1999 - 2003 7.3L Power Stroke Diesel  
Sponsored by:
Sponsored by: DP Tuner

Mod advice needed

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
  #1  
Old 07-04-2016, 11:41 AM
jfuller429's Avatar
jfuller429
jfuller429 is offline
New User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: Sacramento
Posts: 14
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Mod advice needed

Good morning gang,
I'm a new member and I recently aquired a 2000 CC SB Lariat 4x4 PSD. It only has 110k and was bought from the original owner who was 65+. He was meticulous about maintenance, but obviously these have obvious inherent design flaws. The PO installed a full Banks Stinger kit (which I'm going to remove and put in a dp chip, but Ill leave the exhaust and bighead, but the dynafact gauges are a POS) othewise truck is 100% stock.

I want to do the hutch and harpoons, I ordered a AE, and I'm going to do .50 mod (I have a cold start, intermittent SES that I believe is the cause). My main question is I have about a $2k budget to do this truck. I was thinking of doing a while airdog instead of the strictly diesel kit which will use my stock pump etc. The purpose of this truck is a daily driver, with the occasional trailer tow (4k# boat, and future 10k# trailer, not at the same time..lol).

My question is mods? I'm debating a DP infinity kit/ monitor, and no gauges. Or a regular dp kit with trans/pyro/ boost gauge kit? Also when do you need to rebuild hpop's, and fuel bowls. I have no visible leaks anywhere.

I'm planning on a manifold insert kit, FPx kit, 6637 kit, and AIH delete. Also I already installed a dark blue CPS, and chucked the other one in the glovebox, but that's when the cold start problem came up with SES. I'm sure I'll have a better idea once I get my AE.

Any help and advice is appreciated guys, and yes I red stickys, and searched, but not alot of info regarding the combos I'm interested in.
- Jimmy
 
  #2  
Old 07-04-2016, 12:09 PM
jhl3's Avatar
jhl3
jhl3 is offline
Posting Guru
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Asheville-where weird is
Posts: 2,404
Likes: 0
Received 2 Likes on 2 Posts
Welcome to the forums.

See if you can cancel the order for AE. It is buggy and overpriced. Forscan for Windows is free and will do almost everything you will need whether you have a Window or Mac laptop or Android or iOS phone. ForScan for your phone is less than $5.

Choose your tuning platform wisely. PHP Hydra has at least eight tuners writing tunes for it. That comes in handy if you aren't happy with the first tuner that you choose. While it was a nice product 2-3 years ago, Infinity is now outdated, proprietary, and expensive at this point. Again, 99% of what Infinity does can now be accomplised on an Android or iOS phone with a larger higher resolution screen. You will still need EGT and fuel pressure gauges regardless of whether you choose Infinity or another option. ForScan already has trans temp.
 
  #3  
Old 07-04-2016, 12:18 PM
jhl3's Avatar
jhl3
jhl3 is offline
Posting Guru
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Asheville-where weird is
Posts: 2,404
Likes: 0
Received 2 Likes on 2 Posts
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...the-cheap.html

The AirDog setup is nice. However there is nothing in your requirements that dictates that you spend that much money for that setup.

Add a Racor PS120 and a hutch and harpoon mod to your tank and you may be better served for a lot less money.
 
  #4  
Old 07-04-2016, 12:38 PM
jfuller429's Avatar
jfuller429
jfuller429 is offline
New User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: Sacramento
Posts: 14
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Originally Posted by jhl3
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...the-cheap.html

The AirDog setup is nice. However there is nothing in your requirements that dictates that you spend that much money for that setup.

Add a Racor PS120 and a hutch and harpoon mod to your tank and you may be better served for a lot less money.
Originally Posted by jhl3
Welcome to the forums.

See if you can cancel the order for AE. It is buggy and overpriced. Forscan for Windows is free and will do almost everything you will need whether you have a Window or Mac laptop or Android or iOS phone. ForScan for your phone is less than $5.

Choose your tuning platform wisely. PHP Hydra has at least eight tuners writing tunes for it. That comes in handy if you aren't happy with the first tuner that you choose. While it was a nice product 2-3 years ago, Infinity is now outdated, proprietary, and expensive at this point. Again, 99% of what Infinity does can now be accomplised on an Android or iOS phone with a larger higher resolution screen. You will still need EGT and fuel pressure regardless of whether you choose Infinity or another option. ForScan already has trans temp.
I was placing my AE Order right before you responded and saw the notification. Thanks for the heads up. I'll look into the php (link?). I did some reading on the forscan, looks like a great unit... I'll check it out.

