (or maybe a different one), only thing that I've had an issue on the drivetrain for mine is burnt up a plug wire and I proactively swapped in wires with fiberglass shields after that (no clue if it helps, hasn't hurt yet). But I have low miles on my still.

No codes, it started shifting weird, Ford put it in relearn mode, and all hell broke loose. The CDF drum (probably have that wrong) came apart and went through the transmission, was the answer I got. They warranted it, but I paid an extra 1400 to get a new transmission instead of a remanufactured one.


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[Sccritterkiller]

No codes, it started shifting weird, Ford put it in relearn mode, and all hell broke loose. The CDF drum (probably have that wrong) came apart and went through the transmission, was the answer I got. They warranted it, but I paid an extra 1400 to get a new transmission instead of a remanufactured one.


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I didn't even know my tranny shit the bed...took it in for 60k service and it was leaking fluid...they replaced a seal and did the relearn thing...It didn't even make home it pouring fluid...they replaced under warranty with a '25 transmission...they have replaced a bunch of parts in these transmissions since my '21 including the CF drum.