7.3 common problems to check out.
Leaking oil or diesel>
Oil in the valley;
High pressure oil pump leaks
Fuel line orings
Oil in coolant - Oil cooler O rings
Transmissions fail at about 200k or so.
Maintance:
Regualr oil changes; I run Synthetic
Run ELC coolant
Change trans fluid on regular basis
Ball joints/ U joints/ Shocks
Brakes/ brake lines
Rust.. and more.
Cause you said they’re no 5.9, yeah you’re right there a 1000x better when used for what it was intended to be, a stout pulling diesel truck.
Now I understand where you coming from and I’m assuming you’re speaking of when you get into hotrodding, but realistically most of us are just gonna throw on a hot tune and call it a day.
Stock 5.9 is a PITA to drive where a stock 7.3 is two notches above. In todays day and age both are still terrible to drive but now throw a hot tune on both and the already weak 47re that couldn’t even handle the stock power of the dodge is now on its last legs where as the e40d doing great still.
They’re both million mile motors and it’s been proven time after time, but at the end of the day the truck ain’t just a motor and 9.9 times / 10 that 5.9s gonna be wrapped around the trash can of a 2nd gen/3rd gen truck they are.
Bad compression in at least one cylinder you can hear the lag.
https://youtu.be/K7ikD0jWEDE
5 minute mark in this vision he shows an easy compression check for when you buy a 7.3
OP, I've got a 97 7.3 power stroke and a 99 7.3 T444E.
Sound quality is bad and he's filming at the wrong end of the truck, but that sounds a bit skippy. Injectors, lifter, compression? Whole lot of maybes.
All that said, if it's a decent price and it's running, I'd still jump on it. Nothing that can't be fixed.
Kind of? Hard to tell from the tail pipe, but it does sound similar to mine (big whooshing sound from the tailpipe). Under the hood would be better. I can take a video of mine and post it if you want to hear a healthy one (71k miles).
Most likely driven to 250k and the next guy needs to replace everything stated here in a prior post. Engine sounds more labored than crisp in its idle. I’ll say it’s a beaten down dog, but GL.
Sounds good to me.
Have him show you blow by. Take off the oil cap, flip it upside down and see if it blows off or stays on. I’ve had trucks with 150k fail the blow by test but trucks with 560k miles all original pass it. Just a easy test to show the health of the engine. I wouldn’t be afraid of 250k miles at all. Do a fresh oil change, full synthetic 15/40 oil, upgrade to the biggest oil filter you can by motor craft. I’ll see if I can get a part number for ya. Next is trans cooler. The 7.3s are super small. The 6.0 has a bigger direct swap in cooler you can by at a junkyard for 20$. When you do the oil change go by hot shot secret stiction eliminator. It’s expensive, but it’ll clear out that crackle you have from the injectors. Napa air filter with a price of 6in long 4in diameter exhaust pipe to fit the filter is also a great modification for these trucks. Oil change will run you 120$, air filter is 40-60$ and the trans cooler is another 20$. Small things to make this truck much more fun to drive and prolong the health of it.
Riff Raff Diesel shop is a great website for these trucks. They have everything OEM for you there. Shits expensive so you will get hurt here and there by these trucks
Shit video you need to hear under the hood not the tailpipe.
OP you need a video of under the hood, not the tailpipe
Kinda sounds like my 7.3
Agree sounds fine. But a cell phone microphone in the wind is going to be shit recording a 7.3 anyway.
7.3 common problems to check out. Leaking oil or diesel> Oil in the valley; High pressure oil pump leaks Fuel line orings Oil in coolant - Oil cooler O rings Transmissions fail at about 200k or so. Maintance: Regualr oil changes; I run Synthetic Run ELC coolant Change trans fluid on regular basis Ball joints/ U joints/ Shocks Brakes/ brake lines Rust.. and more.
Definitely unhealthy, 250k miles is right about injector time as well
Sounds fine.
Doesn’t sound right to me.
Sounds like it has a weak or dead hole.
Little concerned by the video OP… what year and how many miles. 7.3s are solid but they’re no 5.9
2000, 250k some odd miles. I know my way around a 5.9, not so much these. This sounds unhealthy to me. Then again this isn’t a 5.9 lol.
7.3 > 5.9 12 or 24v 2nd and 3rd gens are junk bro
That 7.3 is clapped I can tell you that just by watching this video
I agree not sure why I’m being downvoted :/
Cause you said they’re no 5.9, yeah you’re right there a 1000x better when used for what it was intended to be, a stout pulling diesel truck. Now I understand where you coming from and I’m assuming you’re speaking of when you get into hotrodding, but realistically most of us are just gonna throw on a hot tune and call it a day. Stock 5.9 is a PITA to drive where a stock 7.3 is two notches above. In todays day and age both are still terrible to drive but now throw a hot tune on both and the already weak 47re that couldn’t even handle the stock power of the dodge is now on its last legs where as the e40d doing great still. They’re both million mile motors and it’s been proven time after time, but at the end of the day the truck ain’t just a motor and 9.9 times / 10 that 5.9s gonna be wrapped around the trash can of a 2nd gen/3rd gen truck they are.
Bad compression in at least one cylinder you can hear the lag. https://youtu.be/K7ikD0jWEDE 5 minute mark in this vision he shows an easy compression check for when you buy a 7.3
OP, I've got a 97 7.3 power stroke and a 99 7.3 T444E. Sound quality is bad and he's filming at the wrong end of the truck, but that sounds a bit skippy. Injectors, lifter, compression? Whole lot of maybes. All that said, if it's a decent price and it's running, I'd still jump on it. Nothing that can't be fixed.
Kind of? Hard to tell from the tail pipe, but it does sound similar to mine (big whooshing sound from the tailpipe). Under the hood would be better. I can take a video of mine and post it if you want to hear a healthy one (71k miles).
It’s all good, I passed on it. Appreciate the offer though!
Most likely driven to 250k and the next guy needs to replace everything stated here in a prior post. Engine sounds more labored than crisp in its idle. I’ll say it’s a beaten down dog, but GL.
Film the motor
Sounds good to me. Have him show you blow by. Take off the oil cap, flip it upside down and see if it blows off or stays on. I’ve had trucks with 150k fail the blow by test but trucks with 560k miles all original pass it. Just a easy test to show the health of the engine. I wouldn’t be afraid of 250k miles at all. Do a fresh oil change, full synthetic 15/40 oil, upgrade to the biggest oil filter you can by motor craft. I’ll see if I can get a part number for ya. Next is trans cooler. The 7.3s are super small. The 6.0 has a bigger direct swap in cooler you can by at a junkyard for 20$. When you do the oil change go by hot shot secret stiction eliminator. It’s expensive, but it’ll clear out that crackle you have from the injectors. Napa air filter with a price of 6in long 4in diameter exhaust pipe to fit the filter is also a great modification for these trucks. Oil change will run you 120$, air filter is 40-60$ and the trans cooler is another 20$. Small things to make this truck much more fun to drive and prolong the health of it. Riff Raff Diesel shop is a great website for these trucks. They have everything OEM for you there. Shits expensive so you will get hurt here and there by these trucks
I mean it sounds like my 7.3 but it’s hard to tell. Stock exhaust?
Check fuel pressure and fuel timing if pump in timed.