hows it going guys i recently picked me up a 95 F350 crewcar special edition and its my first diesel, my plans are to get it painted flat black this weekend and hopefully a little lowered stance next, as far as motor wise i was looking for some help with mods and ways to keep it healthy if anybody can point me in the right direction...

 

check out the sticky messages at the top of this forum. really helpful i think. after several hours of reading through those you'll be scrounging around for change in the cushions to see how much you can scrape together! nice looking truck!

 

How are the brakes, alignment, front end, shocks, tires? Everything up to par mechanically?

 

Yup. Make sure everything is up to par and service everything before any mods

 

Like what the guys ahead said check everything before mods another thing is do little things like change all the fluids so you know everything is fresh and can check for any other signs for ware before you going to crazy.

 

And after all that, you should get some gauges BEFORE any improvement in HP mod, specialy EGTs. Nice truck and welcome to the diesel world and the best forum ever

 

Welcome aboard! I will echo what others have said as well. The best money you can spend up front on these trucks is to go through it and make sure that everything is up to par. Change all the fluids, make sure the front end is tight and the alignment is on, check and adjust the rear brakes, flush the trans if it hasn't been done recently, etc. Then you can start adding mods. A 3" downpipe, 6637 intake, and exhaust are generally first in line, and then are followed by a set of gauges, a chip and transmission cooler (not necessarily in that order). I will say though, that if you're going to add power (chip, injectors, etc.) and you have an auto trans, you need to do all you can to help that slush-box out. They're a weak link at stock power levels, but when you start adding power and don't address the E4OD's weaknesses, you are lighting the fuse on that bomb!

I'd love to see some pictures of that truck in flat black. I was actually thinking about it the other day wondering what one of these behemoths would look like in flat black. I've seen some pretty sweet blacked out rigs, but never one done in a flat finish. I would love to do something along those lines if it would look alright. The fact that it could be easily touched up and repaired would be a major benefit the way that I use my truck. Mine needs pain bad, but I still want to use it like a truck!

 

thanks everybody, this weekend i plan to run some lucas injector and fuel cleaner through it, and change the oil, what oil is recommended on these trucks? the odometer marks 317,xxx miles, as far as the tranny goes i guess ill start looking for shop to change out the fluids, also my check engine light it on but when i took it to get checked the OBD port wasnt the working, the fuse is good cause the cig lighter works but the port doesnt? anybody know what that could be?

 

That's just the cheap scanner that was used. These trucks aren't fully OBD II compliant and you have to use a pretty high end scanner to read the codes. The cheapo scanners at the big box stores won't work on these trucks.

As for the fuel treatment, I wouldn't use the Lucas stuff. I have used Lucas in other vehicles, but not in this diesel. I would recommend Diesel Kleen instead.

 

where could i take it to get checked? my check engine light is on...

i will be using the diesel kleen instead

 

Do you have any buddys that are diesel tech or even auto techs? it always helps to have friends. if not it can be pretty pricey for someone with a high end scanner to run your codes.

 

For that, it takes a pretty high end scanner. You may have to pay a shop or (heaven forbid) the dealership to pull the codes. If you know of a good local shop and they have a good quality scanner, they might be able to pull the codes for you. Once you get the codes, post them up here and we can help you figure out where to start.

The other alternative is to get something that will allow you to pull the codes yourself. The most inexpensive (and cool) way to do this is with an Aeroforce Interceptor Scangauge. They run a little less than $300 (last I looked) and they can read all sorts of live data from the PCM, plus they will pull and reset codes, perform engine diagnostics, etc. This is the way I will likely be going when the time comes. The other, more comprehensive route to go is to buy AutoEnginuity, which is a PC based scanning software that will do a whole lot too. AE will do more, but it costs more ($400+). Neither is cheap, but if you want to do it yourself, unfortunately these are the most inexpensive options. Like I said, I will probably end up with a scangauge for my truck when the time comes because it can just stay in there and read a bunch of different parameters.

 

What about 2-stroke oil, I use a 1.5 ratio to ever oz. With about 3 ounces of diesel kleen and I'm seeing tthe best mpgs yet. I averaged 21.5 going through many grades w/ 35" tires

 

here she is...also picked up a bottle of diesel kleen im yet to pour in...

 

what product is the hot rod black? sem? or? I like it.to be honest i didnt think i would.but it plays!
now you need some black tint!