7.3L gasser now official

[e philpott]

This 7.3 is going to make 450 to 500 horsepower at 14.7 to 1 air fuel ratio is what we should be talking about !!

That basically means the "programmer companies " will be able extract probably close to 100 more horse power just by a A/F and timing adjustment !!

[FElony]

This 7.3 is going to make 450 to 500 horsepower at 14.7 to 1 air fuel ratio is what we should be talking about !!

So there are aspects of this engine that are forbidden to talk about? I'm surprised to hear such a statement from you. Pegged to the left?

[runthatjunk]

Variable displacement oil pump, sounds like yet another recipe for disaster

[Rory428]

I have to think the bad rap that the Ford V10 and 6.0 Diesel engines get is overblown. My 99 F350 V10 5 speed is 20 years old now, and runs great, smooth as silk, no signs of any leaks, and has had the spark plugs replaced twice with no issues. I have only owned the truck for 6 years, but the original owner is a friend who factory ordered it, and gave me all the receipts for service when I bought it.
And DalePs F350 has a 6.0L , which he bought new, and has had no engine problems that I can think of. He did have , I believe, a sensor or module go bad last year, but the actual engine is still running fine. I believe it still has the functional EGR setup. Neither of us have felt the need to modify our trucks, which can`t hurt the reliability.This new 7.3 gas engine looks really good, hope Ford sells a ton of them. If I decided to buy a new truck, this would certainly be the engine I would consider. I hope that 10 speed automatic is up to the task!

[HarleyJack17]

I have to think the bad rap that the Ford V10 and 6.0 Diesel engines get is overblown

It is not too overblown.  Don't get me wrong, I am certain there are plenty out there that have been fine. However, there are just as many that have not.  I sold them for a while, and have to say that early 6.0 diesels were issue prone.
I own a V10 Super Duty. I have to say I am very displeased with it.  Very Very light use, all regular maintenance done.  It may have towed 5,000 lbs. or more like 5 times. Otherwise empty or pulling a small boat.
The truck is an '03 and was my first and only new vehicle that I have ever purchased.  By 80k the head warped on one side.  Truck never got hot, never had any issue. It just started leaking oil one day....thought it was a head gasket, $2,100 later it was fixed(both sides).
I had thought at the time the spark plug issue was addressed on the later Tritons. Found out a month ago it wasn't when it blew one out at 5a.m. as I was headed duck hunting.  Truck has 104K on it now.  Add to that, at 90K miles I rebuilt the entire front end. Every ball joint, tie rod, and hub shot.  The cost to up grade to replaceable parts was not much more than new Ford parts so I opted to spend the coin and covert the hubs/spindles to old school vs. the unit bearing.  The plug blowing out was the final straw. I could have had the inserts done when it was down for the head work and saved money, time but misinformation and lack of follow up by Ford left me in the dark.

We all have different experiences but that truck has been the worst ride I have owned yet.  I know of two other Tritons personally that the heads warped at around 100K.  And several Super Duties that the front ends were shot by 75-80K.

Ford knows all about the head and spark plug issues and chose not to do squat....that is where I have the rub.
They had a massive selection of bad bolts that stretched letting the heads warp, and three or four threads to hold a spark plug in....come on.

Nothing lasts forever, and they all have issues but it rubs me wrong to see dozens of the Chevy LS trucks rolling 160K and had 0 problems.

Rant over

[Rory428]

Well, my experience is very different. My V10 is a 1999, currently showing 136000 miles. It has been well maintained, and has zero leaks, zero spark plug issues, and concerning the front suspension & steering, the only thing I have replaced, was 1 outer tie rod. (the original has no grease nipple, the MOOG replacement does).Most of the miles have been while towing a race car in an enclosed trailer, my current trailer weighs about 9000 pounds loaded. It also still has all the factory installed exhaust system, original clutch, and even the original front and rear brakes, with about 50% left on the pads. The fuel pump and all 10 coils were replaced at 125,000 miles, strictly as preventative maintainance, the originals never had any issues. Just replaced all 6 tires last year, which is the 3rd set, counting the factory installed tires. No complaints  here concerning this truck. And if "the planets align" I will be using this truck to haul my Fairmont to the 2019 FE Reunion, 3000 miles each way.

