7.3 Powerstroke Input

[Rotortrash]

I've done the online research, now I want some first hand user input. I'm looking at an Excursion, so I want to know what your experiences are. Mileage, problems, favorite upgrades, etc. TIA.

[racrguy]

I've got a 96 7.3. It's underpowered, but reliable. Doesn't get the greatest mileage either.

[Badass2000GT]

I've done the online research, now I want some first hand user input. I'm looking at an Excursion, so I want to know what your experiences are. Mileage, problems, favorite upgrades, etc. TIA.

Excursion and mpg shouldn't be used in the same sentence.

[BULLET_DRIVER]

Best deisel ever put in a truck or suv. I wouldnt be scared of it one bit. WHen mine wears out Ill buy a brand new motor and keep on truckin. I bought mine with 160k on the clock and I know she will lay down another 160k. If you are looking at a 4x4 then you will probably see around 16-18 mpg on the highway. City will fall alot.

On my truck I was gettin 18 and half on the highway runnin empty at speeds between 75-85. With a 80 hp economy tune the best I have seen is 21. Im waiting on my cousin to burn me a 120hp tune and build me a set of single shot 160cc injectors. Then Im hoping to see around 25-26 mpg.

Another good part about the 7.3 is they will burn any kinda of oil you wanna put in the tank. Me and my cousin both and his wife are mixxin 1 gallon of gasoline to 5 gallons of used filtered motor oil. Then fill the truck up with the mixture and let her role.

You canno go wrong with a 7.3. Keep the oil changed and all the regular maintenance done and, she will live forever.

[BULLET_DRIVER]

Excursion and mpg shouldn't be used in the same sentence.

My cousin is gettin 23 in her 7.3 excursion with it sittin on 37inch mudders.

One of the guys in our bass club estimates 17 on the highway pullin a 20ft basscat bass boat. My f250 4x4 is gettin 17 pullin a 20ft bullet. It takes a few mods but they will put down some good mileage.

[HenryJ]

I've got a 2000 f250 that we bought new. Not many mods, just kept it simple. I did the 03 headlights and relays and billet grille, after market air filter and a 50hp chip. It's got right at 200k miles and has been very reliable over the past 11yrs. Here's a list of the majority of the stuff I had to replace over the last ten yrs.

front four wheel drive hub
cps sensor
water pump x2
alternator x2
door lock actuators on driver/pass front doors
o-ring on water separator
o-ring on the hpop lines
and the usually belts, hoses, and batteries

I love the truck and I'm getting ready to redo the interior and drive it another 10yrs.

[Badass2000GT]

Best deisel ever put in a truck or suv. I wouldnt be scared of it one bit. WHen mine wears out Ill buy a brand new motor and keep on truckin. I bought mine with 160k on the clock and I know she will lay down another 160k. If you are looking at a 4x4 then you will probably see around 16-18 mpg on the highway. City will fall alot.

On my truck I was gettin 18 and half on the highway runnin empty at speeds between 75-85. With a 80 hp economy tune the best I have seen is 21. Im waiting on my cousin to burn me a 120hp tune and build me a set of single shot 160cc injectors. Then Im hoping to see around 25-26 mpg.

Another good part about the 7.3 is they will burn any kinda of oil you wanna put in the tank. Me and my cousin both and his wife are mixxin 1 gallon of gasoline to 5 gallons of used filtered motor oil. Then fill the truck up with the mixture and let her role.

You canno go wrong with a 7.3. Keep the oil changed and all the regular maintenance done and, she will live forever.

WTF are you talking about? And I call BS on mpg. Is that hand calculated or going off what is said on the truck.

[Badass2000GT]

My cousin is gettin 23 in her 7.3 excursion with it sittin on 37inch mudders.

One of the guys in our bass club estimates 17 on the highway pullin a 20ft basscat bass boat. My f250 4x4 is gettin 17 pullin a 20ft bullet. It takes a few mods but they will put down some good mileage.

I highly doubt she is getting that mpg with those tires.

[HenryJ]

My cousin is gettin 23 in her 7.3 excursion with it sittin on 37inch mudders.

One of the guys in our bass club estimates 17 on the highway pullin a 20ft basscat bass boat. My f250 4x4 is gettin 17 pullin a 20ft bullet. It takes a few mods but they will put down some good mileage.

We're getting right at 16.5mpg with mixed driving in a 4 wheel drive.

[Rotortrash]

I'm only wanting to know what to expect as far as mileage. I know an Excursion won't be the best on fuel, but I'm driving a Suburban that only does about 11-12 MPG on a good day. HWY or city, it dosent matter. It's not like I'm trading my Prius for this thing and expecting the fuel mileage to be comparable.

Good input so far, thanks guys.

[jdgregory84]

I highly doubt she is getting that mpg with those tires.

I've never understood why people lie about their gas mileage. It's worse than lying about horsepower.

You're probably gonna average 15-16mpg in one of those things with factory specs.

[BULLET_DRIVER]

I'm only wanting to know what to expect as far as mileage. I know an Excursion won't be the best on fuel, but I'm driving a Suburban that only does about 11-12 MPG on a good day. HWY or city, it dosent matter. It's not like I'm trading my Prius for this thing and expecting the fuel mileage to be comparable.

Good input so far, thanks guys.

You will definetly see an increase in mpg.

[Sean88gt]

Rotor, what year sub?

I had a 95 psd that was cc 4x4 and saw as high as 20mpg. In my 00 with a tune and exhaust I would see around 17.5ish. It did have 4.10's.

[Badass2000GT]

Here is a site I'm a member on. This guys are pretty honest and everything but it looks like some of them are getting their mpg from their lie-o-meter instead of doing hand calculations. http://www.powerstroke.org/forum/99-...xcursions.html

[BULLET_DRIVER]

WTF are you talking about? And I call BS on mpg. Is that hand calculated or going off what is said on the truck.

Hand calculated and Im talking about what we put in out fuel tanks. He used to burn cooking oil but lost his supplier for it. He had over 10 55 gallon drums of used motor oil so he decided to try it and see if the truck would run off the stuff. It worked but smoked way to much. He did some research, talked to a few other deisel shops and found out if you mix gasoline in the oil that it will thin it out and burn alot cleaner. Different temperatures and altitudes call for more or less gasoline in the oil, but the 7.3 will burn it. If you have an older pre 99 model 7.3 that has factory single shot injectors then its goin to smoke way more with oil in than the B code injectors do.


As for the mileage on his wifes excursion it gets 23 if you can get her to run the speed limit or at round 75 it gets a best of 23. It takes very few mods to make these trucks get really good mileage.

Since I got my powerstroke Ive only done a 5inch exhaust, cold air kit, and a switch on the fly chip. My boat is about the heaviest I've dared to pull with the tune but mileage I've stated earlier is what it gets. Hand calculated. I fill it all the way to the cap every time. As soon as my cousin gets me the same tune that he put on his wifes excusion then I hope to get upwards of 23 with no load.

City driving is a totally different story. Red light to red light I cant keep my foot out of it long enough to check the mileage, but I can tell you it doesnt come close to highway.

As for the onboard mileage counter, its never come off 13.1.