powerstroke help

[elementryder]

hey guys im looking into buying an early 99 powerstroke, what is different compaired to the later 99.5-2003, and does anyone have many problems with them? what kind of mpg are you guys getting with the early 99s?

[blacknblue#2]

this thread will prolly end up being a disaster. Diesel truck threads never make it far cause you got too many guys that feel like.. "my neighbor has a duramax with 850 hp that pulls 25000lb every day on the stock tranny".. you get what im saying but anyways if your looking at buying a 99 then its a 7.3 which is a good choice, some of the early 03/04 6.0s has some issues, but not every one (i have an 06 and couldnt be more pleased). my dad has a 2000 F350 that he bought new. Its got right at 180k on it with no troubles at all. only thing he has ever had to do was routine maintenance and one time he had a wire inside the starter get a short and it took them forever to figure out why the starter couldnt get juice. thats been his only issue. Its a 6 speed and still on original clutch and has prolly pulled a trailer about 130k of those 180k(he drives an explorer to work). The 7.3 is just a bulletproof diesel engine. they dont rev fast like the new diesels but they got all the power you need. Looking at prolly around 17mpg on the highway and about 13 or so in town. Dad collects tractors and does his share of haulin heavy loads all over the place. Ive never saw a hill that he couldnt climb pulling a 13,000lb IH 1066 with a 5000lb 30 foot gooseneck. I remember the late 80s when dad had a 6.9. I can remember many days pulling the same 1066 up some hills and dad making me hold the door open. the old trailer didnt have any brakes and the truck didnt have much power. I still remember him saying "if this truck dies you hop out" he never would tell me why but the older i got i figured out why. The truck brakes woulda never held us there. But back to the 7.3 like i said, their not bad on fuel, plenty of power and basically bulletproof. If anything i would put a small box on it for a little bit of smoke and drive it till it fell apart which will be a long time. Any pics of the truck your looking at?

[hypersnyper6947]

Great motor, trans isnt so hot though. All in all great choice. There is a difference between years as far as internals go. Im pretty sure a certain year has forged or something. Just do a little searching. Or check out one of the many powerstroke forums. powerstroke.org and powerstrokenation.com are both great.

[400exrider707]

Join on powerstrokenation.com or powerstroke.org (the nation seems to have better tech advice).

Diesel threads always turn into disaster on here. The diesel world is funny. The "BIG" names in diesel are a joke to the forums and the small online communities of diesel enthusiasts. The masses really have no clue what is good for their truck or not.

Some of the 7.3's had forged rods, some had PMRs (powdered metal rods) and it's not just specific years, they switched back and forth twice. There are numbers on the valve covers you can read to verify what you have, and you can also remove the inspection cover on the side of the block and look to see. There are pics floating around that show the difference.

Oil pans are a huge issue, they seem to rot away at nothing and the motor needs to be completely removed in order to replace it.

Join one of those forums.

[bens250ex]

early 99 will have forged rods, turbo will be smaller but spools faster and has no Rlag compared to later models, front end will have some different parts such as tracbar,wheel hubs are diff so you have to use diff rotars, seats are different, you can't use some aftermarket intakes without modifications, early 99 don't have a AIS if thats what its called, early 99 have a 15* degree HPOP instead of 17. there are a few more but all in all they are basically the same. i personally have a early 99 and love how the turbo spools compared to later 7.3. gas milage can be decent i have gottin 15mpg pulling a trailer on the highway but i was babying it. i have 35" tires as well. trans are decent but if you mod it with a chip you will be buying a trans eventually. BTS,suncoat,JW are the best trans places, but you could get by with a nice TC and shift kit and make it last with tunes. The PCM code on the early 99 is suppose to be the worst tunes that came in the truck. i have a PCM out of a later 7.3 to fix that.

[bens250ex]

Originally posted by 400exrider707
Join on powerstrokenation.com or powerstroke.org (the nation seems to have better tech advice).

Diesel threads always turn into disaster on here. The diesel world is funny. The "BIG" names in diesel are a joke to the forums and the small online communities of diesel enthusiasts. The masses really have no clue what is good for their truck or not.

Some of the 7.3's had forged rods, some had PMRs (powdered metal rods) and it's not just specific years, they switched back and forth twice. There are numbers on the valve covers you can read to verify what you have, and you can also remove the inspection cover on the side of the block and look to see. There are pics floating around that show the difference.

Oil pans are a huge issue, they seem to rot away at nothing and the motor needs to be completely removed in order to replace it.

Join one of those forums.


2000, and 2001 are the years they flip flopped on the PMR's i think

[400exrider707]

Originally posted by bens250ex
2000, and 2001 are the years they flip flopped on the PMR's i think

It's not limited to certain years, you have to look at the codes on the valve covers, or look right in the block.

Here is the engine serial number break down for the forged and powdered connecting rods. Check you engine serial number on the valve cover build sticker or you need to look at the block where the oil cooler is bolted to it . Start of production thru 1425746 are Forged Rods 1425747 thru 1440712 are Powdered Rods 1446713 thru 1498318 are Forged Rods 1498319 thru final production run are all powdered Or you can break them then you know what you have-Ha Ha-Just kidding The reason for the break in serial numbers is a "test" run to be sure there were not any issues with the powdered rods. Once the process was production tested the powered rod process was used until the end of production.

[bens250ex]

Originally posted by 400exrider707
It's not limited to certain years, you have to look at the codes on the valve covers, or look right in the block.

Here is the engine serial number break down for the forged and powdered connecting rods. Check you engine serial number on the valve cover build sticker or you need to look at the block where the oil cooler is bolted to it . Start of production thru 1425746 are Forged Rods 1425747 thru 1440712 are Powdered Rods 1446713 thru 1498318 are Forged Rods 1498319 thru final production run are all powdered Or you can break them then you know what you have-Ha Ha-Just kidding The reason for the break in serial numbers is a "test" run to be sure there were not any issues with the powdered rods. Once the process was production tested the powered rod process was used until the end of production.

i meant in 2000 and 2001 it was iffy on what it could be then in 02-03 they turned to PMR rods just about 100%. so if you want to tune it for power stay away from anything newer than 02 in the 7.3 unless you want to break some rods possible.

[justinwills83]

i have a 2000 powerstroke . i get a 14mpg avg, with reg driven. does pretty good on the hwy tho. i could probly do alot better with a good programmer, there a great all around truck. , only thing i dont like is it takes a whole parking lot to turn it around. but mine also quad cab long bed. ..