[Katz427]

I think most 4wheel drive vehicles have parts replacement before 100k we have had a couple Ram's before 50k. The problem with the spark plugs should have been covered. However we had a couple of oil burning LS 4.8 and 5.3 that GM said they all do that. There was a lawsuit but nothing came of it. Just the way it works, today. IMO

[Barry_R]

I had a 2000 Excursion.  Acquired from a Ford supplier retiree in 2001 with 8000 miles on it.  Used it until 2017 as my daily driver all year round.  When I finally sold it I had roughly 200,000 miles on it.  Over that time I replaced brakes(several times), front end wear items including outer bearings and u-joints, filters, batteries (a couple) and alternators.  I swapped out for better shocks and a "performance" exhaust.  Put in a set of plugs at 150,000 miles 'cuz I felt guilty, and a set of coils when it started acting up after a heavy rain.  Never had the valve covers off, never spat a plug, never broke anything in the trans or engine. 

Replaced it because I was getting nervous about several symptoms of impending future issues (delayed cold engagement on trans, piston slap that went away when warmed up).  Body had significant structural rust from a life spent on well salted Michigan roads that made large powertrain investments unwise.

[RustyCrankshaft]

A guy I worked with on a lot of dirt jobs had 2 V10 super duty's, a 99 and an 01 I think. The 99 blew a plug at about 35k, Ford fixed it under warranty. Truck had 340k on it when he retired last year, still ran great but was starting to use a little oil and pistons were getting a little rattely when it was cold. The 01 had 260k and still ran fan but he wanted to keep that truck into retirement so I put a V10 cratemotor in it for him in trade for 2 of his shop trucks.

I briefly owned a early 99 with a V10 in it I bought from a family member. I had to put ball joints in it and I did the dynatrack conversion to get rid of the unit bearings. Had 160k when I bought it, blew a plug at 167k which I fixed that 1 and put all new plugs in. Sold it at 225k, still ran fine.

The ball joints and hub deal, well everyone has that issue on the modern trucks. I think it was a mistake going away from kingpin front axles on the 4x4's. The Ford's are much better than the Chevy and Dodge 4x4 front ends in my experience. I had a 98 Dodge 12v cabchassis as one of my shop trucks, using it the same way the 95 PowerStroke got used with the same 5 guys driving it the Dodge went thru front brakes once a month, the PowerStroke went 6-7 months. The dodge needed ball joints, unit bearings, center axle disconnects, so and so forth, a constant stream of parts. Only thing that truck never had issues with was the Cummins.

There's always the chance you end up with a Friday truck, but overall I think the V10 trucks have been decent (at work we still have 25 or 30 of them in service and they have held up well). I just think a pushrod bigblock is a better choice!

[chilly460]

Numbers have been published

http://www.mustangandfords.com/features/1908-ford-godzilla-73-liter/

[RustyCrankshaft]

Hopefully it is actually swap friendly. At 430 hp at 14.7 it wouldn't take much but a little more fuel and some boost and it would be pretty mean right out of the box. Be interesting to see what the heads flow, see how far one might be able to go with it NA.

[Joey120373]

Ok y’all, get the flame throwers out...

Just gonna say it, that thing looks for all the world like the ford Enginier’s said F-it, let’s just build a bigger LS.
The block, mains, rocker arms, coils, roller lifter guides ..... all look to me like a loose to almost exact copy of what you would see in an LS.
Of course, I know full well the LS uses some design cues of the FE.

Not that a similar design to the LS is a bad thing. No idea what the ports in the heads look like, but what I saw of the exhaust sure looked good.

Weather they did it on purpose of if it was truly a clean sheet design that just happens to share all kinds of LS looking stuff, I think it’s great. Looks to me like a solid base to start hot rodding, and I’m hoping it will beat Chevy all to bits. It would be great if, one day, the magazines and internet all find out quickly that all you need for a 600-700hp pump gas street engine is to throw a cam and headers at the new ford 7.3.

[Falcon67]

That's OK, don't care.  It has to be better than the $10,000 upcharge for a diesel and there isn't any diesel bullpoop that goes with a modern unit - Blue Def, regen, low sulfer, etc, etc, etc.   And a billion dollars to extend the warranty to cover $10,000 part failures.  I'll buy one if I can afford it.  Build and price doesn't show it yet.   But I doubt I can afford one. 

[chilly460]

I was looking at diesels but once you dig into the issues with EGR and regen, it scares a guy off unless he really NEEDS a diesel to tow.  Add in the cost difference and it’s tough to justify for a guy like me towing an open trailer a few times a year.  That said, the 7.3 finally fills a gap and provides what should be a gas motor that can lug a heavy F250 and trailer with plenty of power. 

[Katz427]

For me, I see some racing engine block design , like the 9 cam bearings. I am sure even some  thinking on the coolant flow from the Fr9 NASCAR engine. Looks to be a well designed piece. I am sure someone at Roush has played with it already. The real trick "to me" is running at stoichiometric  a/f ratio. If it turns out to be reasonably fuel efficient, while hauling, it should be a viable alternative to diesel for many truck owners.