I'm waiting for that to happen on my truck.
The power levels I'm running, it should have died a while ago.

180,000 miles so far, running more power for 50k of that.

the newer/later 6.0s are no better and the 6.4 twin turbo has all the same problems-compounded no pun intended. The 6.0 and warranty issues cost ford my companies nat fleet purchase agreement
the ones still in the pipe got delvered in 08 including the F550SD  dump with the 6.4 that showed up with zero miles LEAKING COOLANT from the radiator. The stealership took a radiator from one on the lot cause none were avialable at the time. Within 150 miles the new one began to leak where the tanks connect to the body of the radiator. Ford supposedly put us on a priority list for a new one but three weeks later nothing but excuses was forthcomming. The guy that runs it carries extra jugs of coolant even to this day. Ford finally replaced it at 5 weeks but the connections to the tranny cooler were now leaking ––in fixing those they damaged the radiator......New radiator #4 and transmisson cooler #2 later the truck was fine except for two recalls they had to do to replace a cam sensor bolt and a defective turbo oil line that could leak and start a fire (one could only be so lucky) It has the usual ECU memory loss/injector seal/oil pressure loss issues the 6.0 has ––-but no head gaskets yet....... in one year the truck has been down 25% of the time due to the radiator alone every time it goes to ford it takes WEEKS for minor repairs. I have priced out an aftermarket radiator for it
that is all aluminium and supposedly fixes the leaking/overheating/coolant flow problems. If it starts leaking agian the plastic tanked BS piece is bye bye. My co. started buying Chevys starting in 08 so far they are holding up fine.

Right here
Tow 16,000lbs every single day in the summer and then plowing snow in the winter.

Any of the big 3 are decent trucks and they all have pluses and minuses.

the big minus now is that ford is the only private one left.

too bad the 6.0 and the 6.4 are such pieces of shit.  

The 7.3 is a great motor.

i bought a 05 excursion with the 6.0 a couple months ago.  i read a lot of reviews about the 6.0 and the 7.3. i would have preferred the 7.3 but the ones i found were not in as good a shape since they are older.  there are just not that many excursions for sale.  most of the dealerships who had them are asking a couple thousand over retail and don't want to come off the price.  i looked on various websites for anything in the southeast and it was the same story with all the dealerships. i found a couple v10's priced right but wasn't happy with the power (or lack there of).  i came across this one from an individual  for 5 thousand under retail and couldn't pass it up.  i hope it lasts.  i have thought about putting a rebuilt 7.3 in it if the engine goes out down the road.

it now has 106k on it and the only work besides routine maintenance was some sort of recall work reprogram i think somewhere around 30k.

ok I will make sure I constrain my search to the 7.3 L and not the 6.0.  I am a buy and drive it into the ground guy and most cars if not all cars I buy are out of warranty.  I need something that is going to last a couple hundred thousand miles over when I buy it.


so assuming I can find a 7.3L with a good body/interior,  what maintenance do I expect?  Oil Changes?  What else?  I have never owned a diesel before so this will be a new experience for us....

$100-ish oil changes but at high intervals than a gasser.

Excursion

what about this one?

The 6.0 was a good motor but Ford wanted to much out of it to keep pace with the Dmax. The 7.3 is a great motor. The new Ford deisel I have no idea I have not been following it.

7.3 I would expect 500k out of. But thats the motor not all the stuff bolted on to it. Water pump, ac pump, alt, tranny ect.

One ambulance service I work with is trying out a new Dodge right now and last I heard plans on switching to them. The county I live in has already switched from Ford to Dodge for ambulances. They can't keep the Fords with 6.0/6.4L in service for long in between trips to the shop. They still have some old 7.3 Fords they use as Back-ups when the new Fords are broken.

7.3L over 300,000 miles easy.

6.something

oil and filter changes cost about $70, about every 6000 miles or so (more or less).
fuel filter about every 15,000 miles.  fuel filters are KEY on a diesel.  Try to buy fuel at busy diesel stations.  (truck stops rock for this).  

does the ford have a water separator?  (I don't know)

On the 7.3's, the auto transmissions are the weak point.  change the filter and fluid there, figure about every 30,000 miles, put a tranny cooler on if you can.  

