hey, so basically im in the process of selling my car and have decided to look for either an early dodge cummins which everyone knows is a good engine (12v) but was also looking at the non turbo ford 7.3. the reason i was looking into them is that they are CHEAP comparitively speaking. so my questions are

is this a durable reliable motor i.e. with proper maintenance can i look at seeing 400-500 thousand k outa this engine?

i know banks makes a power package for this motor, but is it powerfull enough to not be a dog around town wihtout any performance adders??

main flaws with engine, if there is something that desperately needs to be changed on this motor, what is it. what is the trucks major downfall???

thanks in advance. -

The major downfall of the 7.3 indirect injection engine is the cylinder wall cavitation. If the engine has never had the proper amounts of SCA in the antifreeze, it is a crap shoot if the engine is any good.

Now, if the antifreeze has been taken care of, the 7.3's are good engines. With a turbo and some tuning, you can have a pretty good running truck. You're not going to win any drag races, sled pulls, or dyno competition's with one, but they will run with any new stock truck with some simple mods. -

94Matt's Sig:

2008 Dodge Cummins Quad cab, long bed, 4x4, manual. Herd bumper, 5" exhaust, egr/dpf delete, Black Maxx

2007 Chevy Duramax Crew cab, long bed, 4x4, auto. Ali-arc bumper, Edge hot juice/attitude

1993 Ford 4x4 reg cab, Southbend FE, 03 Cummins, NV4500, Almost done!!!

Bunch of gassers

Wrecked 03 Dodge Q/C for sale, no engine, trans, t case. Cab is OK, rear end is good. All or nothing $2000

if those SCAs have been maintained in the coolent and the jackets arnt all cavitated then you have a good truck, like said above your not going to win any drag races but with a turbo and a few pump tweaks you can have a fun truck -

DBogo's Sig:

1995 Ram 2500 12v NV4500 <acronym title="Four Wheel Drive"><acronym title="Four Wheel Drive">4x4</acronym></acronym> regular cab
1990 VW Jetta 1.6 5spd 266k and still going strong
1983 Mercedes Benz 240d 4spd 110k original miles FOR SALE
Thanks to Upstate Diesel Performance

The 6.9's are good motors as well! -

Buckshotmckee's Sig:

U.S. Navy Seabee Veteran


"We Build, We Fight, We Drink More Beer!"

Other than a cummins, id have to say these are about the most reliable motors out there, and they are a lot cheaper than a cummins of the same year. I had 3 of em and they were all good trucks. You can turn up the pump w/ only an allen wrench and about 15 minutes of time, and theyll run pretty well. -

wyoranch's Sig:

'03 quad cab 4x4 swb laramie.
Edge HOT juice w/att. Full gauges. Billet tranny. S&B cold air intake

'91 GMC Topkick Cat 3116 w/a 48' dropdeck trailer. XM Radio, sleeper.

ok so remember how i was looking for an older cheaper ford, aahaha, so today i traded my car in on a 2001 dodge ram 2500 cummins turbo diesel 24v, i pick her up tommorow, its my dream truck , 130,000 miles roughly ( canada we use kilometers) black on black with a 3 inch lift, its gorgeous and i dont think i will be able to sleep tonight congradulate me hahaha -

Congrats on the new rig! -

Congrats on your new rig! -

congrats and good luck, sounds like a nice rig. -

could someone walk me throw how to turn the pump up on my 7.3 non turbo? -

this thread is in the wrong section....

heres something for you to read.
Turning Up A 6.9 And 7.3 Mechanical Motor -

slowtowpig's Sig:

1997 4dr 4x4 sb Powerstroke, 6in of lift,down pipe,custom 5in straight dual w/ 8in tips,6pos wildman chip, straight air filter, beans IDM, trans built by mikes trick shift,D66 turbo, 17*HPOP, wildman injectors,FPR shimmed, gauges, 37's on 20s, tv/dvd, cerwin vega mids/highs, PPI flat piston subs, 05 badges, superduty cab lights, shaved tailgate, 12000k HIDs, cobra 29ltd chrome edition cb