# 2001 Ford F250 W/ 7.2 Diesel



## K. Smith (May 25, 2009)

I am going to go look at a used 2001 Ford F250 with the 7.3 diesel. It has 127K miles, some of which were from towing a 5th wheel from Arkansas to Alaska and back.

Though the truck looks practically new, I'm a little afraid of the miles on it, given the long tows. I have no experience at all with diesels, but I've been told and read that this was one of the best engines that Ford has offered.

My wife suggested we tow the Outback there with my Chevy and test drive the Ford towing the Outback. Not a horrible idea, assuming the owner would go for it. But the Ford is around 150 very hilly miles away and my Chevy 1/2 ton isn't up to the task (which is why I'm looking at a Ford diesel).

I guess on the test drive, I'm going to find a big hill and see how well it pulls itself up it. Other than that, what else can I try to ensure the engine is strong? Again, I have no diesel experience, other than driving a relative's Dodge occasionally.

Thanks for any advice,
Kevin


----------



## maddog (Dec 16, 2009)

K. Smith said:


> I am going to go look at a used 2001 Ford F250 with the 7.3 diesel. It has 127K miles, some of which were from towing a 5th wheel from Arkansas to Alaska and back.
> 
> Though the truck looks practically new, I'm a little afraid of the miles on it, given the long tows. I have no experience at all with diesels, but I've been told and read that this was one of the best engines that Ford has offered.
> 
> ...


If it was taken care of and you continue to take care of it, it will last 300k plus before any major issues if any happen. Maybe injectors. 127k is just now broke in for a diesel. My 7.3 has 133k on it and runs strong. I towed with an F-150 then switched to the diesel and it was night and day difference. You won't be disappointed. It won't win a race up a hill but it will pull it easier then the gasser. I wouldn't worry about lugging your outback to test it. It will do just fine.


----------



## willingtonpaul (Apr 16, 2010)

i agree on the engine. the 7.3L is a fantastic powerplant. the weak leak on that truck is the tranny. with all those towing miles, if you buy it, expect to put a $1500 or so in the tranny for a rebuild. done correctly, you will only have to do it once, most likely....


----------



## Duanesz (Jul 10, 2009)

I just got an 2000 250 with a 7.3. Find out if the truck has had a chip or programmer in it. Check to see if it has a K and N air filter in it. If it does pull the intake off where it goes into the turbo and see if the turbo wheel is pitted or looks like its been sand blasted if it is let it go. My truck had 120,000 mi on it. It had a oil leak by the dipstick and a o-ring that was leaking behind the High pressure oil pump. See if the owner has any maintenance records. Take your hand and go right behind the fuel filter on top of engine and stick your hand all the way to the bottom and see if there is any oil there. If there are any oil leaks on the top of the engine it collects in the valley and then runs out a hole in the back of the block by the torque converter and it looks like a rear main leaking but its not. Do the obvious check the trans fluid see if its red or smells burnt.

Dont expect the truck to be fast or feel powerful when I got mine I was disappointed on the power. People would always make comments like you wont even know its back there but you do. My 250 pulls alot better than my 150 did and I am getting about 2-3 mpg better mileage with the 250.

Also look under the door seals on the very bottom of the doors thats where the rust starts and put the tail gate down and look at the lip on the bottom of the tailgate it rust there too.

See if they installed a extra trans cooler. Mine with just the stock cooler would run about 200deg and that was only grossing 14k total truck and trailer.

I like my truck more and more that I drive it. I have added and cold air intake and 4in exhaust and it has helped in the power department. I will be getting a 6 position chip for in soon to.

Some great sites to check out are powerstroke.org and powerstrokenation.com check the forums there is more info there than you will ever need.

If you can get a Vin number someone at a dealer can run a oasis report and see what has been done to the truck in the past.

Duane


----------



## K. Smith (May 25, 2009)

Thanks all for the advice.

Well, we went and looked at it. It didn't look as good in person. The bed had some dents in it, and the paint on the driver side door looked like the guy whacked everything he could find with his door when he opened it!







The leather seats were cracked as expected in the typical places, and the carpet needs a good cleaning.

