I have a 97 7.3 f250HD CC and a 77 dent F250 Camper Special but I have been bitten with the 6.7l bug. I had a new 2004 6.0 and managed to get 185K out of it without having to do the heads/injectors/bullet proof it. The 97 was my latest foray back into the world of Ford diesels. That was 3 years ago. I like stock bc you can figure out the problems by going to the shop manuals vs. someone else's mess. That being said, what I have read about "deleteing" is you are basically getting rid of the EPA stock exhaust system in favor of a more stream lined exhaust system.
My concern is what happens should the engine's computer arbitrarily shut down the truck because your DEF fluid is no longer there or any number of other issues. Is there a thread I haven't found yet to help explain the pros and cons of deleteing? Or not deleting. 2015 and newer 6.7's get fairly decent milage vs. my 97 7.3 I would think. In any event, any suggestions are appreciated.

 

The deleted guys will tell you to delete the truck. Some had issues, some that couldn't be resolved and that's why they delete. For the record, I am not against deletes. What I don't like is the attitude that stock trucks, if used properly, are not reliable. That is false.

My 16 has 86k miles. I daily drive the truck. No towing but I now have a plow and plowed my driveway only this winter. The topographic area I live makes it possible for my truck's emissions to function as they should. The drive to work is at least 18 miles one way. When I drive back home, the altitude climbs so it gets my EGTs a little warmer and I usually have passive regeneration happening on the 65 mph expressway I travel daily when I go home. My active regens happen out close to, at and sometimes beyond 500 miles. I just had one yesterday that was 515 miles from the last active regen.

I like my stock truck. With that said, if I could delete if or when I have a problem, I would probably choose to. I would probably want a stock power tune and a tow tune. But living in the state of New York, that would be a con for me. Pros are: No more DEF fluid to buy (though I don't see it as a huge expense or problem); Oil can be run longer because no EGR use (although the 20 plus MYs are now using more DEF than EGR); Cool turbo sound (jet sound) because straight pipe is there instead of a rocketship (aka DPF); no more emission CELs (but it is possible for CELs with the flashed ECM now with delete tunes but not all trucks. But problems could happen just like a stock truck.); some claim better mileage but not all get it; can idle more and not worry about the emissions (but I don't think a ton of idle time is good for any engine); smoke is possible depending on what tune you switched to (race) to play with the sports cars ( smoke can be a red flag for some cops but not all tunes will smoke). I'm sure more will chime in here.

Like I said, I'm personally not against deletes as not every stock truck is having problems. It's all how you use your truck and where you drive for you to make a decision on whether you NEED to delete or not; and whether you WANT to or not.

 

4There are those who swear by deleting there trucks. Personally I'm against that. You are correct if something goes wrong then what? lots of times it's the tune but not always. Easier to fix a stock truck like you said. It would take a long time to se any money gains from deleting your truck. If you go 17 and newer they have crazy power. If you don't work these trucks you may not like the cost of maintenance. I like the fact that my truck doesn't stink nor does it blow soot all over my 5th wheel. i am not sure there is any millage gain with a tune. You would have to drive like a old guy tt get any increase of fuel millage IMHO. I wouldn't buy a deleted truck!!!

 

What a "tune" or more correctly, a "delete" does is neuter the emission controls as monitored systems. In your example, the computer can't shut down the engine due to a DEF issue since the computer doesn't know what DEF is. It doesn't exist. Neither does the DPF or the EGR. Gone from programming. You can rummage around the forum and see that there are threads where people had perplexing issues following a delete. A common thread seems to be where someone bought a truck that had been deleted and they don't have the factory programming or emission equipment and have no good pathway to resolving their issue. They have no idea if the problem occurred before or how it was solved. No history whatsoever. I wouldn't ever buy a deleted truck merely for the reason you have no idea what you're getting. Again, no history. You can infer tunes cause problems, but keep in mind that these are just a handful of people coming here for help. Out of how many thousands of tunes? I don't know. It's a matter of perspective. It seems reasonable to believe there are far, far more people who are not having issues.

You can also infer there are as many reasons people want to delete their truck as there are people. I agree that the fuel economy reason to do a delete means you're not good at math. But that's just one reason people use. And that may not be the only reason. It's also possible to do a delete and not increase horsepower. Some folks are being tormented by an emission control problem and just want the problem to go away. A delete will do that. Again, it doesn't have to concurrently increase power.

You should thoroughly educate yourself as much as possible before making a decision to delete. Again, assess the potential for problems and such. You have to go into it with your eyes wide open.

