New to fords question

[jtb51b]

I bought my first powerstroke truck a couple days ago. I am a cummins guy from way back, those I know about. This truck is a 2000 f550 with a 7.3, 6 speed manual trans and 4.88 gears, 2wd and a dump body. What can I safely do to this truck to increase power and fuel economy? I have been doing some reading but it seems that I am going around in circles here. I will be using the truck around the farm, might haul 5 tons in the bed (I know its over GVW), might tow around 10,000 lbs at other times (Mini excavator). The truck seems to not have near the power my dodge trucks have pulling the same load with similar HP and much higher gears. Maybe I am just not used to the V8 diesels? What sort of upgrades should I look at and what sort of ford specific problems are there to be aware of when upgrading? I already know about EGT's, too much boost pressure ETC.. Thanks in advance for the help!

Jason

[blue99stroker]

well you could do DIY 6637 intake, 4 inch exhaust, egt guage and chip from either php, dp tuner, tony wildman, tyrant diesel, beans diesel.
those are the most basic upgrades done.
your looking at about 600-800 bucks for quite bit more power and gas milage if you can drive sane haha

[chrisgrimes2186]

agreed with previous post...depends on how much money you want to invest and what kind of power you want. You need to varify if you have PMRods or forged rods which will tell you where to stop if budget allows. You have a great engine there....if it doesnt seem like its making enough power you need to make sure everything is running right. I pull a 13k lb camper and it pulls great with much lower gears (3.73)

[jtb51b]

I guess the truck is running right. It does pull ok, just not how I am used to a diesel 1 ton+ doing.. The only thing I can find that I believe is wrong with the truck is the fan clutch engages a LOT.. If I run 55 MPH with the truck EMPTY (10,400) the fan clutch will be engaged when I get to the next light. I have had it to 65 or so on the freeway loaded and unloaded and it will get there just not real strong. What sort of RPM's should I be shifting this truck at? Loaded it seems to need a lot higher than I am used to to keep some power up. Also, NO BLACK SMOKE, whatsoever, any time, no matter the load and how much I lug or rev the engine. None.. This seems a bit odd to me.. Any ideas? Maybe I should be in the problems section instead of just figuring these trucks were not very powerful in stock form. BTW, what sort of RPM's should I run as a max sustained? With these gears I run about 2500 at 63--ish.. Is that too much to run at for say 100 mile trips?

Thanks in advance,
Jason

[Fantom]

I have the same truck in an 01 that I bought new. I'll run at 65-70 mph for long trips, it's no big deal. But to be honest with you, I would never think of tuning a big truck, especially if it was my money-maker. Tuning is adding extra stress to parts that are already being stressed from the extra load. I know you're not doing it to race it, but breakdowns still occur and tend to occur more often from extra HP. But that's just my opinion.

Here's a picture of mine after getting it all cleaned up

[jtb51b]

I was really only considering tuning the truck to help it work better. I really have no need for big HP or fast speeds with this sort of load. Does your truck act similar to mine as far as the fan clutch? Where do you shift yours loaded? When its unloaded I can lug mine a bit with no troubles but loaded is different. What about smoke? Do you ever see ANY? Thanks again, forums are a great tool as long as there are good people!

Jason

[Fantom]

The best thing you can do is exhaust and intake to let that big motor breathe. To be honest I've only had the fan come on a handful of times, mine tends to run cool. I think you should get something similar to the edge insight to monitor temps. Oil, coolant, trans and egt. My truck is an auto, couldn't deal with a 6-speed, especially after a long day's work. I have a bit of smoke at idle, but I think it may be a leaking injector. As far as the load, I usually haul 6 ton of asphalt in the bed without a problem. I'll tell you, those 6 tons sure fill that dump box

[jtb51b]

Oh, ok. If you have an auto trans then you probably have different gears than mine.. Might also be tougher to hear the fan clutch on an auto since you really cant rev up before you leave the light.. Hmmm, I might just replace it and see..

I do not have an owners manual for this truck. Does anyone know what fuse 3 under the hood is for? Its a 5 am Mini.. Mine was blown, I replaced it and its stayed good but nothing seems to have started working, guess everything works.

JAson

[Fantom]

I have 4.88s in my truck also. Not sure what that fuse is for, my truck's at the yard and I'm at home, sorry.

[jtb51b]

Those 4.88's sure are high strung. I found out the fuses. I searched and found where a member posted a link to owners manuals and I downloaded mine. I am going to go check them all to make sure everything is good. BTW that was a trailer tow fuse, and the wrong size at that!

Jason