Is it more cost effective to just go with the strictly diesel kit? Or piece out the mod like in guzzle's write up?
Thanks again, you guys are great!
 
  #5  
Old 07-04-2016, 01:38 PM
jhl3's Avatar
jhl3
jhl3 is offline
Posting Guru
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Asheville-where weird is
Posts: 2,404
Likes: 0
Received 2 Likes on 2 Posts
https://gearheadautomotiveperformanc...ucts/PHP-Hydra

http://store.gopowerhungry.com/en/

Gearhead is the company that tunes for a ton of happy customers. Once you purchase the initial tune(s), you get a free upgrade for life each and every time that you update the components on your truck. The PHP Hydra is simply the chip that Power Hungry Performance (PHP) distributes and writes tunes for. The others simply write tunes for it. PHP has a library of free tunes that you can download via the web and install onto the Hydra. So you may not have to pay for additional tunes if you find something that you like.

As far as purchasing a kit or buying parts, opinions will vary. The kit is nice however it does have some limitations. There is a current thread addressing this. SkySkiJason would be a good person to PM about alternatives to the kit if he doesn't read this and respond.
 
  #6  
Old 07-04-2016, 02:26 PM
Y2KW57's Avatar
Y2KW57
Y2KW57 is online now
Moderator
Join Date: Dec 2011
Posts: 10,674
Received 3,341 Likes on 1,749 Posts
Originally Posted by jfuller429
I recently aquired a 2001 CC SB Lariat 4x4 PSD. It only has 110k and was bought from the original owner who was 65+. He was meticulous about maintenance...

I already installed a dark blue CPS, and chucked the other one in the glovebox, but that's when the cold start problem came up with SES.

Any help and advice is appreciated.



Your own recent experience might offer some useful advice.

Your truck managed to make it thus far for 15 years and 110K miles, and was yet still appealing enough for you buy it and brag about the score being from an old man who was the original owner and who meticulously maintained it in mostly stock condition.

Then the first mod you did to it popped an SES light and gave you cold start problems.

What inspired you to install the "blue" CPS in the first place? How did you even know that a blue CPS existed? If the truck is new to you, and was running good enough for you to buy it, then how did you get the idea to replace the CPS... or for that matter, any of the other things on the long list of mods you indicated that you want to get done for under $2K?

You say you've searched... and it is obvious you are good at it... because you nailed the list of most popular mods in your first post. So is it safe to assume that this search of internet forums is where you are getting these ideas?

And therein lies the dilemma.

Take the AirDog for an example. Back in the days (over a decade ago) when Hutch in Augusta and Texas Towncar were going back and forth about whether or not there was air in the fuel lines, and if there was, was that in any way the cause of the "cackle", AirDog was selling their systems like hot cakes. However, years of collective experience later, the user reports of many have agreed that the original factory fuel pump is far more reliable than the AirDog piece.

There seems to be a very common desire to "do something" to "make it better", that ultimately causes a continuum of aftermarket product purchases to correct the previous forum fueled sensational product that ended up making things worse. There are guys who have poured literally thousands of dollars into mods to address the ills that their own previous thousands of dollars spent in mods caused. And all these mods were popular at one point or another on the forums. What motivates that first step off the ledge? Is it "If all those people are doing it, then it must be the thing to do"?

There is a lot of good advice embedded in your own discerning judgment in purchasing a minimally modified truck from an older man who meticulously maintained it, as well as embedded in your own recent experience getting burned by the first mod you installed. I think this embedded advice is as good as you'll find anywhere.
 
  #7  
Old 07-04-2016, 02:28 PM
Sous's Avatar
Sous
Sous is offline
Fleet Owner
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Lake Hartwell, GA
Posts: 26,028
Received 4,459 Likes on 2,849 Posts
I am very happy with my Hydra tuned by Gearhead.

