Honest Reliability of 500hp+ 7.3 Trucks

sniper_101 · Apr 7, 2012

I know there are a decent amount running around with higher HP 7.3's, but the honest daily driven, road trip, towing, cold weather functionality and reliability has me wondering and questioning my future goals with my truck.

I'm at the point where I want to step up from my pretty basic mods within the next year, so I'm questioning the reliability of building the 7.3, or engine swap.

So let's hear it from those of you with experience. I have done a lot of reading on here and PSN, but the threads seem to turn from what reliability to people arguing/only talking about inaccurate HP claims.

This is fine to turn into a discussion on the subject, I'm just trying to educate myself on what to expect, or not expect.

Thanks guys

dietoremain · Apr 8, 2012

My two cents, how you drive it and tuning are going to be crucial... thats for sure.

Groomzybanshee · Apr 8, 2012

My dually is about 490-550 hp run it every day pulling a mowing trailer during the week and pulls the puller to the pulls on the weekend. Also push snow with this truck.

davey99ps · Apr 8, 2012

I don't have any dyno #s or track times yet to prove I'm at that level, but I'm in the ballpark. I drive mine pretty much every day with no problems, but it does take time an alotta $ to get to that point. Best advice I can give is make sure you do your research before diving into it, talk to as many ppl as you can on what works an what doesn't. If you rely on your truck daily then id stick with the more proven combinations instead of trying something different

TrailerHauler · Apr 8, 2012

Tuning

sniper_101 · Apr 8, 2012

dietoremain said:
My two cents, how you drive it and tuning are going to be crucial... thats for sure.

Well that much should be obvious. I was looking for issues that people over look or aren't widely known issues.

------

Are most running in this power range live tuned? Any reliability issues with a larger say 250/200 higher demand injector vs. a smaller? Winter driving in -30*F? HPO system reliability? etc.

I really want to know every little quirk, potential drive-ability or reliability issue before indulging in this.

Cat_rebel · Apr 8, 2012

I read an article in Diesel Power magazine stating that 600hp on a stock bottom end was completely safe with modern tuning. It must be true....

Derek@Vision Diesel · Apr 8, 2012

Talk with "cota"

He has had a 500hp truck for ages now and it runs great! yes it can be done, but its not the most simple thing if you want it to last forever and not leak

Homesteader · Apr 8, 2012

I would like to know how much of these high HP trucks are out there and what works and what doesn't.

Have a project my self.

sniper_101 · Apr 8, 2012

Derek@Vision Diesel said:
Talk with "cota"

He has had a 500hp truck for ages now and it runs great! yes it can be done, but its not the most simple thing if you want it to last forever and not leak

See this is helpful and what I'm seeking. Thank you.
It's the last sentence that I need to know all I can about. I'll get in touch with this "cota".

Cat_rebel said:
I read an article in Diesel Power magazine stating that 600hp on a stock bottom end was completely safe with modern tuning. It must be true....

If you're just going to post crap like that, please save it. I'm not here to BS (or make threads asking how to build a 1000 fuel only 7.3), I just need fact on what I'm asking. I'm also not here claiming to know what I don't, so save the sarcastic info. Thanks.

silverpsd_06 · Apr 8, 2012

If its a six speed at that level you had better put alot of research into your turbo(s) setup it is difficult to get as little smoke as possible and not be getting hot and personally (donning flamesuit as we speak)maybe a compound setup with the stock charger if your on a budget or the 38r if money is no object. Just depends how big you want to go if your looking just to hit 500 or be close maybe the 38r as a single

TyCorr · Apr 9, 2012

silverpsd_06 said:
If its a six speed at that level you had better put alot of research into your turbo(s) setup it is difficult to get as little smoke as possible and not be getting hot and personally (donning flamesuit as we speak)maybe a compound setup with the stock charger if your on a budget or the 38r if money is no object. Just depends how big you want to go if your looking just to hit 500 or be close maybe the 38r as a single

Im hoping to do.a super clean 500 with a 38r and gt47 or s4xx in a set of custom made towing compounds. Nothing crazy for injectors either. 250 or 300 with 200% edm nozzles. I wanna be able to jump in, turn the key, and drive. Fully realizing what stock trucks are doing on a tune nowadays Im not going to be much above that which is my goal, to.stay.competitive with the newer trucks. I enjoy my truck too much as a dd to relegate it to toy status and not have it completely driveable.

blackbetty13 · Apr 9, 2012

well mine has held up pretty well I hadfuel pump issues my srp1 blew the back out and a turbo bolt came loose other than that its been a hell of an engine.

