Newbie! with a '04 KR CC LB FX4

[jberylec]

Hello all! What an awesome crowd!
I'm new to diesel, and new to this forum
I have a few questions if ya'll dont mind...

1. Does my new (used, lol) truck have the 5 speed TorqueShift trans? Or the older 4 spd?

2. What rear gear does it have? 3.73 or 4.10 and does it have limited slip?

3. I have a 100k mile warranty, so I dont want to mess with anything that could affect that, so where do I start with mods to get a little more take off power, better deeper exhaust sound (any chance getting it to sound like a 7.3?), and of coarse how about a few extra mpg around town because I do a lot of city driving.

I think I'm sold on doing the '05 front end conversion (bumper and grille, etc), 4" lift, some 18"s with all terrains, and of coarse a better sound system. What do you think? Good start? I dont want to go too big with lift because I'd still like to easily tow a ski boat and/or some other small toys. Basically, it still needs to be practical

Thank you all in advance
I'm excited about joinging the club. Love my diesel!

[DoubleDpsd]

Originally Posted by jberylec

Hello all! What an awesome crowd!
I'm new to diesel, and new to this forum
I have a few questions if ya'll dont mind...

1. Does my new (used, lol) truck have the 5 speed TorqueShift trans? Or the older 4 spd?

2. What rear gear does it have? 3.73 or 4.10 and does it have limited slip?

3. I have a 100k mile warranty, so I dont want to mess with anything that could affect that, so where do I start with mods to get a little more take off power, better deeper exhaust sound (any chance getting it to sound like a 7.3?), and of coarse how about a few extra mpg around town because I do a lot of city driving.

I think I'm sold on doing the '05 front end conversion (bumper and grille, etc), 4" lift, some 18"s with all terrains, and of coarse a better sound system. What do you think? Good start? I dont want to go too big with lift because I'd still like to easily tow a ski boat and/or some other small toys. Basically, it still needs to be practical

Thank you all in advance
I'm excited about joinging the club. Love my diesel!

1. 5speed
2. 3.73 dont know about limited slip, would assume on a $40,000 truck. lol
3. depending how picky your dealer is, if you do any aftermarket modifications to motor, exhaust, intake, chip..etc they can void your warranty. Any aftermarket exhaust will give you a good sound but you have a 6.0L therefore it won't sound like a 7.3L. Talk to your dealer and whoever is in charge of warranty there and see what they agree with. what that dealer agrees with might be different then the one down the road.

on the lift you can do a hanger/shackle kit if you want to keep stock springs and steering geometry. hope this helps.

[jberylec]

Originally Posted by darsey715

1. 5speed
2. 3.73 dont know about limited slip, would assume on a $40,000 truck. lol
3. depending how picky your dealer is, if you do any aftermarket modifications to motor, exhaust, intake, chip..etc they can void your warranty. Any aftermarket exhaust will give you a good sound but you have a 6.0L therefore it won't sound like a 7.3L. Talk to your dealer and whoever is in charge of warranty there and see what they agree with. what that dealer agrees with might be different then the one down the road.

on the lift you can do a hanger/shackle kit if you want to keep stock springs and steering geometry. hope this helps.

Thanks! Nice truck! Your lift looks just about the size I was looking for. Is that 4"? What brand? How's the ride?

And by the sound of a 7.3 I meant the differences in the mufflers out there... which ones will give me that deep throaty sound (as close to 7.3 sound as possible). Or is straight pipe the best bet? Will it still be deep and throaty like a banks muffler, etc..

TIA

[DoubleDpsd]

Originally Posted by jberylec

Thanks! Nice truck! Your lift looks just about the size I was looking for. Is that 4"? What brand? How's the ride?

And by the sound of a 7.3 I meant the differences in the mufflers out there... which ones will give me that deep throaty sound (as close to 7.3 sound as possible). Or is straight pipe the best bet? Will it still be deep and throaty like a banks muffler, etc..

