Hello all, I am looking for some suggestions on what I need to do to get some more "power/performance" out of my 7.3L PSD.

I have a 2000 Ford F350 with the 7.3L PSD. It's job (other than routine truck duty around the house) is to pull our 2008 Jayco Eagle 314BHDS Travel Trailer. The Eagle is just shy of 35' and weighs in at 9,000 lbs when fully loaded.

The F350 does a good job of towing as far as power, but I wouldn't mind a bit more OOOMPH if you know what I mean.

I have basic mechanical sense, I've been told about "tuners" or "chips", etc...however, this neck of the woods is beyond me.

My question is, what what you guys (as experts with this kind of stuff) suggest I do to get a bit more power/performance from my 7.3?

Please keep in mind a few things:

1. I don't want to break the bank, I'd like to be able to do this for less than $1000 if at all possible and preferably under $500.

2. I'm not looking to enter myself into truck pulls or pull down the neighbor's house. I'm simply looking to upgrade the 7.3 for some better performance when pulling the travel trailer.

Thanks for any and all suggestions!!

 

Your question is one that is often asked and the answer is not what you are looking for.

In order to add performance, you must add a way to keep an eye on the vitals. In order to add power with a chip or tuner, you will need gauges. You can pick up something like an Edge unit that has some built in gauge parameters and this may be the route you go. It is completely your choice. A decent set of gauges will run $400-$500, a Tuner or Chip will be $350-$600. That doesn't even account for exhaust or intake, which you should have before adding power to it. You need to get air in and out in order to make the power. You can do a 6637 Intake for under a $100 and you can probably do muffler delete to improve the flow. Just don't expect a huge difference in power.

If your truck is lacking the power you are wanting, look at how well the HPOP is performing. It could simply be weak and that is making it feel like a dog. I will tell you that pulling the trailer you have it will not be a race winner. It takes quite a bit of change to make the truck stand up and pull harder. If your HPOP is worn, you can install a massaged unit like the Terminator T-500 which will provide the needed oil you want on hills and it does not effect the EGT's.

I will give this advice to you though. Do not skimp on what you buy. It is easy to do and will often lead to you buying something else down the road. Many of the guys on here including myself have started where you are at right now. We have spent money on "get you buy's" and have spent money again on what we really needed. If you are not sure yet, read around on here and see what others are running. Research it and make decisions off of facts and data. That is the best route for what you are looking for.

 

X2 what woodnthings said. I have gauges, intake 6637, and 4 inch exhaust. No chip yet and at 146K miles I have 2nd-3rd shifting problems. So even stock expect to spend $$ on your transmission. Good luck.

 

woodnthings, let me back up and try a different route.

Take the money part of it out (within reason anyways).

What would you suggest I do to upgrade towing performance?

 

mach, are you suggesting I might end up with transmission issues due to any performance mods?

I know the 4R100 transmissions are known to be shaky.

 

no boost leaks or weak HPOP
you need gauges to see trans temp EGT"S and boost at lest
air and exhaust to let it breath better
and a good chip.
to go much more you will need injectors and bigger turbos built trans and the list goes on

i would get a bigger trans cooler also the 6.0l works great.
just start with what you can and build form there

 

the trans will do fine with stock power but if you put a lot more power then it can fail.
if you dont watch it and keep it cool

 

Looks and sounds like my house on wheels...




But mine is 32' with a 36' over all length... Bunk house special...

See sig for mods... a bit more then 1k however... LOL

 

the injectors cost more then that i would think.

 

OK here it goes........

These are the more popular mods that people have found work well and are affordable. They should be done in the approximate order listed.

Gauges: Riffraff Diesel: RDP Triple Gauge Kit

Intake: Riffraff Diesel: RDP 6637 Filter Kit

Exhaust: Riffraff Diesel: MBRP 4" Turbo Back Aluminized

Tuner (suggest stock, 60 TOW & 80 Econo: Riffraff Diesel: DP Tuner F5 Chip Module
Switch: Riffraff Diesel: EX LED Switcher

When you need to go a little more!

HPOP: Riffraff Diesel: Terminator T500 HPOP

Injectors:Riffraff Diesel: Stage 1 Single Shot Injectors

GTP38R Upgrade Turbo: Riffraff Diesel: Garrett GTP38R PowerMax Ball Bearing Turbo

 

Only a few things I would change on that list...

Get yourself a TS based chip. You have more options, without any issues of having to by more hardware later on. PHP, Beans, Tyrant, DI, Elite... all some of the best tuners on the market that use TS based chips.

As far as a HPO pump goes... Only one I would pick up is the Stealth SRP 1.1...

But there is no reason to even think about a HPO pump replacement with stage 1's... or 2's for that matter...

 

CSIPSD: Yep, your JayFlight looks like the 32BHDS model, which is just a touch longer than our Eagle 314BHDS. They are definitely LONG going down the road.. Add to that the fact that our F350 has the crew cab and the 8 1/2 ft bed and we are REALLY long going down the road!!


wood, thanks for the links, I will take my time and start reading through them.

Thanks guys!!

 

I meant to add the TS chip as an option. It is a great choice too and you can get similar tunes as the DP-Tuner too.