7.3 Godzilla reliability

[ccradier]

On a 5.0 the sender is above the oil filter and the latest generation works as you said, I believe the 7.3 operates on the same principle as it shares the same sender. If memory serves the older senders were 2 wire and the new one is a 3 wire. And yes it uses this to control the oil pressure solenoid.

 

[JimmyJames]

I am making this post to help others who might be on the fence with the 7.3 Godzilla. If you want something reliable consider other options! Pay the extra for the 6.7 and at minimum take advantage of the additional (included) warranty. At time of my purchase warranty was 60k on the 7.3 and the 6.7 was 100k. If I recall the 6.7 was $7k increase in price over the 7.3.

I took delivery of my 2022 F250 7.3L Tremor August 2021. Since then I put 91,500 miles on it daily driving.
Occasionally towing my utility trailer (2-3x monthly) and small 20’ travel trailer several times per year. The truck/motor was honestly great until it wasn’t. I had hoped to get 200k on it as I have in past trucks! But at 91,500 miles I had lifter failure on cylinder 2.

Ford motorcraft synthetic blend every 5k miles. Switched to Shell platinum full synthetic high mileage at 75k still 5k intervals. I’ll have to check idle and running hours when I get it back. But it’s been driven from point A to B most days. Little traffic… averaging 55mph 60 miles daily (my guess).

I had the option to repair for $8800 with 2 year parts warranty or replace for $12500 with 3 yr unlimited mileage warranty. Elected for the new motor thinking that would at least buy me up to 3 years to decide what’s next. Again I really enjoyed the truck and motor up until it failed! Maybe I’ll roll the dice for 3 more years… at least with a warranty.

The reliability of the 7.3 compared to other Ford gas ancestors is not comparable. Not from what I’ve personally experienced. While my 2022 sits in the shop I grabbed the 2003 F250 5.4 gas from the ranch with 222k original miles. Still running strong. My dad’s 2018 F250 6.2 gasser also nearing 200k original miles. I know I am not alone on experiencing 7.3 litter failure. Doesn’t take long to find other post and forums. Amazon trucks and numerous other service trucks have this common failure. I know someone who has replaced three of their F450 7.3 motors outside of warranty. Thus based on my experience and current knowledge… I would NOT consider another 7.3 gas option. Really sucks cause I had high hopes for the Godzilla back in 2021. Now I find myself browsing diesel replacement options 4 short years later and $12,500 in additional expenditures. For my situation would have been cheaper to have got the 6.7 originally… and at minimum extra 40k warranty.

Or maybe I’m thinking wrong and should trade up every 36-60k miles instead of pushing trucks 200k.

For me I will be considering the 6.7 next time…Or something else. Definitely not the 7.3 beyond warranty…

Hopes this helps others looking and weighing options. I’m sure some will oppose my thoughts but I’ve spoken on personal experience and felt it’s worth sharing.

Just had the same Thing With my 2021 7.3 Tremor 99,742 miles. At 94k I had the 100 mile service and they told me my trucked was in perfect shape. Took it in for an Oil change and thought there was a small exhaust leak. Nope, it was the lifter. Metal everywhere. I had the Extended warranty 150k miles 5 year. They are replacing the motor. However, now I think I want a new truck. Not sure what I am going to do. 6.7. Defiantly getting the Extended warranty.

 

[MSparks909]

Sucks to hear that you couldn’t even crack 100K miles without an engine failure. That’s a shame and is flat out unacceptable with 2025 technology and for how much these trucks cost. But I guess that’s what happens when bean counters nickel and dime parts quality as much as possible and the only thing that matters is shareholder value & returns and not the actual buyers and users of these trucks. What sucks is it’s the same for GM and Ram too. Pick your problems because no matter what you drive you are almost guaranteed to have some. My co-workers 2024 L5P Duramax just ate a cam and lifter. 55K miles, mostly commuting. Tows maybe once a month. They’re all shit quality these days.

