"Red" is a 1990 F350 Lariat XLT, S/C Dually with the camper package. EFI 460 with a ZF-5 and 10.25 Sterling 4.10 limited slip.

99% of the time we run at 10,600lbs with the C/O on it and occasionally tow a 7,000lb trailer too. I have the full Banks power pack kit with the exhaust system and static timing is 10* and I HAVE to run premium or I get ping under load.

QUESTIONS......

Anyone found a reliable power adder that doesn't kill the bank?

 

Anything you do from this point is a real hit to the wallet. Most people just end up going the route of a newer truck rather than put some money in to an older engine

 

Ya - every time I get agitated about having to downshift while pulling a hill, I remind myself of the things I'm doing with the money I'm not spending on a car payment.

I had to borrow my father's Ecoboost F150 when the clutch release cylinder went out on my F250. I grossed just shy of 15K at the scale with that Ecoboost V6, and it towed phenomenally well - power everywhere, good acceleration and never lost speed on any incline, great stereo too...but his truck cost almost as much as my house. Personally, I'm not willing to trade that much cash for getting to the top of a hill a little faster.

But, to answer your question, I guess headers are a good option if your motor is in good repair. If not, I've been impressed with the power restored every time I've had a valve job done on a high mileage motor - this also cleans out carbon deposits and junk that can contribute to preignition. If the seats look good you can save money by just lapping the valves and scrubing the combustion chamber. Another thing that could be contributing to preignition is a dirty cooling system. If you haven't flushed yours in a while, get the best stuff you can locally, use it at double the recommended concentration, and leave it in to work on the gunk for a few days. Backflush everything with a garden hose - too much is just enough.

Also, every time I buy a new vehicle I bench clean the injectors and that always makes a big difference - it's cheap too. One ex-farm truck I bought had half a thimble of dirt stuck in it's injectors. Made a night and day difference. Something else to look out for; these trucks will run acceptably on low fuel pressure, and one might not notice the lack of power. If there is a difference in power when using the front and rear tank, do a pressure test to confirm you're getting enough fuel. Running lean will contribute to preignition, whether from low fuel pressure or dirty injectors.

Just brainstorming.

 

Never thought about the injectors...the truck has just under 124K on the clock and runs like a top. Don't think I have a fuel issue although I will check, it will smoke the rear duals in 3 gears empty.

and I'm not planning to replace it....EVER...unless it gets totaled.

 

You could go to 4.56 gears, that would be a huge boost for towing.

 

Swap the stick shift for a slush box.

You guys are expecting too much from your trucks. You are over your gross combined weight rating towing that trailer with the cab over camper in the bed, and very close to your gross vehicle weight rating with the C/O.

My F250 is rated higher than your daully because it's an automatic.

 

+1 for 4.56 being the biggest tower advancement buck for buck you can do.You would have to spend thousands in performance gains in the engine to match the simple gear swap.Swap the slow handshaker out for a built E4OD with 4.56 gears,combined with the F450's hydroboost brake system (easy,direct bolt in mod) and you've created a real nice towing machine.

 

I don't want anyone to lose their senses, but the GVWR, GTWR, and GCWR aren't straight forward unless you're trying to get warranty repairs - something none of us have a problem with in the OBS section.

It isn't always true that manual transmission equipped trucks are rated lower than automatic transmission equipped trucks - sometimes the manual transmission trucks are rated higher due to the standard trans weighing less. It depends on how they were equipped from the factory (motor, trans, brakes, springs, gear ratios, tire diameters, etc.) as the truck as a whole is not rated based upon what is the toughest or weakest part. It is a cluster of engineering, advertising, and lawyer mumbo jumbo that I cannot figure out a rhyme or reason to. It changes by motor and by year more than by which transmission a truck has. All of the LD trucks were capped with a GTWR of 10,000 lbs because of the DOT anyway. You had to get a cab and chassis or F450 and up truck to top 10K when the OBS trucks were made.

Some examples: My small block F250HD 5-speed has the same GVWR and GCWR and GTWR as an automatic equipped truck...and has a GCWR and GTWR that is lower than a 5.8L F150. My truck has a GCWR of 11,500 lbs. My father's Ecoboost has a GCWR of 15,100 lbs. A pre-turbo diesel equipped truck has a lower GCWR than a 7.5 with an auto or a stick.

Many of these ratings make little sense as well, as the numbers provided by Ford are maximums - every truck is going to be different. Even if you obey the GTWR and the GVWR you can still exceed the GCWR.

Even goofier; you cannot change the trucks ratings by swapping parts or doing mods. Swapping to an auto, 4.56s, or turboing a pre-'94 1/2 truck makes no difference on paper.

 

Over on both, and Ford derated the ZF-5 equipped trucks to keep from replacing clutches under warranty, cause people are clueless in general and most can't drive a stick to save there lives. I've driven stick shift TV's all my life, big and small, and they will out perform ANY slush box if you know how to drive them correctly.

 

Regular unleaded would save you some bucks. I have always towed on regular. Not sure what the difference would be.

My 460 has always been great for towing but at high altitude the turbo diesels pull better.

 

I have thought about that and adding a Gear Vendors overdrive so I can split gears keeping the 460 more into the higher end of its torque curve. Like they did on the 650's and 750's of the day...more gears...same engine...more efficient for high loads and probably better for the engine. Although my wife would LOVE me to change it to a slush box, I guess I could do the same thing with a slush box. It's just fine with just the C/O, but when you get over 14,000lbs gross it's a LONG way from gear to gear RPM wise.

 

I was going to go back to stock timing of 8* and try regular but my dizzy is frozen and I didn't want to buy a new one, cause I KNOW it will break before I get it to move. I'm not dissatisfied with the abilities of Red, I just wanted to see if anyone has found something new to boost power.

 

I will look into this, at the very least I like the hydroboost mod

 

My Latest Project: Hydroboost Brakes

 

Maybe an adjustable fuel pressure regulator. I'm wondering if when fully loaded and under a lot of pedal, it's going lean with the full power pack on it. Also check your o2 sensor they get overlooked often.