Yeah, the 7.3 was amazing. A cousin of mine was a gm only guy. One day he bought a 97 f250 with the 7.3. He said it was the best diesel out there. He wasn't alone.
My 80yo grandpa has a 96 quad cab single axle f350. Makes me grin every time he powerbrakes that chit and makes a smoke show....
TD said he only ever changed tires.... So the question begged to be asked. I had a '92 Tercel that NEVER got oil changed after I bought it with 164,000 miles. Sold it near 250,00. Never missed a beat. Just added a touch of earl here and there....
They are over hyped IMO. Complete dog in factory trim although they wake up nicely on a tuner. Early autos were weak, even with a stock motor/tune. And they are not quite as "Hands Off" as a Cummins from a reliability standpoint. Especially as they get up into their golden years. And yes, ALL three domestic brands are rust buckets. These are some of the most expensive vehicles on North American roads and you can't really expect 10 years of rust free bodies, let alone frames. I like my GM trucks but I have to shake my head at all the parts rusting off every '99-2007ish Silverado/Sierra. Shameful on $50k, $60k, even $70k+ trucks.
Prices on good condition OBS 'strokes are getting to be IN-SANE! My neighbor has a 97 F250 C/C 4x4 that is, or was (now wrecked) like new, he has been fighting with the ins co on the value of his truck...he found a dealer out west somewheres that regularly sells nice OBS 'strokes S/C and C/C 4x4s in the $20 k range...says he sells 'em as fast as he can get 'em
Literally no smoke..... Did replace valve guides at 195K, but when I say a "touch" I mean a quart in better than 6 months. Not too shabby. Miss that little beater!
Let's not forget how all brands try to save money on these trucks with varying degrees of rustproofing, should every 50k $+ truck not get every bit of everyrhing?
Two words for ya...oil spray. Heard that the Superduty line is next for Fords aluminum body...will be interesting to see how this all pans out.
GM 8.1 here, will out pull stock 7.3s and 5.9 12v clear to the next gas station and is more reliable and cheaper to work on. Plus it comes in a much better truck then a Dahj or a Ferd! Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk
In my experience, mainly sensor issues on the older high mileage units...not many hard part problems if they are not abused too bad...but in the end, you are probably right, they come up just a fuzz short of the legendary Cummins reliability...
New BMW turbo v8s are considered to be " normal" by BMW in eating 1 qt of $9 a qt oil in 1000 miles. Yes, unfortunately that's true.
I'd have so much money working on it and the rest of the truck that I couldn't afford the jeep I pull with my truck and if I didn't have something to pull regularly I wouldn't have a reason to own a deezul Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk
