Any pics of said updated lights? Been looking around for some options that don't cost $600.

Streetfighter 02 said:

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Have you had any issue with battery drain from the headlights? I'm concerned since the kit needs 12V power to the harness that it will create an imbalanced draw from a single battery.

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I haven't had any related to lights, but I do have the 130amp 3G alternator. After initial start up, I believe HIDs use less power than halogens.

I'll try to take some and upload. I'm headed out on vacation tomorrow so it might be a while. They look very stock except the noticeable HID lens inside the housing.

agwrangler2001 said:

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Any pics of said updated lights? Been looking around for some options that don't cost $600.

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TCM GLX has some on this FSB thread. I really like the ones with the square projectors. IIRC, he charges around $350 for the retrofit. My truck came with some really cheap one piece Chinese junk projectors that look terrible and have bad light output. The HID projectors TCM uses are great. I think the lower LED driving light pictured below is pretty slick. We should probably make an OBS thread instead of hijacking the OP

http://www.fullsizebronco.com/forum/63-fsb-member-vendors/301162-80-86-92-96-bi-xenon-projector-retrofits.html

Did the coolant flush with all new Rotella ELC. That was messy. Ended up having to drill out one of the water outlet bolts, but it's all back together now.

Also had a diesel smell inside the cab. Tracked it down to a leaking drain valve on the fuel filter housing. I ordered just the o-rings to repair it for $10 shipped. No leaks yet.

Also OP,

There are a lot of headlight upgrades for the 99+, but I simply went with the 02-04 stock replacements. Looks way better and freshened up the front end nicely.

Get used to continually chasing air and fuel leaks. The fuel systems were designed prior to ulsd. After 15-20 years, all the rubber pieces start to fail.

So I have replaced several things in the front end since I got it in order to help tighten up the steering and quiet down the front suspension.

Previous owner had good records that show the truck has fairly new shocks and ball joints. I have replaced the stock steering stabilizer and the track bar. I have also added the plastic spacers between the leafs to help with the squeakiness.

The truck still wanders a little bit on the highway, so I ordered a new Red Head steering box. Various forums say it cures most of the wandering these trucks have. Hopefully it does, as I can't find any play in any of the steering linkages.

JB said:

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So I have replaced several things in the front end since I got it in order to help tighten up the steering and quiet down the front suspension.

Previous owner had good records that show the truck has fairly new shocks and ball joints. I have replaced the stock steering stabilizer and the track bar. I have also added the plastic spacers between the leafs to help with the squeakiness.

The truck still wanders a little bit on the highway, so I ordered a new Red Head steering box. Various forums say it cures most of the wandering these trucks have. Hopefully it does, as I can't find any play in any of the steering linkages.

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Let us know how the Red head box works out for you. I've heard it's the best option, but it's not cheap either.

Other say the Cardone reman box is good too, with lifetime warranty and comes in at about $150-175 after the core.

I recently replaced the steering shaft bearings in my steering column. Not a fun job but made a surprisingly huge difference in steering feel. It's amazing how stuff like that goes bad slowly and you don't realize it.

Also check out your rear end. It's been said that the wandering nature of the 4x4 trucks sometimes comes from the rear.

I got the new box in last night and did some test driving this morning. Much better, tighter feel. It's still a big heavy 4-5 ton truck but there is no more play in the wheel and it doesn't wander at 70 down the highway

The truck has a slide-in camper in the back and I recently installed airbags. Big trip to Colorado next week so hopefully no problems.

All four door locks quit working on the F250 last week. Neither the door switches or the remotes do anything. I do hear a clicking behind the dash. There is alot on the web about fixing the weak lock actuators that apparently go out slowly, but this all happened at once. Fuses are good.

Any ideas?

Body control module?

This needs to be bumped

In regards to the door locks, I have not fixed them yet. I pulled the radio, and the clicking is coming from something buried way back in there, kinda up high. I have heard things like General Electrical Module, and Vehicle Security Module.....but have not been able to determine the cause just yet.

Did you hear the clicking when the locks were functioning?

Yeah, pretty positive I have always heard the clicking.

OEM or aftermarket keyless entry?

OEM keyless, but have added a stick-on keypad(remote).

JB said:

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OEM keyless, but have added a stick-on keypad(remote).

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JB, I don't know what year you have, but on some later 7.3Ls, they introduced a VSM (Vehicle Security Module), and there's also the GEM, which controls your power windows, locks, mirrors etc.

There are lots of GEM repair places online that will fix for 100-200 dollars with 24 hour turnaround.

You may want to talk to Jason at Circuit Board Medics and see if he wants to mess with it.

Thank you sir. I'll look into it. It's a 2000

Mechanic buddy looked at it this weekend. Sounds strange, but we think all 4 actuators went bad. Replaced the front two and now working fine. Ordered two more for the back off Amazon.

A/C was freezing up on long trips. It was overcharged by a pound, so he fixed that and it worked fine on a two hour trip Sunday.