Mechanically, I couldn't find anything wrong with it. My wife and I took it out and drove it hard and soft and couldn't find anything to complain about. In fact, she liked driving it better than our Chevy Silverado, which most people complement on its smooth, cushy ride.

We glanced at his 5th wheel and it wasn't too big, which made us happy because we would hate to buy a truck after someone towed a 14,000 pound trailer to Alaska and back.

After some haggling on the price, we went ahead and told them we would take it. We'll pick it up on Friday or Saturday next week. It will be nice to be able to tow the Outback without fear and loathing...


----------



## Collinsfam_WY (Nov 9, 2006)

Hey congrats on the new-to-you ride







Be sure to show us some pictures when you get a chance!

Curtis


----------



## K. Smith (May 25, 2009)

Brought it home today. It drives very well. I reset the Average MPH in the overhead and it showed to get 19.5MPH on the interstate doing around 2000 rpm and 70 MPH (using cruise control). That is the same my 5.3L (gas) Chevy gets. I'm going to hook up the Outback tomorrow and tackle some big hills just for the fun of it!









After I finish detailing it tomorrow, I'll post some pics. Nothing too thrilling. Let's be honest, once you've seen one White/Tan F250, you've probably seen them all!









Kevin


----------



## Tangooutback (Apr 16, 2010)

That overhead thingie is better known as lie-o-meter....









Fill your tank all the way to the top. I mean truly to the top, not just when the gas dispenser cuts off on its own. I have a 2000 F250/7.3 and it takes on an additional seven gallons from the time the dispenser cuts off to the time diesel actually comes out the fuel tank fill hole. 
Refill again in same manner after you drive 300 miles. Now, do hand calculation.

I bet you are going to get around 11 mpg with the trailer in tow and about 18 without while on freeway and at speed under 65 mph. In town it would make 14 (without trailer) if you drive like grandpa does.

A lot of folks claim 18 mpg in town. I drive very carefully, never jack rabbit, minimize braking, always keep rpm at 2000 or under...and never get more than 14 mpg in town. Mine has 123K miles on the clock and is in tip top condition with an aftermarket intake and exhaust.

By the way, I highly recommend an aftermarket add-on transmission cooler and temperature gauge before you tow your trailer....especially going up the hills as you plan. I learned it the expensive way how fast temperature killed a transmission.


----------



## jba4ever (Jul 16, 2006)

Duanesz said:


> I just got an 2000 250 with a 7.3. Find out if the truck has had a chip or programmer in it...
> 
> Duane


We purchased our 1995 F350 used. It just went over 355,000 miles a couple of weeks ago on vacation. Looking forward to seeing her top 356,000 this Labor Day weekend! It is, and has always been bone stock. I would study even longer with the ones which have been "chipped". Following the maintenance schedule is the key. I did not know the individual personally I bought from but I knew others, which knew him, and I trust them. He told me the engine and yes even the transmission were still factory originals. Neither one has had a rebuild but he was "focused" with the maintenance schedule. All that to say, congrats on the new truck I am sure it will serve you well!


----------



## Escalade Steve (May 10, 2009)

Ok listen up, you will thank me later.

1st order of business. As others have mentioned one of the best and most necessary upgrades for your truck will be to the transmission cooler. The transmission cooler that comes on the 7.3 is way too small. Don't go aftermarket. Instead, pick yourself up a junkyard trans cooler from the 2003-2007 F series with a 6.0 diesel. This particular cooler will increase cooling capacity by 136% and fits directly into the old mounting brackets. You will need to adapt the old lines (3/8") to the bigger cooler (1/2" lines) you can accomplish this with home depot/lowes hardware.

2nd order of business. The only way to know if everything is in line while towing such a heavy load is to monitor several factors such as trans fluid temp, exhaust gas temperatures, oil temp, fuel rail pressure, etc. I just picked up the Edge CS and it is great for this. This way you'll see problems before they cause permanent and expensive damage. It does not monitor fuel rail pressure so I'm getting ready to pick up a fuel pressure gauge.

