Hey Yall. I am a proud owner of a 99 F350 c/c drw. The truck is completely stock. Im looking for ideas for mods. Im mostly looking to improve fuel milage but it is a 1ton truck and wont ever get good milage. Also any words of wisdom on common problems and nessary mods.
Any help would be greatly appriciated. THANKS!!

 

Stock is not fun heh.

If you tow any you need to atleast upgrade the transmission cooler to a tru flow or 6.0 tranny cooler.

A good set of gauges is a great idea stock or modifed. Isspros and Di Optix are the most popular Di Optix actually match the OEM gauges you can get an over head mount piller mount or mount them under the cubby hole.

The stock air box really isn't that great it is known to leak. A 6637 from fleetfilters.com is a great set up for 30 dollars or a Ford AIS system that match flows well for $200 from Your Premiere Source for Ford Truck Parts | Powerstrokeshop.com

Now DP- Tuner ( DP-Tuner ) and Tony Wildman ( www.totaldieselperformance.com ) are great for trucks just to give them a boost from the stock level and makes it great while towing in the city with stop and go traffic. They are custom programs and you can set them how ever you want for your needs.

Also look at opening up your exhaust with a straight pipe, walker Big truck muffler from napa, MKO 4in exhaust or a MBPR 4in exhaust to lower your EGTS while towing.

To extend the life of your tranny you might want to look at a BTS Valve body or a John Woods valve body to firm your shifts up and save your transmission.

Also think about upgrading to some 5w40 synthetic oil it really makes the cold starts great in the mornings and extends the life of your truck. Changing all your fluids would be a great idea since you first got it. For the coolent try to go with some Napa final Charge or Rotella ELC coolent so you don't have to worry abou t coolent for a long time just plain green coolent can cause cavitation.



Most of all WELCOME to FTE!

 

Welcome to FTE! Get a better air filter set up. Most of us run a 6637 air filter from NAPA or fleetfilter.com. You can find several threads on here by searching. Get a filter cover for it from Pete. Exhaust. Some have the Walker BTM (big truck muffler), 4" or 5" exhaust. Gauges. Several good sets available from sponsors. Valve body for trans. Again, several options available. THEN, get a dp tuner or Tony Wildman tunes and you will be SMILIN'!!!
Ask anything 7.3 related on here and expect to get some of the best information available for your truck. There are several mods that you will read about.

 

Depends what you mean by "good" mileage. I get 16ish NOT being nice with the pedal. If I could stand to be nice to it, I'd get 19-20, which is better than what I got with my 3.0L Ranger!

 

Also another important thing to check is your fuel filter- water seperator, in front and on top of the motor behind the plastic dress up cover, its a round bowl with a black lid.. Very important to change these filters out and since you just got it i would change out all the fluids to start off fresh, engine, tranny, fuel, coolant and so on. Welcome to FTE.

 

Welcome to FTE!!! I agree 100% with everything that was said above. And i really underestimated the difference that a DP-Tuner would make. Trust me, you need to get one, but not before you get a good set of gauges, exhaust, and NAPA 6637 air filter. These truck are great. CONGRATS ON THE NEW TRUCK

 

Someone needs to find the link to the "how Kris would spend $2k" post... I didn't have any luck.

 

I think this is what you're talking about Chase, it sure has helped me.

Strokin_it7.3 wrote.
People have all stated their opinion, so i will state mine too. They all have the same logic, more air in, more air out, and less EGT ( exhaust gas temperature).

If you gave me $2000 and said "Here, modify it" this is what i would do. Prices indicate that you install them. or, bring it to me and i would gladly do it for you

- Intake filter- Wix filters - oil filters, biodiesel filters, air filters, and fuel filters from FleetFilter! part 46637($20) or Napa part number 6637-($40)

-Exhaust- Mark Romriell (MKO Diesel performance) 5" exhaust, muffler-less or with a muffler, about $350 shipped, very reasonable in price. Look on ebay for this guy.