In regards to the Hutch/Harpoon mod I would highly recommend building your own. That is what I did and it was fairly cost effective and reading posts like the one in the link below only solidify my thoughts.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...l#post16400049

Here is the link to my thread when I was doing the mod to the fuel tank.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...ne-almost.html

Also this link is to the post listing all of the parts I bought in order to do the mod. I can now get 32 gallons into my short bed OEM tank just by letting the pump run until it shuts off once.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...l#post15275850
 
  #8  
Old 07-04-2016, 02:42 PM
jfuller429's Avatar
jfuller429
jfuller429 is offline
New User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: Sacramento
Posts: 14
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Originally Posted by jhl3
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...the-cheap.html

The AirDog setup is nice. However there is nothing in your requirements that dictates that you spend that much money for that setup.

Add a Racor PS120 and a hutch and harpoon mod to your tank and you may be better served for a lot less money.
Originally Posted by jhl3
Welcome to the forums.

See if you can cancel the order for AE. It is buggy and overpriced. Forscan for Windows is free and will do almost everything you will need whether you have a Window or Mac laptop or Android or iOS phone. ForScan for your phone is less than $5.

Choose your tuning platform wisely. PHP Hydra has at least eight tuners writing tunes for it. That comes in handy if you aren't happy with the first tuner that you choose. While it was a nice product 2-3 years ago, Infinity is now outdated, proprietary, and expensive at this point. Again, 99% of what Infinity does can now be accomplised on an Android or iOS phone with a larger higher resolution screen. You will still need EGT and fuel pressure regardless of whether you choose Infinity or another option. ForScan already has trans temp.
Originally Posted by Y2KW57
Your own recent experience might offer some useful advice.

Your truck managed to make it thus far for 15 years and 110K miles, and was yet still appealing enough for you buy it and brag about the score being from an old man who was the original owner and who meticulously maintained it in mostly stock condition.

Then the first mod you did to it popped an SES light and gave you cold start problems.

What inspired you to install the "blue" CPS in the first place? How did you even know that a blue CPS existed? If the truck is new to you, and was running good enough for you to buy it, then how did you get the idea to replace the CPS... or for that matter, any of the other things on the long list of mods you indicated that you want to get done for under $2K?

You say you've searched... and it is obvious you are good at it... because you nailed the list of most popular mods in your first post. So is it safe to assume that this search of internet forums is where you are getting these ideas?

And therein lies the dilemma.

Take the AirDog for an example. Back in the days (over a decade ago) when Hutch in Augusta and Texas Towncar were going back and forth about whether or not there was air in the fuel lines, and if there was, was that in any way the cause of the "cackle", AirDog was selling their systems like hot cakes. However, years of collective experience later, the user reports of many have agreed that the original factory fuel pump is far more reliable than the AirDog piece.

There seems to be a very common desire to "do something" to "make it better", that ultimately causes a continuum of aftermarket product purchases to correct the previous forum fueled sensational product that ended up making things worse. There are guys who have poured literally thousands of dollars into mods to address the ills that their own previous thousands of dollars spent in mods caused. And all these mods were popular at one point or another on the forums. What motivates that first step off the ledge? Is it "If all those people are doing it, then it must be the thing to do"?

There is a lot of good advice embedded in your own discerning judgment in purchasing a minimally modified truck from an older man who meticulously maintained it, as well as embedded in your own recent experience getting burned by the first mod you installed. I think this embedded advice is as good as you'll find anywhere.
You are 100% correct. Internet searches fueling the 'must mod' fire. The purpose of the dark blue CPS, was after I read a blog from riff raff. I know I wanted a spare. So reading that the gray was "inferior" to the dark blue I figured I'd try that. I'm also not sure if the SES and starting is related or coincidence of the CPS, but when I get home I'm swapping them out (at my folks for the holiday) to verify.

As far as the air dog, I couldn't find any threads that convinced me it was so good, thats why I inquired about it. That being said it is an interesting theory, hence the reason they probably sold well.

In your response are you suggesting I keep it minimally modded? This is my intent, the only mods I want are a chip to "wake it up", and the fuel system mods for the reliabilty.

What mods would you recomend? Or did you do to your truck?
 
  #9  
Old 07-04-2016, 03:23 PM
Y2KW57's Avatar
Y2KW57
Y2KW57 is online now
Moderator
Join Date: Dec 2011
Posts: 10,674
Received 3,341 Likes on 1,749 Posts
Originally Posted by jfuller429
In your response are you suggesting I keep it minimally modded?

Would you have purchased an overly modded truck?


Originally Posted by jfuller429
The only mods I want are a chip to "wake it up", and the fuel system mods for the reliabilty.