As much as I hate to say it I think I’m going to be ditching my 24’ 7.3 once the factory powertrain warranty is up. I’ve got another 40 months/40K miles until that point but still. I was hoping this would be a long term 8-10 year truck for me but with the amount of noises/clunks and issues I have now at 20K miles I don’t think that will be the case.

I may price a Ford Premium Care extended warranty right before my 3 year/36K factory warranty expires and see what they ballpark at and make a decision then.

 

[Tex_Hunter]

Is it a heat treating thing on the engine parts or an oiling issue? I’ve read the idle oil pressure is programmed at 11#’s but typically measured IRL at 7-9#’s.
This is something a trusted tuner can change, if The dealer won’t. I’m told normal running pressure is around 30#.

From the research I did back when my 2021 died, I think there's two issues.

Issue 1) There was a specific run of engines (that seems to cover some portions of the 2020-2022 model years) that had some defective cam/lifter issues (heat treat/metallurgy problem), the cam surface or lifter roller cracks/flakes and tears itself apart, if you watch video teardown of one of these it looks like someone took a chisel to the surface of the cam lobe/lifter roller

Issue 2) There's some videos out there showing teardowns that seem to be more related to insufficient oiling (design flaw, common in a lot of newer cam in block/pushrod engines) that seems to span more than just the MY range of the "defect" issue. Lifter roller bearings wear out, lifter siezes/wipes the cam, lifters look like you held the roller up against the corner of belt sander and the cam has a perfect almost machined in groove worn out of the lobe. The problem here is that there really arent enough examples with enough mileage on the newer versions of the engine to say definitively if its a true issue or just isolated to specific drive modes (ie. high idle time/engine tuning for commercial vehicles/longer oil change intervals/oil weight spec from Ford too light etc)

Just from the dozen or so unique examples that have popped up on the forum over the last yar, there's a pretty big spread of mileage/drive cycles/idle time etc. My 2021 (build date 01/28/2021) failed with just over 80k miles on it, mostly highway with 3-4 long highway trips/year, light/medium towing (<10k lbs) a few times a year, oil changes with full synthetic every 5-6k miles, incredibly low idle hours (<15% of total engine time).

If I had to guess, the engines failing with lower mileage (in the 30-40k range) are probably tied to issue 1, while the higher mileage failures like mine and other in the 70k+ range are probably due to insufficient oiling (issue 2), which sucks because it makes me feel like there's something I potentially could have done to avoid it in my case.

 

[Tex_Hunter]

The reliability of the 7.3 compared to other Ford gas ancestors is not comparable.

I realize you caveat this statement with your "personal" experience, but I would disagree. Of all the gas engines put in Super Duties, the only one that seems to have a long run of no major reliability issues and tons of examples of 300k+ mileage trucks is the 6.2L from 2011-2022. The Tritons (2V and 3V) had loads of issues, especially related to oiling but also other mechanical issues.

The jury is still out on the 7.3/6.8 in my mind (want to see some 23+ trucks start to rack up some real miles here), I've been a huge 7.3 fanboy (not ashamed) since it was announce for the 2020 refresh, and had really high hopes for it when I bought my truck. I still think it's one of the best gas engines currently offered in an HD truck if you dont need/want to deal with a diesel (I'm also still worried that I may end up regretting not getting another 7.3 truck when I replaced my 2021, but we will see).

 

[MSparks909]

If I had to guess, the engines failing with lower mileage (in the 30-40k range) are probably tied to issue 1, while the higher mileage failures like mine and other in the 70k+ range are probably due to insufficient oiling (issue 2), which sucks because it makes me feel like there's something I potentially could have done to avoid it in my case.