-Gauges- If you are good at wiring, you can get the kit and do it your own, all of the wiring and painting of the pod. Kits usually cost $300-350, or if you want to have them ready to slap on and hook up, you can get them pre-wired and all for about $400. Ill figure $400 into the price. I personally prefer the brand of gauges -Autometer, but there are others like DiProcol, Isspro and Spa digital gauges. The common three parameters are EGT temp (pre-turbo), transmission temp, and turbo boost. I bought my gauges from Garrett @ Diesel Performance Parts Power Chips Diesel Exhaust Intake Performance Products

-Now you have the ability to get air in and out and monitor the temperatures, it's time for a chip. The man to call for chips is Jody Tipton at DP-Tuner, he can set you up with a fully customized chip for YOUR truck and yours only. It is much better than a generic tuner or fueling box, such as Edge, Superchip, Bully Dog, and Diablosport. His chips range from one single file for $239, to a an amazing 16 position chip with every imaginable tune on it, for about $40 more per tune. I myself am going to get rid of the TS performance chip i have now, and get a DP tuner 8 or 9 position chip. so, lets say that a 6 position chip will cost around $450. You still have around $750 left after shipping. Want to keep going?

Read on.


-Now you will probably enounter some problems such as throwing a code when you really romp on the pedal. The Powertrain Control Module (PCM) thinks that the truck is running a stock program still, so it sees an abnormally high boost level, and it will throw a code. The fix for this is to go to ITP Diesel, LLC, and buy a Overboost Regulator. It is about $45 or so, and it will get rid of this problem.

-Due to that chip adding more power to the engine, it has to force that power through the same transmission, that is not designed to handle the extra power. Call up Brian at BTS (brianstruckshop.com), and set up a custom-made transmission Valve Body. They run about $225, and if you tell Brian that you are running a Tipton chip, he can modify it custom for that chip. Also, tell Jody that you will be getting a BTS valve body (here we commonly call it a "BTS VB"), and he can tune the chip for the VB as well.

-A comfort mod is next, not one that produces power, but it makes the engine run smoother and quieter. there is a thing that is called a Stainless Steel High pressure Oil rail Crossover. It is a tube that adjoins the two oil rails (oil that is used to fire the injectors, 500psi-3000psi), and it acts as a shock absorber to make all 8 cylinders have relatively the same pressure. It is more expensive than a rubber version, but it's going to last forever, it's about $70. I believe you can get that at ITP when you buy that overboost regulator.

-Another comfort mod is to eliminate the quick-disconnect fittings on the suction-side of the fuel pump. The factory design has a crappy "mixing chamber" inside the tank, that lets air in the fuel, and the air in the fuel will cause the injectors to become louder, and it also shortens their life. Removing the Q/D's will also help prevent air from entering, as they work well under pressure, not so well under a suction. I believe this $40-70 mod can be purchased at ITP as well, a filter will be about $105 if added to the kit.

we have about $350 left.

-Your stock compressor wheel in the turbocharger will probably be hating life, as it tends to reach it's limit very quickly on the air it can push out of the turbo and into the engine, and it will shoot that air back out of the compressor, commonly called "surge". a cure for this is to install an aftermarket compressor wheel, designed to reduce or stop surge. it can be found cheapest at Xtreme Diesel Performance - XDP Diesel Performance Parts, for about $55.

While you are spending all of this money, i thought it would be nice to do some free or really cheap mods:

-rerouting the crankcase vent (CCV) to the atmosphere. the stock system reroutes this into the intake of the engine, and it's a dirty mess, as oil will seep out of the intercooler boots. You can do this mod for about $15, and the only thing i needed was a piece of 4" exhaust pipe, about 4" long, to replace the piece you remove. To get the gasses away from the engine, run a piece of 1/2" heater hose to whatever length you want it. I grew tired of the infamous cloud of mist coming out from under the truck, so i tied mine into my stacks. Look at the connector that is between your two rubber intake boots between the air filter and the turbo, you'll see what i mean.

