I have an 05' PSD with 155k. It would be fun to mod this for more power. I have casually looked at a Banks powerpack. I guess I have some questions about power and reliability.

1) what are everyone's recommended mods for power ? Anybody used Banks ?
2) At 155k would is there anything reliability-wise that I should definitely do or should I just have fun and do head studs, etc if/when I have head gasket issues or other major problems ?

 

What you need to do depends on what you want to do. First off, forget about adding power with a Banks system. They are overpriced, and are not the most effective way to tune a 6.0l. BTW: 6.0's are pretty picky and tell you when they don't like something by making you spend LOTS of money. No matter what anyone says, if you're adding power, you run the risk of breaking something.

For a tuner, an SCT with custom tunes from a reputable tuner will be the safest, most reliable power adder you'll find. You can have have custom tunes written for mild power gains, or bulletproof the truck and challenge the tuner to blow the heads off. Generally speaking, the most popular guys writing tunes won't give you more than what the average truck can handle. Now that 6.0's are getting older, the condition of each individual motor is different, and what has been safe for the masses, might accelerate problems for others.

A good head stud job can save a lot of grief later on down the line. Deleting your EGR cooler/valve is not a necessity. Maintaining good fuel pressure under all conditions is mandatory. Keeping an eye on things with gauges and/or data monitors is a priority.

Once you're done, LET'S RACE!!

 

That sounds pretty reasonable. I have definitely read on here about the popularity of SCTs. Are these typically combined with an exhaust upgrade ?

 

Very sound advice from William

Yes, the mods are usually coupled with a 4 inch exhaust system to allow the engine to breathe and perform better.

I usually recommend Gearhead tunes as quite a few of the 6.0 folks go on and on about the SRL tune. SRL stands for Street Race Lite, it's a no towing all around street performance tune that makes awesome power, still gives good fuel economy, and (because of the way Matt writes) doesn't blow the heads off the truck.

Things to consider for both longevity and performance:

-Blue fuel spring mod, it raises the fuel pressure to a more acceptable 60 psi to keep the fuel pressure from dropping below 45 psi.

-Make sure you use Motorcraft fuel, oil, and air filters.

-Make sure to run good, non bio fuel

-Install a coolant filter

 

Thanks !

Would love to hear everyone's 2 cents on this.

What is approximate cost on blue spring and coolant filter ? sources ?

 

Blue Fuel Spring Kit: Riffraff Diesel: Ford Fuel Pressure Regulator Blue Spring Kit

Coolant Filter: 2003-2007 6.0L Coolant Filtration Kit |MKM Customs

http://www.dieselsite.com/2003-20076...waterpump.aspx

Either will do...

 

Get yourself some gauges. You need to monitor your coolant/oil temp delta's. Get a scangauge, or Edge CS/CTS insight (not edge tunes, just gauges). Reason I say this is follows:

Coolant flows through the oil cooler which is a heat exchanger, coolant is supposed to cool the engine oil. After the coolant goes through there, it flows through the EGR cooler which cools the exhaust gases that are going to be re-burnt in the engine (cooler is better obviously). What happens is casting sand, rust, and the gel from the crappy ford Gold coolant slowly clogs the oil cooler. This restricts the coolant flow to the EGR system. Eventually the oil cooler clogs so much that only a little bit of coolant is getting to the EGR. Because exhaust gases are so hot, the small amount of coolant in the EGR cooler will actually flash boil, and expand to steam. This steam causes higher pressure, and ruptures the EGR and then steam flows through the intake, and you start burning it. Steam (aka water) is non compressible, and you will lift your heads/blow head gaskets.

You monitor your temperatures because if you have a 15* difference between the coolant and oil temp (oil will be higher) at highway speeds, your oil cooler is clogged and you risk blowing your EGR and blowing head gaskets.

A EGR delete is highly recomended, as without the EGR you dont have the issue of steam getting into the intake. It is also recommended you do a proper coolant flush (with restore and restore plus) to flush your coolant system of all the debris, with your old oil cooler in. The old oil cooler will act as a filter of sorts and catch the remaining crude that will be floating around. A coolant filter is also recomended.

First thing I would do:
Gauges
EGR delete
Coolant filter
Coolant flush
New oil cooler

You then have a good baseline for mods.

 

SCT with custom tunes, and an exhaust and you will be around 400hp/750ft lbs at the wheels. I would stay away from Banks as they are vastly overpriced. Stock filter setup is good to 500hp.

 

My $.02 on the best coolant filter system for the money from my research. Pulling the trigger on it this weekend probably.

XDP 6.0L Coolant Filtration System

As for monitoring due to budget reasons I've had to wait to pull the trigger on the Edge CTS (or equivalent) and went down the path of using the Android app TorquePro on an old phone of mine. Aside from lacking EGT's it has been awesome (you'll find some threads on it) and you'll only have $25-$30 wrapped up in the app and ODBI bluetooth interface. Saves money for the more fun stuff ;-)

Good luck! These guys on this board are incredibly knowledgable and will keep you on the right path. Have already helped me more than I could have imagined and enabled me to get back into doing the work myself not just saving money but getting some personal satisfaction out of it as well!

Jarhead

 

So it looks like the EGR delete, blue spring and coolant filter are not too bad price wise with the oil cooler being a much bigger commitment. I kind of wonder about spending that much on an engine with 155k on it. With that said, I guess if i got into an issue with head gaskets, injectors etc I would still have all the mods even if I had to make other repairs.

Please forgive the rambling, this is my first diesel. I love it so far.

Is there a consensus on coolant for after the change ?

 

My 0.02 since you asked.
Defer engine upgrade until needed.
Get gauges coolant filter etc done to see how your oil and coolamt temps are first..
Maybe learn about ficm and springs and stuff
that you can upgrade. And alternatot and steering box too.
lots to spend your $$$ in to make it better.
Then if-when- you need the oil and egr coolers
replaced dig in and consider studs while there..

 

I like that idea. Coolant filter & gauges then I can spend the rest on a tuner and MBRP !

 

I really liked my SG2. Gave me OBD2 numbers. Easy to monitor ECT and EOT and many others.

However, I think EGT is important if you ever tow. And...it is easy to get all OBD2 gauges on Edge Insight CTS plus add EGT easily without adding gauge clusters. Can't do that with SG2. Might be wise to spend extra money up front for more sophistication.

 

Read my lower status!

 

Is that your truck! I LOVE when torque picks up vehicles like that, it's my goal to get lift like that! I'll race you!