Keeping a Good Truck Good

[charkbait]

I've had my new to me 2004 with 36K miles on it for about 2 weeks now. The previous owner babied the hell out of it and it has an impecable maintenance record and the OASIS was pretty damn clean as well with only an EGR cleaning and standard recalls. Its idling and running a bit funny these days but goes to the dealer on Monday to get cleaned up and checked out.

So I want this truck to make it to the 300k mark and will invest what I need to in order to make that happen...it may take some time to round up the funds but I'll do what I need to.

Here is what I think my minimum will be:

ARP Studs and HG
Aftermarket EGR Cooler (I don't want to delete if I can get away with this setup)
Coolant filter
SCT with tunes
EGT guage at minimum (thinking livewire to kill two at once)
Exhaust

I'd like your opinions on the order that these make sense. Where I'm getting hung up is: Should I wait for these things to break before replacing, should I do them all at once or does it make sense to go cooler before studs and see what happens etc.

My thoughts at this point are:

Do the cooler and filter (since I can do this myself), get the livewire with EGT (again I can handle this), possibly some exhaust to let her breathe.

I drive like a grandpa but want a little better milage and the EGR valve shut off. Poor truck feels so de-tuned and I want to let her out a little.

So what are the flaws in my plan and what would you do if you were me.

Thanks in advance,
Ben

[abbe]

i think thats a good plan. make it run right before you make it run faster

[Abrannan19]

just know that with the EGR system still intact, its still possible for it to fail.

[charkbait]

indeed adam, not sure of the emissions implications of a delete here in MD, can't get a straight answer.

I'd prefer a delete just don't want to reinstall the factory one in 2 years when I need to get tested again (if that is indeed the case).

[charkbait]

so the other side of this is am I crazy for thinking of putting a tune on a truck that has no issues at this time and has the factory head bolts? Keeping in mind I'm not a racer or even hard on the pedal. Got 20.5 mpg (hand calc-ed) my last tank!

Will the heads lift regardless of my driving habits? OR, if I keep doing what I'm doing can I buy some time before the studs and HG?

[charkbait]

been doing some reading and getting more information.

I think my first steps will be:

just putting a cat delete on my existing exhaust keeping the cat for any inspections that I may need in the future. (will replace down the road, but I want to relieve some backpressure and hopefully lower EGT's)

I believe I will go with the bulletproof EGR cooler, looks simple enough. Any opinions on waiting for mine to blow up vs. getting ahead of it?

Coolant Filter - any recomendations?

I think I'll get the livewire with EGT probe and kill the tuner/gauge thing in one shot. They're on E-bay for $680 shipped and I'll put a pretty chill custom tune on there desinged for non-studded trucks.

I'll have enough coin left over for studs and gaskets but not the labor so I'll start squirreling away some more and wait to see what happens.

Objections?

[F350SD]

Originally Posted by charkbait

Coolant Filter - any recomendations?

I just recently purchased the coolant filter kit from Dieselsite.com

Great kit with all the necessary parts and good installation instructions with color photos. Reasonable price around $130. Great customer service - They had a question about my address and called me within an hour of placing my order to clarify; shipped it out the same day. I was very happy with the entire purchase. I'm gonna run it for a bit and then rip open the filter to see what, if anything, I find.

[Diesel Freak]

I would delete the EGR System..... Biggest Problem!!
Upgrade your exhaust system. Why bother with the heads unless there is no problem. If your gonna get hard on the GO-Pedal than YES..... you will eventually need studs if your get on that skinny pedal running hot tunes!!