Have a question on the proper boost seen and what effect does the WG have on it ? Can WG be disconnected for better boost or will this cause problem? Are there any other tricks to help?


1999 F350 7.3 Chip/3.5 to 4" down pipe and 4" w/muff.

 

First off, welcome to the forum!!

With the WG still on, and in stock trim you probably won't see more than 17 psi. With your truck chipped and and an exhaust, you'll probably see more like 20-22 psi with the WG still connected. Disconnecting the WG will give you more boost and faster spool up times, but it will probably trip an SES light due to an over boos at 24 psi. The work around that is a MAP line regulator or MAP line blow off valve. I can easily see 30+ psi of boost with my stock turbo and the mods I have (see sig), but it's hard on the stock turbo to run over 25 psi, so I don't run it up that high often. Other good things to do are a Kwik or NAPA 6637 filter, CCV re-route, and to delete the AIH. Look at the mods I have and run some searches on the forum for those mods. You'll find hours of reading on the topics.

Stick around, do some reading, and don't be afraid to ask questions. We're a helpful and friendly bunch here.

 

One more thing, be sure you have some guages. Pyrometer is a key one to have, and so is trans temp if you have an automatic. Boost guage is common, but I assume you already have that.

 

Hey....Welcome....from one"Nut" to another 7.3NUT...good screen name!

Nut

 

Thanks, I have learned alot before joining the family by just looking in from time to time. I am getting ready to have Tranny worked on. Just got new 5th wheel with more weight GVW 15,800 so need a little extra for pulling. Any good ideas for improvement or help will be greatly welcome.

 

I big ATF cooler for your transmission. There are several choices for your valve body inside the transmission. The most popular is the Sonnax Tricumulator (sp?)
There's also the Transgo Tugger and the Factory Tech. A lot more expensive, but IMO offers a better upgrade. Plus there's some opinions out there that the Sonnax starves part of the transmission in favor of another part of it. I don't know much more beyond that.
Also make sure that your differential and transfer case has fresh fluid. When you tow that kind of weight, things get worked hard and very warm.
Congrats on your new 5th wheel. There is no better way to vacation.

 

Also do some reading about drive pressures on the exhaust side. Our stock turbos are pretty restrictive and I'm finding out that a wastegate seems to be a good thing on our trucks with the smaller exhaust housing.
Mech2161 has some very interesting findings with his van turbo and the big Napa air filter.

 

Don't forget about Brian's Truck Shop. He also makes a replacement valve body that's better than the Sonnax. If you end up getting a chip from Jody, he likes the BTS valve body too. I talked to BTS about it today. They send you a whole new valve body with steel internals instead of aluminum like the stock one. His valve body is $250.

 

I would imagine that it's worth EVERY PENNY. Brian has done his homework.

 

Well, we'll know soon. I ordered one tody to replace my sonnax kit. Not that I'm unhappy with my sonnax, but I'm ordering a DP chip very soon, so I wanted to have the valve body that Jody prefers and is the most familiar with.

 

There seems to be so much you can do and spend $$$$ any amount!!!! I am having the Tranny check tomorrow and see what has failed and or what caused it to fail. I have an idea it is the converter? After tomorrow will deside what need to happen next. Will go the way of the big bang for buck$$$$$ most helpful.

On the other side drove the big guy to work today for first time sense installing 4" exhaust-and gauges/ I also have a Predator Programer instead of chip w/tow program in it pulling no load the reading I seen where as follows.

Exhaust Temp Flat ground outside temp around 50 deg. was 500 to 800
Pulling Hill 800 to 950 (sensor pre turbo mount in driver exhaust)

Boost Flat not load 7psi
Boost Pulling Hill 4% 11psi

Tranny temp average 125degrees

DOES THIS sound ok sense I have never had gauges to monitor before I don't know?

Thanks much

 

Forgot>>>>> Thanks on the 5th Wheel. Jayco 2006 34RLQS 4 slides, king bed and big kit. for wife and central Vac. WoW what we do for fun and vacation.
Hope to retire and a little while to enjoy it more. That is why getting TRUCK ready for longer pulls. Also installing Auto Satellite.

 

You're spot on for boost and EGT. Hook up that nice new trailer and the boost will go up a lot. EGT will ride pretty close to 1200 on a hill if you stick to the Tow/Haul tune. I love that particular tune for trailering. Massive low end torque and EGT's are easily kept in the safe zone.
Enjoy!

 

Thank for Info. I am really excited, will be pulling end of Feb. for a long week-end. Will have tranny ready to go too>>>>> Looking forward to leaving All those CHEV. and DODGE in dust up the hill and get there first for the better spots to park the Big guy and 5ther. Wave to the last one's pulling in!!!! Haa

 

There's some other things that you can do that will really help.
One is change out the intake wheel on your turbo for an early version, commonly called a Wicked Wheel. The later ones have a bad stalling problem that manifests itself as a chuffing sound coming out of the intake side while under a heavy load such as pulling a trailer.
Another thing is to take the wastegate control rod and tighten it down some, to enable the boost to come up faster. This is most easily accomplished if you have a way of applying some air pressure to the control can to overcome the spring inside. I used to be an advocate of disableing the WG, but have since decided to reconnect it. I've learned a few things here on FTE about how high the drive pressures are on the exhaust side and don't want to break things.
Convert your Exhaust Back Pressure Valve to an Exhaust brake. I don't know if you have ever towed that heavy before, but it's a real eye opener on how fast that big heavy trailer will push you going down the other side of the mountain pass. The diesel engine is very poor at compression braking, it just freewheels despite it's very high compression and you can easily exceed safe speeds. Dead man's corner takes on a whole new meaning.
Here's some links to some threads I started:
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...d.php?t=268610
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...d.php?t=414440
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...d.php?t=278697
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...d.php?t=260173
And Johnny8's writeup on how to change out the Wicked Wheel.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...d.php?t=423906

I better stop there. There's PLENTY more if you are interested.