Okay, so long story short; Friday morning I re-set my truck back to "stock" with my EDGE programmer. I did this as I was worried about the way my trans. was shifting, and the fact that it had slipped between 2 and 3 on two occasions. I was about to schedule with my local tranny shop for a look-see and figured that in the meantime a little less hp and torque would give the slushbox a break and maybe save me some $$. The programmer did it's thing and I got a "burnout" on the LCD telling me I was good to go. It never started again. Coincidenteally after I got it I programmed it to the 2nd setting(80hp) and haven't touched it til Friday. Yeah, well I just got a call from the dealer and the PCM is completely cooked.
$900 bucks later I'll have a new one installed.

SO, my questions to all you experts out there(I'm decidely not and need all of your help).
1) I love the extra power and mpg from the chip, but not at the tune of $900 each time. Should I just stay with stock? Is this common?
2)Is this a repair I could take care of, and where does one aquire a PCM.
3)Should I try to chase down EDGE for some of this bill?

Any thought about others similar experiences would be helpful.

97 250 7.3 crewcab 4x4 offroad.

 

i would call edge, they have had alot of problems with programmers lately, gm mostly, but its worth a shot, dont hold your breath, my buddy has a duramx with the....evolution i think...but it keeps frying and they admitted fault to him and he's been fighting for over 8 months now to get the problem fixed, 3 chip boxes later and still truck problems, i have never liked edge and think their products all out suck and are way overpriced, i haven't had much experience with edge on 7.3's but 6.0's came in melted and toasted with edge programs, my advice, try for a refund or pay for the repairs and ebay that hunk of plastic

 

HSH, to replace the PCM you just take the connector off, remove the retainer, remove the screws from the rear half of the drivers side fender well, pry down on the fender well and slide the PCM out. For a replacement PCM, try car-parts.com. I have found three 97's in my area, one for $50 and two for just over $100 and all three were good and are still running strong. TJ knows of a guy that sells them cheap also, but I don't remember who. He should be along shortly and help out or just shoot him a PM.

As for power, I suggest a on the fly chip from Tony Wildman or DP-Tuner. Great products and they stand behind their work.

 

Wow - that's great advice. It's going to take whole tube of vaseline to ease the pain of paying the dealer bill for the PCM. But, when you're away from home and stuck, well, your away from home and stuck. I'll tuck that little nugget of advice away for next time- god I hope there isn't a next time. But I'll definitely check out Tony Wildman once I get Edge to refund my $$ for the POS they sold me.

 

FYI, I located a spare PCM (the one for $50) and I keep it for a spare. And I throw it in my tool box on long trips. Just in case.

 

right next to the spare cam sensor

 

You got that right.

 

but what good is a cam sensor in that tool box without a 10mm socket, 3\8's flex head wratchet and 3 inch extension?

 

Okay - Joe, I just read your profile. You're a past psd mech.? The fact. tech. told me I was crazy to "chip" my truck - longevity, electrical, issues..... Is he just feeding me the factory trained line or is it legit. I've got 180k on it now - want to see 300. thoughts?

 

in my signature is my modifications both aftermarket and homegrown, i have over 225 thousand on my truck and its running strong, i run the truck hard everyday and have no issues,
Longevity- this is based in part by the fellow who put in together 10 years ago, odds are that since your truck is 10 years old and has 180k on it that he did ok. the other part to longevity is you, oil changes are critical on a powerstroke mill, 3-4k tops, i dont care what oil you use, it still gets dirty with combustion byproducts. On chipped vehicles its even more crucial to stay on top of oil changes, gauges are a really good idea too, especially egt, safe limit on a 7.3 is 1200 consistant, any higher= meltdown of valves and injector tips. Keep the air going in clean, a dusted mill is a done mill, other than that you really cant hurt a 7.3,
Electrical issues- He cant be serious? the only elec issue on a 7.3 is your under valve cover harnesses and occasionally the main engine harness will rub on the left valve cover, no chip will change that.
Bottom line is the life of your engine is really in your hands, keep the maintance up and watch your gauges and it will live a long good life, i have had them traded in with over 3 and 400k on origonal motors and they ran great still. i would get rid of edge, dont ever look back, i have heard lots of good things about dp and tw chips, but i have personally stayed away from the physical "plug into the pcm" chips, i have had bad luck in the past at the dealer with that style ranging from banks all the way down to superchips, the programmers arent as powerfull but safer in my eyes. i am considering a tw chip based on the input i have recieved on this site, they seem really good as they are made for your exact appliction, not a generic 94-03 set-up, that plays a huge role for reliability in my opinion.
If you put a good chip in, a nice free flowing exhaust, intake, and all the homegrown stuff, i cant see why it wouldnt last as long as you take care of it, speaking of homegrown, your trans is flaring on 2-3 shifts occasionally? or all out slips, may be as simple as a shift kit, as edge trans program sucks,

 

thanks again Joe. I just got off the phone with Edge. I'm sending them the PCM and they said if it is indeed cooked they'll pay for my replacement cost. We'll see.
They are also going to replace the chip - which is going right to E-bay when I get it back.

Quick question - "shift kit"? Can you educate me a little or point me in the right direction. Also - good guages for this era truck?

thanks again for being so helpful.

chris

 

i dont have gauges yet but the isspro's from diesel manor dot com look very nice and a bunch of people on here have 'em, as for the shift kit
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/6...kit-video.html

 

I have gone over and over this issue in my head. I have a few thoughts on this. I am not going to tune, or chip my truck for several reasons.

1. If you do not tow heavy loads why the need for the "added" HP.

2. The stock transmission cannot stand up to a chipped truck in my estimation. It may for a little while, but it will fail prematurely.

3. The T444 runs killer with just simple mods like intake, and exhaust.

This is only MY opinion, so take it with a grain of salt. If I want a dragster I will buy, or build one.

 

our trucks are no dragsters...lol my trans is old but not tired, still shifts great, had a sligth hiccup but hasnt done it in bout a month, thin ka solonoid pack is starting to go, if you chip to a point you actually gain fuel economy if you lay off the throttle

 

I really think the timing and money are the key. IF, many of us were able to get a bombproof tranny built, chip, injectors and install them all at the same time frame I think it might be worth it. Piecing it along as you go IMO leads to failure of other components prematurely.