Must have enhancements to a 7.3

[oomph]

Hello everyone,

Knew to the board here, new to trucks in general. I'm in the process of buying my first Ford Truck, it's a 2001 F250 Crew Cab /w a 7.3 liter engine.

It's not going to be my primary vehicle, it's more of a 3rd vehicle used for recreational and work purposes.

My father and I are going to be plowing this winter and I want to optimize the truck before the winter hits us.

My main questions are as follows:

I see lots of different tuners and chips, exhaust mods etc. What are the must have / essentials, that I should be looking to do to my truck first.

Aside from plowing, I will be using the truck to tow my Jeep Wrangler to the Outerbanks each summer, and my father is also buying a 24 foot car trailer to use on occasion for his business.

I'll likely start off with an A-Pillar Auto Meter gauge pod, so I can monitor my transmission temp, while plowing and my boost. What other guages are important to monitor? Would a triple gauge pod be enough? or should I just go foe the quad?

I'll continue to search these forums and google around for more answers, but if anyone would be kind enough to chime in and point me in the right direction, that would be great.

My goal is to optimize my highway miles fuel economy and be able to switch modes for towing and plowing as needed.

Thanks in advanced!

[7.3Lifted]

I don't know too much but I do knowthat besides trans, and boost you should also get the EGT gauge.

[scagmanf350]

I would do some suspension and transmission upgrades if your going to be plowing. Any tuning from SCT is good but I would go subtle on the tuning. And of course AFE air intake and exhaust system. Plenty of 7.3 guys will be chiming in shortly.

[oomph]

yeah, the transmission upgrades are at the top of my list. Plowing is pretty brutal on a tranny and from what I've read, the transmission on the 2001's is one of the weaker links in the vehicle.

Aftermarket transmission cooling is something I'd be interested in hearing more about.

I'll have a bed sander as well, so I may need air bags or something on my rear end .

[oomph]

I was looking at this gauge kit.

Thoughts?

ISSPRO Gauge Kits for Ford Powerstroke from DieselManor

Does the Pyrometer perform the same functions as the EGT? Or do I need a separate gauge for that?

[williamc51]

Yea you need a egt gauage your gonna want a custom tuned chip I belive you can get a 6.0 tourque convertor and put a 6.0 oil cooler on your truck besides that a transgo shift kit here is carys number at ct performance real good guy he can set you up with a complete package and he is real knowledgeable 7758353569

[williamc51]

Ask him about suspension too forget to put that in there

[oomph]

Would anyone recommend a shop in Northern VA or Southern MD area? I'll need to get some of this stuff installed and I would prefer to find a reputable shop.

[oomph]

Does using the 6.0 Torque converter help with the stall speeds? Where is the best place to get that? I saw something mentioned about it on powerstrokenation, there is a guy named John Wood that apparently does 6.0 conversions.

John Wood Automotive - Home

Can someone clarify all the benefits of this?

[wingnuts514]

egt and pyrometer are the same thing as far as i know, and its ALOT more important than knowing your boost. an additional tranny cooler is a nice upgrade as well, I went with this one off ebay. took less than an hour and the mount holes already line up with the two center supports of the grille frame. TRANSMISSION COOLER HD 40,000 GVW TOW TOWING TRU-COOL: eBay Motors (item 3802720y04848 end time Oct-22-10 22:02:43 PDT)