gonetothedogs1
Olympic Peninsula, Wa
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Joined: 03/22/2011
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A friend of mine is looking at purchasing a 2003 Sportsmobile built on a Ford E-350 with a 7.3L diesel engine and 410 gear ratio. Is there anyone out there who can share their knowledge about this engine? Is it fuel efficient? Sturdy? Any known defects or problems she likely would encounter? Thanks in advance. Barb
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Handbasket
Asheville, NC
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Joined: 01/17/2003
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The SMB part should be good if it's been kept up. But the '03 Ford diesel is iffy.... read here:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Power_Stroke_engine. Quoting from that, underlining added....
"6.0 Power Stroke
The 7.3 L (444 CID) Power Stroke was replaced by the 6.0 L (365 CID) midway through the 2003 model year. The 6.0L Power Stroke was used in Ford Super Duty trucks until the 2008 model year but lasted until 2009 in Ford Econoline vans. The early 6.0 L Power Stroke engines have proven to be unreliable,(1) and speculated to have cost Ford hundreds of millions of dollars in warranty repairs. They led to many recalls and the repurchase of at least 500 trucks. The initial quality challenges had mostly been rectified by Ford and Navistar by model year 2006 with most of the changes coming in 2005....."
None of this is from personal experience, but I have had my ear bent extensively by two different former unhappy owners of '03 & '04 Power Joke owners in pickups. So it looks like a lot might depend on which engine is in it. Dunno about SMB's but a lot of B's are built on the previous year's chassis, so that's hopeful news.
Jim, "Time may be a great healer, but it's a lousy beautician."
'06 Tiger CX 'C Minus' on a Silverado 2500HD 4x4, 8.1 & Allison (aka 'Loafer's Glory') www.tigervehicles.com
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fordsooperdooty
Southern California
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Joined: 08/13/2004
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Many folks state that the engine...which was made from mid 1994 till mid 2003, the 7.3 was one of the..if not THE best production diesel ever made, including the reliability. Some original owners report 300,000 miles and more trouble free miles. They are said to get between 15 to 18 mpg unladen, and 9-12 towing an average sized trailer. A gasser would get slightly less. (FordTrucks.Com and PowerStroke.Org)
My posts shouldn't be taken for factual data. They are purely fictional, for entertainment purposes and should not be constituted as actually related to scientific, technical, engineering, legal, spiritual or practical advice. Amen. 
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My Roadtrek
Tucson, AZ.
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Joined: 03/20/2002
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It sits right next to the driver and passenger, and will be really, really loud.
Visit My Roadtrek
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retraite
Wanderin' about
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Joined: 04/08/2005
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My Roadtrek wrote:It sits right next to the driver and passenger, and will be really, really loud.
Ahhh, whadyasay Rodger? 
Cheers.
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ffjeff
Coloma, CA
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Joined: 09/30/2006
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I have a cutaway E-350 van with this motor. It is fairly good on fuel, very reliable and cheap to get get parts for. Without having a turbo it will last forever. I know of people who have changed out the differential to a higher ratio like around 3.73 to increase MPG with good results. They live in the more flat part of CA. If your not going tolive in the mountains this may be a good investment.
The engine of course is made by International as are all Powerstrokes. The down side is that there aren't a lot of aftermarket parts available for this motor with the exception of exhaust, air filter, and programable chips. Mine is stock except for IPD sway bars and Bilstien Shocks.
Most likely this chassis is a group 47 package for RV and Ambulance prep. It will have heavy duty cooling,165 amp alternator and more.
Battery replacement will be a little more than with a F serries as one battery is a different size and more costly of course.
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Golden_HVAC
Fulltime, CA, USA
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Hi,
If you have the 7.3L, then it is likely the chassis is one year older than the coach. Very common to build a coach in mid 2002 with 2003 coach, even a coach 2 years newer than the chassis is common.
The 7.3L seems to be much more popular than the 6L or 6.4L that replaced it. You have a good find, and can expect it to last into the 300,000 mile range. I even was reading about a van owner who is looking for another 7.3L van, when the engine on his van went out at some 750,000 miles. I would want another one too!
The Ford ambulances during that period where made only with the diesel engine, so it is likely that you might have an ambulance prep package, but you might not, it depends on how it was ordered. If ordered as a RV, then you will not have the ambulance package, and there will be a sticker on the drivers door that says warranty void if used as a ambulance. It was not uncommon to put 150,000 miles on a paramedic van before retiring it. And that is much more hard use than a RV will ever see.
Some aftermarket tuners have coaxed out over 750 HP from that engine, but you don't want to modify it that much.
Fred.
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topless
Wichita, KS
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The 7.3 is a great engine. My son had an Excursion with 250,000 miles when he traded. He had a tighter than stock torque converter installed when he had the transmission rebuilt at 200,000 miles and after that, he got 16 mpg in town and 18-20 on the highway with 4wd, 39" tall off-road tires, the truck weighed about 7000 lbs.
The 6.0 that replaced that engine in Ford trucks was a piece on junk, there is lawsuit against International, who made it for Ford.
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tatest
Oklahoma Green Country
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Joined: 05/14/2005
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The 7.3 from International is a solid engine, fairly lightly stressed for its size (as was the 5.9 Cummins B at 180 to 230 HP) for a long service life.
There are two known issues over longer periods of service, neither very common.
1. The crankshaft position sensor is known to fail. This is a low cost part, easy to replace, but without it you won't be running. Sort of like the points on an old battery-coil ignition. Some ranchers with million mile engines carry a spare.
2. If oil is not properly maintained, allowed to get very dirty or build up sludge, it can damage the fuel injectors (activated by engine oil at very high pressure). Injectors are relatively expensive.
Tom Test
Itasca Spirit 29B
2001 Ranger Edge
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