Ok so I just bought my new Toy. All stock 2002 F250 CrewCab 7.3l with 109,000 miles. Yes Im pumped up!!! I found it on Craigslist in Tuscaloosa Alabama. So heres my questions and Im really eager to get everyones replies.
1st What Oil has been the best "Amsoil/ Rotella"

2nd What would you do right away to ensure its going to last me a long long time" Fluids, upgrades, anything Im unaware of"

3rd Im going to be towing a 32 Jayco Camper bumper pull.What tires have been the best for ya'll

4th Is there anything I can do about a whinny noisy power steering pump?

5th and last chip exhast or air filter first
Thanks so much

Brian S
1998 Explorer 4.0 100k
2002 Expedition 4.6 95k
2002 F250 7.3l 109k

 

Moved to the 1999 - 2003 7.3L Powerstroke Diesel forum.

 

Brian look at the dp tuners

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...-confused.html

 

Amsoil is definately better oil.

If you want to do mods to it, you should do intake and/or exhaust first, and then gauges. If you are going to use a programmer or a chip, you really need gauges first.

If you do end up going the chip route, make sure you get custom tunes. Lots of "TS" style chips out there.... but custom tunes will do the least amout of wear on you engine and tranny, and it will work much better.

I have PHP's tunes, top notch group to deal with. (Small, family company, but they have been doing the powerstroke tuning for a long time!)

 

First of all...welcome to FTE! You've found a great place to learn a lot about your truck, and you will save yourself tons of money and headaches by taking care of things yourself.

1. I love my Amsoil for synthetic, but Shell Rotella T is EXCELLENT dino oil. You can get 6 gallons at Sam's Club for $62, so I'd recommend using Rotella for now. Use either the Motorcraft FL1995 or Fleetguard LF3974 (stratapore) or LF3630 (normal) oil filters.

2. I would change all fluids: Motor oil with Shell Rotella T, do a complete transmission flush with new Wix filter, complete radiator flush and change to either GOLD or Extended Life Coolant, brake fluid (most people never do this, which is scary), and rear differential gear lube (I highly recommend getting Amsoil gear lube for this part).

3. I love my Michelin LTX tires. You might want to upgrade to the Load Balance "E" tires, but they are very stiff. I like the 285s.

4. Steering pump...gotta ask someone who has better knowledge than I.

5. Absolutely air intake first, open up exhaust second, and get gauges third. Then, and only then, is it safe to chip your truck...especially if towing.

 

Congrats on the new truck!

To make sure its going to last a long time all you need to do is keep up on maintenance. Sometimes small breaks will occur but you can deal with those when they happen. Change the all fluids and filters some time this week and call it good for now.

I'm skipping the tires and steering pump questions because I dont have much to contribute to those.

As far as intake, exhaust, and tuner... 6637 is BY FAR the favorite intake around here. It is a DIY intake that is modeled after a "Big brand" aftermarket filter. If you look in my sig you will find a link to where to buy it and instructions on the 10-15 min install. The filter is about 3 times as big, and a lot louder!

For exhaust I noticed quite a few people here with the MBRP 4" turbo back complete exhaust. I would recommend it, very easy and a good fair priced exhaust upgrade. They come in stainless or aluminum models, as well as muffler or no muffler. Depending on where you live I would go with a no muffler model to shave off some EGTs (exhaust gas temps) and some $$$, but check with your local laws first. Again, link in the sig.

DP Tuner is also a favorite here, and is this fourm sponsor. There are lots of options from high idle, tow, economy and more. It offers change on the fly and is easy to install. I do not own one (yet) but many people here do and would be happy to tell you what they think!

Congrats on the new truck you will love it!

 

Steering pump noise is usually a sigh of going bad but sometimes u can fix it I did on my old 77 ford 150 I had go to orilies or wall mart and get the STP fluid and add it or even better draining it it's worth the money and worked for me

 

First and foremost, Welcome to the 7.3 side of FTE. We are a brotherhood. There are no dumb questions.
It sounds like you picked up a great ride. we all love pics!
your ? about oils A lot of us use synthetic. You have a great resource right in your backyard. www.truck-mods.com/ Pete is is a great member here,F250_, lives near Birmingham and he is a Sheaffers distributor. its great oil and Pete is a great guy. if not Petes oil, I run the Rotella T6 5-40 syn. your truck will love it.

Change all you fluids over to synthetic. a little better mileage and less wear and tear.