In 16 years of owning the stock fuel system, it has yet to fail on my truck. I've never found it to be unreliable. And it sounds like the fuel system never failed on your 15 year old truck either. What makes you think it is unreliable?

Originally Posted by jfuller429
What mods would you recomend? Or did you do to your truck?

There are hundreds of photos in my FTE albums, some of which are subject organized, along with a couple of thousand posts to peruse to give you an idea about what I'd do and recommend. But my point here wasn't to push my recommendations, but rather to encourage skeptical review of all recommendations, including mine, when compared to your own gut instinct and personal experience, as outlined in your first post.
 
  #10  
Old 07-04-2016, 04:00 PM
jfuller429's Avatar
jfuller429
jfuller429 is offline
New User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: Sacramento
Posts: 14
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Originally Posted by jhl3
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...the-cheap.html

The AirDog setup is nice. However there is nothing in your requirements that dictates that you spend that much money for that setup.

Add a Racor PS120 and a hutch and harpoon mod to your tank and you may be better served for a lot less money.
Originally Posted by jhl3
Welcome to the forums.

See if you can cancel the order for AE. It is buggy and overpriced. Forscan for Windows is free and will do almost everything you will need whether you have a Window or Mac laptop or Android or iOS phone. ForScan for your phone is less than $5.

Choose your tuning platform wisely. PHP Hydra has at least eight tuners writing tunes for it. That comes in handy if you aren't happy with the first tuner that you choose. While it was a nice product 2-3 years ago, Infinity is now outdated, proprietary, and expensive at this point. Again, 99% of what Infinity does can now be accomplised on an Android or iOS phone with a larger higher resolution screen. You will still need EGT and fuel pressure regardless of whether you choose Infinity or another option. ForScan already has trans temp.
Originally Posted by Y2KW57
Your own recent experience might offer some useful advice.

Your truck managed to make it thus far for 15 years and 110K miles, and was yet still appealing enough for you buy it and brag about the score being from an old man who was the original owner and who meticulously maintained it in mostly stock condition.

Then the first mod you did to it popped an SES light and gave you cold start problems.

What inspired you to install the "blue" CPS in the first place? How did you even know that a blue CPS existed? If the truck is new to you, and was running good enough for you to buy it, then how did you get the idea to replace the CPS... or for that matter, any of the other things on the long list of mods you indicated that you want to get done for under $2K?

You say you've searched... and it is obvious you are good at it... because you nailed the list of most popular mods in your first post. So is it safe to assume that this search of internet forums is where you are getting these ideas?

And therein lies the dilemma.

Take the AirDog for an example. Back in the days (over a decade ago) when Hutch in Augusta and Texas Towncar were going back and forth about whether or not there was air in the fuel lines, and if there was, was that in any way the cause of the "cackle", AirDog was selling their systems like hot cakes. However, years of collective experience later, the user reports of many have agreed that the original factory fuel pump is far more reliable than the AirDog piece.

There seems to be a very common desire to "do something" to "make it better", that ultimately causes a continuum of aftermarket product purchases to correct the previous forum fueled sensational product that ended up making things worse. There are guys who have poured literally thousands of dollars into mods to address the ills that their own previous thousands of dollars spent in mods caused. And all these mods were popular at one point or another on the forums. What motivates that first step off the ledge? Is it "If all those people are doing it, then it must be the thing to do"?

There is a lot of good advice embedded in your own discerning judgment in purchasing a minimally modified truck from an older man who meticulously maintained it, as well as embedded in your own recent experience getting burned by the first mod you installed. I think this embedded advice is as good as you'll find anywhere.
Originally Posted by Y2KW57
Would you have purchased an overly modded truck?





In 16 years of owning the stock fuel system, it has yet to fail on my truck. I've never found it to be unreliable. And it sounds like the fuel system never failed on your 15 year old truck either. What makes you think it is unreliable?




There are hundreds of photos in my FTE albums, some of which are subject organized, along with a couple of thousand posts to peruse to give you an idea about what I'd do and recommend. But my point here wasn't to push my recommendations, but rather to encourage skeptical review of all recommendations, including mine, when compared to your own gut instinct and personal experience, as outlined in your first post.
Nope, I wouldn't have bought a heavily modded truck, nor do I want to heavily mod mine.

Also I'm probably alot like you, hence the reason I have not bought anything and have scrutinized the hell out of anything I have considered doing.

