Am I to assume you still have the factory air filter box on your truck? Install the 6637 filter mod, or something similar, for some real air to get into your engine. K&N filters aren't recommended buy many on this site, especially in the factory air box. They are prone to leaking.

 

Instead of just tightening the clamp you may want to remove it completely and clean up the mating surfaces on the downpipe and turbo in case there is any carbon buildup there that's keeping it from sealing properly. The clamp can be a bitch to remove at times but just go ahead and pry it loose with a screwdriver or something.

 

yeah, its still got the stock airbox in it. i put a ton of sealant on the air filters top and bottom and so far it hasnt leaked any. i check it every oil change just to make sure. i didnt know there was a problem with them leaking until after i bought my k & n.

i havent tried to tighten the clamp yet. i just noticed the soot yesterday when i was degreasing the engine. ive got to pull the turbo to replace the o rings so ill clean it up when i do that.

 

After checking for exhaust leaks, I'd look into installing the 6637 mod, or an aftermarket cold air system. That will help out the turbo too, allowing more air into the engine. The stock air filter boxes on the 7.3 trucks are quite restrictive. The aftermarket air filter will also allow for more turbo sound, if you like that. The 6637 will allow for the most sound.

 

have you had any trouble out of your 6637? ive seen a lot of guys on here talking about having to take their air filter off to wash their truck, having to change back to the stock air filter when driving in the rain or going off road, etc. i go off road some with my job and it would be way too much trouble for me to have to swap my air box every time i have to go off road.

 

That would be silly plus a pain in the neck to do all that swapping out to drive in the rain etc..

 

I have NEVER had a problem with the 6637 filter on either truck. I've put 85,000miles on my work truck without a single problem. I wash pete's cover about every 10,000 miles or so, and change the filter every 20,000 or so. My 02 I've put 12,000 on it since I bought it. I've been in rain and snow with both trucks and I have not noticed any problems with the filters on either truck. The filter on my 97 does make drone noise a lot when going up hill, but it weighs over 12,000lbs too, so you might not like it for towing with the family. The 02 is my car, and I don't notice it unless I'm getting on it pretty hard. The darth vader sound is cool when it shifts. Install it, and you'll know what I mean.

 

I haven't heard too many people having problems. Heck, the only thing I do to mine is blow it out every once in a while.

 

ill see if i can find the thread, it was one i was just looking at the other day. but one guy was saying he had to take his 6637 off every time he washed his truck and another said he had to put his stock box back on anytime he drove off road or in really wet areas. just sounded like too much hassle to me.

on a side note, i was looking at some downpipe threads on here and everyone cuts the pipe before removing it. can you not just unhook the clamp and pull the stock one out? ill be pulling the tranny out to rebuild it and put a new clutch in and id rather not spend time cutting something that will just slide out.

 

The thing about those exhaust clamps is once you tighten them down. the pipe doesn't want to come back out. You can take the clamp off, but the pipe is stuck inside the other one.

You might be able to pull it up through the top is you have the tranny removed.

 

Does your truck have the collapsed down pipe. My 97 did. To get it out, it's easiest to use a sawall and cut into two pieces. Then, you'll probably need to beat the firewall back a little to get the new downpipe to fit. Hammer and a block of wood does the trick. The newer trucks don't need the firewall modification.

 

with the tranny out, the downpipe shouldn't be a problem. It's impossible to get the old one out when everything is together without hacking it to pieces. As for the 6637 filter, I've never pulled mine. Mind you I do need to wash the truck more often. I've run through heavy rains, foot think slush on the road (snow), never had any trouble with the filter getting wet.

 

yeah, its still got the stock flattened dp on it. the truck is 100% stock. i was thinking about a 3" dp, 4" exhaust, TW chip, and possibly stage 1 injectors. its got 185k miles on it and id say its needing new injector o-rings, but im still trying to figure out the advantages/disadvantages of stage 1's. i dont want to kill my mileage when im running in stock setting on the chip, but id like to be able to get a little more out of the chip when running in tow/heavy tow mode.

 

Stage one injectors aren't necessary for more power, the chip will do that on its own. There are different programs for mileage and towing. All do better than stock, it's just that you got to watch the temps on the exhaust, also known as EGT's, when you turn them up.

In no way am I trying to discourage you from getting the stage ones, I'm just saying you will get an increase in power with the stock ones. Stage ones will do more, that's for sure.