Also, a FREE mod is to remove the foil on the driver's side intercooler pipe. It helps that whistle get a little louder, and it has no adverse affects. Disclaimer: it's a royal pain to get that stuff off. Let's spend some more money.

Some things that you want to keep track of, are transmission temps, and EGT temps. the transmission can get hot, so if you browse Ebay, you can get a 6.0L's transmission cooler (NEW) for about $100-125. installation is easy, several guys here have done it. The stock transmission cooler on these trucks sucks. I believe it is about the size of a keyboard. This new one is three times that size.

To reduce the EGT, a wise decision is to install another 6.0 part, this time an intercooler. It's a direct drop in, and some guys see a reduction in EGT of 100-150*, for about $100-150, again off ebay.

Well, i think this about depletes your fund. You will be out $2000, however the benefit in performance, and the massive grin on your face all the time is well worth the cost.[/quote]

 

People have all stated their opinion, so i will state mine too. They all have the same logic, more air in, more air out, and less EGT ( exhaust gas temperature).

If you gave me $2000 and said "Here, modify it" this is what i would do. Prices indicate that you install them. or, bring it to me and i would gladly do it for you

- Intake filter- Wix filters - oil filters, biodiesel filters, air filters, and fuel filters from FleetFilter! part 46637($20) or Napa part number 6637-($40)

-Exhaust- Mark Romriell (MKO Diesel performance) 5" exhaust, muffler-less or with a muffler, about $350 shipped, very reasonable in price. Look on ebay for this guy.

-Gauges- If you are good at wiring, you can get the kit and do it your own, all of the wiring and painting of the pod. Kits usually cost $300-350, or if you want to have them ready to slap on and hook up, you can get them pre-wired and all for about $400. Ill figure $400 into the price. I personally prefer the brand of gauges -Autometer, but there are others like DiProcol, Isspro and Spa digital gauges. The common three parameters are EGT temp (pre-turbo), transmission temp, and turbo boost. I bought my gauges from Garrett @ Diesel Performance Parts Power Chips Diesel Exhaust Intake Performance Products

-Now you have the ability to get air in and out and monitor the temperatures, it's time for a chip. The man to call for chips is Jody Tipton at DP-Tuner, he can set you up with a fully customized chip for YOUR truck and yours only. It is much better than a generic tuner or fueling box, such as Edge, Superchip, Bully Dog, and Diablosport. His chips range from one single file for $239, to a an amazing 16 position chip with every imaginable tune on it, for about $40 more per tune. I myself am going to get rid of the TS performance chip i have now, and get a DP tuner 8 or 9 position chip. so, lets say that a 6 position chip will cost around $450. You still have around $750 left after shipping. Want to keep going?

Read on.


-Now you will probably enounter some problems such as throwing a code when you really romp on the pedal. The Powertrain Control Module (PCM) thinks that the truck is running a stock program still, so it sees an abnormally high boost level, and it will throw a code. The fix for this is to go to ITP Diesel, LLC, and buy a Overboost Regulator. It is about $45 or so, and it will get rid of this problem.

-Due to that chip adding more power to the engine, it has to force that power through the same transmission, that is not designed to handle the extra power. Call up Brian at BTS (brianstruckshop.com), and set up a custom-made transmission Valve Body. They run about $225, and if you tell Brian that you are running a Tipton chip, he can modify it custom for that chip. Also, tell Jody that you will be getting a BTS valve body (here we commonly call it a "BTS VB"), and he can tune the chip for the VB as well.

-A comfort mod is next, not one that produces power, but it makes the engine run smoother and quieter. there is a thing that is called a Stainless Steel High pressure Oil rail Crossover. It is a tube that adjoins the two oil rails (oil that is used to fire the injectors, 500psi-3000psi), and it acts as a shock absorber to make all 8 cylinders have relatively the same pressure. It is more expensive than a rubber version, but it's going to last forever, it's about $70. I believe you can get that at ITP when you buy that overboost regulator.