As far as the fuel system 'reliability' I do feel that having a return line dumping near a supply line is a bad idea (bad idea in hvac too). And can see the rationality in it personally. Whether or not it is a fault I guess it would alway be up to debate.

Also in regards to the tunes, a stock 7.3 is a slug. That is why I was inquiring on the opinions of what others have tried.
 
  #11  
Old 07-04-2016, 06:08 PM
Otto396's Avatar
Otto396
Otto396 is offline
Senior User
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 444
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I personally am incredibly happy with my Inifity and F5 chip. I have an MBRP 4" turbo back and stage 1 180cc single shots with stock nozzles. I love my truck and soon will be moving everything over to the new one I just purchased. I say find something you like and research it. If you still like it afterwards go with it!
 
  #12  
Old 07-04-2016, 10:42 PM
Tugly's Avatar
Tugly
Tugly is offline
Hotshot
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Columbia River
Posts: 18,797
Received 111 Likes on 66 Posts
OBDII gauges, EGT gauge (or two), and fuel pressure gauge will give you a ton of information on your truck. It might be a slug because a sensor has failed or something along that order, and chipping before you're sure the truck is 100% can install a revolving door on your wallet. Custom tune and OBDII links in my signature cover this - they are worth a click.
  • 4" exhaust is helpful if you plan to take the boost over 20 PSI - chips will do that.
  • Ford AIS is a fantastic "stock-ish" mod - I suggest that one for a mild upgrade. Others will suggest a 6637 for cost reasons, but the AIS is silent and the 6637 is not. Either way - almost anything (even a sock puppet) is better than the stock air box.
  • Hutch mod doesn't need to be fancy. I'd pick a kit that has the look of reason to it (I pieced my own together), and a pre-pump strainer is all you need for filtration there.
  • 50-cent mod is just OK, but I have seen those fail. I bought new UVCHs, they aren't that expensive.
  • Stock fuel pump is capable of delivering more fuel than your injectors can spit out, and it's incredibly reliable.

 
  #13  
Old 07-04-2016, 11:29 PM
timmyboy76's Avatar
timmyboy76
timmyboy76 is offline
Lead Driver
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 7,793
Received 48 Likes on 36 Posts
With having the SINGER kit installed, check the MAP sensor wrong for a tapped into wire, that's then grounded. My buddys "stinger" truck had that add on wire. I'd so, toss it.
 
  #14  
Old 07-05-2016, 12:53 AM
aawlberninf350's Avatar
aawlberninf350
aawlberninf350 is offline
It's a Van Gogh
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Elk Grove, CA
Posts: 6,804
Received 785 Likes on 574 Posts
First thing to nail down is intended use. Fun daily driver, tow pig, hot rod?

From your post I'd think your build will be similar to mine. The mods in my sig are geared to fun driver that can tow with stock injectors. The basics are well travelled at this point so when searching info pay close attention to the date of the post. I'd go so far as to say anything more than 5 years old is very suspect. Like Airdog, waste of coin IMHO.

Also much of the OE design is perfectly fine for mild mods, as Y2KW57 suggested. Nothing beats OE for reliability except the Hutch/Harpoon mods. Keep it as stock as possible. There's one glass case of emotion who posts on the forum who tweaked an otherwise stock truck to 513 rwhp with just injectors and tuning. Stock fuel system.

Listen to Rich (Tugly) on the gauges.

I guess my advice is you've got good research on essential mods going, just need to polish it for your intended use. Whatever that is.

Also please advise VIN or build date for your truck. Some 2001 AT trucks have a trans design flaw that can cause failure. Any subsequent rebuild should include the upgraded parts, but if it's original...
 
  #15  
Old 07-05-2016, 05:22 AM
Tugly's Avatar
Tugly
Tugly is offline
Hotshot
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Columbia River
Posts: 18,797
Received 111 Likes on 66 Posts
Originally Posted by timmyboy76
With having the SINGER kit installed, check the MAP sensor wrong for a tapped into wire, that's then grounded. My buddys "stinger" truck had that add on wire. I'd so, toss it.
So that's where it came from. Yeah... toss that bugger.



Oh... and if you see a copper tube with a small hole attached to the turbo wastegate controller, remove it and cap the black boot on the red line.
 


Quick Reply: Mod advice needed



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 04:35 AM.