I just bought a 1999 Ford F550 crewcab dually custom by Eclipse. I am looking at adding the AFE Diesel Elite Pro DRY S Momentum HD Intake System; Ford Diesel Trucks 99.5-03 V8-7.3L (td) 51-73002-E cold air kit, upgrading to a 4 inch exhaust and adding the TS PERFORMANCE SWITCHABLE 6 POSITION CHIP. This chip has high idle, 50hp, 75hp, 100hp, 140hp and valet poistions. I am also adding a EGT gauge, transmission temp gauge and a boost gauge.

What do you folks this of these add-ons? I will not be using the 140hp position or most likely not even the 100hp position. 75hp is the one I will most likely run it on most of the time as I am towing a 18,000 + trailer. The engine is in awesome shape. Serviced meticulously by the previous owner who passed away. Anyway. Kick me back opinions good or bad if you have tried any or all of these items.

 

Check out the Ford AIS intake system, 4" exhaust is standard. Do you have something to monitor temperatures with? Are you running the stock Transmission cooler? Quite a bit of 7.3 guy's upgrade to the 6.0l cooler as it is much larger and superior in cooling.

Have you done any other maintenance or upgrades?

I would suggest moving this thread to the 7.3 section for best assistance.

1999 - 2003 7.3L Power Stroke Diesel - Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums

@redford or @Tom should be able to assist.

 

No the truck is stock as the day it came from the factory. Thanks for the info. I had planned to do a much larger transfer cooler also. I will be adding gauges at the time I do the upgrades.

 

Moved to 7.3,L PSD forum.

 

You are going to need some fuel mods, call riffraff and order the banjo bolts and check valves. Open up the fuel filter and gut the standpipe, how to at Powerstrokehelp. There is a thing called a FXr from riffraff that is a regulated return that is a common fuel mod. I installed on my truck, but this mod is one I don't like, it increases your chances of a fuel leak next to a hot turbo. I will be removing mine soon. Drop the tank and do the tank mod. There are several how to videos.

 

Just FYI, the definition of a power adder is a turbo, supercharger, or nitrous.

I adjusted your thread title to better reflect the responses you're hoping to get.

Stewart

 

What weight of trailer did the previous owner tow with it, if you know?

If it worked for the previous owner for 16 years as it is, might it not also work for you too?

Changing the airbox is a good idea, and the dry filter (as opposed to the oiled gauze type) will filter dirt better.

Gauges are a good idea. You could consider adding fuel pressure to the mix. If you want to keep the gauge circles surrounding you to a minimum, you can always get transmission fluid temperature from an OBD-II monitoring type of instrument connected to the DLC port under the dash, which would free up a hole in a triple pillar pod for the fuel pressure.

The 4" exhaust is going to present you with a challenge on the F-550. The larger rear axle, combined with the aft axle fuel tank and fuel tank shield, makes it very difficult to get the bends right on the exhaust tube that threads through the very tight clearances between all those interfering structures.

Not only that, but you have to allow for the entire range of axle motion, both up and down, as well as jiggle, torque yaw and wrap. The F-550 does not have opposing shocks like the pickups positioned to counteract yaw and wrap. However, arguably all the unsprung weight, the square axle tubes, and the heavy springs of the 550 minimize yaw and wrap anyway, but accounting just for the up and down motion, not only with the axle horizontal, but with it biased at an angle with the driver's side dropped and the passenger side high, provides enough of a challenge on keeping the exhaust pipe from contacting the frame flange or the fuel tank shield directly above and aft of the axle.

Then, there is the "growth" of the heated exhaust pipe, that expands in both diameter and length at elevated temperatures. This must be accounted for also. There should be 3/4" clearance in a spherical zone between all interference points... but you'll be lucky if you can carve a mere 1/4" clearance with a fat 4" exhaust pipe through there. It can and has been done, but I've not seen a completely clear and clean install yet on a stock F-550.

But yours may not even be stock. You have an Eclipse. Some Eclipse's came with rear air suspension. Did yours? That changes the game again, because now you have an air bag to worry about burning. And there is the panhard rod to locate the axle in the absence of leaf springs. All things to think about.

Will you get THAT much more performance out of 4", as opposed to the 3.5" that you already have? I'm not sure that you will. You can change downpipes from the stock squashed 3" to a full round 3.5", and then change mufflers to a straight through design, and have plenty of outflow to handle the amount inflow the motor is dealing with.

TS Performance chip? Now you want to take a perfectly good reliable truck, and start pushing cylinder pressures to the limit while increasing EGTs all while wasting unburnt fuel. To take a hill 3mph faster with your trailer. Saving about 1 minute of time on a trip? I'm not sure that is in your best interests, but obviously that's your call, and only my opinion, which you asked for.