Good morning,

I'm new to this forum, but I'm a long time Ford guy. It is a pleasure to meet you all - albeit over the internet. I looked through the forum but didn't see answers that I'm looking for. Diamond1 suggested that I re-post here to get an answer on the down pipe issues.

I currently own a 2002 Ford F350, XLT, 7.3L, dually, 4x4 with the off road package, lifted & leveled, Banks Power System including the six gun tuner, Banks 4" Monster Exhaust, cold air intake, dual shock system, 10,000 lbs air bags in the rear suspension, with 147,000 miles on her.

I also own a stock 2005 Ford F450, 6.7L, dually, 4x4 with the off road package, and just crossed 100,000 miles.

I have two questions regarding the 02.

First, does anyone make an after market (better quality) steering box for this truck? I've gone through three steering boxes since I've owned her. I drive the truck for 30k miles or so and then develop a lot of steering wheel slop. When I last replaced the steering box, I had three inches of play in either direction before the truck would turn. The adjustment nut on the steering box corrects the problem for a little while but that is only a temporary solution. I did a full inspection of the under carriage and so did the dealership and didn't uncover any problems before swapping out the steering box again.

Next my down pipes have gone bad and I'm blowing diesel dust and oil on the top of the motor. I'm going to rebuild the turbo while I've got it off and make sure the o-rings and the internals are good to go before reinstalling it. What are the pros and cons to the Big Dog Waste Gate Actuator? What are the pros and cons to the after market turbo fans? I took the truck back to the dealership for the Takata air bag recall and my State inspection is due. The dealership failed the truck for emissions because the up pipes are bad and are blowing diesel dust on the top of the engine. I think the new o-rings will fix the blowing oil problem.

I use this truck for towing a 34' race car trailer. The truck seems lethargic at first movement and I have to press the accelerator to the floor the get the truck moving. Once the truck is moving, I'm good to go but the spool up time for the turbo seems really slow. So, I'm interested in your thoughts on aftermarket turbo fans designed specifically to increase throttle response through the lower RPM bands without sacrificing the cruising speed dynamic. Please note that I don't experience the lag when cruising at highway speeds and the need arises to stomp on the accelerator; the truck and turbo immediately respond whether towing or not at highway speeds.

 

1. Red Head steering box is a good choice and considered an upgrade.
2. No experience with Big Dog actuator, but I just purchased the Diesel Site wastegate controller here.

Turbo fan, I assume you are meaning the compressor wheel? I went with the new RiffRaff 4/4, others go with WW2 and some go with SPX upgraded wheel. Pros are numerous, cons are the cost and install.

You have two very common choices for the up pipes, you can get the International pipes for $400+ or the Dorman pipes for $150ish. There were some problems with the Dorman pipes in the first run, but they have worked those issues out and seem to be a suitable replacement. The International are said to be heavier duty and better build quality, but for more than twice the cost it was an easy choice for me to make.

The slow pickup doesn't seem right, but there are a lot of factors that go into how the truck performs. I would clean up the issues you have facing you now and then look into future solutions if the problems still exist.

 

Welcome to FTE
Every body seems to like Redhead steering boxes.

Dorman up-pipes are a cheap solution to your problem.

Turbo rebuild would get different responses from guys here, but I will say that Spturboost.com has some good quality stuff and I personally have used them in my obs and on many of the work trucks, and as for for an after market wheel I chose to go with Spturbo (I was the guinea pig on this forum) and I liked it alot because my egts went down and my turbo spools quicker.
As for the waste gate actuator many of the guys here just wire it so it wont open.

 

It's sluggish because of all your drive pressure is being lost through the leaking uppies. When I had my stock turbo I installed a WWII from DieselSite. I liked everything about it, except the whine when I was towing.

Numerous reports of the Redhead steering box being high quality.

 

I recently installed the Turbomaster wastegate controller (listed above), 4/4 billet wheel from Riffraff (http://www.riffraffdiesel.com/riffra...r-wheel-94-03/), rebuilt the turbo (Garrett GTP38 Journal Bearing Rebuild Kit - Riffraff Diesel Performance) and installed the International up-pipes (International Bellowed Stainless Up-pipe Kit 99.5-03). While the Dormans are 1/2 the price I had the boss' approval (my wife) to get the good stuff.


After it was all said and done I definitely don't want to pull the turbo (or replace the up-pipes) any time soon. The hardest part was lining everything up with barely enough room to fit my arms back there let alone see anything.


As for performance it was night and day. As Tugly has said more than once, nothing improves performance like a truck at 100%.

 

Brian42, I am in the process right now of doing all of those exact things, including a 4" exhaust... I am not looking forward to working through the hard parts, but your "night and day" opinion is encouraging.

 

I'm regretting my redhead gearbox. I took it out and put in a motorcraft unit. wish it would have worked out for me but it didn't

 

As Danv said, you're losing drive pressure to the turbo through the leaking up pipes. That will deffinitley make it laggy. The banks waste gate actuator is fine. If you want more boost, just tighten down and leave the red line disconnected.

If you have the Banks power pack, then you most
likely have the Banks compressor wheel which is similar to the WW1. Personally, I'd keep the turbo as is and save the money.

 

Your limited on boost leaking up pipes. Fix the leaks before thinking of mods. As he has mentioned just disconnect and plug the red line. You will have no limits on boost. Your basically not allowing the waste gate to dump any exhaust pressure. Just to prove that most likely your leaking up pipes are the problem. I have run into this same brick wall myself. I had a big ball of issues that were a daisy chain of events that lead to leaky pipes.

 

I will say this, after installing the collector and up pipes, (with the turbo off) I would NEVER like to have to do that again, EVER.

I think lining the collector back up on the turbo was the worst part. Just no room.

 

We recently had a group buy of Redhead steering boxes- right around 45 boxes. I got 2, and both trucks feel fantastic. I tried tightening up the adjustment first, which felt better, but the Redheads are great.

 

If Your running big tires,that can be tough on any steering gear box,Were very happy with red head gear box on truck in signature.

 

A vote for Redhead here.

 

I am also in the affirmative on Redhead, YMMV.

Some say...@Stewart_H that group buys affect the overall quality of the Redhead, and that you should pay the extra $50-$60 in order to ensure a quality unit.


or

 

Did you purchase one through a group buy here at FTE?

Stewart