1st diesel

[banana]

I have had, and modified gasoline powered trucks, but this is my first diesel. i got a 97 f250hd. I have been searching this site and others to try to learn more about this vehicle and how to modify it for more power. is there a how to source/book. i did get a haynes tech book for diesel engine repair, but as i said b4 i never had a diesel so some of the stuff is ?. I love the truck its great but part of the fun is seeing what you can do with it. some of the questions i have... does removing the cat make a noticeable difference? What is an epv and will modifying it damage anything else? I have noticed that many of the programers on the market recommend exhaust and intakes with them is this due to temp? any guidance would be appreciated.

 

[whatabudro]

Welcome to the site banana. I am also new to diesels as my 2000 I have owned since new is my first. I have learned most everything I do know from diesel forums. I will let the old body style guys and guys that know much more than I answer the questions you have asked. The reason for exhaust is for temprature though. Bryan

 

[BJS]

There is no real how to manual written on how to modify a diesel so for the sake of posterity I'll write it here simply put

"add fuel until it smokes black then add air until you clear it up, repeat as required to gain sufficent power"

Ok so that's the short and sweet of it but as far as the 7.3 goes you aren't going to need to modify the internals like you would for a gas motor. With the Old Body Style (OBS) trucks we already have forged connecting rods so we have the the internals to push 400 w/o any concerns. Adding fuel comes with chips, you'll max out your stock injectors rather quickly so additional fuel comes from a larger capacity injector. I

The intake on these trucks seals poorly and has been known to allow dirt past which will damage your turbo. K&N filters are a bad thing for diesels as they don't stop all of the dirt with the high negative pressure and due to the filtration design. You'll find that the "tymar" intake is the easiest & most popular for these trucks, you can buy it for about 100 or build it yourself for about 70. you'll use a 45* 4" diameter exhaust elbow the correct band clamp and the monster paper filter.

Exhaust- your stock downpipe needs to be replaced to allow for the air to flow away from the turbo with minimal restriction. Cat removal or gutting is quite common and will help to reduce exhaust restrictions.

The detail that I failed to mention earlier was that you will need to monitor your EGT's (Exhaust Gas Temps) to prevent damage to the engine. it is best to monitor temps in the manifold or what you'll find called pre-turbo. This mounting position does require you to drill & tap your manifold but it's not very difficult.

If you have an automatic you will end up spending as much or more upgrading or modifying your transmission as you do on the engine in search of power. The stock torque converters won't hold up well to the power you can make with these engines. If you are planning on staying with stock injectors you can order the stock converter for a superduty and it will hold all of the power you can make. If you're going with injectors you'll need an aftermarket torque converter, prices range from 700 to 1300. Either way you'll need an upgraded valve body or rebuild it with a transgo kit which will help to improve the shift quality and reduce the buildup of excessive trans temperatures. and you'll want an additional transmission cooler the tru-cool 4950 is what many have and are quite pleased with no matter what they are towing.


Since you just read through that and you were thankful that you've got the old trusty standby of a manual transmission, you don't get away easy either. your clutch won't hold power even w/ stock injectors. And you're stock flywheel is a dual mass balance design which quite frankly deserves to be used as a discus in olympic competition because that's about what it's good for. They are a "standard wear part" according to ford and they do wear out somewhere between 100-150k for most people. So you'll need to replace that and please do yourself a favor and don't buy another DMFW but get a single mass replacement & appropriate clutch to hold the power you're looking ot build. Gee you're thinking that really sucks, but I'm not done yet you also get to deal with a clutch bushing linkage that wears out. you'll find the best answer is a heim joint from ebay will solve your problems.

And finally before you modify anything please get guages. If you're a manual trans you need EGT & Boost. If you're an auto you need to add a transmission temp to that also. The boost guage is a good way to keep an eye on the engine and how hard it's working as well as to ensure you don't overboost your engine which can cause blown headgaskets & damage the turbo.

