7.3 Power or Going to 6.0 or the "C" word

[motoxfreak]

I have an 02 F350 with 227,000 miles on it. Stock original tranny and evything is working well. I have been doing mostly cosmetic mods for the last 4 years. I am now at the point where I want more power This motor is sluggish and so lame compared to all my friends with their 6.0s and a chip or programmer. The only things I have added for power is:
Superchip Programmer, K&N Intake (I know you hate them), MBRP 4" exaust and gears to get the big rubber turning. I tried the Chip from Tony, but my truck kept failing to start and my mechanic could not figure out why (Tony gave me a full refund, no questions asked).
Now I am at the point where I want a truck with a minimum of 450 horsepower and I feel like I don't have the right engine to do it without spending 20K on mine. I am in a quandry on whether to keep this one or build a 6.0, or worse yet, change brands. I realize I will need new rods and a stronger tranny, but want some advice on what to buy and who can possibly do the motor work and stay within a reasonable budget of say 10K. I am hoping to find a shop that is reliable here in the great state of Texas. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks very much.

 

[Tail_Gunner]

Give Dave Lott a call at Diesel Innovations. I believe he's in the Houston area. He has done more with a 7.3 than most. Between a new 7.3 or a 6.0, I'd take the 7.3 every time. For a while, used older 7.3's were getting more $$$ than newer used 6.0's.

 

[dpantazis]

tweaking your 7.3 will be cheaper than a new truck!

 

[BIG JOE]

tweaking your 7.3 will be cheaper than a new truck!

You Betcha..

 

[platinum01]

Give Dave Lott a call at Diesel Innovations. I believe he's in the Houston area. He has done more with a 7.3 than most.

X2 that. He is the one that built my tranny for him and he is the one that will be doing my motor work in a couple of months. He can do some awsome things with the 7.3L. Good luck with it and don't count out the 7.3L she is a good working engine, she just needs to be tuned right and then it will preform the right way for ya.

 

[motoxfreak]

I will give him a call. Thanks for the quick feedback. Anyone else?

 

[DragonSlayer]

I had a 6.0 and lost the head gaskets without power adders....I would still have my truck if it was a 7.3. I could not justify the continuing saga of the 6L, it has always had and always will be plauged(sp) with problems that Ford nor IHC can fix. Keep your truck now, and get it tuned and worked, they are coming out with some good stuff for the motors now. I just saw a new intake from "CFM", looks cool. Just my

 

[BJS]

to be quite honest I think a 10k budget is tight especially when you are throwing a transmission in that budget. Then you are looking at more power & adding forged rods to your engine and possibly a complete rebuild. on the balance 6k after a good trans that's tight even if you were doing all of the wrench turning, but if you're looking for a shop to do it then it becomes an unrealistic goal.

As far as your engine it could be in need of a complete rebuild or simply new injectors as this injector design is only expected to last around 100-150k while still providing power equal to day one, many people have injectors that have far more miles on them still operating fine.

I do not mean to discourage you but offer a bit of reality in your budget numbers.

All that aside. I think the 7.3 would be a better option to build than swapping in a 6.0 or trading trucks for a 6.0. If you are dead set on swapping engines and wanting power then a cummins 24V would be a better option not cheaper by any stretch.

Looking at the list of comming soon in your sig line, turbo can and should wait until you have bigger injectors.

You say you want 450hp minimum, so are you looking for 450hp that you can use towing a trailer, or just want 450hp to toy around with on the streets with a dyno sheet to back it up, but have less power available when you start using the truck for work. Actually deciding this will impact what you actually need to do to obtain your power and also the bottom line.

 

[motoxfreak]

Thanks so much for taking the time to write all that. First thing is that the 10K is money alloted before tranny work and a torque converter. That is budgeted after the fact. I just want the power for a quick street truck. I don't have to beat mustangs, but I want some real get up and go in this thing. I have spent so much time and money on the interior, I hate to sell it. If the items are just bolt on, I have a mechanic that can do pretty much anything such as install injectors, turbos, transmission, rear ends, and rods. But if it will come down to some kind of special honing or porting or putting the heads on a flow bench. Man, I don't even know what I am talking about, but I think you get the picture. So to speak, he can rebuild an engine pretty much, I just don't think he has the expertise to redesign a more powerful one. If someone told me that I should rebuild my engine and this is how it should be done. Get ____ pistons, rods and your crank should be fine. Send heads to ------ to get them ------- and order ----------injectors and a -------turbo and some -------head studs. Or maybe someone will say that I can just do studs, rods, pistons, injectors and put a water methanol system, or a nitrous system. I want something that you can tell me is a proven way to get the HP out of this thing. I didn't get to 230,000 miles on a stock tranny by hotrodding my truck all over. I respect my engine and want to take care of it. Then hopefully you can say "When you get this all done, you should easily crank 450 on the dyno and leave your transmission in the dust". Also if there is someone close by that can rebuild the transmission I have, and it would hold up to that horsepower that would be great. Hope this helps get a better idea of my expectations. Thanks again.

 

[hheynow]

many people have injectors that have far more miles on them still operating fine.

Like my originals with 306K