7.3 IDI for towing

[kc0stp]

Been casually looking at 1 ton fords locally and due to most being way out of my price range havnt given them much thought, however recently found a 7.3IDI (non turbo) within my budget. However while I know the chasis (dually, 4 speed auto) is much better suited for towing on paper the specs are basiclly the same as the 1/2 ton Im using now for towing. I know also that the 7.3IDI can be upgraded to greatly boost the power but for now thats not in the budget so any ideas how it would do? (using the 24valve 4.6L F150 V8 atm)

[Brian]

A friend had one, and kind of wanted a turbo... It's basically a lot less power and torque than a typical modern gas engine in a half ton these days. 185 hp and 360 ft lbs (a Dodge Ram 1500 with the little Hemi has 390 hp and 401 ft lbs of torque). Towing is all about power, and high torque numbers moves the power band down to lower RPM's so the power is more user-friendly - but if you only have 185 hp, you aren't going to be rocketing up hills... Even the factory turbo version boosted those numbers by only a little. So think about why you want it. If you want it because the chassis is more capable, then go for it. If you want it for pulling power, not so much.

Brian

[PK]

I had a similar 3/4 ton Ford, and it was ok here in Michigan. Your Colorado location is a potential issue, though. I towed an open Uhaul trailer with a light car from CA to MI, and going up the Rockies, I generated huge amounts of smoke and at times was limited to 35 mph. If I had any thoughts of towing over the mountains again, I'd never buy a non-turbo diesel.

[kc0stp]

Well on paper my current gasser has 292hp @5700rpm and 320 tq @ 4000rpm (where I spend most my time) while a 7.3IDI has 185hp @3000rpm and 360tq @ 1400rpm.

So basiclly tq wise (what trully matters for towing IMO) the diesel has it beat by all of 40 ft/lbs but it makes that power much lower and can be easily upgraded to make more (first thing Im doing will probbly be a turbo kit that supposdly adds ~140tq and 80hp) while with the gasser thanks to my unwillingness to mod anything still under factory warrenty (and with all those cpus) will be at what it is forever.

Ideally Id like to eventully have more power (I can make the hills but Im in 3rd or 4th at WOT @ 65) and better fuel economy (8-9mpg currently) to help keep down on costs.

[Frank C]

In looking at choices, I would look at the number of gears, particularly in the mountains. Maybe not so important for a Diesel, but sure makes a difference for a gas engine.
- Frank C

[Charlie Schmidt]

I used a '90 F-250 for about 10 years to pull a 18' enclosed trailer with 2 formula cars. Even with a fresh Jasper motor, it was not enough without a turbo. Wouldn't hold 70mph on the interstate with the cruise, you had to boot it to downshift for every hill, and a 2 lane road was worse and fuel economy was nothing great either I borrowed a Tahoe one of the times it was in the shop, towed better, and got better mileage to boot

first Ford I ever owned, with luck the last

[Rick Kirchner]

Here's another idea. Screw the diesel and forget about gas mileage. You can buy a 2001-2005ish 8.1L GM gasser for about $10K. The allison is indestructable. The frame is much heavier than the ford or dodge units. they are very simple - not a lot of electronic gewgawws to break. With 360 hp/440 ft lbs of torque it doesn't matter if you want to pull or go fast. With the 3.73s and 2WD you'll get 12-13 mpg normal driving, about 10 towing. With my 4.22s and 4WD, I get 7 towing - at more than 80mph. I don't get stuck behind semis either. I could pull the Baker grade at 65mph with an 8000 lb trailer.

The only troubles I've had in 120Kmi is a tendency for all that nose weight to beat the crap out of the steering components. Everything else has been nickel and dime stuff.

With the vehicles you are looking at you'll spend more time on the hills than on the track.

You can buy about 5,000 gallons of gas for the price differential between a new truck and one of the older ones.

