I have an early model 99 F350 4X4 with the 7.3 and around 158K miles. Never opened up or chipped. Mileage is around 14-15 average. The only upgrades: 4 inch exhaust, cold air intake, Warn hubs, extra leafs and Rancho shocks, two Optima batteries, and a Jasper built 4r100 with Triple disc billet TC. I need some advice here fellas.

This is a tough and reliable truck. I want it to stay that way. Do you have suggestions for a turbo upgrade, such as a Ron Holland built E99 replacement ? He is one of the few that offers a turbo upgrade for stock applications. Also Injector upgrade suggestions ? AD, or Stage 1, 160/30 or 160/80 ??? I have no expertise in this area. Just looking for reliability, efficiency and LOW exhaust gas temps. Have my own injectors rebuilt to retain stock Injector poppet seats to keep fuel pressure at stock levels ?

Any advice you have would be greatly appreciated ! Not looking for exploding high performance parts. My life is exciting enough without catastrophic engine or transmission events. I haul horses and kids, so a breakdown is a big bad deal. Thank you -

 

Honestly, with 150k, I'd put gauges in it and leave it be. Except for some of the maintenance items that will occur with age, you're good. And your mileage is ok for what your doing with it.

 

Thank you for the fast response. As you can probably tell, I am not in a hurry to tear this old truck apart. I am just looking for good solid advice from drivers who have been there. Someday the injectors will go, and the stock bearing in the turbo will wear out. At that point I want to be prepared with a plan. I figure once I get up near 200K it will be time for injectors, turbo and fuel pump. Maybe glow plugs too, as they are OEM and original equipment. The truck starts okay down to 5 degrees, so they must be working still. No starting problems yet, or driveability issues such as surging or cutting out. At least not yet ! Any advice is welcome. Much appreciated !

 

Gee, sounds like a good truck, needing nothing. Doesn't sound like you bang on it too much either. Honestly, that turbo is solid as is, if anything put a whicked wheel in it and that's it. Get some better mileage with that, and small power gains, lower temps. I wouldn't touch those valve covers, everything under there has a long way to go. Long ways. If it were me. Id leave it, and spend the money on better oil and maintenance stuff to help it last longer. If it aint broke , don't fix it! I love that saying.

 

I like the way you think, Absolute ! These old rigs can take the weight and abuse, and just smile, chugging along uphill with a load on. I am not inclined to mess with a good thing, just don't know anyone with good advice for me. As for maintenance, I use all Motorcraft filters and parts, with Rotella T6 oil every 4000 miles, and change Hpop oil as well. Stanadyne in the tank from time to time. That's all she seems to need. I plug in when I can if it gets below 40 outside. Any maintenance suggestions ? My turbo concerns mostly center around the old thrust bearing design as opposed to the new 360 arrangement. Am I being a worrywort ? It's possible ! No turbo problems I have noticed yet, besides the usual slow spool-up time. As always, any advice is welcome. Thank you !

 

That bearing will last forever in a stock set up. They really only fail when the guys start doing power outers and get the boost over its design limit. So yours is just fine. Slow spool up isn't really normal. Have you ever looked for an exhaust leak? Maybe get some gauges. Its nice to be able to monitor boost, tranny temp, egts. If nothing is leaking then best solution for the "slow spool" is the whicked wheel. Its cheap, much lighter and more efficient. Lighter also means less stress on the bearing you worry about. As said. That's all I would do.

 

If you have not changed out the differential fluid in nearly 160K miles, then you should look into that. What about the transfer case fluid? Brake fluid?

You see where I am going with this?

If I were you I would not mess with much of anything and just change out the fluids that you have not done so yet.

I bought my truck with 228,000 miles and it was in good shape when I bought it. I drove it home 600 miles towing a 30 ft travel trailer and it did great. Since then, I have changed all the fluids and done the modifications in my signature as a preventative maintenance step and in an effort to make it run more efficient and smooth.

These truly are great trucks when they are kept up properly.

 

I thought the E99's came with Wicked Wheel from the factory?

 

Wow, you all know your stuff when it comes to the 7.3. OK, first off, all axles and transfer case have good synthetics, and PS pump flushed and filled as well. Brake fluid is fairly new, as are all hoses and the Motorcraft serpentine belt. Rotella in the engine, and I change the fuel filter twice a year as well as draining and cleaning the bowl.

Thanks for all the great info on Early 99 vs Late 99. I had no idea there were so many differences ! That explains why my cc light never lit up. I don't plan to switch out the PCM, but I will go to the better IDM -120 sooner or later to save my injectors. I have yet to run into any problems with any of the other differences. I did change out the hubs for Warn premium locking hubs tho, and upgraded to the new style fuel heater grid. God willing, this old truck will give me lots of trouble free miles.

Thanks to Absolute, Stinson, Sous and Colorado for all the help and great advice. It is so nice to have some backup from experienced diesel owners. You are gonna save me a lot of time, money, and heartache in the future, and some peace of mind too. It's all about having fun and enjoying life !

