Any 99-03 Powerstroke owners?

[Ted S.]

You 7.3 owners are so boring!

There is nothing like the fear of coolant puking out of your blown head gaskets beneath glorious white clouds of smoke!

Sincerely,

6.0 PSD Owner

[DJ Bassett]

Had my 1995 F250 7.3L Powerstroke for 22 years. A great vehicle. Lots of power and got 21 mpg HWY, 15 towing. In April I drove 2500 miles from the Pacific northwest to Indiana to buy our first Airstream (1999 Safari 27). Then had the brakes go out. Spent 10 days in and out of a repair shop and still couldn't get it fixed. The culprit turned out to be two things, defective replacement parts from Ford (master cylinder) and the BRAKE HOSES. Seems that there is something that happens inside of the hose, that when the system is repaired, the hoses fail. Seemed impossible to find the issue and I had a drop-dead deadline for my return. So, I traded it in (yes, shed a tear or two) for a 2011 Ford F250 Powerstroke and towed it the 2500 miles back to the PNW through blizzards, mountain passes, thunderstorms and high winds. The 2011 (205,000 miles on the odometer) pulled like a dream. The technical advances in this vehicle are awesome. Sad to part with my old Blue Moon powerstroke, but am very happy with the 2011.

[GCinSC2]

Originally Posted by Ted S.

You 7.3 owners are so boring!

There is nothing like the fear of coolant puking out of your blown head gaskets beneath glorious white clouds of smoke!

Sincerely,

6.0 PSD Owner

Made me chuckle, appreciate the attitude about the sick oh.

[ITSNO60]

Originally Posted by DJ Bassett

Had my 1995 F250 7.3L Powerstroke for 22 years. A great vehicle. Lots of power and got 21 mpg HWY, 15 towing. In April I drove 2500 miles from the Pacific northwest to Indiana to buy our first Airstream (1999 Safari 27). Then had the brakes go out. Spent 10 days in and out of a repair shop and still couldn't get it fixed. The culprit turned out to be two things, defective replacement parts from Ford (master cylinder) and the BRAKE HOSES. Seems that there is something that happens inside of the hose, that when the system is repaired, the hoses fail. Seemed impossible to find the issue and I had a drop-dead deadline for my return. So, I traded it in (yes, shed a tear or two) for a 2011 Ford F250 Powerstroke and towed it the 2500 miles back to the PNW through blizzards, mountain passes, thunderstorms and high winds. The 2011 (205,000 miles on the odometer) pulled like a dream. The technical advances in this vehicle are awesome. Sad to part with my old Blue Moon powerstroke, but am very happy with the 2011.

Sorry to hear the shop you took it to didn't know this, it is a well known issue about the rubber brake hoses, when they get old they swell under pressure. Scary what some of todays mechanics don't know, that's why I try do do everything myself.

[ITSNO60]

Originally Posted by PaulnGina

Mind if I add a little more?

Our 1995 F250 PowerStroke is almost bone-stock, 123,000 miles. Added a 45,000 BTU Tru-Cool transmission cooler, a bypass oil filter to super-clean the oil, and a K&N air filter that I got from Camping world for $10!

Be REALLY careful with that K&N filter, they are known to leak around the seal resulting in turbo/engine damage from "dusting". Lots of guys run the Donaldson setup, myself I got the Ford AIS setup, worth every penny.

[ITSNO60]

Originally Posted by Ted S.

You 7.3 owners are so boring!

There is nothing like the fear of coolant puking out of your blown head gaskets beneath glorious white clouds of smoke!

Sincerely,

6.0 PSD Owner

This may give you a chuckle....or maybe not

[PaulnGina]

Originally Posted by ITSNO60

Be REALLY careful with that K&N filter, they are known to leak around the seal resulting in turbo/engine damage from "dusting". Lots of guys run the Donaldson setup, myself I got the Ford AIS setup, worth every penny.

Thank you for that. I have wanted to use that big Donaldson filter setup..... maybe I'll go that way sometime soon. Sure won't hurt so bad knowing I didn't pay the regular $70-$80 price for the K&N.

Seeing your license plate and finally realizing what your member name means, gave me a good chuckle.

[davidrrand]

My previous truck was a '99 F350 SRW 4X4 Supercab XLT, manual 6 spd, 7.3 PS. Great truck overall and traded it in late 2015 for my current F150 Lariat. Had 192K miles. Dealer gave me $10K. Had a exhaust manifold leak and probably needed some new front end components (wandered a bit). Usual repairs over the 16 years I drove it, sensors, brakes, emergency brake repairs, water pump, etc. Engine was great and dealer was pleased to get it. Looked at the newer SD at the time, but decided against the newer diesels with complicated emissions systems. Wife hated the noise, rough ride and the manual trans, but I loved this truck. '15 Lariat is quiet and comparatively luxurious and have had no problem towing my FC25 with the 5.0 V8 in the eastern and western mountains. Just take my time and use the trans. Hope it holds up as well as the F350 manual! Do miss the 3K+ payload, though my Lariat has a 2031 lb. payload that has worked as long as I leave the ATV at home.

Good luck with your decision!

Dave

[Mount'n Man]

Boy, how come you guys aren't using your trucks? My 2000 F-250 has 285K on it and is just getting broken in! As stated earlier in the thread, as long as the body is sound, the 7.3 will last forever, and this one is going strong!

Seriously though, we just recently replaced it as the #1 tow vehicle with a 2017 F-150 with the 3.5l EcoBoost and 10-speed tranny. Does everything my F-250 ever did, gets better mileage, plus you can carry on a conversation while traveling! I think the only thing I'm missing so far is the 8' bed.

I have my 7.3 listed for sale in several venues--if anyone is interested they can PM me for details. Absolutely nothing wrong with the truck or engine, it was just time for a new family tow vehicle to celebrate my wife's impeding retirement (i.e. more time traveling with the Airstream...YAY!!!).

[rmatkovich]

I have a 1997 F-250 with 356,000 miles 7.3 and still pulling a 34' AS weight 12,500 LB Truck has 355 Dif and have no reason to spend $60+ for a new truck. My truck also looks nice and hauls a 650 cycle in the 8' bed. Love the truck and I will keep on truckin with it until is stops running. Jim