[kc0stp]

I used a '90 F-250 for about 10 years to pull a 18' enclosed trailer with 2 formula cars. Even with a fresh Jasper motor, it was not enough without a turbo. Wouldn't hold 70mph on the interstate with the cruise, you had to boot it to downshift for every hill, and a 2 lane road was worse and fuel economy was nothing great either I borrowed a Tahoe one of the times it was in the shop, towed better, and got better mileage to boot

first Ford I ever owned, with luck the last

Jasper motor=gasser completly diffrent animal (and having a service truck at work with the same era gasser motor I agree 100%)

Here's another idea. Screw the diesel and forget about gas mileage. You can buy a 2001-2005ish 8.1L GM gasser for about $10K. The allison is indestructable. The frame is much heavier than the ford or dodge units. they are very simple - not a lot of electronic gewgawws to break. With 360 hp/440 ft lbs of torque it doesn't matter if you want to pull or go fast. With the 3.73s and 2WD you'll get 12-13 mpg normal driving, about 10 towing. With my 4.22s and 4WD, I get 7 towing - at more than 80mph. I don't get stuck behind semis either. I could pull the Baker grade at 65mph with an 8000 lb trailer.

The only troubles I've had in 120Kmi is a tendency for all that nose weight to beat the crap out of the steering components. Everything else has been nickel and dime stuff.

With the vehicles you are looking at you'll spend more time on the hills than on the track.

You can buy about 5,000 gallons of gas for the price differential between a new truck and one of the older ones.

Well Ill just brake this one down into parts instead of lump answering...

"...buy a 2001-2005ish 8.1L GM gasser for about $10K" - So you providing the extra $8k for initial purchase plus the extra couple hundred (or more) per month in insurance?

"they are very simple - not a lot of electronic gewgawws to break." - Must not know much about the 7.3 IDI, the only electronics on it are for the auto tranny, not even a single relay on the whole truck, no engine ecu, no electric fuel pump etc.

"With 360 hp/440 ft lbs of torque it doesn't matter if you want to pull or go fast." - Wow an 8.1L gasser that only makes 440ft/lbs of torque? My little 4.6L gasser isnt to far behind (about 100ft/lbs). Thats also not taking into effect altitude/driveline loses but without FI thats prettty much equal across the board (although altitude plays a big part up here)

"I get 7 towing - at more than 80mph." - Good for you I guess, personally Id never even think about going that fast with a trailer (especially since CA has a 55mph limit for trailers...),besides most the time when people pass me that are going that fast I still beat them there as they have to stop for gas more often. Dont even go that fast without a trailer...no where I have to go is that important (especially when towing). "To win you must first finsh"

"I could pull the Baker grade at 65mph with an 8000 lb trailer." - Dont know where/what that is but if you want to try and say how powerful your truck is try something more like the Eisenhower (SP?) tunnel. Like I mentioned earlier altitude kills a lot of your power (without FI)

"u can buy about 5,000 gallons of gas for the price differential between a new truck and one of the older ones" Yep very much true, although just for grins and gigles the people that are running a 7.3IDI on alternative fuels are paying about 50 cents to a gallon so the price diffrence fuel wise in that and your GMC is about 16,000 gallons

Once again folks mainly after hows a 7.3IDI 1ton compare to a slightly lower powered 4.6L 24valve 1/2ton. Dont get me wrong as soon as the budget allows Ill be upping the power of the 7.3 so its no longer in question but for now its stock... (for the record havnt bought anything yet just looking). And the Power strokes and most other 1tons are out of the question due to initial cost and insurance costs (a 93 7.3IDI is $150/month, a 95 7.3PSD is ~$500/month...)

[Jon Jeffords]

I have an '89 E350 panel van with the 7.3 IDI that use to pull my FF on a single axle open trailer. No complaints at Wisconsin altitude. I just took delivery on a 20' enclosed trailer, so it will be interesting to see how she handles the increased load. My tows to the tracks are only 90 minutes.

Good info on the driveline at Ford Truck Enthusiasts as well as TheDieselStop.

Two automatic transmissions offered; one with a poor reputation.

[Rick Kirchner]

you seem to know everything, so why ask the board?

[EACIII]

My last Motorhome had a 8.1L gas GM motor. When it was crushed by a tree I only shopped for another 8.1L. Thing has great power in a motorhome, with a pickup it would be even better. And I can get up to 11 mpg without the trailer. Wish GM still made that motor.

Ed