 

[94f450sd]

what he said^^^^

but you should also look into an intercooler.you can get a superduty intercooler off ebay for around 100.00 and get the pipe kit from www.gtsmotorsports.com for around 700.00.now after all that was mentioned above you think youre done modding,right?well guess what,youre not!!after you get a good chip and injectors you will be pushing around 30PSI of boost,the stock turbo doesnt like that too well.im on my 2nd turbo already.youll want to upgrade to an H2e or the like. www.beansdieselperformance.com is building a drop in turbo kit for our trucks.i also highly recomend beans for the injectors or anything else you may want.and just when you think youre done youll need BIG OIL.get the stealth high pressure oil pump(HPOP) system from beans but you will also need beans fuel system in order for it to fit.unless your planning on huge power you and most guys can get away with running the humped super duty HPOP.im running one for now till i get my new stealth HPOP system back,i had a few problems with the first one.

if you are going to go for bigger than stage 1 injectors dont even waste your time or money on the stock auto tranny,if you have an automatic.spend the money and do it right the first time.get a monsterbox from www.dieselsite.com or a BTS from www.brianstruckshop.com .its 4-5,000.00 very well spent.i have the monsterbox and have no regrets or complaints about it.and dont worry cuz youre still not done.if you run the stealth HPOP you can now run HUGE injectors.and dont forget all the different chip programs.bean can set you up with a sweet chip with some seriously scarey programs!!

if you deal with beans you wont be sorry.hes an excellent person to buy from or chat with on the phone if he has time.his customer service is excellent!!!

 

[95_stroker]

Both BJS and 94 are right, but lets not scare the pants off this guy just yet. First question to ask is how much power do you want? There are a few what I call dime store mods that you can do that will wake things up and make a different truck out of her over her stock fit and trim. Things like the 10K mod, shimming the FPR, EOT mod and others. If you are considering a programmer then yes, you need to do the intake and downpipe, doing something with the cat is a good idea also. A set of guages (at least a pyro) is important. Modifying the EBPV wont hurt your truck at all, but if you live in a really cold climate you may choose to leave it alone. It's primary job is to help the engine warm up faster on a cold start. Alot of guys unhook it and physically remove it from the turbo outlet. Some guys just wire it on a switch so it can only come on when they want it to come on......

Welcome to the site. Glad to have you.

 

[tubzz]

you can also change you exshauts housing a 1.0 housing works great with stage1's injectors and a .84 housing for stock injectors but if you go bigger than stage1's you will want to stay with the stock 1.15 housing.the smaller housing will give you faster spool up.
you should start with the basic mods first( gauges,open intake and a down-pipe) you need them for all other mods down the road.just a intake,down-pipe and a chip or programmer.will make the truck run good.it all depends on what you want out of the truck.to tow a house or smoke them dodge's or both at the same time.
be warn their is no cure for the fever thats about to come over you .
if you have a question just ask don't worry how stupid you may think it is.we have all been their wondering what or how something is done or works .
good luck and welcome to the site

 

[Crumm]

lets not scare the pants off this guy just yet.

Isn't that what we do when we are spending someone else's money

 

[KansasDiesel]

Isn't that what we do when we are spending someone else's money

So right, I have spent more since I joined here.

Banana, welcome to the happy world of Diesel Performance, I won't add anything looks like most of the guys have started you in the way to spend $$$$. It is an addiction, looking for every spare dime to spend, even working a second job so the wife won't complain.

I have done very little in the way of mods, and am happy, yes I want to do more but other priorities prevail. I do suggest BDP, at least stage 1 injectors and a multi-level chip, and gauges. that will show you considerable improvements on the stock system. Before that you need the downpipe ( my truck had one when I bought it) and suggest the HP filter.

Happy shopping.

 

[banana]

thank you all for the responses, sounds like intake, downpipe, and exhaust will be my first improvements. thanks again.