Quantico. North County Spring, those guys that worked there were pretty cool. They had a B!tchin Chopper in the front of the store, and really seemed to know their stuff concerning leaf springs.

 

You need to Get gauges. trans temp, boost and exhaust temp. ( egt ). I would look in to a different tuner.. Not like the superchip. that is kinda of a canned tuner. you need to look at DP or PHP. they will set up the tunes to your truck. For What it has and how you want to use it. Have the decell tune added. it works Great for descending with a trailer.. i don't ever have to use the brakes going down the grapevine and it will NOT let your truck accelerate down hill. Get the 80 hp tow mode. they will change the shift pattern and other features. I could only pull up the grapevine at 53 mph at almost full throttle. now in tow 80, i can run up the hill at 70mph at 1/2 throttle

 

Coupla quick hits:

Great idea sorting the suspension first!

Towing that much weight will never have the power to weight ratio of a passenger car.

Keep the RPMs up to lower your EGTs.

According to what I have read here, drilled rotors are not recommended, slotted is fine.

An exhaust brake will totally relax your seat-pucker on a big descent. Real deal brakes are $$, but a DP tuner with decel tune gets you there plus a lot more. My 5er is only 26', but I've taken 7% grades and hardly need the brakes.

Gauges and a trans cooler (I recommend a 6.0) simply gotta happen. Before something very expensive breaks.

 

OK you're a little ways from me still. North County Spring was the place, they were down the street from ORW.

I'll echo Sand Fiends comment on tuners. You may already know that but the custom tunes are completely different from a boxed tuner. When I bought my X it had a Superchip and while better than stock, I was blown away with the difference going to a custom chip. It made the truck feel like it weighed half as much. But of course would wait until you do gauges and exhaust first.

 

Bones, I did not see a signature with mods but read thru the entire thread. I did not see any where that you did a Under Valve Cover Harness(UVCH) 50 cent modification. Here is a video.
2001 F350 7.3L Turbo Diesel, UVCH - YouTube

You may need to pull your Valve Covers and see if this has been done to your truck. You may have some ill effects from this harness coming loose under your covers. Just a thought on your low power on hills. It does not take too long to remove the valve covers and verify it is done.
Dwayne

 

Thanks for the input fellas. I will look into the .50cent mod this weekend and see if it has been done yet. I doubt it, as the truck was bone stock when I got her.

Gauges will have to be bought with a deep sump trans pan, as I do not have a bung in there now. Instead of welding one in, I figured that I would go with an ATS (or similiar) deep pan, with the coolant fins that already had it. Then I figured that while I was in there I would go ahead and install a Tugger Shift kit. Funny how things snowball eh?

Exhaust will come next. The custom tune sounds great, but I already sank 400 bones into the Vivid, and would be pretty irate to have to get rid of it. Maybe I will win the lottery...

 

You don't need a deep pan, you already have a bung well... you have a test plug above the pan on the driver's side that you remove and thread the tranny temp sensor in its place. Easy Cheesy.

 

From what I have read here on deep sump trans pans they are really no help!! Save yer coin for a good 6.0 or equiv cooler! I think some of your power loss is turnin them big tires!!! Also depends on your rear axel ratio. Nice truck BTW :

Smokie

 

Pics?

And if a Powerstroke can do this to a big rig I'm pretty sure it can already pull your house down.

Powerstroke VS CAT powered KW Pull off - YouTube

 

You know I have to pop in here and ask if the Under Valve Cover Harness (UVCH) connector has been looked at and the 50 cent mod done? 50 cent mod video here
2001 F350 7.3L Turbo Diesel, UVCH - YouTube

How to do it written down from my post in another thread. The video above is not my video but is a great training tool.

