I’ve been looking at getting a superduty 7.3 for a daily driver and wanted some opinions on it. I do my own work for everything except body work and drive about 50 miles round trip for work. I’ve seen people praising the reliability of these engines and I’m aware of the main big problems that pop up but wanted to see if this is a feasible and reliable daily. I’ve got a ram ecodiesel now but I’ve had a few cars from the 90s-2010 that I did all the work on. I’m fine with having to do repairs and replace things but I don’t want something that’ll leave me on the side of the road or be out of service every month. I don’t plan on running it too hard, just regular highway driving, maybe getting a small boat or camper to haul every once in a while but nothing crazy. I’m looking at ones with under 130k miles in good condition, and I’m in Texas so rust isn’t a huge concern I haven’t seen many with significant rust. I just love how long the diesel engines run compared to the gas and with the age of these trucks I don’t know if it’s even worth it to get a gas if most are over 80k miles and only have another 80 in them to run reliably. I guess im I’m mainly looking for advice with these, I love the look and sound and reliability of the 7.3 but I’ve also been looking at the cummins from the same time and even the gas engines from both so I’m just trying to see what others think and y’all’s experience is with these. All responses are welcome!
Formershaker
The 7.3 is a very reliable engine. I've been driving mine for 27 years and it's always gotten me home.
So far on the engine I've replaced the water pump, and glow plugs along normal maintence.
So far on the engine I've replaced the water pump, and glow plugs along normal maintence.
I’ve had my 1995 7.3 for a little under 2 years now, and it’s always been my daily and I’ve never been left stranded, I’ve had my issues but that was more me abusing it and not doing the best maintenance. But I’ve put 16k miles on it and she’s still going strong at 267k miles
my 88 IDI has a little over 496,000 miles and was my daily/work ride for 20 years. then it went into reserve status and used for winter snow plowing.
my 02 has 194,000 miles and was my daily driver for 15 years and went to snow plow status once i bought the 2014 gas F250
both still run fine, and i would not hesitate one second to drive either one cross country and back.
my 02 has 194,000 miles and was my daily driver for 15 years and went to snow plow status once i bought the 2014 gas F250
both still run fine, and i would not hesitate one second to drive either one cross country and back.
Mine has been my DD for almost 10 years, seemingly flawlessly (brakes, alt., water pump, front end wear parts… all DIY). Nothing I’d rather own or drive.
But I wonder if you’ve figured the cost of purchasing and operating this truck with your length of commute. Mine’s big (CC, DRW, 4x4, etc), but even in other, lighter configurations, you’re looking at mid-teens in mileage (higher teens with a manual). And a rust free low mileage unicorn will sell for more than its MSRP when it was new.
I suppose you’re aware of all this, but I remember when using mine for a 7 month interstate commute, wondering if the job was worth all the miles I was putting on my baby. I eventually decided that it was not.
But I wonder if you’ve figured the cost of purchasing and operating this truck with your length of commute. Mine’s big (CC, DRW, 4x4, etc), but even in other, lighter configurations, you’re looking at mid-teens in mileage (higher teens with a manual). And a rust free low mileage unicorn will sell for more than its MSRP when it was new.
I suppose you’re aware of all this, but I remember when using mine for a 7 month interstate commute, wondering if the job was worth all the miles I was putting on my baby. I eventually decided that it was not.
good point JGK. i traded my daily driver status from pickups to a 2018 explorer that gets 20 mpg around town and close to 30 mpg out on the highway.
double the mileage of any of my pickups.
double the mileage of any of my pickups.
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