I recently acquired a 96 F250, ZF5, 2wd, Super Cab. It has only 60k on it, and no rust, bright red, all stock. I know this thing won't win races, especially with the ZF5, but I want to build up the power so it will have big torque for towing.

Based on my reading, I'm planning like this.

1. Add the Aeroforce interceptor, covers some basic gauge values and allows me to do the buzz test, cct, etc.
2. I have abit of an engine stutter ocassionaly (see othe post) and oily/dirty engine valley, so I plan to tear the fuel bowl and turbo off and really clean in there, replace gaskets/o rings.
3. Seems to be concensus in other thread that injector o-rings may need to be replaced, would do this while turbo is off. Should I replace valve covers and harnesses then too? Would also change glow plugs.
4. Add pyro and boost gauge (should I get 30psig or 40psig)?
5. 6637 intake
6. MBRP turbo back exhaust
7. DP Tuner, 60hp towing, and 60, 80, 100hp daily
8. Stage 1 or Stage 2 injectors (not sure how big of a difference between them, and is reman generally OK?)
9. My last change I'd like is to get a ZF6 tranny, and at this time I might look at doing a 4wd swap over.

Looking for input from you guys, and any suggestions.

 

Everything looks good, except the ZF6. That's not a simple swap. I don't recall all of what's involved, but do a search and you should find more info. As for the 4x4 swap, it's a bit of a project, but if you can get a donor truck to swap from, it's not too bad. I'm loving mine since I finished.
I'd go with the PHP chip myself, but that's just personally preference.
One other thing.......INTERCOOLER!!!! 7.3 or 6.0. Makes a world of difference when towing. Well worth your time and money.
Oh yeah, one other thing. Take lots of pics! We like progress pics on here.

 

the idea behind the zf6 is purley to have that extra gear down low, its not a direct swap, you have to mold the floor and bubble it up to fit. and finally the final gear ratio is a 2mph difference when it boils down to it its not going to drop your rpms any. so unless you just really want that extra gear then go right ahead!

the difference between stage 1 and 2 injectors is the nozzles and the amount of oil that 2s take up that much more.

i had stage 1s which is just moddifying the intensifier piston to handel 160-180cc's of fuel. stage 2 is the size of nozzel you decide to go to, i went with 80% over which made a stupid difference! LOL i cant wait for my 238cc/100% hybrids hehe

the power is very addicting but gets expensive FAST

have fun keep it strokin!

 

Thanks...I didn't actually look into PHP at all.

What intercooler route would you suggest? Is the banks kits worth the $$$ they are asking for it?

My biggest reason for the ZF6 was just that top gear, to try to pump up the top end. When I'm crusing in it now, it's turning 2250 all the time, would like it closer to 2000 if I could.

One question, how big of a tire can I run on a 2wd?

 

3.73 gearing would get you exactly 2000rpm at 70 mph, 3:73s are purley the best of both worlds i hate 4;10s!!

 

Ya, I looked up the final gear charts, there is hardly any difference in top gear (<5%). Axle ratios are much more effective.

Would a front axle out of a superduty fit, or are the spring brackets too different to try?

Best bet is probably a donor truck, and be happy with the 3.55's, or drive a little slower..haha.

Maybe larger tires.

 

i friend has 36" tires and a.....6 inch lift??? he he said thoes brought him basically to a 3.73 gear ration. super duty uses different bolt pattern so you would have to use the ugly superduty wheels unless you already have a set of alcoas lined up. the best thing litterally is to go buy 3:73s and do the swap, only superdutys came with thoes. i had 3:55s in my last truck and i loved them on the highway, around town they didnt hit very hard, then again it was a stock/chipped truck

 

Don't go buying the banks IC, get one off of a superduty and do it yourself. There are lots of writeups here to help you along when you get ready. You'll save a LOT of money doing it yourself. Most are able to do it completely for somewhere between 350 and 500 bucks, depends on how good of bargains you get.

I've been looking into doing the 3.73 swap too. I would like about 200 more rpm's pulling. I've got enought power pulling now but in OD at 75 I'm only about 2050rpm's. Haven't decided if I want to go through with all the work and money it will take though.

Let me suggest a tymar downpipe too, better quality and better fitting (cost a little more but worth it imo)

Send your injectors in to Jim at Rosewood Diesel, with only 60k on them they should work great to upgrade to either ones or twos..He does great work for a great price..New orings will be done then too by him

Get bigger than a 30 psi gauge with either ones or twos, I hit 33 lbs on mine with ones. Don't want to do that a lot with the stock turbo though.

Replace your turbo pedestal orings if you pull the turbo too.

I've got a PHP chip too and love it but there is nothing wrong with DP either.

 

I had 37's on mine while it was a 2wd. I had 3.55's then. Now I have 4.10's (miss the 3.55's) and 37's all the way around now that it's 4wd. Fordman is right on about the IC. On ebay or our classified section (or powerstrokenation) you should be able to find a used IC, pipes and early '99 spyder and do the work yourself. Banks is WAY too expensive compared to what you can do it for yourself. There's a couple good write-ups on here that have all the details and pics.
Feel free to ask away. These guys are great and have a LOT of cumulative knowledge about these rigs.
Injectors? Jim @ Rosewood for sure.

 

any idea what a set of injector upgrades to stage 1 or 2 would run me?

At what stage do I need to upgrade the HPOP?

Are there gaskets for where the turbo y pipe feeds into the intake?

I'm still trying to figure out where my leak in the valley is coming from, since I sprayed some diesel on the already dirty areas while shimming the FPR. Tough to see, but would suck to tear it all down, clean and rebuild to find out I missed the leak.

If the connectors don't seem burnt, it should be ok to reuse the harnesses, right? or should they just be replaced anyway? Same for valve cover gaskets?

I'm just trying to be prepared and have as many of the part on hand as I may need.

 

HPOP I went with a super duty 17* and had Joey at TE (terminator engineering)mod it for me. Great price from joey, send him an email when you're ready.

contact for injector prices, not bad at all http://ad.doubleclick.net/click%3Bh%...injectors.com/

Do you mean boots from the ypipe to the intake? If so clay at RiffRaff has them.
No need to replace valve cover gaskets or harnesses if in good shape.

 

No I meant where the intake attaches to the block. I assumed there would be gaskets there I should change too. Not very prone to leak there?

My boots are caked in oil/dirt, so once I get everything clean, we'll see if I can figure out where it's coming from.

When do I need to upgrade HPOP? once I get to stage 2, or even at stage 1?

 

My hpop wouldn't keep up with the stage ones and a chip. I set a cel towing the trailer in my pic real easy. Jim at Rosewood told me the stock 15 isn't enough for the ones and a chip. There is no gasket there, just ford gray silicone. Some have had them leak but they aren't necessarily prone to I don't think. I don't remember if you said you're pulling the turbo or not but I think you have to to remove the intakes iirc.

 

hey on the ic, i have an ats a paid 1000.00 bucks for it, but my buddy wants it, i have a 2000 superduty i got my injecters and hpop from can i use that ic and spider and pipes?? or will it not work?? or can i just use ic?? if so i can sell this ic and put it 2ward my stage 2s

 

You can use the intercooler and pipes, but the spider won't work unless you upgrade to 3" plenums and use the superduty turbo system. You need a spider from a early '99 with the 2" plenums like ours.