For the 50 cent mod you will need two quarters, a short 13mm socket, deep 13mm socket and a universal or wobble short extension to get the back bolt on the drivers side and a few of the bottom bolts on the passenger side, a 13mm wrench and a long(6-8 inch) extension. Various wrenches and sockets for pulling harness connector and Intercooler boot clamps.
Only takes 20-25 minutes to pull the Turbo intake hoses and Turbo pipe(metal) on the driver's side. Be careful with the boots. Just be easy with them.
Don't pay too much attention to all the oil inside of the inlet tube and metal pipe as you can clean them any time IN THE FUTURE.
Right now focus on taking the valve cover off. I take out the stock filter and all the inlet tubing going to the turbo then I gently shove a not so good towel into the stock filter box AND lay a moving blanket( very thick folded over several times) over the battery and stock filter box so I can lay on it while I take the Valve cover bolts out. Be careful of the towel in the stock box for the sensor in that box. They are fragile. I am short so please laugh and work with me at the same time.
Unbolt the 42 pin electrical connector on top of the valve cover. If you have an air compressor, now is the time to blow any debris around the valve cover down out of the way.
Take a PICTURE or take note which fasteners are bolts and which ones are studs with a nut to mount something else to. You will want to put it back exactly as it was. Get the 13mm socket and a 13mm wrench.
DO NOT TAKE THE Positive Crankcase Vent or CrankCase Vent(CCV) DOGHOUSE OFF UNLESS YOU HAVE THE FOUR ORINGS TO RESEAL IT
4 Viton O-rings to reseal the Crank Case Vent cover
OR THE ORINGS WILL SWELL UP AND BE NO GOOD AND YOU WILL LEAK OIL ALL OVER THE PLACE UNTIL YOU GET THE NEW ORINGS.
Using the 13mm wrench carefully remove the bolt just above the CCV dog house and leave the CCV in place. You will not be able to use the socket with the CCV in the way. Now you can use that 13mm socket and take all the rest of the bolts out. The hardest one is on the rear of the cover and you can not see the bolt without a mirror. Don't worry about the mirror, just loosen it and place the bolts to the side. I use a 5 gallon pail to put my fastners in. Slow down when you get the bolts loose and keep a tight grip on them unless you like fishing for metal in the pit of hell. I put a tarp under the truck for items I drop to easily find them.
When you pull the cover loose, be slow and easy so you don't put any debris in the VC area. If your harness connection is loose, very gently push the connector towards the top of the VC gasket and let the clips clip UPWARD into place. You could also unclip it and inspect for burnt connectors. Place the connector back firmly in place. Now take the quarter that you have shaved off right at the top of the hair line on the head and slide it in round side down and flat, cut side toward the TOP of the valve cover. DO NOT FORCE ANYTHING unless you have a fresh Benjamin Franklin laying around to spend on a new gasket/harness.
The clips should be clipped fully in and pushing up whilist the quarter holds the clips up. The flat spot gives the valve cover enough room to be installed and keeps the quarter from going anywhere.
If you want to you can now check the torque on the:
Lower injector hold down bolts at 120 INCH lbs.
Rocker arm bolts at 20 Foot lbs
Valve cover bolts when reinstalled will be 96 INCH lbs.
Verify all of the injector connectors are secured and clipped
Verify all of the glow plug wires are tight.
Do everything in the reverse order to put it all back together. Wipe the oil coated pipes down to remove any excess oil and start on the passenger side
Remove the intercooler pipe. You will figure out that you have to move it above the turbo to get it out. Lots of room above that turbo. I loosened my boost pressure gauge and tied it back with string or a small bungee.
Bungee cord the two heater pipes toward the passenger side fender. I put the Moving blanket on this side but did not lean on the A/C pipes. Same thing on this side except you have a bolt holding down the Engine Oil Dipstick so be careful with the dipstick. Only pull the dipstick high enough to remove it from the stud. The bolt near the AC compressor is tight but you can get to it with a few extensions and a deep socket. Same one as the oil dipstick. Note the stud positions again. Don't loose the heater hose clips because they are 28$ at the dealer. Loosen and remove the rest of the bolt/studs. Same thing as the driver's side from here.
Man, that is a lot of typing. Talking thru it is much less time consuming. LOL. Put a wrench in your hands and get to work. The sooner you get it done, the sooner you can drink that favorite cold beverage and relax that another inexpensive mod is done and you will feel better for not spending any money at the mechanic shop or Stealership It might even run much better or have gained some power back. Same torque values as mentioned above. Be careful whilist VC's are open. If it rains you need to shut the hood all the way immediately after you remove the blanket and slowly slip the VC in place. I hope this helps and is not too mundane. I prefer air tools but you need to put it back together with regular rachet/wrench and get torque values correct.
Dwayne

 

GOT MY GAUGES! I bought the autometer three gauge pillar and have been working on installing them the last two days. I have the exhaust manifold drilled and tapped, and installed the trans temp sensor tonight. I built a wiring harness for the lights, and a harness for the EGT and Trans gauges power supply. Found some interesting wiring while doing so.

I haven't gotten a chance to pull the valve covers and do the .50 cent mod yet. Maybe the weekend after next since I am pulling my second home to West-by-G-d Virginia for a weekend camping trip.

I have been thinking, and running 34 inch tires, with a 3:73 gears is probably what is causing the truck to feel so weak. I will keep an eye on my new gauges this weekend while driving and see if the engine is doing anything funny.

Thanks for the writeup fixitman, I know that took some time man I appreciate it.
I will dive into that one next time I get some free time.
Cheers
Bones

 

Gauges are in and looking good! I am pretty happy with them. There is a noticeable difference in view, especially when making those left turns.

The 3 pod pillar looks a little bowed though. I fit it against the stock one with them out of the truck and think that I didn't account for the spread of the stock pillar when it is fastened to the frame of the truck. You can't really see it unless your looking for it but I know it is there!

I noticed that I am only pulling about 10 lbs of boost, and that is only when the engine is really working. I am pulling my trailer this weekend and will get a better idea on how the engine is running then but I figured that it would be higher based on what I have read around here.

Time to crack a cold one...

 

Trip is complete! Gauges worked great, with the exceptionm of my EGT going screwy and bouncing all over the place during some hard accelerations, and at times seemingly randomly. Maybe grounding out on something?
Trans temp never got above 180, and I was pulling numerous 7%, a few 8% and one 10% with a 25mph curve at the bottom. great thinking road designers?!

I am pretty sure that I should invest in gears for the next upgrade. 3:73 turning 34's pulling 11,000 doesn't seem (or feel) like good math. I am thinking 4:56, any suggestions?
Cheers
Bones

 

JMO! But I think I would keep the 3.73 and ditch the tires! Unless your some kind of serious off roader!



Smokie

 

recheck all your wiring on you EGT gauge. chances are it's bad. It happens every now and then. not an uncommon thing to get a bad one these days.