Gauges first, then exhaust, air filter, etc. Clay at Riffraff is an excellent resource and he's one of us.www.riffraffdiesel.com

Chip or tuner? tuners are better then off the shelf chips and about the same amount of money. My preference is Power Hungry Performance. Bill's been working with these trucks since 1997. www.powerhungryperformance.com

whiny PS pump? wish I could answer that for you. I've changed fluids, replaced pumps and the blasted thing still squalls like a mashed cat.

lastly check out this link. #18, Kris did a fine job of laying out common mods and results
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/5...nfusion-2.html

Barney

 

For tires I have the Bridgestone Dueler AT Revo 2s. I use my truck 80% daily driver, 15% tow a 5er, and 5% offroad, and they are a fine compromise that does it all well. When I got it the PO had just put on a set of Toyo Open Country HTs, and while they were great on the road, as you'd expect (HT after all) they sucked in the rocks. Offroad many guys like Nitto Terra Grapplers.

I balk at the price of synthetic oil (it takes almost 4 gallons of that stuff ferchrissakes) so I usually run Rotella. I currently have Delo in it, cuz when the time came that's all I could get. No complaints.

There is a lot of valuable experience on this forum, guys will help you out and you can keep your truck running better than new. First get your new fluids and filters, and once you have all that sorted and your ready to learn more, check out the failure prevention thread.

You're gonna love that truck.

 

Welcome to FTE. Let's start with the whining noise since those are annoying. Your steering system takes ATF, not power steering fluid. Guess which one you probably have in the system? A synthetic ATF will work even better. Here is the procedure to flush the system (the fluid comes out slower than you would think) Ford Super Duty Power Steering Flush | Superdutypsd.com

Changing all your fluids is an excellent idea. Change your fuel filter also. If you want to change the transmission fluid yourself, here is the procedure for that Changing ATF Fluid in a E4OD and 4R100 transmission .: Articles
Don't forget to flush out your brake fluid as well. Doing that every year or two is always a good idea. If you need any help with other fluid changes, just ask.

Go ahead and check a few basics under the hood. Start off by closely inspecting your air filter box to make sure it is sealing well. Look inside the tube between the filter and the turbo. You don't want to see any dust inside there. If the box is not sealing well it's time to change intakes. Then if you notice the big silver pipes on the motor. There are rubber boots at the end of those pipes. Clean the boots up a little with simple green and a rag and make sure there are no tears in them. Tighten the hose clamps on each of the boots to make sure they are snug. Don't over tighten. On top of the motor where the silver tubes connect into an X shaped piece, clean the 2 orange boots on the bottom half of the X. Check those hose clamps as well. The ones on the passenger side always seem to come loose.

I would suggest planning on doing the in-tank mods as one of your first mods to go ahead and get that out of the way. Welcome to guzzle's In-tank Hutch Mod Web Page This will prevent you from having those screens inside the fuel tank clogging up when you least expect it.

In the mean time you can do some reading on here and determine your other plans. If you're going to be towing a big trailer and you have an auto, I'd suggest an auxiliary transmission cooler (big one), installing a shift kit, and putting in a set of gauges would be a good idea as well. We can help with the how-to's on that stuff as well.

 

Wow, really good writeup for how to do the steering fluid, I had been wondering about that! Thanks!

 

I am so appreciative and grateful for all your input. Blown away at the knowledge!!!! I really do feel like i just joined a undefeated team. Now comes the fun part getting under the hood and making it happen. I'll post updates to keep you up on it oh and I'll get some pictures to

 

Straight-pipe that sucker! The turbo is louder and it has an awesome sound. Just a little drone from the exhaust. I was afraid it would annoy me but it definitely doesn't. Welcome to FTE. Ask all the questions that you want. There are no stupid questions. These guys on here are super knowledgeable and go out of there way to help. Just keep your eyes open, you'll see what I mean!

 

sounds like a plan man, im sorta new as well and i learnd verry quick the people here r awesome and verry friendley and know tons

i jist bough my 2002 f350 7.3 tuesday but been around diesel all my life so u gotts lots of good stuff to put in that brain of yours

 

About the Bridgestone Dueler Revo tires...I had a set, and loved them. But, I was highly disappointed in the mileage I got out of them (as in how long they lasted, not MPG), even with no towing and only paved-road driving. Great tires, don't get me wrong, but my friend got 65,000+ miles on his Michelin LTX tires, so I bought a set and LOVE THEM. Then I bought his Excursion PSD that had the new set of LTX 285s, and like them even more.

If you need AT tires, those Dueler Revos are great! If it's mostly highway, I'd suggest Michelins.