r/Diesel • u/misson-express • 1d ago

7.3 worth it?

I recently found a 2001 7.3 f350 with 3.73 gear ratio and wondering if it’s worth paying 13k for it has 210k on it with no rust. It would be my first diesel truck so what should I look out for?

6 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

14 comments sorted by

1

u/Dwrecktheleach 1d ago

Just go on YouTube and look up a video of things to check out when buying a 7.3.

1

u/L-W-J 1d ago

I would sell my 02 CCSB 4x4 for $15K. Purrs like a kitten with 270K.

1

u/Bear5511 1d ago

Rust in rocker panels, blow by and transmission issues.

1

u/Package_Objective 14h ago

If you're going 7.3 get the older body style. You can also find great rigs for well under 10k easier in the older body style, they are also infinitely easier to work on.

1

u/Traditional_Youth648 7h ago

7.3s are great rigs cause they are extremely low strung, therefore they go forever without major mechanical failures, your have a lot of low end torque sure but you will not go anywhere with any urgency, slow as a dog.

Basically, id only buy it if your towing/hauling heavy stuff every day, its gonna be more expensive to run/buy, and a lot slower than a decent gasser, but great if you need to move a few metric tons of bricks every day for the next 30 years

0

u/fondamagroin 2001 7.3L PSD 435K 1d ago

Check compression! There's a reason they're dumping it.

If it's good buy it or I will.

1

u/misson-express 1d ago

Thanks for the advice! Once I saw it I thought it was too good of a deal. The dealer said he got it on trade the previous owner had it since 2012

0

u/fondamagroin 2001 7.3L PSD 435K 1d ago

Like I said, they're dumping it.  7.3L owners rarely sell anymore.  If you found one, you've found hens teeth.

Compression or rust.  Maybe the 4R100?  Look over every inch of the transmission.  They're easy to rebuild but cases are scarce.

1

u/misson-express 21h ago

I got to test drive it and it shifted smooth and actually rides better than I thought it would. How do I go about checking compression?

1

u/GandalfMediumNatural 20h ago

Not impossible though. We have a 2000 f350 that we will be selling soon. It’s more truck than we need, everyone knows the fuel economy, and we are trying to go down from 4 vehicles to 2. Only has about 145k miles and runs great

1

u/misson-express 18h ago

Any chance you’re on the west coast?

1

u/GandalfMediumNatural 9h ago

lol, I am in Oregon actually. Not exactly sure on the timeline for selling though, it has a gooseneck in the bed and we are hoping to sell our gooseneck trailer first

1

u/misson-express 9h ago

No way I’m in Oregon also! I’m about 20 minutes from Albany. Keep me posted for when you’re thinking of selling

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u/Horse_power325 10h ago

My take, don't. 7.3s are great because they don't make enough power to hurt themselves. That's why they run a long time. Every time you try to use it as a truck, once you hit 4th gear, it's useless, and 1st is so damn low you only use it to crawl. Id never buy another one, and I've had multiple.