When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Looks awesome. Is the Gibson system a DPF Back system or did you delete the truck? Does it sound better?
The black truck was a ‘19 with the 6.2 gas. the Gibson system was a cat-back system and it sounded good, in my opinion. I ended up trading in the black truck for the white one with the 6.7. Where I live, a delete is not in the cards, it’s still stock in the emissions department. From what I can tell, the DPF back systems don’t do a heck of a lot for sound or performance, plus I like the stock split tail look so i’ll likely keep it as-is but may paint the tips with some high temp paint.
More updates and photos coming, Katzkin kit for the interior was delivered last weekend, just need some free time to tackle the install. I went with 2 tone black and gray to match the rest of the interior. Also, got some AVS vent visors installed last weekend.
I got a start on the new seats today. Fronts are complete except for the center seat lid because it requires an upholstery staple gun. The jump seat was by far the worst to disassemble and get back together. The driver and passenger seats went smooth. I added seat and back heaters to both front seats but did not get them wired yet.
old
progress photo
I also need to update the current photo, I picked up a set of Platinum wheels and tires so the black wheels are no more.
Looks good, looks like a lot of work also
By adding the heating to seats, how are they controlled? by switch/button or display screen? Interested to adding my truck
Looks good, looks like a lot of work also
By adding the heating to seats, how are they controlled? by switch/button or display screen? Interested to adding my truck
the wiring for the seat heaters isn’t done yet. I installed the pads and left a pig tail underneath the seats. They’ll be controlled by a button in a location TBD. I only have the lower level SYNC, no touch screen so it won’t be controlled by anything Ford. My plan is to find an accessory circuit to trigger a relay to power them so they can’t be on when the truck is off. I thought about having the switch on the side of the seats but I don’t like not being able to see the switch in case it gets pressed. I may try to find a place on the center of the dash, down low so I can see the switches from the driver seat.
aside from the center console, the install wasn’t bad. I wouldn’t say it was easy but not terrible. Keeping everything warm helps the stretching. Overall, I’m happy with how they came out, have to tackle the rear seats next weekend.
Got some new goodies for the truck. Banks diff cover. Needed to change the diff fluid so good time to lose the stock cover. Absolutely ridiculous that there’s no drain plug in the stock housing.
I like that color. Congrats! Have you pulled with it yet?
not yet, next month! It just crossed 2k miles, next month I get to start pulling the camper around. I think that 10 speed will make it a very capable tow rig.
You'll love it. I switched to gas in 2020. It was a huge change but really glad I made the switch. I recommend having 5 Star tuning do a tranny tune for ya. These new 7.3's like to rev way past the power band which gets to be annoying. Or, you can just do manual shifting which I did for a couple years but after awhile, got lazy and just bought the tune. I also swapped my steering wheel with a paddle shift style to make the shifting a little more user friendly which is nice. Point being, pulling is so much better if you shift at the right RPM on these trucks.
Good luck and keep us posted!
You'll love it. I switched to gas in 2020. It was a huge change but really glad I made the switch. I recommend having 5 Star tuning do a tranny tune for ya. These new 7.3's like to rev way past the power band which gets to be annoying. Or, you can just do manual shifting which I did for a couple years but after awhile, got lazy and just bought the tune. I also swapped my steering wheel with a paddle shift style to make the shifting a little more user friendly which is nice. Point being, pulling is so much better if you shift at the right RPM on these trucks.
Good luck and keep us posted!
EDIT: You should probably change your signature!
I wanted the 7.3, test drove both, went down the research rabbit hole on both and ended up finding this truck with all the options I wanted, but with the 6.8. Realistically, the trailer I tow can be comfortably pulled behind a properly equipped half ton so just jumping to the 3/4 ton realm, I have a lot of excess capacity. I've pulled this camper with my older 6.2's with the 6 speed and it's done fine. I had to manually shift both 6.2's, but the power was there. The 6.7 just absolutely toyed with the trailer, but it was admittedly way overkill. Even the 6.8 has more power than the 6.2 had so I should be able to confidently drag this trailer wherever I need to.
I've gone down the tuning path before and had mixed success. Granted, it was with a '13 F150 with the 5.0, but I tuned it to clean up the shifting. I had issues with the way the F150 drove unloaded though. I went through 5Star tunes, MPT and finally Tuning by Oz. At that time, I felt Oz was by far the best, 5Star was a little too clunky, MPT was too aggressive (lots of fun if you really wanted to keep your foot in it) but Oz was smooth, predictable and made towing more comfortable. I'm not sure I'll go down that rabbit hole again but will make that decision once I finally get to tow with it. I really have no issues with it in stock form, unloaded.
A steering wheel upgrade is on the list of things to do, I hadn't really considered the paddle shifters... If I end up having to manually shift with the trailer, that might not be a bad option since shifting on the stalk is a little awkward.
You'll love it. I switched to gas in 2020. It was a huge change but really glad I made the switch. I recommend having 5 Star tuning do a tranny tune for ya. These new 7.3's like to rev way past the power band which gets to be annoying. Or, you can just do manual shifting which I did for a couple years but after awhile, got lazy and just bought the tune. I also swapped my steering wheel with a paddle shift style to make the shifting a little more user friendly which is nice. Point being, pulling is so much better if you shift at the right RPM on these trucks.
Good luck and keep us posted!
EDIT: You should probably change your signature!
I finally got a trailer behind this thing for a decent distance and got a feel for how the 6.8 tows. Generally, I'm pretty happy with the results. It certainly doesn't out-pull the diesel, but I knew that was to be expected. It still has plenty of grunt to drag around my camper. I was surprised that the engine / transmission strategy seems to keep the RPM's in a good range. Towing through upstate VT, it would only kick down to 6th gear at highway speed which put the RPMs around 3,500. I was expecting more of how the old 6.2 towed, that thing liked to scream at you the whole time, forcing you to use manual mode to keep it in a higher gear. With the 6.8, I kept it in auto with cruise control on for most of the drive. There's a stretch where the highway is constantly climbing a mountain or going down the other side, no reprieve, so I used manual mode for that stretch to limit the constant gear hopping. Engine and transmission temps stayed relatively low, fuel economy worked out to about 8.5 for the trip (which isn't bad for upstate VT towing at highway speed, in my opinion). I was pushing 10 MPG before I got into the mountains.
End result, I miss the absurd amount of power I had with the diesel, but this truck will do just fine. I just need to keep reminding myself, no more DEF, fuel is $1/gallon cheaper, oil changes are half the cost, no fuel filter changes and no regen cycles, all the reasons I got away from the diesel.