TIA

It's a 4.5" Donahoe Racing hanger kit. It rides about 50% better then stock. To get the "throatiest" lol sound I would suggest a complete turbo back kit with aftermarket muffler and stock cat in place, that should drown out any turbo whistle you would generally hear from an 04 turbo and give it more of a "flowmaster" type sound. A turbo back will lower EGT's around 100 degrees I would guess. good luck.

[jberylec]

Originally Posted by darsey715

It's a 4.5" Donahoe Racing hanger kit. It rides about 50% better then stock. To get the "throatiest" lol sound I would suggest a complete turbo back kit with aftermarket muffler and stock cat in place, that should drown out any turbo whistle you would generally hear from an 04 turbo and give it more of a "flowmaster" type sound. A turbo back will lower EGT's around 100 degrees I would guess. good luck.

Ok so yours is just the shackles? You kept the stock springs? That sounds cheap, and nice smooth ride

And for the exhaust, I dont wanna lose the whistle! I loooove that I dont want the flowmaster sound either. Dang what am I trying to say? LOL
I'll probably just got with 4" or 5" cat-back with no muffler. That should do it. I wish there were sound files somewhere Back in my Mustang days I could find sound samples, videos, etc on just about anything before buying

[stump0331]

[DoubleDpsd]

Originally Posted by jberylec

Ok so yours is just the shackles? You kept the stock springs? That sounds cheap, and nice smooth ride

And for the exhaust, I dont wanna lose the whistle! I loooove that I dont want the flowmaster sound either. Dang what am I trying to say? LOL
I'll probably just got with 4" or 5" cat-back with no muffler. That should do it. I wish there were sound files somewhere Back in my Mustang days I could find sound samples, videos, etc on just about anything before buying

yea it's a 4.5" shackle/hanger kit in the front with new bilstein shocks. It was $800ish for the lift kit and shocks. stock springs in front and rear until this friday Im gonna put a F350 block in the rear to lift it up cuz there is too much rake. If you do a shackle/hanger kit the brand of the kit doens't really matter it comes down to what shocks you use. good luck. I posted this video on another thread and I dont know if you have stock exhaust but if you did a 4" turbo back with no muffler or cat this is what it would sound like. video on Automotive excuse all the mumbo jumbo my dad is a funny guy. lol

[jberylec]

Wow your turbo is extreemly loud! I like it I've read that the '04 used a different quieter turbo than '03, true?

Anyhow, what did the lift and 35" tires do to your mileage? For me, I think it would help because with the city driving I do it's hard to stay in the right gear, maybe the taller tires will help, resulting in lower RPMS... I dunno

That's a bada$$ truck man, I like it

[DoubleDpsd]

Originally Posted by jberylec

Wow your turbo is extreemly loud! I like it I've read that the '04 used a different quieter turbo than '03, true?

Anyhow, what did the lift and 35" tires do to your mileage? For me, I think it would help because with the city driving I do it's hard to stay in the right gear, maybe the taller tires will help, resulting in lower RPMS... I dunno

That's a bada$$ truck man, I like it

thats what i've heard as well. not 100% sure though. My mileage isn't too much worse, probably around 16-18ish. I haven't run a whole tank through it yet of all highway or city so im not too sure. the overhead computer says 15.2. The bigger tires with stock gearing did result in lower rpms, at 70mph im around 1800 and 700 degrees. hope this all helps.

[Raul@Stealth Automotive]

Originally Posted by jberylec

Wow your turbo is extreemly loud! I like it I've read that the '04 used a different quieter turbo than '03, true?

Anyhow, what did the lift and 35" tires do to your mileage? For me, I think it would help because with the city driving I do it's hard to stay in the right gear, maybe the taller tires will help, resulting in lower RPMS... I dunno

That's a bada$$ truck man, I like it

well after i put the 35" tires on mine i saw a small decrease in milege but after i installed the exhaust and intake i got more back... currently getting around 16mpg city driving.... just fyi but im running a special on some procomp or fabtech lifts right now... let me know if your interested....

-Raul