From Tundra to Ford F350 Superduty 7.3 Gas

Are you guys actually offroading Superduty's for fun? We use them and HD GMC's at work, mostly offroad in powerline construction and they are a PITA. Only use them because we are hauling heavy trailers. We frequently get stuck and are having to get pulled out with dozers and loaders. The length of the Superduty is one of the biggest issues. Solid work truck, but there is a lot left to be desired for a family hauler.

 

So many positives, but don’t like hearing about an issue like that on a new truck. Was Ford very helpful with the issue? Do you like your GMC more? Had the Ford not had the vibration issue would you have liked it more?

 

I’d be putting a full Carli suspension on mine with 37s and 17 inch wheels.

 

That’d be great. Plz add me! Thanks

 

Will do.

 

OK. I was thrown off by the Tremor talk and the OP was talking about a deck system and gear.

 

I work in a similar field of work and we also see a lot of fires from the big three but all of the ones that have come accross my desk in the last 10 years have been diesel's. I've never been part of a case where a gasser catches fire.

As for comfort even my Ram 2500 can be a little bumpy but in comparrison to older Toyota's I've owned in the past its super comfortable. To me it drives like a truck should ride if I wanted a plushy ride I would of bought a crossover. Just my two cents

 

If your planning on doing those mods stick to a diesel

 

Why? The have kits for specifically the gas and the main purpose is off road

 

Then you certainly won't have to worry about the factory ride quality, lol. Carli suspension is great stuff.

Mike

 

Everyone I ever talk to that does mods like this wishes they would of went with a diesel. That low end torque you get from a diesel is just different.

 

Alot of the ones I've dealt with are usually either under load and for long hauls or just random "I parked it here and when I got back it was in flames". I've seen fire causes from wire harness issues to fuel lines.

 

A good friend of mine has a ‘22 F250 with the Godzilla motor. He pulls a 16,000 lb toy hauler and it does fine. He gets around 6-7 mpg towing and 13-15 mpg unloaded. You get more payload with the F350 but it will ride noticeably rougher unloaded than the 250. The diesels have a lot of potential issues with the gobs of emissions equipment on them which is why he went with gas.

He said on hills he keeps the pedal down and lets it eat. His words.

He lives in CO.

 

I’m in a similar situation to the OP. Wife, 3 kids, dog, camping gear (fridge, dual battery setup, 10 gal water, everyone’s stuff). We pack light and fit it all under a retractable bed cover, and we’re still over GVWR by a couple hundred lbs. Sucks. I love my truck, and it handles the weight no problem, but if we’re gonna start pulling a camper, this ain’t it.

 

My f450 had some interesting electrical issues from new, mostly around the anti theft system.

Most of the tow companies In the area used to run ford diesels but got tired of the problems and switched to rams. The rams had a better drivetrain and worse electronics. Pick your poison I guess. As for my tow truck I went with a gas v10 as I didn’t want to deal with the diesel issues. Newer fords require the body to be off to work on the engine. It’s absurd.

Food for thought.

 

I drive a F250, F350, and a F550 for work trucks and as the number goes up, the comfort goes down, no way around.

That's all I got to say about that Mrs Blue.

 

I heavily have been researching the 7.3 Godzilla, as I have had a brake hydraulic control module failure on my low mile (14k) 18’ Ram 3500 Dually. I have an $82k paper weight until the “engineering review” is complete

The fact that Ford will not acknowledge they have a roller lifter failure is beyond me. I truly believe this affects every engine made, and due to Fords overwhelming issues with the Mavericks, F-150’s, and the SD’s, I don’t think they will actively fix this issue.

I have been following YouTubers that swear by the 7.3, just to trade them in when the Black Rock analysis shows excess metals in their low mile engines, or strange sounds coming from the valve train.

I’ve talked two people out of the 7.3’s just by the articles and YT videos I’ve sent them. Also look up the Cam phaser design flaw.

I’d love to like the 7.3, I was looking at quite a few F-350 Tremors, but I truly feel Ford is a horrible company to do business with lately.

 

The GMC is a much smoother ride. At first I liked the interior of the Ford better, but the GMC has grown on me.

If not for the vibration I would have never gotten rid of the Ford. Ford was NOT helpful in resolving the issue, but that was largely based on the desire of the local service manager to help. I had to take the truck to a dealer 40 miles away to get it seriously looked at. They bought it back for considerably more than my purchase price - so I think they just resold it.

The GMC is a much smoother ride - its worth saying again.

 

I nearly B O U G H T a Ford years ago too. The 5.4 V8 stopped me.

 

LATELY? Look at the class action lawsuit they got hit with 15 yrs? ago on their HD trucks. They knew their engine was unreliable garbage but didn't do a recall or address it. Somehow an email admitting it got into the hands of a customer. I think everyone but 1 guy settled for pennies on the dollar though unfortunately.
https://www.freep.com/story/money/c...-l-diesel-engine-costs-ford-again/3626782001/

OP, quick Google search shows a current law suit about the structural integrity of the roof.
https://www.thedrive.com/news/lawsu...uty-truck-roofs-werent-tested-easily-collapse

My opinion is Ford is shady (and maybe they all are). I'll NEVER own a Ford, I just dont trust the company. Ram 2500 gas. That's what I'd buy next if my truck hard broke.

 

Don’t forget about the focus transmissions debacle where they knew the transmissions were bad and shipped them anyway despite the engineers calling for a complete redesign.

or the fact that their own investors are irate because their warranty costs are so high it’s eating their profits. From the horses mouth…

“
Ford chief financial officer John Lawler said some aspects of Ford’s attempts to overhaul its systems were falling behind and “need more work”.

“Our cost structure is not competitive and our quality is not where it needs to be,” he told reporters.

“In the simplest terms, we need to improve quality and lower warranty costs now.” ”

https://premium.goauto.com.au/entrenched-issues-plague-ford/?amp=1


https://www.freep.com/story/money/c...ton-wants-fix-high-warranty-costs/7240668001/

 

I certainly wouldn't be buying any UAW made vehicles from 3 months ago on to next year. I can't imagine quality is high when the workers are ready to walk out.

I am curious why you think the lift is safer than stock suspension on the road. Higher center of gravity tip over increase would offset any safety especially with the kids riding along.

I see you are in IA so I assume the lift and tires are for off roading not for looks alone.

The amount of lifted trucks in flat Florida cracks me up because the lift actually hurts performance and reliability of the truck.

Its yours and their money. Do what you want but the safety and performance reasons aren't true on the road. Off the road, yes but how much off roading is done? 10%?

Now get off this old man's lawn!

 

If Ford would bring back the Excursion, Diesel and 10 cylinder gas, that would be the perfect vehicle from you description of needs.

 

This is my thought exactly. Would love the power/torque of the diesel but am very leary of the emmissions problems...I've heard the same about the 7.3 in regards to gas mileage but it has plenty of power. Thanks for this!!