Damn Fords!
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MW 413
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All the Ford 6.9s, 7.3s, and 6.0 Power Stroke engines were engineered and built by Navistar. (Ford never built any V8 Diesels until the 2007 model year). They were built on the same assembly line with the Navistar engines and sold to Ford as is and Ford applied their own warranty. That was from 1985-2007. There were the 6,9s and two 7.3s, the indirect mech injection 7.3 (same indirect inj design as the 6.9) and the T444E direct HEUI injection (Ford 7.3 from 1995-2002). The T444E was a really good engine. I was part owner of a Navistar dealership from 1976 until I retired in 2016. Ran the service dept for 25 years and was selected as 1 of 2 service managers nation wide to serve as a field engineer on the T444E when it was in design and testing in 1993-95. The T444E was the first fully elec controlled V8 diesel engine Navistar(International Truck and Engine Corp) built. Ford used their own ECM, harness, and program to control the engine but used Navistar's sensors. Ford upped the HP ratings since they were being used in lighter applications(1 ton and less) then Navistars. We also came out with the DT466E series of inline med duty 6cyl diesel engines in 1995. The 6.0 V8 diesel that came out in 2003 was a total disaster. After 2006 Ford ended the contract with Navistar due to severe warranty reliability issues with the 6.0 and built their own twin turbo V8 diesel. It did not work out very well either.
burntorng70
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I have had my 1997 f250 supercab 7.3 for 18 years and 245000 miles. Mechanically it has never been touched except for all synthetic fluid changes. It has a rough life pulling horses, hauling hay, and the occasional tractor or mopar on a trailer. I expect I will still be driving it for 20 more years. All of the sheetmetal has been replaced due to rust but it is now rustproofed yearly with fluid film. It also gets 21 mpg on the highway. Ford really hit a home run with this truck, primarily because they had to surpass the dodge cummins of the time. I plan on taking my truck to Brians Truck Stop in Arkansas this year for a new transmission. Nothing wrong with mine yet but he builds the best.
BeeKool
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I would never even think about owning a non navistar ford.
I had a ram 3500 w a 12v 5.9C prior to this, but I sold it to a fellow member here because I needed a 4wd and needed more power. It was reliable but just couldn't make enough power and I wasn't going to dump a bunch of money into it.
My only gripes w this truck are transmission related. Fasteners That required going out and buying a new 12 or metric socket set, too many options on sensors, drivshafts, etc. Just as cranky said, they would use one part for 6 months then switch to another. Totally maddening.
On my 2011 Chrysler/Fiat products I do not need a 12pt socket set. Just 6pt and torx.
On my 2016 Fiat powered tractors I do not need fancy 12pt ****.
However on my 02 Ford I need an entire arsenal or odds and ends.
So I repeat. "Damn Ford!"
I had a ram 3500 w a 12v 5.9C prior to this, but I sold it to a fellow member here because I needed a 4wd and needed more power. It was reliable but just couldn't make enough power and I wasn't going to dump a bunch of money into it.
My only gripes w this truck are transmission related. Fasteners That required going out and buying a new 12 or metric socket set, too many options on sensors, drivshafts, etc. Just as cranky said, they would use one part for 6 months then switch to another. Totally maddening.
On my 2011 Chrysler/Fiat products I do not need a 12pt socket set. Just 6pt and torx.
On my 2016 Fiat powered tractors I do not need fancy 12pt ****.
However on my 02 Ford I need an entire arsenal or odds and ends.
So I repeat. "Damn Ford!"
BTW. Do you have any suggestions for the torque converter? The fact that it's studs instead of bolts looks like it's going to be a pia whenreinstalling
65wgn440
Well-Known Member
Suggestions: Position flywheel where you can see/access tq stud hole(s) easiest. Turn tq as close as you can to same position. Definitely have to get tq studs in place before mating trans- engine, but don't install and tighten nuts until trans- engine mated. Then I make sure tq still has free play (must be pulled forward to completely contact flywheel) before starting nuts. I also tighten nuts semi-gradually starting 180 degrees apart to make sure tq gets pulled out equally. Doing a '01 150 later. On this one, I have the added pleasure of having to install convertor ( about the biggest/ heaviest mother I have seen in awhile) AFTER trans is semi stuck back into place, with it tilted nose-down, and no more than 1/2 clearance to get the damn thing in. All due to exhaust issues.
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Had my 97 Cummins powered Dodge since 2001 and I'm still liking it. The owner before me pulled a 5th wheel travel trailer and then I pulled car trailers with it. Now it's not seeing much work but there's no rust on it but the dang red paint is dead and is cracking up....not peeling though. Never liked red but it just ran too good to pass it up and yes, the paint was starting to look bad even then. Around here back then it was hard to find a 4 or 5 year old Dodge diesel that didn't get severe abuse doing hot shot etc and the good ones that belonged to individuals that didn't abuse them were snapped up fast. Looked at lots of pickups before finding this one on a consignment lot just down the street. Watched many of them come into the Exxon refinery to pickup and deliver pumps, electric motors etc and they all were showing 500k miles by the time they were just a few years old. Only complaint I have is the dang dash cracking up even though it's been garage kept since I've had it.
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62MAX
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MW 413
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I've pulled down the T444E engines like yours that had 400k miles on them and they still had cross-hatch on the cyl walls. It had some head gasket issues due to weak coolant flow to the 2 left side rear cyls but we made a coolant update kit that when installed solved the lack of coolant flow to that aera of the block and ended the head gasket issue. Other than that the engine never had any major issues. We ran it in school in school buses and med duty class 4-5 truck chassis(single axle dumps, 24' van and flat beds, etc).
rlem1977
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Flimsy Old Rebuilt Dodge
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BeeKool
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Got the new transmission in and the transfer case on.
Exhaust and starter are in.
(Personal pet peeve is when standard bolts are used right next to metric, in this case it would be starter and flexplate cover) damn Fords!
The transmission came with an external filter/bracket and a temp assy.
The temp assy is of the dimestore variety like you would get from the bottom shelf at O'Reillys and they want you to plumb it in to the pressure line.
External filter assy needs plumbed into the return line somewhere after the cooler.
Great in theory, but anybody who has worked on these damn things knows they are shoehorned into the truck and space is non-existent.
There is quite literally no place under the hood to mount the filter assy and no place to tap into either line except right next to the transmission and exhaust.
It's likely to take me several hours to do these things and then I'm going to have unnecessary splits and connections and 90s in the lines ect ect.
Not to mention I'm not to enthused about mounting the filter Housing on the frame of the truck and the temp assy is a cheap pos and likely to not work long anyway.
Damn Fords
Exhaust and starter are in.
(Personal pet peeve is when standard bolts are used right next to metric, in this case it would be starter and flexplate cover) damn Fords!
The transmission came with an external filter/bracket and a temp assy.
The temp assy is of the dimestore variety like you would get from the bottom shelf at O'Reillys and they want you to plumb it in to the pressure line.
External filter assy needs plumbed into the return line somewhere after the cooler.
Great in theory, but anybody who has worked on these damn things knows they are shoehorned into the truck and space is non-existent.
There is quite literally no place under the hood to mount the filter assy and no place to tap into either line except right next to the transmission and exhaust.
It's likely to take me several hours to do these things and then I'm going to have unnecessary splits and connections and 90s in the lines ect ect.
Not to mention I'm not to enthused about mounting the filter Housing on the frame of the truck and the temp assy is a cheap pos and likely to not work long anyway.
Damn Fords
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