3rd order of business, thos service records are extremely inportant. The o-rings on your fuel seperator, HPOP and turbo will all eventually go causing fuel leaks, and MASSIVE OIL LEAKS. We're talking 15 quarts of oil on the highway, and none in your engine. These are all simple and relatively inexpensive o-rings but my vote is to be proactive about this, it WILL happen so if the o-rings havent been replaced yet, it wont be long.

4th - The wiring harnesses under the valve covers bake and short out, and eventually will most likely need to be replaced. If you start experiencing the engine cutting out, then coming back, then idling horrible, white smoke, engine dying but will restart...you can look at replacing those wiring harnesses inside the valve covers. If you check them BEFORE you have a problem, you can avoid blowing out your Injector Control Module (ICM) which can be very expensive unless you buy a remanufactured one.

5th - there was a recall for most of the cam position sensors for most of the 7.3's. If the dealer wont do it for you, the part is only $25 on ebay and easy to replace. If your Cam position sensor goes bad...you can count on hours of frustrating trouble shooting.

I could go on, but that's the important stuff, all from experience. I hang out at powerstroke.org and there is fantastic information there about keeping your old girl happy. The 7.3 is probably the best diesel Ford has ever offered, even my local dealership service department feels that way, but remember everything is computer controlled, and many of those sensors/components will eventually go bad and wreak havoc.

Also, if you havent yet familiarized yourself with the way the 7.3 works, our fuel injectors utilize oil pressure to actuate the injectors. If you wait too long in between oil changes, and your oil starts to break down, you'll lose oil pressure, which in turn will effect fuel delivery and again...cause problems.

When towing heavy loads like our 5th wheels, dont tow blind...get yourself gauges, or the Edge cs like I did, and make sure you monitor EGT's. EXTREMEMLY IMPORTANT...if you dont and run the motor too hot, you'll really regret it.

I hope this helps, good luck and enjoy your new truck. I hope to have my 7.3 for a very long time. I'm only at 120k on my 2000 F-350 Dually


----------



## KTMRacer (Jun 28, 2010)

while I'm a duramax owner and fan, the ford 7.3 is an excellent engine. Neighbor has a 01 7.3 with 289K miles on it, virtually every mile towing about 8-10K enclosed trailer around the country. Engine is still very strong, transmission is the weak link.


----------



## Tangooutback (Apr 16, 2010)

The CPS (Cam Position Sensor) is a killer on 7.3. You can never tell when it goes out on you. My neighbor across the street has a 7.3 and it went out on him. He called tow truck and took it to local dealer 10 miles away. Besides of $80 tow charge, he paid the dealer $400 plus waiting for three hours to get it back on the road.

I always carry a spare CPS, which costs 28 bucks at Autozone, and a 10mm wrench in the truck. Mine went out two months ago. It took me 30 minutes to replace it by the road side. I did not bother to take it into the dealer when I got the notice in the mail to bring it in for free replacement.


----------



## stang5302 (Aug 31, 2010)

Congrats on buying the 7.3, I just bought a F350 Crew DRW with the 7.3 and have been doing alot of research on them. The 3 big things for the motor that i have done already was a 4 " turbo back exhaust, an after market intake and an Evolution Edge programer that I am very happy with. It monitors alot of the engine including engine oil temp, tranny temp, boast presure and your exhaust temp including the pyro probe. this all just made the truck alot more responsive and gave me anywhere from 2-3 more MPG both empty and when towing. Hope you enjoy your new ride


----------



## Duanesz (Jul 10, 2009)

stang5302 said:


> Congrats on buying the 7.3, I just bought a F350 Crew DRW with the 7.3 and have been doing alot of research on them. The 3 big things for the motor that i have done already was a 4 " turbo back exhaust, an after market intake and an Evolution Edge programer that I am very happy with. It monitors alot of the engine including engine oil temp, tranny temp, boast presure and your exhaust temp including the pyro probe. this all just made the truck alot more responsive and gave me anywhere from 2-3 more MPG both empty and when towing. Hope you enjoy your new ride


Watch the edge tuners they are hard on transmissions. Lots of guys on powerstroke.org say to stay away from the edge tuners unless you have a stick shift.


----------