I can add replacing the actuators to my list. Right now I badly need to replace my glow plugs ('99 7.3), superdutypsd.com has a good write up, but I have the following questions someone may have already tackled:

• I plan to use OEM glow plugs (Motorcraft ZD11). Are there ones that are better?
• I plan to reuse the gaskets and wiring harness. Should I upgrade/replace while I've got the valve covers off?
• Anyone have experience with swollen/broken plugs?
• Replace relay? OEM or other?

I think the rear plugs have never been changed. Any help is greatly appreciated!

Since this has turned into a 7.3 thread...

Thoughts on this deal:

• Asking $10,500
• 144,000 miles
• '97 supercab XLT long bed, manual transmission, 4x4
• Camper shell with rubber bed liner
• Interior in pretty good shape, could use seat covers as original cloth is a little stretched on the front seats
• Exterior in very good shape, no major dents, visible rust from photos (would obviously dig deeper)
• Original owner - says they have changed oil every 4,000 miles
• Dual mass flywheel replaced with solid mass fly
• 6 stage TS brand programmer
• 4" downpipe coupled with 4" straight exhaust
• "aftermarket oversized turbo housing"
• "aftermarket intercooler"
• 1 ton suspension
• new batteries
• cracked windshield
• recently replaced cam position sensor
• "no major repairs, just routine maintenance"
• "Batteries draw down if it's not driven for a while, so I just disconnect the leads and hook back up when want to start. starts with no problem. I took to Ford and they said there's no problem."

KBB says max private party value is $7,900 and NADA says average retail is $9,600 and high retail is around $15k.

Truck is about hour and a half away, so not the easiest to get to. Additionally, the owner is a police officer who will only let me take it to a 3rd party inspection if he has cash in hand. Not sure how I feel about that. Alternative is to have mechanic come to him...

I don't have a definitive need for THIS truck, but man it sounds like a great deal if it's in as good of condition as the owner says. With as little as I drive, this thing could last me another 10 years easily in terms of engine longevity without much concern.

Maybe I missed it, what's the mileage?

Jason Ag said:

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Maybe I missed it, what's the mileage?

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my bad - 144,000

Sounds like it has been his "baby" and he isn't in a rush to sell it, so I wouldn't worry about him not wanting a third party inspection. A friend of mine had a truck like this (except extended cab and only 4x2) that sold for 10,000. Some guy bought it after a conversation, he didn't even list it for sale. I'd say go look at, meet the guy, get a gut feel for it. To me it isn't a steal, but if someone did baby it all these years they probably aren't going to let it go cheap, seems like a fair price if the background is true. Good luck!

Jason Ag said:

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I can add replacing the actuators to my list. Right now I badly need to replace my glow plugs ('99 7.3), superdutypsd.com has a good write up, but I have the following questions someone may have already tackled:

• I plan to use OEM glow plugs (Motorcraft ZD11). Are there ones that are better?
• I plan to reuse the gaskets and wiring harness. Should I upgrade/replace while I've got the valve covers off?
• Anyone have experience with swollen/broken plugs?
• Replace relay? OEM or other?

I think the rear plugs have never been changed. Any help is greatly appreciated!

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Use OEM ones or what you can buy at the International Dealer.

I'd spend the money for new VC Gasket/Harnesses.

I haven't but the main thing is to take your time with the replacement process. I've had the threaded part come out but the element stuck in with about 2" sticking out, and I used some needle nose vise grips to grab it, and pull it out. On the other side, I got the same issue but it was stuck. I used a hammer to tap the handle end of the grip, push it in 1/4 or 1/2 an inch, then pull out on it, and tap again, in and out until you break the carbon off and the element pulls out.

I like the Navistar or Ford relay.

Thanks 1ags! I may get some quotes from the diesel shops around me, I just started a new job and don't have much time (that and house remodeling!)

Did you go look at the truck?

No, haven't had time to make the trip out to him. Other priorities have taken front seat.

Ended up spending more money then I would like too, but I ended up fixing a big vibration issue I was having while coasting. Vibration felt like it was front passenger side, but was really coming from the rear shaft/rear axle

I pulled the rear shaft and put 3 new u-joints in it and a new center-support bearing. Vibes maybe lessened a little bit. A few month later, I decided to dive in deeper. I threw front units bearings and rear wheel bearings at it hoping to fix the problem. Then I noticed that the new rear u-joint is moving inside the rear yoke. The yoke ears are worn out, so I order a new yoke.

I get the new yoke installed and vibes are still there. Ended up paying a local shop to replace the pinion bearings and carrier bearings and put it all back together.

All weird driveline vibrations gone, I just had to work my way backwards to find it. Truck drives great now and really enjoy driving it again.

I read online (looking into diesel kleen) where folks add 2 cycle engine oil to fuel for there 7.3. Anyone ever heard of this? I know the diesel is ultra low sulfur now and the lubricant properties are a little different, so feeding the old diesel a little oil sounds reasonable.

Sounds like a lot of hoodoo to me. Diesel fuel, even ulsd, is basically an oil already. You ever spilled some and then stepped in it? It's slicker than greased owl doody.