1996 7.3 litre power stroke opinions?

Looking at a towmonster with 300,000 miles on it.Please give me the good, the bad, and mostly the ugly.

The engines are normally good if they knew maintenence, if an auto trans, expect it to have been replaced or needs replaced before long.

Mine had 370k when I sold it to another Grm member. It leaked a bit of oil and the injectors were getting old. I had replaced most of the front end bushing on it.

Even with the rated 535ft/lbs of torque, I have always felt the power delivery in my 97 was soft or lacking compared to a 98.5-up SD.

Beyond that, mine has been bulletproof in the 130k miles I have owned her. All I have ever replaced on mine has been a PS pump, vacuum pump twice, a set of PS lines, water pump twice, glow plug relay, injector driver module (with one from an '02 ), one injector solenoid, and then just the normal wear and tear items.

I even burned biodiesel in it for many miles without worry. I still have the original mechanical fuel pump and upgraded the fuel delivery with what is called the "Cali mod". you can do the Ford kit @20 bux or put a bb on the original spring end to raise the fuel pressure for better performance from the OBS single shots.

The only reason I am not driving mine is I ran out of money. Still need 4 tires, exhaust, master cylinder, carrier bearing/driveshaft fixed to drive it long distances.

Thanx. Its a standard transmission and smoked a bit on startup but cleared up once it warmed up. Quad cab with an 8' bed, looks like a land train.

Smoke on startup is a sign of worn out injectors. Not a huge problem to fix, not exactly cheap to fix, but completely DIY-able.

7.3's are friggin bulletproof. Stay away from 6.0's all together. 6.4's are OK up to about 125k, then they start chunking high pressure fuel pumps. As noted already, the injectors will go bad, also remember to replace the UVC harnesses (under valve cover harnesses), that is all the wiring for the injectors. The fuel pressure regulators on those up on the top front of the engine will leak, not a huge expense to fix. Be sure to change the oil and all that good stuff and you'll be OK.

Conquest351 wrote: Stay away from 6.0's all together.

I'd own a 6.0. But then again, I can fix them in my driveway at my own leisure if need be. Once you eliminate or quit buying the E36 M3ty Ford "designed by and through force" service parts, they are a decent motor. I would NEVER put on a service part EGR cooler. Either eliminate it or go with that other design whose name escapes me at this moment. I'd put on the AM oil cooler kits and coolant filter. Same with putting a decent lift pump on it. If it was bought with HG issues, I'm studding with the MLS gaskets and a fresh flattening, even though that won't fix the warp in the head.

Just sucks that you have to invest 3-4k after you buy it to fix it, even though it runs.

I own a 6.0. It has been faultless.

That said, I'm thinking of trading it in for a newer model.

The 7.3 is a really good engine as noted, but the transmissions are not up to serious weight, so its a bit of a tradeoff. My brother who has some completely irrational love for his 7.3 even though he also has a new 400 hp duramax has gone through 4 transmissions. That will buy a lot of head studs for a 6 liter.

I've owned a couple 7.3s. You'll replace GPRs every 40-60k, but they take 15 minutes and cost $60 for good ones. Cam position sensors are another thing, but I've personally not had one fail. They're expensive, but they seem to last 150k or more.

The wires for the glow plugs are molded into the valve cover gaskets and sometimes fail inside. Fortunately, they fail at about the same time they start leaking so you'll be replacing them anyway.

Longblocks are bulletproof and often last 500k or more. The 7.3s in UPS vans typically go 600k of hard use before needing a ring/bearing overhaul.

The 7.3L strokes are IMO the last real, manly, burly diesel before all the expensive fancy stuff. They are super easy to make power, very reliable, and pretty simply engineered.

My current stroke is a 99 7.3 in a 1-ton van. I used it to tow 15k for 4500 miles while moving from TX back to PA. What a beast. The E4OD is not the strongest, but at stock power levels mine have held up to a TON of towing abuse. I put almost 75k of towing 10k with my first stroke. Toward the end, I acquired a ZF 5 speed so I tried to kill the E4OD so I could swap. I towed in OD, I used it for engine braking... couldn't kill it. If you chip it though, it won't be long until you overcome the clutches and fry it.

curtis73 wrote: I've owned a couple 7.3s. You'll replace GPRs every 40-60k, but they take 15 minutes and cost $60 for good ones. Cam position sensors are another thing, but I've personally not had one fail. They're expensive, but they seem to last 150k or more.

Actually, if you use the snow plow relay from Western for your GPR, you are only out $21 shipped to your door. CmPS got stupid cheap after the recall, like sub-$30 for a FORD part. I remember spending $120 when mine went out years ago from Ford with a business discount.

Ranger50 wrote: Smoke on startup is a sign of worn out injectors. Not a huge problem to fix, not exactly cheap to fix, but completely DIY-able.

This! That was the issue I was having. Also, My truck was way cold natured. Once warm, it ran perfect.

Conquest351 wrote: also remember to replace the UVC harnesses (under valve cover harnesses), that is all the wiring for the injectors.

Most injector kits will come with these and glow plugs. Just do the whole kitten caboodle while the valve covers are off.

I love my 7.3 in my 2002 F250.

I also loved my 5.9 Cummins in my 1996 Ram, but the truck rusted apart.