7.3 questions

powerstrokelyfe · Nov 13, 2017

Hey Guys,

I ended up buying a very clean 2000 f250 CCSB 7.3 Lariat.

I have a few questions regarding the truck

1) To "update" the truck a little, will the oem 05+ mirrors fit without modification
2) what grade oil are you guys using ? The truck has seen 15-40 rotella since new, however, will the ford 10w-30 be ok ?
3) Anything else to look out for ?

psduser1 · Nov 13, 2017

The mirrors are a bolt in swap, but you'll need to do some wiring for anything besides the basic power adjust i.e. heat, blinkers, etc.
Rotella is a poor choice of oil, but if it's changed often enough, it's fine.
You didn't list the miles, but assuming it's over 150k, I wouldn't go down to a 30 weight, unless it's under 30ish degrees for the winter.
40 weight oil will do a much better job for you, whether it's 5w or 15w.

powerstrokelyfe · Nov 13, 2017

psduser1 said:
The mirrors are a bolt in swap, but you'll need to do some wiring for anything besides the basic power adjust i.e. heat, blinkers, etc.
Rotella is a poor choice of oil, but if it's changed often enough, it's fine.
You didn't list the miles, but assuming it's over 150k, I wouldn't go down to a 30 weight, unless it's under 30ish degrees for the winter.
40 weight oil will do a much better job for you, whether it's 5w or 15w.

What brand of oil are you guys using, Yes, I will stick with a 40 weight then.
The truck has 250k miles. Temps get down to-20 Celsius here in winter.
Anything 03+ XL mirrors would fit correct ?

psduser1 · Nov 13, 2017

Lubrication engineering, scheaffers, or delo, in that order. At -20, you could go a 30weight, depending on driving conditions. Couple hours on the road, stick with a 40 weight, or 15 minutes of driving, and park the truck all day, a 30 weight would be fine.
Xl mirrors wouldn't require wiring changes, except the plug is different. After 02, the plug is square, the older ones are round. Try going to the vendors section and look up a1 auto. They have a fairly detailed description of the year changes in wiring, based on the model year.

powerstrokelyfe · Nov 13, 2017

Thanks. Will 05-07 headlights work w/o a new grill, bumper ?

6.0 Tech · Nov 13, 2017

I agree with the oil choice. I run the le in my truck, and it runs great. As for the mirrors, if youre buying some, and having to do some wiring, i would swap to 08 mirrors. Night and day difference in visibility. The only modification needed there is a little tab has to be cut off the 08 mirrors to sit flush on the cab.

6.0 Tech · Nov 13, 2017

Yes 05 lights will fit, just need to trim the header panel. Grille and bumper will not without a complete swap. The modified 05 grilles look like chit in my opinion, i would stay away from that if you want to do the grille, do the whole conversion.

dsberman94 · Nov 13, 2017

Headlights alone or bumper and grill together as said.

joebuck · Nov 14, 2017

As stated above if swapping mirrors go 08+ there much better than any earlier models,and for oil I just run delo 15/40 changed every 5k which is once a year for me

powerstrokelyfe · Nov 14, 2017

OK, right on, thanks guys. Yes, I will do just the oem 05-07 headlights, leave the grill and bumper as it is, and add the 08+ XL (no turn signal) mirrors as well.

powerstrokelyfe · Nov 14, 2017

dsberman94 said:
Headlights alone or bumper and grill together as said.

Looking good

powerstrokelyfe · Nov 14, 2017

I will try and get a picture of how it sits currently.

powerstrokelyfe · Nov 16, 2017

Hey guys, anything I can do to up the power on this truck a little bit ? Going back & forth from a tuned 6.7, to a 7.3, there is quite the difference.
The truck has a built transmission with a triple disk converter, and supposedly a superchips tuner (however it feels stock) if that helps.

psduser1 · Nov 16, 2017

How many miles on the truck?
What do you do with it? Say 75% of the time?
You can out power the 6.7 pretty easily (expensive), or you can get a decent bump in power ( somewhat less expensive).
Basic upgrades, no matter what you're doing with the truck are intake, exhaust, and updated tunes. Superchips hasn't made a decent tune in 10 years for a 7.3.
Those three are under 1k, and should bump you over 300 hp, pretty easily. Assuming, of course, that the truck is in reasonable decent mechanical condition.

powerstrokelyfe · Nov 17, 2017

psduser1 said:
How many miles on the truck?
What do you do with it? Say 75% of the time?
You can out power the 6.7 pretty easily (expensive), or you can get a decent bump in power ( somewhat less expensive).
Basic upgrades, no matter what you're doing with the truck are intake, exhaust, and updated tunes. Superchips hasn't made a decent tune in 10 years for a 7.3.
Those three are under 1k, and should bump you over 300 hp, pretty easily. Assuming, of course, that the truck is in reasonable decent mechanical condition.

250k miles on the truck. This is a farm/work truck, but is also driven unloaded. I use the truck to haul livestock , firewood atvs etc. This truck will not haul anything heavy.
The truck is overall in very good shape, both body wise and mechanically, hence the reason I bought it.
With the trucks age and mileage, which tuner do you guys recommend. (Was interested in the DP tuner).