All Ford had to do was NOT put a variable displacement oil pump in the 7.3/6.8 and I doubt there would be many issues at all. But nope, gotta try to squeeze an extra .25-.5mpg out of the truck. I’d gladly pay that minor mpg delta for full oil pressure from idle to redline and no worries about wiping out a cam or lifters from idling. Piss poor decision that affects the customers directly. GM has a variable displacement oil pump on their 6.6 gasser as well (also has direct injection, yuck). The 6.4 Hemi uses a fixed displacement oil pump & port fuel injection but it has MDS cylinder deactivation. Pick your poison.

Ford also went to a variable displacement oil pump on the 6.7 Powerstroke in 2020. So even if you go stick with Ford and go diesel you could potentially wipe out the lifters & cam in a newer 6.7 if you idle a lot.

 

[Blade420Play🔪🏆]

All Ford had to do was NOT put a variable displacement oil pump in the 7.3/6.8 and I doubt there would be many issues at all. But nope, gotta try to squeeze an extra .25-.5mpg out of the truck. I’d gladly pay that minor mpg delta for full oil pressure from idle to redline and no worries about wiping out a cam or lifters from idling. Piss poor decision that affects the customers directly. GM has a variable displacement oil pump on their 6.6 gasser as well. The 6.4 Hemi uses a fixed displacement oil pump but it has MDS cylinder deactivation. Pick your poison.

Ford also went to a variable displacement oil pump on the 6.7 Powerstroke in 2020. So even if you go stick with Ford and go diesel you could potentially wipe out the lifters & cam in a newer 6.7 if you idle a lot.

Would there be a way to put a "fixed" oil pump in one of these things? Might want to engineer one if not. Seems like it would be a cash cow

 

[MSparks909]

Would there be a way to put a "fixed" oil pump in one of these things? Might want to engineer one if not. Seems like it would be a cash cow

I’m not an engineer and I won’t pretend to be. That’s a question for someone else lol. If I was to speculate I’d say anything is possible given enough $ but it won’t happen at Ford’s level and I think it would be cost prohibitive for the consumer to do aftermarket and would be hard to justify/quantify how much of a benefit it would actually be in our engines. Too many variables. If you could directly point to full oil pressure with a sample size of X vehicles compared to stock vehicles that fail at X mileage vs the modified vehicles you’d have something but…yeah. It gets complicated quickly.

 

[OldCowboy]

Would there be a way to put a "fixed" oil pump in one of these things? Might want to engineer one if not. Seems like it would be a cash cow

I'm hearing that the "fix" from ford is to raise the RPM at idle to 1000 rpm. The oil pressure goes from 6psi to 35psi. What I want to know is will they recall all the earlier 7.3's to do the reprogramming?

 

[stufarmer]

I've enjoyed my share of Ford V8's from 289's, to 351 C's, multiple FE's and 385 series.
Not once did I consider running anything less than a 10/30 wt oil. Living in the south our weather doesn't fluctuate. I believe todays light wt oils are too thin for a true Push Rod V8.

 

[McE]

Low pressure at idle shouldn't be an issue on the newer trucks. If your truck is older than a '25, it would be worth making sure the PCM has been updated. See attached PDF for details.

 

[MSparks909]

Low pressure at idle shouldn't be an issue on the newer trucks. If your truck is older than a '25, it would be worth making sure the PCM has been updated. See attached PDF for details.

Thank you! Saved this to show my dealer when I take the truck in after the New Year. Need it pretty much every week for truck stuff until then. Such is life

 

[Tex_Hunter]

All Ford had to do was NOT put a variable displacement oil pump in the 7.3/6.8 and I doubt there would be many issues at all. But nope, gotta try to squeeze an extra .25-.5mpg out of the truck. I’d gladly pay that minor mpg delta for full oil pressure from idle to redline and no worries about wiping out a cam or lifters from idling. Piss poor decision that affects the customers directly. GM has a variable displacement oil pump on their 6.6 gasser as well (also has direct injection, yuck). The 6.4 Hemi uses a fixed displacement oil pump & port fuel injection but it has MDS cylinder deactivation. Pick your poison.