I would change and check coolant, diesels push a lot of power, it's probably never been changed.  flush it, change it, use the correct Ford spec'd fluid.

Diesels don't warm up idling, they lose heat idling.  don't just start it and let it sit there when cold, either plug it in before hand and/or drive it around.  And don't just run around on short trips, make sure it warms up.  little short trips are killer on diesels.

If regular maintenance includes  replacing cylinder and bearing sleeves, then that should not be unreasonable.

The 7.3L Powerstroke should outlive the body/chassis by a long shot - window motors, power door locks, HVAC, seat foam & covers, etc will nickel & dime you to death in most cases.

I drive a '00 CTD and oil changes cost me ~$70 - 3 gallons of Shell Rotella 5W-40 synthetic is ~$20/gal at Wal-Mart and the Stratapore filters are ~$10.  Fuel filter gets changed @ 15K but I don't recall the cost.  Other than those maintenance costs I'd say the diesel is pretty uneventful when it comes to maintenance.

Brian

7.3 around 250-300K depending on how it has been maintained. 6.0 I would run from it like it is on fire. . as soon as the warranty is out on a 6.0 you sell it.

Just rolled 56k on my 2003 7.3 liter yesterday!   Just got home from a 1600 mile drive and the truck did awesome.

if its a 7.3 liter.............buy it!!!!!!!!!!!

87X87 / 87 + 87

Depends on the owner how he drives and how he maintains his vehicle.

Stock or Jethro'd 8" trick my truck exhaust. Add ons to boost HP and torque, heavy towing.


YMMV

I have the 6.0 ( 2005 Excursion ) no headaches and you need to keep it stock - exhaust and intake are fine - NO chips or lifts - you should expect a minimum of 250k miles.

174 miles?



 

Excursion Good !    The wifes ride....I have had good and marginal results for the 6.0 , I currently have 4 trucks running that engine and have had a few small issues with one of them ,It has 140k (07)  on it now .  Another has 103K (04) , another 45k (07), and the EX is @ 35k (05).  The 7.3 certainly has a better reputation and some tout as the best Light truck engine ever built. It's a tough call buying anything used .  

tag for info, Im in the market for one as well.

No I was trying to make a nonsensical #

But then again it is a Ford so it may be possible

Ok great advice, I think I'm avoiding the 6.0 like the plague,  and am only looking at 7.3's.

I have an appointment to look at 2 of them tomorrow,  not knowing too much about diesels,  how should I evaluate it?  What am I looking for as signs it's been well maintained?

What warning signs am I looking for?



vehicle history is so hard to know for sure, but there are things in gassers that I'd alert on.  I'm not sure what those issues are on a diesel.


I know about interior stuff, that's pretty obvious,  but mechanical I'm not sure on. I know what they sound like but that's about it.


when I settle on one,  I will pay a mech to take a look at it but I'm talking about initial review,  what are the "Weed this one out" factors?

Watch these videos and you'll know everything you need to know about buying a used PSD truck:

How To Buy a Used Powerstroke Diesel Truck

Also, if you have the VIN you can call your local Ford dealer and ask them to pull an OASIS report on the truck for you.

well past the rest of the vehicle.  if its like other fords, every piece of plastic will crumble long before the engine is gone

Yessir I'm afraid the engine is NOT the weak link.  I know 300,000 miles isn't going to be a big deal to achieve. The rest of the vehicle might be about shot by then though.

let's see

http://www.fordcummins.com/

and there are more ...

there is a reason people don't swap 6.0's and 6.4's into anything ...

7.3's are fine ...

I have a 2002 7.3 with 275,220 miles.  It has been a farm truck all its life.  The plan is to get at least 500,000 before a rebuild.;  The High Pressure Oil Pump went out about 240K.  Dieselsite.com is where I bought a pump that runs great.  The symptom was oil leaking down the valley pan and down the right rear side of the block.  I fixed it for about $800. for parts and labor.  The truck is great.  I am running the BulllyDog power pup programmer and the rest is stock.  I change the oil every 10,000 and fuel filter when needed.  I travel with a spare because when they go, you do not.
Happy shopping