- Jan 24, 2025
- 208
- 238
- Navy
- 2024 F-350 Lariat with Lariat ultimate, Tremor, 7.3L Godzilla, BAP and Sun/moon Roof
This is all very interesting to follow and none of us like the idea of this happening to our 7.3's. I am sorry that this happened to Brian's Tremor but we all learn from it as well. These questions are not only being asked on this forum but on other forums and a lot on Facebook groups like the Tremor group and the 7.3L group. I was reading some just yesterday. Mine is a 24 and I have religiously sought to not sit and idle if I can help it. If I am at a stop light it is a little difficult to shut it down but if I am parked anywhere I am shutting the engine off. And I also seek to only run it a little when I have a cold start and the temps are low. I am not seeking to hijack this thread in any way and all that I want to say I beleive is still on this topic. Because of this topic and it being known all over I have several questions and comments, and probably it seems as though Optimus is the guy who might have the answers but maybe others do as well. So here are my questions and please forgive the long post.
1. @Optimus, You noted that it is a known thing that the 20 - 22 MY 7.3L Godzilla's have this know problem with the cam shaft and the lifters. It is interesting to hear about cylinder #2 in this case because where I have read about this same failure with other owners 7.3's, it seems as though the #2 cylinder is the one people talk about. So here is my question, is there an actual white paper or technical document that Ford has shared stating that this is a known problem for this engine part number with serial numbers xxxx to xxxx manufactured from this date to that date, where this issue occurs and the this is the reason why there is this problem. I guess where is the source of this data? I and probably many others would love to be able to see that document or know who the source is and are they reputable. Maybe @Optimus or someone else has seen that document or knows that credible source. I can understand that Ford might not want to share a document like that because that then may mean they have to do a recall and that would be really expensive and besides they are probably not seeing it across the board. But I can say people would like to be able to see that document if it existed. It would also be nice to see a statistic from Ford stating we produced this many trucks with this MY 20 7.3 engine/cam and we have seen this percentage fail with this specific problem, even better give the actual numbers and then do it for each MY all the way through 2025 showing the failure rate due to this specific problem. And of course add to that document what they have done to correct this problem. E.g. we have upgraded the software to make the pump, pump at a higher volume to increase the pressure in order to keep the lubricant truly covering these vital areas. And then state something like, these subsequent productions of the 7.3L we have updated cams and lifters etc.
2. @Optimus wrote: "To meet commercial fuel economy standards, the 7.3 utilizes a variable oil pump that drops pressure incredibly low at idle (sometimes down to 8–10 PSI)." If this is the case, which I have no doubt to believe otherwise, why wouldn't Ford change to a pump that would do a better job? Yes I know because of meeting commercial fuel economy standards (Ford is not required to post what the fuel economy is on these trucks) but if there is a problem why not fix it. I ask the question, could we put a better oil pump in it than what Ford does that would give better lubrication to the top of the engine than the existing pump that would work better when the engine is idling. I truly like my truck and I like the 7.3 (I would love to put a Whipple on it) and at this point it has 15.5k miles on it. I have already changed the oil at least 4 times. I did the first change at 1500 miles and the next at 4500 miles and the next at 9000 miles and then the last at 14000 miles. These all have been at the dealer so hopefully they are doing things right. They do not use full synthetic. I am assuming if I want them to change it out to full synthetic that I would need to do the change myself or maybe provide them the oil for the change and they charge me less, that is if they would be willing to do so. What are others doing who have the 7.3 for oil changes, dealer, 3rd party Oil changing place or private garage or are they doing it themselves? I guess it would be good to put that as a topic in the forum where we could do a survey and then be able to look at the stats and also we could add the type of oil and the brand of oil and the brand of the filter they are using. That could prove to be a very interesting statistic amongst the FordTremor forum group. Also we could add what is your mileage frequency for changing your oil. I am wondering if I should move to every 3k or 4k miles to change the oil. Would that protect the engine better?
3. On other forums there are people with MY 23 and 24 that have similar engine failure with the cam shaft and the lifters and some have had a new engine replacement and some have just had the cam and lifters replaced. I would want the former after seeing Brian's #2 cylinder and the scoring. I believe I have even read of a guy with a MY 25 engine failure as well. So I get the impression that it is not only the MY 20 - 22 that have this problem. Now are the numbers less in the later model years. Probably so but again we have no statisctics to compare. And obviously there are many owners who do not even darken the door of any of these forums who own these trucks. And most likely some come on because they have had the problem. I do that when I have an appliance problem otherwise I do not stick on appliance forums. I guess I am not concerned about adding lights and a winch etc to my washing machine or my diswasher etc.
I guess this is why I would love to see some more info on this known weekness to what otherwise is noted to be an excellent design of an engine.
I am going to put in the hardware to have the high idle capability. I am trusting that that would be a good move especially if one has a winch or has a need to idle the truck for any reason. Think about being stuck in the snow someplace far from home with the storm raging on and you need to run the engine to keep heat in the cab! I am assuming that the pump would produce a higher pressure and thus more oil flow with a high idle mod.
A sad thing is that I have read on other forums where owners have had the problem and they had an extended warranty and even though they had that they were denied coverage because the owner could not produce all the reciepts showing that they had changed the oil every 5k. So this one I read about spent ~$15k to get a new engine due to lack of reciepts. Of course I do not know all the real facts but that is not good if it is true. This person had an expensive proposition. I guess make sure if you change your oil yourself it would be a good to keep your receipts and also make sure you enter the date and mileage of when the oil was changed in CarFax.
I think a lot of us who owne these trucks would like to see them go 250 to 300k and even more if we had a way to make sure that they could with proper maintenance. This 7.3 failure that is often read about kind of haunts us.