Ford also went to a variable displacement oil pump on the 6.7 Powerstroke in 2020. So even if you go stick with Ford and go diesel you could potentially wipe out the lifters & cam in a newer 6.7 if you idle a lot.

It's probably not that simple (it'd be "fixed" already if it was), but the underlying issue/driving force is at least partially correct that all the OEMs are chasing efficiency/tighter tolerances which leads to the potential for lower oil pressure, thinner oils, etc. There's certainly less margin for error. The vast majority of the guys like Brian Wolfe putting these in hotrods are still running the stock oil pump unless they go with something exotic like a dry sump pan or different front end drive assembly due to space constraints/ultra high RPM etc.

EDIT to Add: it's probably a much bigger impact than 0.25-0.5MPG when you add it all up, I lost almost 2.0MPG (highway) on my old 5.4l 3V just by switching to from 5W20 to 5W30 oil (no other changes) in that truck.

A lot of aftermarket oil pumps run variable displacement (including the Milodon pump that was the "Fix" for a lot of the oil pressure issues on the old 5.4l 3v engines <- I have personal experience with that one). Also, Powerstrokes arent wiping out their valvetrain with any sort of measurable regularity, so again, the pump design is probably not the culprit here (or at least not the only culprit).

Would there be a way to put a "fixed" oil pump in one of these things? Might want to engineer one if not. Seems like it would be a cash cow

Not currently for the trucks, Holley makes one for hotrod applications, but you have to run a different oil pan and front accessory drive (probably other modifications that may or may not work in an otherwise stock truck)

 

[McE]

Would there be a way to put a "fixed" oil pump in one of these things? Might want to engineer one if not. Seems like it would be a cash cow

I've seen a few kits that are aimed at the swap market, but they are expensive and include more than what would be needed for just an upgrade on our trucks. With the PCM update, I don't think the juice would be worth the squeeze, especially if you're still under warranty.

Edit: @Tex_Hunter beat me to it. Indy Power Products also has a kit out there and I remember seeing at least one other.

 

[Blade420Play🔪🏆]

Low pressure at idle shouldn't be an issue on the newer trucks. If your truck is older than a '25, it would be worth making sure the PCM has been updated. See attached PDF for details.

Why the hell haven't I received a letter? Can they do it OTA? Guess I will have to take mine in before the 34k mark I was shooting for

 

[superbooty]

From the research I did back when my 2021 died, I think there's two issues.

Issue 1) There was a specific run of engines (that seems to cover some portions of the 2020-2022 model years) that had some defective cam/lifter issues (heat treat/metallurgy problem), the cam surface or lifter roller cracks/flakes and tears itself apart, if you watch video teardown of one of these it looks like someone took a chisel to the surface of the cam lobe/lifter roller

Issue 2) There's some videos out there showing teardowns that seem to be more related to insufficient oiling (design flaw, common in a lot of newer cam in block/pushrod engines) that seems to span more than just the MY range of the "defect" issue. Lifter roller bearings wear out, lifter siezes/wipes the cam, lifters look like you held the roller up against the corner of belt sander and the cam has a perfect almost machined in groove worn out of the lobe. The problem here is that there really arent enough examples with enough mileage on the newer versions of the engine to say definitively if its a true issue or just isolated to specific drive modes (ie. high idle time/engine tuning for commercial vehicles/longer oil change intervals/oil weight spec from Ford too light etc)

Just from the dozen or so unique examples that have popped up on the forum over the last yar, there's a pretty big spread of mileage/drive cycles/idle time etc. My 2021 (build date 01/28/2021) failed with just over 80k miles on it, mostly highway with 3-4 long highway trips/year, light/medium towing (<10k lbs) a few times a year, oil changes with full synthetic every 5-6k miles, incredibly low idle hours (<15% of total engine time).

If I had to guess, the engines failing with lower mileage (in the 30-40k range) are probably tied to issue 1, while the higher mileage failures like mine and other in the 70k+ range are probably due to insufficient oiling (issue 2), which sucks because it makes me feel like there's something I potentially could have done to avoid it in my case.

