I just got done doing some work with a freind of mine and we had to pull a bobcat and some pallets of sod on a 32'gooseneck and i dont have a gooseneck ball in my truck so i traded trucks with another buddy who has a 2001 7.3 powerstoke and pulled all day with it. I have to say for a truck with 200,000 plus miles on it she pulled like a beast. I love my LBZ but it is like a totaly different kind of power. The only way i can explain it is that the 7.3 has so much grunt, it doesnt seem to rely on the turbo a whole lot. Whereas the d-max loves to use its turbo. Dont get me wrong the duramax would outpull it any day of the week but the old fords definately have some respect from me now. I still hate the 6.0 but the 7.3 is a great engine. It never seemed to break a sweat with a pretty damn heavy load, i dont know how heavy but had to be 15,000 ish. It just pulls hard right off the mark, it must be the extra displacment or something. Sweet engine but incase anyone wondered how these old girls ran, they run good but never trade your d-max for one. The D-A combo is just so sweet it is impossible to beat.

I have a 01 7.3 and it feels like a dog compared to my duramax's but I do like the truck and it pulls better then you would think after driving it around empty. Is your buddies stock or programed?

not sure if its programmed or not i think it was stock it had no guages or exhaust, not that those things mean anything. And dont get me wrong it was no duramax but it just felt like it had grunt. It was slow as crap without the trailer but it handled that trailer very well.

My dad had a 03 7.3 one of the last ones they made before they killed the 7.3 from the production line and damn did that truck run strong with just a superchips programmer. Sadly It was stolen out front of my parents home and was never found, Its been 3 years now. Most likely stolen for the engine IMO.
Love my D-max more tho :D

moved to towing.

Look at my signature

The Dmax is faster than my Ford . The ford pulls better, rides better and is whisper quiet compared to the Dmax when it comes to wind noise and rattles inside the cab.
I believe the 4 spd auto in the ford accounts for thr feeling of pulling better or low end grunt. It's not shifting as often.
If I decide to get rid of a truck it will be the Dmax.

BTW The ford has a 3.73 axle ratio. Same as the Chevy

The old 7.3L PSD is a well respected engine for very good reason. Few people who've ever driven or had one will tell you otherwise. Nearly everyone (except the EPA) laments their passing.

It's not really fair to compare the 7.3L PSD to a Dmax today because the technology is so much different. That's why the old PSD had to be replaced; couldn't be made to meet the EPA Nox, CO and soot mandates. In it's day though, a PSD would beat the poo out of the old GM 6.5L, and easily hold it's own with the 5.9L ISB of that same vintage. And let's not forget that the LB7 was introduced with 310hp and 510 ft-lb of trq (IIRC); not that much more than a PSD back then either (I recall they peaked at 275hp and 525 ft-lb at the end of their run).

Now the sick-point-oh was a general disaster for Ford. I'm so very glad I didn't get one, and got my Dmax instead.

I sold my 01 PSD for my Dmax. The PSD had everything I needed it set up for pulling but this Dmax I had to airbags and everything again and I am still nervous as hell about the tranny temps.

Don't be nervous about tranny temps unless you are seeing sustained temps at 250 deg F or above, or instantaneous temps nearing 275 F. Anything below that is fine. (Especially if you're running a PAO fluid).

Sure, we all want a cool running tranny, but try to keep it in perspective. If you're pulling heavy in high heat you're going to see temps above 175; it's quite normal. Frankly, I don't want my tranny running too cool because the lube is not flowing as well as it could. If you're running between 160 F and 225F all the time, you're right in the sweet spot.

Well what worries me is its got to be about 50 here that last couple days and the tranny is getting to about 160 so what it gonna do when its 95 outside and I'm pulling 16K. Sorry didn't mean to Hijack the thread.

Well if anyone is really missing there old 7.3, This one (below) will be going up for sale here in the next couple weeks.;) Great truck, just dont need 3 toy/play diesels..



http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg33/custom8726/fordD-side.jpg

I sold my 02 F250 for the LBZ I have now.

The new truck is quieter and more comfortable although the old truck was set up to do anything and didn't feel "breakable". The new truck requires airbags so it doesn't sack out with a trailer on it though. Not too impressed with that.

The Ford would never win a drag race, but you'd get there every time. It also had a good sized fuel tank compared to the new truck.

They aren't hot rods, but they get the job done when it comes to pulling a load. The 4spd could have used another gear though.

I've only towed with a 7.3 once, about 6 months before I bought my Dmax, and I can say I wasn't all that impressed. A tandem axle dump trailer w/ about 8k of gravel, probably 11k overall. In fairness, I think the transmission was on its way out, however.

The owner ran a fleet of 7.3's, swore by them. He actually bought a 7.3 Excursion about 4 years ago and has it stored in his shop as a future replacement for his wife's current 7.3 X, so you could say he's a fan. As his fleet of 7.3 work trucks got older and harder to replace (he bought a couple old used ones 'cuz he had to have the 7.3, and immediately had transmission problems with both of them), he broke down and bought an '09 Cummins Megacab for his personal truck. Since then, he kind of laughs at himself for thinking the 7.3 was irreplacable.

For its time, sure, the 7.3 was a great engine. But drivetrains have come a long way since them!

Well what worries me is its got to be about 50 here that last couple days and the tranny is getting to about 160 so what it gonna do when its 95 outside and I'm pulling 16K. Sorry didn't mean to Hijack the thread.

Only way to find out is wait 'till it gets hot out, I guess.

But I wouldn't worry too much. My transmission will work its way to 150* or so if I drive it long enough. Case in point, on an unloaded trip a few weeks ago, outside temps were between 8* and 15* per the mirror therometer. After about an hour of driving, the transmission leveled off right around 150* and stayed there the rest of the trip. Towing a gear trailer (probably only 4500 lbs) in early January through 20* temps, my tranny likewise leveled off around 150*, and got as high as 180* on a fairly steep climb up to our destination at the end of the trip. But towing in heat in the summer in the mountains, it has never reached a consistent temp above 200* (usually levels off a hair under the 200* mark on the gauge when towing), and only spiked to 215* or so near the top of a long climg w/ heavy throttle.

My tranny temps have never got above 175 with sustained towing 10,000 here in Fl. & in the mtns of Tn & NC with Transynd & deep pan. With temps in high 90's.

Mine got up to 248 degrees one time- was very hot and I was going into a camp spot that was very steep getting into after a long pull into the mountains.

Routinely see temps in the 210-225 range on warm/hot days but then the trailer weighs 21-23k loaded so I am hauling 30k plus up those hills.

Just change my tranny fluid every 15k and the thing flat out hauls the bacon!

I get trans temps of 245-250* towing on the freeway grades pretty easily in the summer when it gets over 100-110 outside. It will hover around 225-235* on the flats. Once I hit mountains it will usually break 260*

Trailer scales at 12K empty, around 15.5K fully loaded - below my towing capacity and GCWR. I figure if it couldn't take the temps, they would have designed in more cooling ability. I still have over 70K and 3 years worth of warranty left to find out if I'm right!!!