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Do share more stories on working on old trucks! I have a '99 Ford with a 7.3, and everyone's saying it's not worth fixing, but I just like keeping it on the roa
by skullborg 8y ago
Do share more stories on working on old trucks! I have a '99 Ford with a 7.3, and everyone's saying it's not worth fixing, but I just like keeping it on the road...
- WhompingWindows 8y agoWhat kind of MPG does that get?
- skullborg 8y ago22-24 highway, 15 city. It has zero emissions equipment though, so I'm sure it's killing us all
- pytyper2 8y agoIt would depend on what needs fixing? Are we talking engine internals of the stuff that hangs of the engine?
- skullborg 8y agoNothing to my knowledge needs an overhaul yet, nearing 400k miles, and it's just been maintenance and consumables (except the turbo started leaking at 300k miles, which was replaced)
- hermitdev 8y agoTypically, diesels are built with maintenance in mind (at least for trucks, no idea what you'd find in a diesel car). The cylinders are sleaved and meant to be replaced every couple 100k miles or so, so the cylinders themselves also last a long time (the sleaves take the brunt of the wear). I think theyre typically less complex than a standard gasoline engine. E.g. they have no spark plugs (and thus no distributor or ignition system), instead glow plugs to start the engine. Possibly more complex in other areas, such as emissions control. I'm no expert on engines, so the the above may not be entirely accurate or current. Most of my knowledge comes from working for a semi truck/diesel engine manufacturer as an IT intern close to two decades ago and touring factories.
- pytyper2 8y agoThat's about right.
- lilbobbytables 8y agoI thought the 7.3's were supposed to be super solid? How many miles does it have, what's wrong with it? My extremely limited knowledge of diesel engines is something like "they go a ton of miles, then need a major overhaul, then go a ton more miles". If you're at some kind of major overhaul milestone, then I could see the response you're getting. '99-ish Ford kicked off the Super Duty series, but it isn't sufficiently interestingly old to a lot of people, so I can understand their the why-bother attitude.
- skullborg 8y agoIt's nearing 400k miles. It's had service - new turbo and engine control components, suspension and frontend, brakes, glow plugs, etc. Original everything else though, nothing fancy, just a work truck. But anything "newer", even 10 years old, is $25k minimum for any halfways decent duty truck.
- unchocked 8y agoYour 7.3 is gold, that engine will last till the heat death of the universe. And you’re maintaining it. For some reason people think that a well maintained vehicle is a grenade because it has service history, while one being run into the ground is great because they haven’t paid for anything recently. Newer trucks aren’t more reliable. They’re just newer. You won’t find a truck cheaper to maintain than the one you’ve already got. (The people who tell you your truck ain’t worth fixing sound like my mother in law who traded in her car ‘cause the windshield wipers broke.)