TrailerHauler · Apr 9, 2012

A 250/200 is a somewhat mild injector by todays standards. I would say a reliable 500ish hp should be within reach with the right components. Like I originally said get someone thats good with these engines to tune it, keep the power out of the low end, and keep your cylinder pressures down. There are a few out there that have made the power your after for awhile without trouble. But take into consideration if you go this route everyone out there has a different idea of how to make a "reliable" 500 HP.

Dieselboy. · Apr 9, 2012

Its a PITA some days. I have lots of hours fixing and tweaking the small things.

This truck hates me though. Seems I fix one thing and another breaks.

However nothing can describe 600hp in a 7k truck. Everytime I mash the pedal in tune 6 I get a chub !

Good things in life are never easy. Be prepared.

Charles · Apr 9, 2012

If you can and don't mind working on your truck from time to time, then you can drive whatever power level you feel comfortable supporting.

Supporting a full on, heavy towing, hard working truck that does it all, and does it daily, doesn't really take too much extra-curricular action up to ~500rwhp. With a good state of tune a monkey could drive the truck everyday and probably do okay if the truck was set up well.

At 600 the service goes up a bit. For me, a trans R&R is going to happen in one way or another every year or two.

At 500, the service is marginally more involved than for a basically stock truck. Same sensors, pumps and components go bad over time. If the trans is tough, and the state of tune good, the truck should have no trouble going to work day in and day out.

But, if you can't, or don't want to work on things yourself, it would be best to leave it alone. The people that have bad experiences are the ones that don't pull their own engines, transmissions and things of that nature. If you can't do the work, chances are, you'll just stay behind the ball and always think the truck is a mess, whereas someone that works on things themselves would usually just take a couple hours after work for a few days at a time lining things out and have most problems handled with no loss of functionality, or missed work.

Short Bus · Apr 9, 2012

My high hp truck sits in the garage and the 450 hp truck gets the daily gig. I'm over the days of trying to keep a 600+ hp truck on the road every day.

Charles · Apr 9, 2012

Short Bus said:
My high hp truck sits in the garage and the 450 hp truck gets the daily gig. I'm over the days of trying to keep a 600+ hp truck on the road every day.

I'm going to go for the quad digit DD when I get my shop done.

lincolnlocker · Apr 9, 2012

Charles said:
If you can and don't mind working on your truck from time to time, then you can drive whatever power level you feel comfortable supporting.

Supporting a full on, heavy towing, hard working truck that does it all, and does it daily, doesn't really take too much extra-curricular action up to ~500rwhp. With a good state of tune a monkey could drive the truck everyday and probably do okay if the truck was set up well.

At 600 the service goes up a bit. For me, a trans R&R is going to happen in one way or another every year or two.

At 500, the service is marginally more involved than for a basically stock truck. Same sensors, pumps and components go bad over time. If the trans is tough, and the state of tune good, the truck should have no trouble going to work day in and day out.

But, if you can't, or don't want to work on things yourself, it would be best to leave it alone. The people that have bad experiences are the ones that don't pull their own engines, transmissions and things of that nature. If you can't do the work, chances are, you'll just stay behind the ball and always think the truck is a mess, whereas someone that works on things themselves would usually just take a couple hours after work for a few days at a time lining things out and have most problems handled with no loss of functionality, or missed work.

well said sir!

Smokin6-0 · Apr 9, 2012

silverpsd_06 said:
If its a six speed at that level you had better put alot of research into your turbo(s)

I would really love to hear some educated and experienced opinions on that subject. I will be attempting a build on my 97 CCLB next year. It needs some other stuff like interior and electrical first. Anyway mine won't be a dd but it will see an extensive amount of beach driving in dry deep sand. His means that I can't have a hot smokey pig that is hard to spool. I also know that the zf5 makes this even more touchy.