As I read on other forums I try to promote this one. I really like the people on this forum and how everyone seems to work well together. There is a lot of knowledge here. Even ARod gave a shout out to this forum on one of his recent YouTube videos on NEOHIO's harness he makes for the connection under the glove compartment here
I had already purchased one from him back in February. There is a whole thread about it here https://www.fordtremor.com/threads/unknown-electrical-connectors.23333/page-2#post-532396
Again I am thankful for this forum and the people on it and the people who take care of it. I will surely continue to support it. Thank you all!
1. @Optimus, You noted that it is a known thing that the 20 - 22 MY 7.3L Godzilla's have this know problem with the cam shaft and the lifters. It is interesting to hear about cylinder #2 in this case because where I have read about this same failure with other owners 7.3's, it seems as though the #2 cylinder is the one people talk about. So here is my question, is there an actual white paper or technical document that Ford has shared stating that this is a known problem for this engine part number with serial numbers xxxx to xxxx manufactured from this date to that date, where this issue occurs and the this is the reason why there is this problem. I guess where is the source of this data? I and probably many others would love to be able to see that document or know who the source is and are they reputable. Maybe @Optimus or someone else has seen that document or knows that credible source. I can understand that Ford might not want to share a document like that because that then may mean they have to do a recall and that would be really expensive and besides they are probably not seeing it across the board. But I can say people would like to be able to see that document if it existed. It would also be nice to see a statistic from Ford stating we produced this many trucks with this MY 20 7.3 engine/cam and we have seen this percentage fail with this specific problem, even better give the actual numbers and then do it for each MY all the way through 2025 showing the failure rate due to this specific problem. And of course add to that document what they have done to correct this problem. E.g. we have upgraded the software to make the pump, pump at a higher volume to increase the pressure in order to keep the lubricant truly covering these vital areas. And then state something like, these subsequent productions of the 7.3L we have updated cams and lifters etc.
2. @Optimus wrote: "To meet commercial fuel economy standards, the 7.3 utilizes a variable oil pump that drops pressure incredibly low at idle (sometimes down to 8–10 PSI)." If this is the case, which I have no doubt to believe otherwise, why wouldn't Ford change to a pump that would do a better job? Yes I know because of meeting commercial fuel economy standards (Ford is not required to post what the fuel economy is on these trucks) but if there is a problem why not fix it. I ask the question, could we put a better oil pump in it than what Ford does that would give better lubrication to the top of the engine than the existing pump that would work better when the engine is idling. I truly like my truck and I like the 7.3 (I would love to put a Whipple on it) and at this point it has 15.5k miles on it. I have already changed the oil at least 4 times. I did the first change at 1500 miles and the next at 4500 miles and the next at 9000 miles and then the last at 14000 miles. These all have been at the dealer so hopefully they are doing things right. They do not use full synthetic. I am assuming if I want them to change it out to full synthetic that I would need to do the change myself or maybe provide them the oil for the change and they charge me less, that is if they would be willing to do so. What are others doing who have the 7.3 for oil changes, dealer, 3rd party Oil changing place or private garage or are they doing it themselves? I guess it would be good to put that as a topic in the forum where we could do a survey and then be able to look at the stats and also we could add the type of oil and the brand of oil and the brand of the filter they are using. That could prove to be a very interesting statistic amongst the FordTremor forum group. Also we could add what is your mileage frequency for changing your oil. I am wondering if I should move to every 3k or 4k miles to change the oil. Would that protect the engine better?
3. On other forums there are people with MY 23 and 24 that have similar engine failure with the cam shaft and the lifters and some have had a new engine replacement and some have just had the cam and lifters replaced. I would want the former after seeing Brian's #2 cylinder and the scoring. I believe I have even read of a guy with a MY 25 engine failure as well. So I get the impression that it is not only the MY 20 - 22 that have this problem. Now are the numbers less in the later model years. Probably so but again we have no statisctics to compare. And obviously there are many owners who do not even darken the door of any of these forums who own these trucks. And most likely some come on because they have had the problem. I do that when I have an appliance problem otherwise I do not stick on appliance forums. I guess I am not concerned about adding lights and a winch etc to my washing machine or my diswasher etc.
I guess this is why I would love to see some more info on this known weekness to what otherwise is noted to be an excellent design of an engine.I am going to put in the hardware to have the high idle capability. I am trusting that that would be a good move especially if one has a winch or has a need to idle the truck for any reason. Think about being stuck in the snow someplace far from home with the storm raging on and you need to run the engine to keep heat in the cab! I am assuming that the pump would produce a higher pressure and thus more oil flow with a high idle mod.
A sad thing is that I have read on other forums where owners have had the problem and they had an extended warranty and even though they had that they were denied coverage because the owner could not produce all the reciepts showing that they had changed the oil every 5k. So this one I read about spent ~$15k to get a new engine due to lack of reciepts. Of course I do not know all the real facts but that is not good if it is true. This person had an expensive proposition. I guess make sure if you change your oil yourself it would be a good to keep your receipts and also make sure you enter the date and mileage of when the oil was changed in CarFax.
I think a lot of us who owne these trucks would like to see them go 250 to 300k and even more if we had a way to make sure that they could with proper maintenance. This 7.3 failure that is often read about kind of haunts us.
As I read on other forums I try to promote this one. I really like the people on this forum and how everyone seems to work well together. There is a lot of knowledge here. Even ARod gave a shout out to this forum on one of his recent YouTube videos on NEOHIO's harness he makes for the connection under the glove compartment here
Again I am thankful for this forum and the people on it and the people who take care of it. I will surely continue to support it. Thank you all!
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