 

My biggest concern with deleting is support after the fact should problems arrise. Is the person that wrote the tune still going to be around?
If I were smart enough to write my own tune, I would do it in a heartbeat.

 

I live in an area with emission testing. So it's really not an option for me. Too much work to remove and re-install every other year to pass the test. Dealers won't take deleted trucks on trade in. My fuel mileage on my 2020 F350 w/3.55 gears is 18 mpg on daily commute. ( which is 60 miles of 75 mph hiway) so I can't complain about fuel mileage. I just don't think the deleted trucks do that much better. If I really baby the truck on a long drive ( say 200 miles at constant 70 mph) I have gotten 21-22 mpg. But that is very are and requires a sharp focus on maximizing the fuel mileage, no head winds, and driving on level roads.

I run my trucks 100,000 to occasional 150,000 miles and have not had emission problems. So I can't say that deleting would save me money. Maybe trucks running 300,000 miles might last longer, I just have not kept one long enough to know. DEF is fairly cheap, so I don't consider it much of an expense to add every 5000 miles.

I can say, that almost every thread I read about somebody loosing their tranny, is tied to trucks that are deleted.

 

Since I drive a 97 F250 7.3l a lot of the CEL, DPF, EGT, etc problems and issues are new to me. I would not buy a deleted truck for the reasons mentioned. Unknown history and unknown problem resolutions. I have 160/0 Rosewood injectors and a Hydra 40hp tune. I get 18-19 mpg at 75mph and my little 40 hp tune (with a 65hp in reserve) is very good at getting me in and out of traffic. So the 450hp of the late teen year trucks is more than I need on a stock truck. I dont tow anything but I like driving a lazy boy down the highway. My 04 was wonderful.

So yes, I will look for a late teens F250 Lariat CC with less than 100K and stock. Thank you for the info and I will continue to lurk and pick your brains until I close the deal. One last question. Are all F250 CC short beds or can you find a long bed? Thanks.

Jack

 

You don't delete for the fuel savings alone. I deleted the emissions crap off of my truck when I bought it used in 2018 for long term reliability, the elimination of DEF, less environmental impact, and some fuel savings.
I guess there is a risk of the CPU in your truck needing to be "refreshed" at the dealer and the tunes being erased.
I also had the CP4 disaster kit installed as well as the intercooler pipe upgraded.
All that cost me $2800 including the tuner of course. $2800 will buy you a lot of diesel.
Also if you like trading in vehicles every so often then obviously doing the delete would be a waste of money.
I plan on keeping my truck until it doesn't drive anymore or becomes to expensive to fix. Hopefully that's years down the road.

 

Pros of a delete. No regen cycles to waste fuel, no DEF use, no carbon clogged intakes.
Cons of a delete, The exhaust stinks. If EPA ever gets a stick up their butt and starts checking diesels, we are in a world of pain, just ask all the dealers selling delete parts and tunes the EPA went after! The one con that can really hit you is if the PCM dies and you can't unlock your tuner. Now you have to find someone to rewrite your code and unlock the tuner in order to program the new PCM, or restore everything to stock.

I bought a deleted truck, didn't know it at the time since my last truck was a 99, and to me it looked and sounded normal. It wasn't until I crawled under a couple weeks later looking for a clunk that turned out to be a rotted body mount and found that there was no DPF on the truck. I bought it from a dealer who will take it back on trade if I decide to upgrade, so not concerned there. It gets the same MPG as a stock truck, so I really see no advantage other than not needing DEF. I did put a DPK on from SPE, and cleaned the intake of all the crap the EGR let in.

 

Who can afford a new truck right now?

 

I’ve had deleted trucks since my 6.4 days. It isn’t for everyone, and I understand why. The new trucks keep getting more reliable with emissions systems intact. They are becoming more efficient with everything intact also. The 6.4 had a huge fuel mileage increase when the DPFs were removed. The 6.7s don’t see that much of an increase.

Having said that, as long as there are avenues to do it, I plan on continuing to. I’ve got over 200k miles between 3 6.7s that were deleted with zero issues from the engine, transmission or any form of CEL. The last 2, I have just run a 0HP added delete tune. Plenty of power. I just enjoy not being able to leave something alone…

 

I can understand that for sure...

 

I bit the bullet and got the 24 F250 6.7 today

 

Post photos and I hope you love the new truck.

 

thanks. Definitely will post some pics. Already debating on the delete. That's how I ended up here