Pretty much nailed it. Almost every lifter failure posted on this forum is 2020-2022 model year. For Issue 2, it was likely due to the engines with the economy tune in commercial applications. It made a bit less power and probably had a tune with too little of oil pressure at idle to help fuel economy, and on top of that those trucks idle all the time. I believe Ford has removed one of the tunes for the commercial vehicles, likely because it was causing the lifter failures. Unfortunately it seems like the early model years are luck of the draw, but after that it seems like they are well sorted.

 

[Jerhelo]

I am making this post to help others who might be on the fence with the 7.3 Godzilla. If you want something reliable consider other options! Pay the extra for the 6.7 and at minimum take advantage of the additional (included) warranty. At time of my purchase warranty was 60k on the 7.3 and the 6.7 was 100k. If I recall the 6.7 was $7k increase in price over the 7.3.

I took delivery of my 2022 F250 7.3L Tremor August 2021. Since then I put 91,500 miles on it daily driving.
Occasionally towing my utility trailer (2-3x monthly) and small 20’ travel trailer several times per year. The truck/motor was honestly great until it wasn’t. I had hoped to get 200k on it as I have in past trucks! But at 91,500 miles I had lifter failure on cylinder 2.

Ford motorcraft synthetic blend every 5k miles. Switched to Shell platinum full synthetic high mileage at 75k still 5k intervals. I’ll have to check idle and running hours when I get it back. But it’s been driven from point A to B most days. Little traffic… averaging 55mph 60 miles daily (my guess).

I had the option to repair for $8800 with 2 year parts warranty or replace for $12500 with 3 yr unlimited mileage warranty. Elected for the new motor thinking that would at least buy me up to 3 years to decide what’s next. Again I really enjoyed the truck and motor up until it failed! Maybe I’ll roll the dice for 3 more years… at least with a warranty.

The reliability of the 7.3 compared to other Ford gas ancestors is not comparable. Not from what I’ve personally experienced. While my 2022 sits in the shop I grabbed the 2003 F250 5.4 gas from the ranch with 222k original miles. Still running strong. My dad’s 2018 F250 6.2 gasser also nearing 200k original miles. I know I am not alone on experiencing 7.3 litter failure. Doesn’t take long to find other post and forums. Amazon trucks and numerous other service trucks have this common failure. I know someone who has replaced three of their F450 7.3 motors outside of warranty. Thus based on my experience and current knowledge… I would NOT consider another 7.3 gas option. Really sucks cause I had high hopes for the Godzilla back in 2021. Now I find myself browsing diesel replacement options 4 short years later and $12,500 in additional expenditures. For my situation would have been cheaper to have got the 6.7 originally… and at minimum extra 40k warranty.

Or maybe I’m thinking wrong and should trade up every 36-60k miles instead of pushing trucks 200k.

For me I will be considering the 6.7 next time…Or something else. Definitely not the 7.3 beyond warranty…

Hopes this helps others looking and weighing options. I’m sure some will oppose my thoughts but I’ve spoken on personal experience and felt it’s worth sharing.

I will say I’m very early into a 7.3 in a 26 model year truck and I was under the impression the lifter failure was corrected whether it was faulty heat treated elements and or idle oil pressure. My service manager told me the only lifter failure they have seen in a very long time were in ambulance and or long idle service trucks and generally 2020-22 model year. Long idle destroys most if not all engines and is not great anyways.

I came from the diesel world, I’ve had 16 different 6.7 powerstrokes and 5 6.7 Cummins. If you think diesel is the cure for longevity you’ve never owned a current day diesel. The problems that come from current diesels whether it’s emissions or injector issues an injector failure and fuel system refresh will cost as much or marginally more than your new $12.5k Engine expense.

