Just bought our first 7.3; signed up for the forums...

[greater_than_five]

Howdy all-

Just wanting to say hi, as well as ask for advice.

We just purchased an 01, 2WD excursion with a 7.3L. It represents our first excursion, as well as our first diesel.
We did some research and figured this is what we want. We have a growing family, and I'm going through veterinary medical school, so we need something to last, fit all of us, and maintain some semblance of affordable gas mileage.
Despite looking into things, we've still got a lot to learn about this engine and application in particular. In fact, we've got a lot to learn about the diesel platform in general.

Anyways, we're repairing the front ball joint and getting a set of new tires. Gas mileage is our greater priority, and we would like to know if there are specific additions to the vehicle that we can make to improve MPG.

Please remember we're newbies (to the forum, and to the diesel world) so speak "slowly"

Thanks guys!

[jesilvas]

The most popular modifications are getting rid of the stock air box set up and installing a DIY/6637/Tymar intake.
After that, getting rid of the muffler and catalytic convertor, if equipped, will help the motor breathe.

I made my Samsung SGH-I997 send this.

[Turbostang500]

[dieselcrawler]

Welcome!!! Excursions are a great family vehicle... We have 5 kids, and make use of ours daily... it's my wife's primary vehicle. Ours is 4x4, so the fuel (not gas!) mileage isn't as great as yours might be, as it has less weight to drag around being 2wd. All 3 of ours get about 12-14 MPG, with mixed driving, mostly around town and West Virginia hills and back country roads. Best I've gotten is 16 MPG from the red truck when I took it to NC about 2 years ago, and kept the speed down... 60-65 MPH is the sweet spot for mileage.

Like they stated above, the DIY intake/6637 filter mod is the most cost effective intake/filter out there, install takes about 15-20 minutes with basic hand tools. It's the first thing I do to a 7.3 PSD! Next, ditch the stock muffler, it's the bottle neck in the exhaust system. Either straight pipe it, or install a straight-thru style muffler, the sound increase is minimal. On my straight piped trucks, I do run a chrome exhaust tip, but it has some small baffels/glass-pack style packing in them, and it takes the edge off the straight piped sound to the point that it's not objectionable at all, and even without, it's not too loud.

Get some gauges... Boost, EGT, trans temp, are a must-have. Then a quality chip with some custom tunes. I like DP Tuner, have them in both trucks, and picked up loads of power driving the way I always do and get the same mileage, or if I can keep my foot out of it, gain about 2-3 MPG across the board. I can't keep my foot out of it... I drive with the passenger side window down (even in the winter, at times!) to hear the turbo whistle from the straight pipe!

Post up some pic's of the new ride... welcome to the fine family of Excursion owners!

[greater_than_five]

Thanks guys, for the advice. The DIY intake seems pretty quick and easy.

As far as tailpipe/muffler is concerned, since this is going to be our "family car", I'd like to keep the noise level as reasonable as possible. Ideally, I'd like to have some muffler on there. What mufflers could you recommend that would help with MPG/HP?

Originally Posted by dieselcrawler

Welcome!!! Excursions are a great family vehicle... We have 5 kids, and make use of ours daily... it's my wife's primary vehicle. Ours is 4x4, so the fuel (not gas!) mileage isn't as great as yours might be, as it has less weight to drag around being 2wd. All 3 of ours get about 12-14 MPG, with mixed driving, mostly around town and West Virginia hills and back country roads. Best I've gotten is 16 MPG from the red truck when I took it to NC about 2 years ago, and kept the speed down... 60-65 MPH is the sweet spot for mileage.

Like they stated above, the DIY intake/6637 filter mod is the most cost effective intake/filter out there, install takes about 15-20 minutes with basic hand tools. It's the first thing I do to a 7.3 PSD! Next, ditch the stock muffler, it's the bottle neck in the exhaust system. Either straight pipe it, or install a straight-thru style muffler, the sound increase is minimal. On my straight piped trucks, I do run a chrome exhaust tip, but it has some small baffels/glass-pack style packing in them, and it takes the edge off the straight piped sound to the point that it's not objectionable at all, and even without, it's not too loud.

Get some gauges... Boost, EGT, trans temp, are a must-have. Then a quality chip with some custom tunes. I like DP Tuner, have them in both trucks, and picked up loads of power driving the way I always do and get the same mileage, or if I can keep my foot out of it, gain about 2-3 MPG across the board. I can't keep my foot out of it... I drive with the passenger side window down (even in the winter, at times!) to hear the turbo whistle from the straight pipe!

Post up some pic's of the new ride... welcome to the fine family of Excursion owners!

[jesilvas]

My Walker BTM is pretty normal sounding inside, but it's a pickup. It's free flowing and cheap

I made my Samsung SGH-I997 send this.

[dieselcrawler]

side by side compairison of my red truck, which is straight piped but does have the 'glass pack muffler tip', and the wife's Excursion, which still has the stock muffler, the sound isn't too diffrent. I'm almost to the point of taking the tip off all together, just because I wouldn't mind if it was a little louder... kid down the street has a 6.0 that I'm pretty sure is straight piped, and my red truck is LOADS quieter than his. His is really loud, I can hear him 2 blocks away when I'm inside the house.

The walker BTM (big truck muffler) is a popular choice for thoes who do want better flow, but stock noise level. Anything to get rid of the stock muffer that necks the 3.5" stock exhaust down to 2.5" will be a vast improvement.

[jermcd]

welcome to the org! always liked the ex just needed something with a bed to haul things. diesel is the sure way to go in that vehicle.

[AzPatMan]

Welcome to the .ORG!

ZooDad mod - plenty of Discussion on this.
And x3 on the upgrade of the Air Filter, from the DIY's, or even after market, should easily pick you a 2 to 3 MPG (I know that's what I picked up after doing the ZooDad mod.)
As strange as this sounds - regular oil changes. Keep in mind that these diesels use pressurized oil to actuate the injectors. So Clean(er)/Fresh(er) oil will keep the injectors happy.

[greater_than_five]

Originally Posted by jesilvas

The most popular modifications are getting rid of the stock air box set up and installing a DIY/6637/Tymar intake.
After that, getting rid of the muffler and catalytic convertor, if equipped, will help the motor breathe.

I made my Samsung SGH-I997 send this.

And out of curiosity, how does the Tymar 6637 compare to the Ford/Donaldson AIS?