Upgrading 2001 7.3 Excursion
Thread Starter
|
Junior User
Joined: Jul 2018
Posts: 64
Likes: 0
Upgrading 2001 7.3 Excursion
Gentleman,
I bought this Excursion almost a year ago and had to repair quite a bit of stuff once I bought it. I am new to the Diesel game and the time has come to finally do some fun upgrades for me...
Here is the list of items that I am hoping to get added to the Excursion very soon, can you guys give me some feed back as to what in your eyes is more important with one over the other and if I am just throwing dollars away. All of these items will be coming from Riffraff Diesel since they are local to me and I want to support local businesses.
MBRP 4" Aluminized Turbo back Exhaust or should I pony up and get the Stainless?
MBRP 4" in 5" out Black exhaust tip
Billet Compressor Wheel from Riffraff w/ turbo reinstall kit
PHP Hydra chip with 6 tunes from 1023
Complete CAC intercooler Boot Kit with new hose clamps
Bighead Wastegate actuator
Mag-Hytec Deep Trans Pan
Anything else I should be looking at instead? I do not want to get into injectors, I am scared to add too much power since I do not have forged rods/pistons
I bought this Excursion almost a year ago and had to repair quite a bit of stuff once I bought it. I am new to the Diesel game and the time has come to finally do some fun upgrades for me...
Here is the list of items that I am hoping to get added to the Excursion very soon, can you guys give me some feed back as to what in your eyes is more important with one over the other and if I am just throwing dollars away. All of these items will be coming from Riffraff Diesel since they are local to me and I want to support local businesses.
MBRP 4" Aluminized Turbo back Exhaust or should I pony up and get the Stainless?
MBRP 4" in 5" out Black exhaust tip
Billet Compressor Wheel from Riffraff w/ turbo reinstall kit
PHP Hydra chip with 6 tunes from 1023
Complete CAC intercooler Boot Kit with new hose clamps
Bighead Wastegate actuator
Mag-Hytec Deep Trans Pan
Anything else I should be looking at instead? I do not want to get into injectors, I am scared to add too much power since I do not have forged rods/pistons
Lead Driver
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 8,259
Likes: 346
From: Northern California
All reasonable additions with the exception of the transmission pan, other then looks it adds no performance or improvement to operations, all it does is look neat and cost more to fill with fluid.
An actual improvement to your transmission would be to add a cooler from the 6.0 And if you really want performance then a billet converter, red eagle clutches and tugger valve body.
An actual improvement to your transmission would be to add a cooler from the 6.0 And if you really want performance then a billet converter, red eagle clutches and tugger valve body.
Thread Starter
|
Junior User
Joined: Jul 2018
Posts: 64
Likes: 0
All reasonable additions with the exception of the transmission pan, other then looks it adds no performance or improvement to operations, all it does is look neat and cost more to fill with fluid.
An actual improvement to your transmission would be to add a cooler from the 6.0 And if you really want performance then a billet converter, red eagle clutches and tugger valve body.
An actual improvement to your transmission would be to add a cooler from the 6.0 And if you really want performance then a billet converter, red eagle clutches and tugger valve body.
I just had the transmission rebuilt 6,000 miles ago. It has a billet TC and built hell for stout ready for these additions and added HP. Also added a tranny cooler at that time as well.
Adding the transmission pan I was told that it would help keep the transmission cooler when I was towing my travel trailer, that was the only reason for that add.
Lead Driver
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 8,259
Likes: 346
From: Northern California
I just had the transmission rebuilt 6,000 miles ago. It has a billet TC and built hell for stout ready for these additions and added HP. Also added a tranny cooler at that time as well.
Adding the transmission pan I was told that it would help keep the transmission cooler when I was towing my travel trailer, that was the only reason for that add.
Adding the transmission pan I was told that it would help keep the transmission cooler when I was towing my travel trailer, that was the only reason for that add.
Thread Starter
|
Junior User
Joined: Jul 2018
Posts: 64
Likes: 0
no it will not add any additional Cooling despite the marketing hype. The extra capacity will however take a tiny bit longer to get up to operating tempatures. With a billet converter and a 6.0 cooler you will have a hard time getting to the prescribed 170* operating temp as it is..... mine only runs 150* even towing unless it is a 100* day and then I am lucky to get it up to factory temp. Spend the $$$ Get a real trans temp gauge and skip the pan.
Lead Driver
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 8,259
Likes: 346
From: Northern California
Oh I’ve seen well above 200 pulling 10 miles grades in Death Valley during the summer, but on the whole the 6.0 cooler handles the job.
the fluid handles up to 250* for realitively short periods, I consider 250* max and do whatever is needed to get temps dropping once it reaches that point.
the fluid handles up to 250* for realitively short periods, I consider 250* max and do whatever is needed to get temps dropping once it reaches that point.
