bulletproofing my "new" 7.3 (is it possible?)

[IApowerstrokers]

ya i would do it myself, i will look around at prices tonight. its not a for sure thing by any means. just dont feel real confident when the previous owner told me to get rid of it

[kbmkviii]

did you decide what youre going to do? send it back?
honestly i would without hesitation.
but i have seen other people go through buys like this from shady dealers before.
never turned out well for them.
i would take the money you paid for the truck when you trun it in and buy one from someone local if possible.
did anyone catch what looks to be blue rtv under the loose screw?
looks to me like it has been shade tree'd.

[IApowerstrokers]

Originally Posted by kbmkviii

did you decide what youre going to do? send it back?
honestly i would without hesitation.
but i have seen other people go through buys like this from shady dealers before.
never turned out well for them.
i would take the money you paid for the truck when you trun it in and buy one from someone local if possible.
did anyone catch what looks to be blue rtv under the loose screw?
looks to me like it has been shade tree'd.

so you think i should take it back and get my money? i decided against the king ranch, i dont absolutely love it so i figured if thats the case why spend the money you know? they dont really have a truck there that i want, besides a 2012 6.7 but i highly doubt i can afford that. so should i fix the valve cover and hope my warranty is still good by the time the tranny goes? or get my money, frustrated because i want to make the right choice!!

[jbwaldrop88]

Id say take the money and run!

[IApowerstrokers]

im thinking thats what i should do, but it wont be for awhile since its harvest time and my brother is getting married. seems like theres never enough time! im going to sound stupid but whats blue rtv? and also shade tree'd?

[ajfetterman]

Blue RTV is a sealant and shade tree'd is basically a repair that someone did themselves and maybe witout the proper skill.

Not to be a negative Nelly here but it may be too late to get your money back. Generally you might be able to do it after 3 days. They may have extended an offer to you because they expect you to buy another vehicle from them......Hope that isnt the case for you but I have bought over 20 vehicles for personal use, and dealers/salesman arent always the most honest and if it isnt on paper it didnt happen or was not said.

Good luck man! Watch this doesnt F up your credit also....

[IApowerstrokers]

hes right, too late to take it back and get my money back. they said the only way is too trade it in which im not going to do. so i guess ill just have to deal with it...on the bright side i have a 3 yr warranty on engine and tranny. im going to fix the valve covers somtime next week. and also flush tranny and put new gasket on. then we will see if that fixes most the leaks. im hoping for the best! thanks all for the help, greatly appreciated. im in the process of ordering gauges and in the next 2 months get a custom tuned chip. winter is coming up, can anyone give me some info on how to get make sure my truck starts in the winter?

[ajfetterman]

Search glow plug relay or glow plug system and you should get your answers.

Batteries, relay and glow plugs.

[powerlifter405]

Your oil leak...
climb into the engine bay, with a FLASHLIGHT even in day light, look in the engine valley. The HPOP is known for developing leaks. Mine did w/ only 60k miles. The factory orings wear out/get hard and don't seal right. Dieselorings.com is a great place, get their full kit if you need to.

See if the previous owner will spell out problems for you.
Start w/ making it reliable. You have a 54" snap on box full of tools huh??? then you can do all the work in your driveway. i have just a handfull of tools and I've done a motor swap and put a forged rod motor in mine.
READ, READ, etc.. search the forums to gain knowledge.


Winter: Do the stancor relay and have good batteries and glow plugs(IH or FORD only). W/ that many miles the GP is a no-brainer and if you need a new valve cover harness use ONLY ford or IH, been there done that. There is a cross reference somewhere for ford vs IH. Sometimes IH is a lot cheaper.

Write a list of things to do to create reliability. By pass filters ( love'em IMHO having seen motors w/ VS w/o.) You can use syn in winter as the 7.3 will behave better, to save $$ use dino in the summer.

On the tuner, I hear too much good info about Swamps or Gearhead. Swamps has super awesome customer service but I debate howmuch it will help w/ mileage. I got 18mpg hand calc all the time w/ mine stock or even modded.
I love'd having a GTP38R, the instant spool up is nice but its a 1300 expense.

Sorry for the ramble, i'm really tired.
Good luck.

[IApowerstrokers]

^^^ thanks for all of that information! i copy and pasted it into my files, thanks a lot! do have a question tho, going to fix my valve cover leak, do i need 2 under valve cover wiring harness's? im only doing driver side valve cover. so should i buy the kit with one gasket and one harness? or one gasket 2 harness's?