I'm starting this thread to on what I plan on doing with my new to me truck. Hopefully I will get some input from you guys and minimize mistakes and subsequent unnecessary spending or worse - damage

Here we go;

Tires - Cooper Discoverer ST Maxx LT285/75/16. Wanted something with a meatier sidewall than my Firestone Destination A/Ts but more highway friendly than the same in M/T.

Suspension - I've aways liked how ARB matches their suspension components to the vehicle/mission. We are going with a 60mm lift, medium/heavy rear springs, light/medium front springs to see how it plays out (on hold). Rancho RS9000XL on order for now.

Air intake - Ford AIS.

Tuning - The TS Performance 6 position switch looks like a winner

Alarm - Viper 5607v with remote start. We trust Viper to keep the bad guys at bay. We will place contacts on the hood/tailgate and Knaack box too!

Batteries - 1x Odyssey 65-PC1750T, 1x 31M-PC2150.

Lights - Opt7 55 watt HID 5K kit in H10 for the fogs and 9007 for the headlights. Inexpensive and holding up well in our rally vehicles. We have the Retro Solutions on 2 vehicles but they keep going out and we get tired of sending them back and waiting for warranty replacements

Air Horns - We have an ARB compressor and a 2.5 gallon Viair tank laying around. Would be nice to connect some classic Hadley 2 tones to the truck.

Gauge cluster - Riffraff Diesel Triple Gauge Pillar Kit?

Exhaust - MBRP 4" Aluminized Turbo Back?

Motor oil - Current - Lubriguard SAE 15w40 CJ-4/SM. http://www.warrenunilube.com/brochure/Lubriguard.pdf

Diff oil - ?

Tranny oil - ?

Coolant - Fleetguard ES Compleat. http://tinyurl.com/oqhkpnr

Brakes - ?

Mirrors - 1A Auto (1AMRP01095) power, heated, light smoked signal, & clearance light towing mirror.

Wheels - ?

Bling - RECON 264143BK smoked cab light lenses.

Wiper Blades - Silblade WB120S Premium Black Silicone Wiper Blade, 20".

Door Cable Repair - http://tinyurl.com/kgvz78u

Battery Terminals - http://tinyurl.com/nxqrtj6

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I really like my S & B intake. I noticed a big difference between the 6637 and the S & B.

 

Good choice on the tires. I ran those on my old truck and loved them

 

The TS chip is popular, but after going through changes with my injectors, I'm VERY happy that I got the PHP Hydra. I still have some issues that may be tune-related, and it's awesome that I can go to a different tuning vendor, have new tunes emailed to me, and download them via USB cable. No downtime with a chip you can upload tunes to!

You didn't mention gauges - if you're adding tunes, you had BETTER be adding EGT gauge at a minimum.

You're on the right track with the intake, but equally important is the exhaust. Get a 4" all-the-way kit, or have an exhaust guy fab one for you, like I had done. I also got rid of the stupid EBPV - Exhaust Back Pressure Valve. It's prone to leaking oil, isn't necessary (oh, I can hear guys typing now to tell me otherwise), and creates turbulence on the exhaust side. Getting rid of the EBPV requires a new blank turbo pedestal and new valve-less turbo outlet. I ordered both of mine from Clay at Riffraff diesel (big supporter of this site if you didn't know, with great service) for about $210 total I think. The new intake and exhaust together made a HUGE improvement in performance, with no tuning added.

Everyone on this site will tell you the same thing - get your intake, exhaust, and gauges dialed prior to tuning. Your truck and wallet will thank you.

 

And check your firewall for soot from leaking up-pipes. If yours haven't been replaced, they most likely need to. I was on a budget, so I just got the replacement donut gaskets. They won't hold very long, but it's what I had to do at the time. The real fix is the replacement IH bellowed up-pipes ($400), or some people have had luck recently with the Dorman models ($200). Leaking up-pipes = hugely inefficient turbo = lower boost and high EGT's.

 

Thanks for the quick replies

Is the 6637 the filter part # for the Tymar unit? So far I have to look into the S&B intake and the PHP Hydra tuner.

I see that MBRP exhausts are popular and inexpensive (do I need to replace the header too?).

Any suggestions on gauges? Pilar mounted triple set would look real nice

 

The 6637 is a common number referred to by many people, though all the common filter manufacturers make an identical filter (with different part #). But generally people all refer to them as 6637's for convenience. I got my 6637 kit from Riffraff as well. It's cheap, and does a far better job than stock, greatly opening up the intake - but not as much as the Ford AIS or S&B. They're the way to go when funds allow.