I had a 23 f250 longbed 6.7 have a turbo detonate at 7,700 miles and take out the engine. Granted fully warranted but they could not get parts to even fix it. Luckily ford did it right and got me out of the truck and into a new one at a very fair price. While this was the worst experience I have ever had with a diesel th operating cost and maintenance expenses of a diesel make a possible $12.5k motor expense at 100k miles seem pretty good. You are rolling the dice with a diesel.

Just my opinion.

 

[Jerhelo]

Pretty much nailed it. Almost every lifter failure posted on this forum is 2020-2022 model year. For Issue 2, it was likely due to the engines with the economy tune in commercial applications. It made a bit less power and probably had a tune with too little of oil pressure at idle to help fuel economy, and on top of that those trucks idle all the time. I believe Ford has removed one of the tunes for the commercial vehicles, likely because it was causing the lifter failures. Unfortunately it seems like the early model years are luck of the draw, but after that it seems like they are well sorted.

I can tell you in my 26 7.3 tremor, my oil pressure gauge doesn’t move at all. Ideal or driving. It’s always dead center.

 

[Cherokee]

I will say I’m very early into a 7.3 in a 26 model year truck and I was under the impression the lifter failure was corrected whether it was faulty heat treated elements and or idle oil pressure. My service manager told me the only lifter failure they have seen in a very long time were in ambulance and or long idle service trucks and generally 2020-22 model year. Long idle destroys most if not all engines and is not great anyways.

I came from the diesel world, I’ve had 16 different 6.7 powerstrokes and 5 6.7 Cummins. If you think diesel is the cure for longevity you’ve never owned a current day diesel. The problems that come from current diesels whether it’s emissions or injector issues an injector failure and fuel system refresh will cost as much or marginally more than your new $12.5k Engine expense.

I had a 23 f250 longbed 6.7 have a turbo detonate at 7,700 miles and take out the engine. Granted fully warranted but they could not get parts to even fix it. Luckily ford did it right and got me out of the truck and into a new one at a very fair price. While this was the worst experience I have ever had with a diesel th operating cost and maintenance expenses of a diesel make a possible $12.5k motor expense at 100k miles seem pretty good. You are rolling the dice with a diesel.

Just my opinion.

This is the exact reason I bought a 7.3.
A new long block installed is significantly less than some folks on here have been quoted for fuel system replacements.

 

[Jerhelo]

This is the exact reason I bought a 7.3.
A new long block installed is significantly less than some folks on here have been quoted for fuel system replacements.

I haven’t seen a vehicle beyond 50k miles in more 20 years so I have always been in warranty. But when you leave the warranty of a diesel the repairs are way more than most people could imagine. Price out a new powerstroke, not to mention the diesel motor itself will live well beyond 100k miles, none of the necessary components will. The idea that a diesel is a better alternative than a 7.3 due to a $12k repair at almost a 100k miles just makes me chuckle a bit seeing what I have seen with current diesels. To really maintain a diesel, you’re looking at 5k oil changes, 10k fuel filters, def and you need a archoil or shafers equivalent fuel additive and you can still have injector issues and or emissions problems. They are double if not tripple the maintenance and operating cost of the gasser. Diesels are also not meant for short trips and absolutely terrible to idle them which will create a whole other group of issues. Unless you have a heavy commute or long haul a diesel between 100-200k miles will have issues to a tune far greater than $12k. They give you a 100k powertrain because they know the major issues come in the 100-200k realm.

I just dont need a diesel anymore, didn’t want a turbo v6 or a half ton truck so the 7.3 seemed like a good gamble. I tow a rzr on an aluminum trailer now and a F350 with a 7.3 is far overkill even for that.

I’m sure someone will chime in and say how their diesel has had zero issues even at 200k and they are probably being truthful. But there are plenty of problematic gassers with well over 200k, hell even the current Gen tundras debacle has motors over 200k. I’m hopeful the latest Gen 7.3 is a good truck, I’d like to think I will keep it a while but I always say that and by 5-10k miles I’m wanting something different.