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So total new guy here, but here is what I did with my 2002 7.3 last summer.
1) RiffRaff Diesel FRX & Oil crossover, rebuilt leaking fuel bowl, & DieselSite thermostat & coolant filter. FRX & Oil definetly quieted things down under the hood.
2) Donaldson 6637 Blue filter and Diamond Eye 4" SS Turbo back exhaust straight piped. Slightly louder than stock throughout the RPM's, but what a difference breathing makes! Truly felt a totally unexpected difference!
3) Reman 160/80 injectors from FFD, EBPV pedestal swapped for non-EBPV, KC 63/73 turbo, new up pipes, Hydra tuner, 1023 custom tunes, Edge CTS2 monitor & EGT probe, RiffRaff plenum inserts and boots throughout. Huge difference! Turbo spools much quicker, way faster throttle responses, clean burning economy tunes, just a haze of smoke in the performance tune if you romp it. Pulls fifth wheel much better, and fuel economy has gone up. Picked up 2.5 mpg (16.9 to 19.5) unloaded at 2000 rpm (70mph) and is towing at about 10 mpg (+/- 0.4) hand calculated over the same routes before and after.
4) To be done this spring - new 4r100. Current one feels like it is on borrowed time. Don't want to get stranded this summer when towing.
I don't have any real numbers from a dyno as I don't want to push the current tranny. But I am very impressed with the current mods. And pretty happy that I was able to do it all myself in my home garage! Btw, truck had 190,000 miles on it, and I was really concerned about tearing it up. But my mind is very much at ease at this point. Love the way it drives and pulls! Sooo worth it!
@KLIKBANGTHUD welcome to the FTE! We are glad to have you with us
Looks like you have done and are planning to do some very smart modifications, upgrades and preventive maintenance on your truck. We always like to see pictures, especially sparkling clean engine bay pictures such as yours.
Below is a picture I snapped of mine this past spring.
That would suck to have to take that oil crossover off just to get the turbo out. I would be surprised if those made any performance difference anyway.
To be done this spring - new 4r100. Current one feels like it is on borrowed time.
Back when I bought my truck with 90k miles on it, the transmission was really slushy. I put a John Wood valve body in it, which I think cost around $225 at the time, and it made it shift like a brand new truck. Easily the best money I have spent to date on the truck. I put a 6.0 tranny cooler on it at the same time.
Oil cross over - can't say it added any performance, but can say it definetly helped quiet the "ping" effect down quite a bit. Much quieter in the cab once I added it. And yeah, it can make things messy when you need to pull it. But I put a bunch of towels around it and it is not to bad. Besides, after pulling the factory turbo, and wrestling the new one in place, I have NO DESIRE to pull it again anytime soon!
Anyone have any concerns about dropping in an upgraded/ towing 4r100 valve body in a tranny with some age/ mileage? No idea how many miles are on this one as it is a rebuilt that was in the vehicle when I bought it 30k miles ago.
Starting to question whether my towing issue is actually transmission vs HPOP. Pressure is only holding at around 2150 when doing the 50-80mph pull test in my hottest tune.
50 - 80 pulls are showing 3000rpm. icp 2150psi. 26psi boost. It will throw a "exhaust backpressure" code on my monitor, but I have seen it make up to 29psi boost in the past in other less aggressive programs.
50mph = 500 egt. At 80mph testing temps are reading 1425 (due to the hard acceleration). Temps fall immediately as soon as I get back out of the throttle. Normal cruising temps at 70 mph are around 650ish and 2-5psi boost.
The reason I am even questioning things is that when towing my fifth wheel (30' 11,500#) with my heavy tow tune, and the trans in fourth gear & locked, my EGT's stay around 1050 at 60mph 18-1900rpm on flat ground. It seems to struggle holding the load at 60mph in 4th gear locked. As soon as I start to gain any elevation, even just going up an overpass, temps climb to 1200 plus. If I increase my speed to 70 mph my RPM'S are up around 2250, but my egt's are down around 980. It dosent seem to struggle nearly as much at 70 as it does at 60mph. If I drop it down into 3rd gear locked at 60mph it is running around 24-2500rpm and temps are down to around 900. Locked in 3rd gear it will hold what ever speed or rpm I desire.
That would suck to have to take that oil crossover off just to get the turbo out. I would be surprised if those made any performance difference anyway.
All the HPx does is add more places for a high pressure oil leak. There is no compelling evidence it has any benefit whatsoever. Not a good mod.
Originally Posted by KLIKBANGTHUD
Oil cross over - can't say it added any performance, but can say it definetly helped quiet the "ping" effect down quite a bit. Much quieter in the cab once I added it. And yeah, it can make things messy when you need to pull it. But I put a bunch of towels around it and it is not to bad. Besides, after pulling the factory turbo, and wrestling the new one in place, I have NO DESIRE to pull it again anytime soon!
Anyone have any concerns about dropping in an upgraded/ towing 4r100 valve body in a tranny with some age/ mileage? No idea how many miles are on this one as it is a rebuilt that was in the vehicle when I bought it 30k miles ago.
Starting to question whether my towing issue is actually transmission vs HPOP. Pressure is only holding at around 2150 when doing the 50-80mph pull test in my hottest tune.
That ICP is really weak. What tuning are you using?
Adding VB, etc isn’t likely to hurt anything on a ‘seasoned’ transmission.
Looks like an hpop might be in your future. With you towing as much as you do I would try to get tour hpop issue fixed. And I agree a vb upgrade won’t hurt your transmission.