God bless, fellas !

 

For Colorado F350 :

I have been following your story on this site, and I gotta give you credit my friend. You don't give up. Hang in there with that old truck, you will get it all worked out ! Let us know what the final solution is. I am real curious to know what is causing your starting woes. Good luck to you.

 

If I were in your moccasins I'd drive it as is, researching your choices, getting a plan and some of the parts together. Then when one of the major E99 engine parts (see list above) goes belly up, swap to all the late model engine parts. Breaking the Early 99 chains ain't cheap but the late model has all the choice mild upgrade parts that can gain you a substantial power boost with almost stock reliability. These things are almost old enough to vote, 100% reliability just isn't a realistic expectation anyhow. Says the guy who relies on his truck to get to work every day. Plus replacing all those old parts with new helps too.

Fair amount of research and questions and wrenching involved, but it's all bolt on parts and it's the kind of project a mechanically inclined joe with determination can accomplish.

Your goals sound like AC code injectors and a OE late turbo with billet wheel to me. Or 38R turbo to if you can live without a rebuildable turbo. But you'll get lots of opinions.

 

Thank you for your time. You hit the nail on the head, those are my goals. Prevention, reliability, driveability and affordability. I don't need to be the biggest baddest rig on the road. These trucks have plenty of power for me. I just want to keep her going downrange. AC injectors are probably the best for my goals, and a mild turbo upgrade as well as a new fuel pump. These are all down- the- road goals, but not too far away.

My old Ford was a 6.9 idi, so when I climbed up into this one, I was completely satisfied with the mpgs, power, and overall utility of the stock 7.3 PS. I don't think Ford has made a better diesel, before or since.

Thanks again for all your help, information and advice. I am grateful. We are on the same page as far as improvements and upgrades. Have a nice day.

 

With AC injectors you will need a tuner or have your PCM flashed. For now I would change the HPOP to T500 when needed. When I chipped my e99 this made the best change in performance. Really made it come a live. I would do it with the AC injectors to. Ford changed it for a reason. Joey's T500 really works on the e99 trucks. I also gained almost 2 mpg. Maybe because it was chipped I don't know. Freeway driving and passing you can really notice it. I get rid of those front hubs to late hubs when needed also. Brake parts are much cheaper when you do. That requires rotors also. Good luck but if you chip it, it will be like driving a different truck.

 

Thanks for the advice, Bonanza. Can you tell me a little more about the T500 Hpop ? Never heard of it. What are the advantages, reasons to change over, etc ? How long have you been running it ? What chip is the best to use with this setup, in your opinion ? I know nothing about either one. I didn't know that a chip was needed for the AC injectors either. In short, I know nothing about performance mods, because I have not made any worth mentioning. Thank you for your time and advice. I do appreciate any information and input on these improvements.

 

The T500 is a stock pump that has been remanufactured with a few upgrades. It changes the oil flow in the engine in a way that can help the engine run smoother and be more responsive to elevated HP tunes. My truck was falling on its face, but I later learned the tune was too aggressive. I was advised to upgrade to the T500 HPOP, which I did. The performance took a leap and my engine sensor data confirmed what the SOTP accelerometer was telling me - the T500 helped a lot. Ultimately... it wasn't the cure for the problem - but it sure compensated for the root cause of the problem. Once I solved the problem - I had the foundation for some serious power upgrades with the T500.

Injectors and intakes: I don't know which CAI you installed, but the Ford AIS is maxed out with stock injectors on a chip. If you go bigger injectors, you need a bigger intake.

All that twist: I upgraded to a full-blown HD4R100 from Ford before I started surfing the engine upgrades. There is a valued member going through a nightmare scenario with his AC 160/30s. He makes big money plowing snow, he's in the snowstorm of a lifetime right now, and his 3rd or 4th attempt at getting the transmission to back his play just failed again. He has mods to upgrade the 4R100, but his particular use with the truck may very well demand more than a piecemeal approach. I have the AC 160/100s, but I don't plow snow. Instead - I conducted many tests to learn what the truck can and can't do:



What I learned was I can break everything in the truck except the transmission. Bent driveline, damaged U-joints, and spun pinion bearing occurred from axle-wrap. I had to install traction bars to keep from breakin' stuff.

Sure, the 100% nozzles are a lot of fun, but one can't drive like that without preloading a Buck$Zooka. I had my truck live-tuned, and the tunes I use are Warm-Up, Tow, and Daily Driver - never the race tune (the single time I used it is pictured above). Considering I went bigger sticks and dialed them back - if I were to do it over with a fresh truck, I would likely go the AC 160s with a stock nozzle. This injector is a nice balance of low-end torque, more HP than stock, cooler EGTs while towing (earlier injection event), good emissions, and utilizing the potential of the 7.3L without dropping debris along the way. IH engineers felt it was a good stick too, that's why it's available on a shelf.

In summary, my stance is stock AC or stock AD. Anything beyond that is putting a shop vac on the barrel of your Buck$Zooka.