Hey guys I'm going down to my local dealer on Saturday to pick up my new truck. Ok the truck is far from new but I digress. I am buying a 2002 f350 7.3L four door short bed. It runs nice and sounds great. What after market parts can I put on this and not mess anything up. I'm not going to chip or aftermarket air filter it I know those screw with trucks. Thanks guys

 

If you plan to mod it first rule of thumb,
EGT GAUGE! #1 if auto Trans gauge then if its got a stock intake housing (Get rid of it, excluding the AIS, which everyone likes for some reason, or you can go with 6637 wich is a good choice, exhaust is not necessarily needed but a good 4" turbo back would be nice.

Then comes the real question
What are you going to use your truck for? Towing?Daily driven? Both? Or a full blown sled puller, 1/4 mile dragster? This will come into a consideration when it comes to the good stuff, such as injectors, tunes, turbos, etc etc, lets us know and we'll be happy to assist you

 

This is my daily drive and work truck. No hualing yet but probably in the future. By after market I mean just putting modern parts in to replace old tech. Is there a good guage system to monitor truck vitals ( temps, amps, boost, etc.) Also I live in western NY so we do get cold here but not yet. Should I have the truck oil, lubed and filtered before we get a cold spell and what is the best option for oil, oil filters and fuel filters. Thank again.

 

Firstly be fore we start any mods, we need to be sure that truck is healthy, then depending upon how/what is there address a few "factory flaws" then address the gauges and other things that will be useful...


I'm going to assume that the truck is bone stock.

So first thing to address (MHO) is the air box, if you see one similar to the one pictured (look for failed tabs on the box facing the front of the truck) and they have failed, it's time for it to go.




Get the AIS if you are keeping to stock/MILD build, anything more a 6633(I think) filter is good for)

AIS IS PICTURED BELOW



Second is the CPS, (I forget which colour is the good type) but IIRC if you see black or grey get a spare, preferably a blue or purple (I think) as the 7.3 is known to eat CPS at times, and are usually at the most in opportunistic moments too, Riff Raff is good for the OEM STUFF,

Third get bellowed up pipes, the factory ones will leak, it just a Matter of when, not if

Then I would go with the others who posted as well, then only once you know what you're truck is doing should the "mods" come!!

As for your service questions, yes have all fluids changed, and flushed if able, both engine and transmission, engine is 14 quarts, trans is I think (to best of memory) 7 to 10 total, filters should be changed, unless you have definitive paperwork, that shows this has already been done to the track and afterwards have been changed and paperwork, that shows this has already been done to the track and our fluids have been changed and falling flashed fully flushed, make sure the dealership or whoever can provide any type of service records for this track if you're able to get your hands on that information


Edit: corrected mistype

 

Thanks for the info. I'll probably do the oil, lube and filter deal pretty soon. Total fuild swap refers to what exactly, I am assuming engine, transmission, radiator. But other than that what? When I go in on Saturday I will try and get more information on service records. I don't really plan to mod the truck persay just upgrade really. Merry Christmas guys.

 

Differentials, transfer case, brake fluid, etc...

When I bought my truck, I brought it home from where I bought it and it got a full service of all fluids and a good once over. It was mine by then, but I wanted to make sure all of the fluids were fresh and there was no problems about to stare me in the face.

Also, filters are good to replace including fuel, engine, coolant (if it has one) and transmission based on auto or manual.

I hadn't planned to mod my truck either, and the list below that I am now in the middle of doing may lead you to believe something different. Although, I don't see it as modding it, I see it as a refresh or update to newer and better technology. I am looking to accomplish the same amount of work with much less effort from the truck. Things were were designed and built 16 years ago can be much different than they are today. So, whether you say mod or update, just keep your end goal in sight and keep the truck safe, reliable and strong.

GearHead Tune
Exhaust/Turbo V-Clamp
MBRP Exhaust
Intake foam sleeve
Journal Bearing Rebuild Kit
CNC HPx
Wastegate Controller
Hole Saw Kit
470 ohm 1/2 Watt Resistor for EBPV/WG Solenoid
Vacuum Hose x 5ft for ESOF hubs
Bellowed Up-Pipes
RR 4/4 Turbo Wheel
High Flow Turbo Outlet
Blank Pedestal
Pedestal bolt kit
FP/EGT/Boost Gauges
Rear cross drilled/slotted rotors/pads
Diesel Site Max A/C mod
Blower Motor/resistor

 

Fluid and filter changes, Ford AIS intake, Exhaust Gas Temperature gauges for both sides, and a fuel pressure gauge. All the other important gauges can be done with an OBDII adapter, smartphone/tablet and an OBDII app like Torque Pro.

That covers the basics, and once you have those - you can learn if the truck is 100% or not.

 

Jaime was off only slightly, the engine does not take 14 gallons of oil and the trans does not hold 7-10 gallons either. The engine is 15 quarts and the trans would be 18 quarts is everything in the system was dry, which it never will be unless you replace everything with new.

Enjoy your "New" truck.

 

I personally knew this but thanks for the clarification. Lol. I will probably do the air filter upgrade and slowly do all the fluids. Also within the near future do and oil, lube, oil and fuel filter change so I know the maintenance is up to date. Thanks. Guys the truck dives nice and sure fun to hear a real truck run for once.

 

I am totally loving the new truck. She has her quirks but all in all a good solid truck. First order of business is to upgrade the air filter. Then do a much needed engine bay cleaning, add some more gauges to help with the monitoring of the vitals. I'd like to add some upgraded fog lamps and back up lights. I'll get around to doing more fluid changes in the near future. What have you guys done to your 7.3?

 

I bought my 2000 F-250 about 1.5 years ago now. When I first drove it 600 miles home, I thought to myself that it could be a really good truck. A friend of mine at work wanted to buy it off me and I told him that I didn't think I wanted to sell it.

This past summer, my wife and I towed our 30 ft 10K lbs travel trailer from GA to WA (Seattle) and totaled around 8K miles in all. The first day back at work seeing that same friend I told him I was ready to sell my truck now. I told him for no less than $35,000... This was because I had fallen in love with the brute strength and drive-ability of the truck. I installed a 45 gallon auxiliary tank, it has a ZF6 transmission and it does anything I have asked it to.

Enjoy the truck, get to know it and treat it right and it will not let you down.

 

Congratulations on the truck! I see a loooong happy relationship(had mine 5 years): -X22

 

I've had my truck for over 9 years and have put over 165K miles on it (it had 114K when I got it).

Love-hate. It goes in cycles for most folks, though for me, it has generally been more of a Love-Dislike cycle, and I honestly have not had very many cycles. When I was recently fighting front brake rotors/pads, u-joints, and center support bearing off and on for a month, I fell into the "hate" mode for the first time in 9 years. Having the truck back off the jack stands and on the road again, I'm back in the "love" mode.

With your truck being the same age, you should expect to see some of these cycles develop in the next several years.

Personally, due to the age of your truck, I would strongly suggest that you add an in-cab electronic fuel pressure gauge to your plans. I see an increasing frequency of fuel delivery issues on our aging trucks, and the gauge is an UNBEATABLE troubleshooting tool.

 

X2 on the fuel gauge. Most valuable troubleshooting tool.

 

Thanks guys, the truck so far has been good to me no real issues yet. I do have one thing in mind of the brands of tires out there what have you guys found to be the longest lasting on and off road tire. I will be eventually putting new tires on eventually and if like to know what guys like and why. Thanks.