-Another comfort mod is to eliminate the quick-disconnect fittings on the suction-side of the fuel pump. The factory design has a crappy "mixing chamber" inside the tank, that lets air in the fuel, and the air in the fuel will cause the injectors to become louder, and it also shortens their life. Removing the Q/D's will also help prevent air from entering, as they work well under pressure, not so well under a suction. I believe this $40-70 mod can be purchased at ITP as well, a filter will be about $105 if added to the kit.

we have about $350 left.

-Your stock compressor wheel in the turbocharger will probably be hating life, as it tends to reach it's limit very quickly on the air it can push out of the turbo and into the engine, and it will shoot that air back out of the compressor, commonly called "surge". a cure for this is to install an aftermarket compressor wheel, designed to reduce or stop surge. it can be found cheapest at Xtreme Diesel Performance - XDP Diesel Performance Parts, for about $55.

While you are spending all of this money, i thought it would be nice to do some free or really cheap mods:

-rerouting the crankcase vent (CCV) to the atmosphere. the stock system reroutes this into the intake of the engine, and it's a dirty mess, as oil will seep out of the intercooler boots. You can do this mod for about $15, and the only thing i needed was a piece of 4" exhaust pipe, about 4" long, to replace the piece you remove. To get the gasses away from the engine, run a piece of 1/2" heater hose to whatever length you want it. I grew tired of the infamous cloud of mist coming out from under the truck, so i tied mine into my stacks. Look at the connector that is between your two rubber intake boots between the air filter and the turbo, you'll see what i mean.

Also, a FREE mod is to remove the foil on the driver's side intercooler pipe. It helps that whistle get a little louder, and it has no adverse affects. Disclaimer: it's a royal pain to get that stuff off. Let's spend some more money.

Some things that you want to keep track of, are transmission temps, and EGT temps. the transmission can get hot, so if you browse Ebay, you can get a 6.0L's transmission cooler (NEW) for about $100-125. installation is easy, several guys here have done it. The stock transmission cooler on these trucks sucks. I believe it is about the size of a keyboard. This new one is three times that size.

To reduce the EGT, a wise decision is to install another 6.0 part, this time an intercooler. It's a direct drop in, and some guys see a reduction in EGT of 100-150*, for about $100-150, again off ebay.

Well, i think this about depletes your fund. You will be out $2000, however the benefit in performance, and the massive grin on your face all the time is well worth the cost.


Finally found the #18 thread

 

That's the one I was looking for, thanks Rick (and JD for trying )

 

hey yall
Sorry i havnt been on. Im a fireman in a rural area so internet access is sometimes limited. esp when im at work. Thanks for all the advice!! I will be going with straight exhaust and i plan on the intake mod for now a turner will come in time

Now for a few questions?

Izzy351 stated that he was getting 16mpg. I am only getting 11.5 at best! I am normally on the hwy not city.

When useing the 6637 filter what type of filter base and where do i get it?

The 6.0 tranny cooler i dont think i will need that the truck is a standard 6spd i guess or a 5 w/ od. However u look at it.

And last fluids? what do yall recomend ?
I like Rotella 15-40 and Rotella ELC

Again THANKS for the advice and help

P.S. I am not afraid to turn a nut or two. I will be doing all my own work.

 

to fit the 6637 you will remove your stock filter box and just get yourself a 4" peice of 4" diameter exhaust pipe and put it straight on the end of the intake hose.
i think over there NAPA sell these filters from what i;ve read. im in australia we dont have NAPA stores here.
the 5w-40w synthetic as justin said earlier, i personally have not used anything like that yet but will be on the next change, everyone swears by it on here, quiet'ns the engine down and makes it start easier in the cold, and would probably contribute to better fuel economy as it flows freer.

 

Keep the Rotella ELC switch to a good 5w40 Syn. perferably Schaeffers 5w40 9000.