Thread Starter
|
Junior User
Joined: Jul 2018
Posts: 64
Likes: 0
Oh I’ve seen well above 200 pulling 10 miles grades in Death Valley during the summer, but on the whole the 6.0 cooler handles the job.
the fluid handles up to 250* for realitively short periods, I consider 250* max and do whatever is needed to get temps dropping once it reaches that point.
the fluid handles up to 250* for realitively short periods, I consider 250* max and do whatever is needed to get temps dropping once it reaches that point.
Trending Topics
Senior User
Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 209
Likes: 1
FTE Stories
Ford Trucks for Ford Truck Enthusiasts
10 Best Ford Truck Engines We Miss the Most!
Joe Kucinski
2026 Shelby F-150 Off-Road: Better Than a Raptor R?
Brett Foote
2027 Super Duty Carhartt Package First Look: 12 Things You NEED to Know!
Michael S. Palmer
10 Most Surprising 2026 Ford Truck Features!
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 Ford Trucks Coming to Mecum Indy 2026
Brett Foote
5 Best / 5 Worst Ford Truck Wheels of All Time
Joe Kucinski
Ford Super Duty: 5 Things Owners LOVE, 5 Things They LOATHE!
Joe Kucinski
Every 2026 Ford Truck Engine RANKED from WORST to FIRST!
Michael S. Palmer
The Best F-150 Deal of Every Trim Level (XL through Raptor)
Joe Kucinski
Lead Driver
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 8,259
Likes: 346
From: Northern California
The truck is mostly stock, I think it has around a 4" lift and 315 tires, should I look into re-gearing this thing instead of the other items I mentioned previously? I get horrible fuel mileage right now, around 10.5 mpg around town and maybe 13.5 mpg on the freeway. I was hoping getting all the other items would help with mileage as well as give me extra HP???
to determine yours lift measure from the center of the hub to the bottom of the fender arch, stock is 23” front and 24” rear
as for MPG, is that hand calculated or the overhead display ? Many tuners alter the calculations and give a false readout.
Thread Starter
|
Junior User
Joined: Jul 2018
Posts: 64
Likes: 0
what size tires do you have ?
to determine yours lift measure from the center of the hub to the bottom of the fender arch, stock is 23” front and 24” rear
as for MPG, is that hand calculated or the overhead display ? Many tuners alter the calculations and give a false readout.
Driver Front- 26 1/2"
Driver Rear- 26 1/4" air bags have 20lbs in them though
Pass Front- 26 1/2"
Pass Rear- 27 1/2" air bags have 20lbs in them though
Hand calculated mpg. I use the Fuelly app
Cargo Master
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 2,032
Likes: 308
I agree about the trans pan...it will only get you more fluid capacity which somewhat helps, but the 6.0l trans cooler in conjunction with the pre radiator cooler will be best. Relative to the 4" aluminum or stainless...unless you're planning some future upgrades, the stock exhaust is fine as long as you get an open type muffler. However, I would definitely upgrade to stainless if you are somewhere up north where salt gets laid down on the roads during the winter.
Veteran/Sheepdog
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 6,047
Likes: 110
From: Western AR
Skip the trans pan. Waste of money.
160/30 single shots will not be risky at all with PMR's. Forged rods do not even enter the equation until you reach the 500HP mark with our 7.3s. 1023 will be able to write tuning for the single shots (if you like their work).
With single shots, you will need a better turbo to clean up the extra fuel. 38R is excellent, or you can get the latest dynamo from KC turbos. Nothing but good things being posted about their product.
I bring up injectors and turbo because of the larger tires you are wearing. You can re-gear, or you can get some injectors and a turbo. Not much difference in cost between the two options, unless you are doing your own work...then the re-gear is easier on the pocket book.
160/30 single shots will not be risky at all with PMR's. Forged rods do not even enter the equation until you reach the 500HP mark with our 7.3s. 1023 will be able to write tuning for the single shots (if you like their work).
With single shots, you will need a better turbo to clean up the extra fuel. 38R is excellent, or you can get the latest dynamo from KC turbos. Nothing but good things being posted about their product.
I bring up injectors and turbo because of the larger tires you are wearing. You can re-gear, or you can get some injectors and a turbo. Not much difference in cost between the two options, unless you are doing your own work...then the re-gear is easier on the pocket book.
Logistics Pro
Joined: May 2017
Posts: 3,523
Likes: 483
From: Southern OH
Your not going to gain any mileage by putting lower gears in, it will most likely make it worse since you will be running at a higher rpm. 35" tires and 3.73 gears is just fine on a 7.3, I have been running like that for 4 years and have always had plenty of power even when I had stock injectors, I have never once wished I had lower gears. The Hydra, billet wheel, exhaust, and intake will really wake it up. Also I would just get the Hydra and try the tunes that come with it before you get the 1023 tunes, I liked the standard Hydra tunes when I had stock injectors, I have tried a few different tunes from 1023 with my current setup and I wasn't impressed.