MBRP and Diamond Eye are popular 4" exhaust kits. My buddy is an exhaust guy by trade, and wanted to bend/weld it himself, so I went that route. But MBRP or Diamond Eye wouldn't disappoint you. They flow way better than stock! I believe the replacement turbo outlet that I ordered from Riffraff had a 4" outlet, but I'd have to double-check that. Riffraff's (Clay's) site has almost everything that is needed/wanted in terms of upgrading our trucks, so it's a great place to start, and like I said, top-notch service. Swamps is great too, as is Dieselsite - not trying to just support Riffraff here, but he's online here and is just plain great.

For gauges, I went with a dual pillar, with EGT and boost. I've got a 6-speed, and don't tow heavy often, so I didn't opt for the tranny temp gauge. If you've got an auto, get a tranny temp gauge and be done with it. The only other gauge to consider is a fuel pressure gauge, which a lot of guys recommend. I didn't do it, but if you've got the funds, it's a great idea.

Anyways, it looks like you've got a lot of fun in your near future! Enjoy!

 

Thanks montanasteve! Need to keep reading and checking the vendor sites to fine "tune" the list.

I have an automatic tranny, looks like a triple gauge set up with EGT, Boost and Tranny temp is the way to go. Will check into the fuel pressure gauge too.

 

What are the pros/cons between tires in 33" vs 35" assuming the vehicle will have a 2.25" lift? Any rubbing? Re-gearing?

 

Depends on what you want to use the truck for? Are you towing or just a daily driver with some mild off pavement time, do you care about fuel economy?

The 285/75/16s you mentioned are the size I run and are right at 33" and I think they are the perfect all around size, I had 315s on it and hated them for many reasons but rubbing wasn't one of them (they were on aftermarket rims with some offset I believe).

Remember big rubber and big rims are heavy and weight on rolling parts requires additional power to move the same as lighter wheels/tires, so sometimes people do a bunch of engine mods to get X amount of power increase then neuter it a bit by throwing big heavy rubber on it. Of course you can take all that into consideration if you want in how you mod your truck and choose your goals and targeted driving manners......

But wtf do I know :-)

 

I never stated the purpose of the truck, that should have been included in the opening thread

I plan on using the truck to travel from city to farm, about 135 miles one way on highway, about 2x a month.

While at the farm, it will be used as a work truck to carry building materials initially and then crops/fertilizers etc. Eventually the truck will probably just stay at the farm.

The farm has some flat spots but it is mostly hills, rocky roads and a small river crossing

<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/64138091@N03/13737919645" title="Lookout by bruja blanca, on Flickr"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7034/13737919645_b6c6729762_c.jpg" width="800" height="452" alt="Lookout"></a>

<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/64138091@N03/13738032563" title="River by bruja blanca, on Flickr"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7325/13738032563_4ea64eee4c_c.jpg" width="800" height="452" alt="River"></a>

 

and the Grey Storm is in our possession, let the games begin

<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/64138091@N03/13799188675" title="Grey Storm by bruja blanca, on Flickr"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3747/13799188675_301e11f551_b.jpg" width="1024" height="768" alt="Grey Storm"></a>

 

For the bottom of your list-
I've always been a Shell Rotella supporter, and there's nothing at all wrong with their products, but recently we found a supplier for Chevron Delo products and I've made the switch in my personal truck.
I was having some mysterious oil consumption using the Rotella T6 that I do not with the Delo 5w-40. I also switched to Delo HD ELC coolant, which has a life span of 7yrs/750k miles or 1 million with an extender.
I've used Amsoil synthetic Mercon V in many 4R100's for years with no issues.
As far, as diff fluid, any with the proper weight should work fine. IIRC, it's 75w-140 for the rear and 75w-90 for the front. You'll likely need a friction modifier additive for your limited slip rear, if equipped.

 

Lots of good advice, so I'll just say as for oil, I've always used synthetic everywhere that oil goes, and the truck purrs even on a real cold start. As for the exhaust, unless you go for big power, I wouldn't spend money on changing a good factory SS system again, with the exception of the down pipe. I would get a 4" with an adaptor to the stock system. It can be done for about 120.00 bucks, and put the money saved into bellowed up-pipes. That down pipe is whats going to lower your exhaust temps. You could remove the cat if you have one, and save it just in case.

 

Well, I went to a buddy's semi truck parts and repair shop and went the fleet route with the liquids/filters. I figured at the price he gave me for parts/labor, it is a good, cheap baseline to start with. Now I have ~5k miles to think about what oils/filters to go with next while the fleet stuff cleans up the mess from the previous owner The air intake tube right before the turbo was broken, I'm going to check if the Ford AIS kit includes that hose.

<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/64138091@N03/13881658103" title="Photo0004#1 by bruja blanca, on Flickr"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3824/13881658103_3f29102d2d_c.jpg" width="800" height="600" alt="Photo0004#1"></a>

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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/64138091@N03/13881616705" title="Photo0015 by bruja blanca, on Flickr"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3781/13881616705_da2dd96a37_c.jpg" width="800" height="600" alt="Photo0015"></a>