e99 quad cab , manual trans,4x4 drw with 135k miles and 3.73 gears. i am new the the forum and have read some really good info on this forum. this might be a little long for my first post so i'll do my best to keep it as short as possible.

i bought this truck from the original owner about 10 years ago. it had 80k miles on it at that time and he had a folder with a stack of receipts. the complete history from day one, from wiper blade replacements to warranty work. he had receipts for all oil changes of which were all done at the dealership. original owner only used the truck to pull there fifthwheel camper and i purchased it to pull my fifthwheel toyhauler camper. i only put about 7k miles a year on it so 2 oil changes a year and just turned 135k miles. i wasn't able to stop on the innerstate to get a pic of the odo rolling 100k miles but i was close. i ran a dp tuner with an afe stage 3 intake and full exh for the 1st several years. it ran pretty good and got the job done but on certain hills it would hit 1300* and start dropping speed, ran out of boost.

2.5 years ago, i decided on a few modifications for better usable power. i called full force and ordered 205/30 hybrid inj's, t4 up pipe kit, sxe 366/.91 exh turbo, adrenaline hpop and hydra tuner. i also purchased a fuel cross over kit from riff raff and have the fuel psi set at 65 psi. i got php tunes with the hydra but later tried 1023 tunes as well as jelibuilt. 3 revisions from bill at php ( pretty sure his name was bill) , 3 revisions from 1023 and 2 from jelibuilt. i like the php tunes and def the most power but a tad smoky plus higher egt's. 1023 has a great stockish tune but thats all i can say about those tunes. i had high hopes as he said he bought an e99 manual just to learn how to tune with it. no good on my truck pulling a camper. i really like jelibuilt's tunes for the lighter throttle response for towing. php tunes will hit 40 psi and i am not a fan of that as i do not have head studs, stronger push rods or heavier valve springs. jelibuilts tune seem to have a limit of 28 psi boost loaded where php's will it 40 psi on a 80 dd tune. towing at 75 mph i'm usually between 2200 and 2400 rpm depending. php's are a little smokier that jelibuilts but neither normally go over 1200* on a hot day ( 95* ambient and only saw 1250* egt once) pulling an 11k lb fiver up a decent hill. the sxe seems to hit a brick wall on egts at 1200* pulling grade loaded. since ford cruise control strategy is to floor it i have learned which hills to shut it off on with php tunes or it will shoot to 35 psi faster than i can hit the off switch!

i have had a slightly rough idle since i installed all of the above. i do know that the idle will never be as crisp and smooth as stock but at operating temp the idle gets a little rough where it is crisp and smooth from cold start to operating temp. it is literally like someone flips a switch at 185* ish on the auto meter gauge. now that rough idle changes between php, jelibuilt and 1023 tunes. still there but one is better than the others. the reason i am posting this is today, is because i called brian at jelibuilt. tried to explain and ask about a revision to adjust for hot idle. i don't really have issue with a slightly rougher idle but when loaded ( 90% or the time) i jump off the innerstate to refuel, pull up to the stop light or pump, the idle gets pretty rough and lopey. twice it got so rough i actually wondered if the engine was going to stall. the hotter the ambient temp the rougher the hot idle. now i now ambient temps play a roll with all forced induction engines. again not expecting a crisp smooth idle but wouldn't think it should feel like the truck is shaking like the shifter handle.

i did connect my snap on scanner and watch oil temps. i do have a manual trans and every thing i have read states they have two coolant temp sensors and the pcm reads off of ect rather than oil temp. my e99 does not have 2 sensors, i have checked. i have an auto meter temp gauge plumped into the water pump housing drivers side. seems pretty accurate but an anolog gauge none the less. watching oil temp at 75 mph loaded on a 90* ambient day, maybe 25 mph winds. oil temp was about 15*/25* higher than coolant temp. problem is that loaded the truck usually sits right at 210* but can drop between the 200* and 210* depending, so trying to gauge that gets tricky. once out of the wind or on flat ground the oil temps dips as quickly as coolant temps so i never considered that an issue.

after telling jelibuilt that, he said that's unusually high, really only want to see 5* ish higher than ect. he said i probably have an inj issue and there's no point in trying revisions until that's repaired. he also stated live tuning would need to be done, i do get that as that's the best way. there is no one live tuning in nebraska that i know of. hell i would drive to the adjoining states if i could find someone there. he asked what my icp and ipr % were...... i haven't checked in a while but i do remember my ipr % sits at 13 to 14% on cold start. i will have to check those again. i do like the turbo but miss my low end from the e99 turbo. the e99 turbo saw 1 psi by 1200 rpm where the sxe 366 doesn't until 1550 rpm. the sxe isn't really responsive until 1750 rpm and over 1800 rpm very responsive!!

so i don't think jelibuilt wants to mess with an e99 pcm with a manual trans. php takes for ever to get revisions from and gave up on 1023. i called gear head and a couple other places today..... they say i need to upgrade to a late99 dpi21 or 22 pcm. i have the 21 but never installed it as it's not the original and I believe someone, should be able to write tunes for an e99. if i could just get the operating temp idle smoothed out a bit i would stick with jelibuilts tunes. gear head said they would try and write a trial tune for my e99 for $75 but just not sure and they highly recommend i put the late 99 pcm in. i understand it has almost twice the tuning cells over the e99. i am not a tuner but i do understand what that means. jelibuilt says he sets icp at 620 psi at idle but didn't specify cold or hot. he said 13 to 14% ipr but then said it should be 10% once i said it is 14%. again didn't specify cold or hot on ipr % at idle. he didn't seem to be listening so i assume he wants nothing to do with this. i switched to amsoil sever duty 15/40 oil ( from motorcraft 15/40) and that helped the loaded hot rough idle some. i know that expensive oil and i still change it every 3500 miles which is only twice a year. it actually quieted the engine down a tad and made a small yet noticeable diff in running.

i know this is long winded but here is my questions.....

what temp diff is actually acceptable between coolant temp and oil temp on a hot day loaded running higher boost levels say 25 psi off and on?

what ipr % should i see at idle either cold or operating temp?

what icp pressure is acceptable at idle?

can the hot idle issue be addressed through inj pulse width or is it an icp issue as jelibuilt stated?

does or can anyone recommend a company that knows how to tune e99 pcm with a manual trans, or is it all just upgrade to late 99 pcm's now? sad if it is....

are custom tunes based on or take into account oil or coolant temp?

 

i should mention that i am not looking for tunes for max boost. really don't need over 28 psi to pull up the hill at Cheyenne wyoming or over the pass at hot lava springs idaho. don't want to push the truck any harder than necessary i'd like to see it last for several more years.

 

does anyone know of a reputable tuner in ft worth dallas area that does live tuning?