[CamoGirl]

I am slowly upgrading my 02 7.3- I am the original owner and have babied it- I have put the Donaldson Blue 6637 air filter on it- am scheduled MBRP 4" straight exhaust install next week and after that I was thinking about the PHP Hydra chip with tunes by 1023- The thought of a little more power and better fuel efficiency appeals to me especially when towing my little 6000 pound travel trailer in the mountains- the one thing that I was wondering about was the fact that many of us are familiar with the dilemma of transmission failure for some reason with these 7.3's....my original tranny failed at 73,000 miles- and as I said I take impeccable care of my truck and drive very responsibly, so failure wasn't because I was abusing it.....so Ford installed a new tranny.....now I am at 112,000 miles and although I would love to get a chip I am a little concerned that it may put undue stress on this new tranny and possibly cause another transmission failure.....is my concern valid- or am I just being paranoid?? I would appreciate feedback from others that have knowledge on my position and can give me their educated opinion- Thanks!

 

[kbnw15]

As with most power adders the simple answer to your question is yes it will add extra stress. How much is dependent on a lot of other things. One thing a lot of the folks on here recommend on the 7.3 is upgrading the trans cooler to the 6.0 cooler. I believe it is bigger and helps keep everything cooler.

Honestly though if you were to go with the chip and some tunes that are good you should be ok since you aren't trying to push stupid high hp or really go railing on the thing. But definitely look into upgrading that cooler.

 

[CamoGirl]

Great suggestion....thanks so much!!

 

[00t444e]

If your driving around with a heavy foot in the highest tune all the time then yes it will shorten your transmission life, but if you drive normally, only tow in the tow tunes, and keep an eye on transmission temp then it will last a lot longer. If you don't have them already get boost, egt and transmission temp gauges before you get the Hydra.

 

[CamoGirl]

If your driving around with a heavy foot in the highest tune all the time then yes it will shorten your transmission life, but if you drive normally, only tow in the tow tunes, and keep an eye on transmission temp then it will last a lot longer. If you don't have them already get boost, egt and transmission temp gauges before you get the Hydra.

Good idea....thanks!!

 

[7.3_TurboDiesel]

As said, monitoring trans temp and keeping up with fluid/filter maintenance goes a long way

The trans in my truck went 347,000 miles before I replaced it. It was still working perfectly, I just replaced it as preventative maintenance

The truck was beat on by a high schooler with a TS6 chip on the 140 tune before I bought it, and I beat on it near the end of its service life towing with 160/30s and tunes for a modified valve body that I did not yet have

In other words, you’ll be fine


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[CamoGirl]

As said, monitoring trans temp and keeping up with fluid/filter maintenance goes a long way

The trans in my truck went 347,000 miles before I replaced it. It was still working perfectly, I just replaced it as preventative maintenance

The truck was beat on by a high schooler with a TS6 chip on the 140 tune before I bought it, and I beat on it near the end of its service life towing with 160/30s and tunes for a modified valve body that I did not yet have

In other words, you’ll be fine


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks so much for your great email and photo....especially the last line....LOL....I feel better....thank you!

 

[Left Coast Geek]

I've found that its pretty easy to cruise in 3rd and 4th/OD with the torque converter locked up nearly all the time, and when the TC is locked, the transmission doesn't heat up. now, my truck is stock, but I can't see how adding more pookah to the engine would change this, unless you heavy-foot the throttle around shifts without giving the TC a chance to lock up in the new gear. In my experience, the worst shift is the 4->3 shift on a grade under load, like towing. I manually disable OD before the grade starts and before I've had to get on the throttle, and the TC can lock up, THEN I get on the throttle. Drive around for a few days with TorquePro (and a bluetooth ODB thingie) and a display showing gear and TC lockup, and you'll figure it out in short order.

 

[JustinOOO9]

Why spend the money on subpar 1023 tunes. The hydra will come with 5+ tunes for free via the software you install to program it. I would try the standard php library tunes before 1023s any day. I’ve run custom tunes on 6.0l, 6.7L powerstroke and cummins, and my 7.3l. Try the standard php tunes first. Bill (the god father of 7.3l tunes) built php/most tunes are based of his programming with minor tweaks for bigger injectors, shifting parenters etc.

 

[CamoGirl]

Why spend the money on subpar 1023 tunes. The hydra will come with 5+ tunes for free via the software you install to program it. I would try the standard php library tunes before 1023s any day. I’ve run custom tunes on 6.0l, 6.7L powerstroke and cummins, and my 7.3l. Try the standard php tunes first. Bill (the god father of 7.3l tunes) built php/most tunes are based of his programming with minor tweaks for bigger injectors, shifting parenters etc.

Thanks for the suggestion....I just automatically figured that I would go with the 1023 tunes because it seems that everyone with 7.3's rave about them.....I haven't heard of anyone saying anything about the standard programmed tunes with the Hydra.....if I am going to spend the money on the Hydra I am looking to "Optimize" responsiveness, pulling power and fuel efficiency...so I was just keeping my ears tunes to what everyone else is saying about the PHP Hydra and what type of tunes they are running....again, I am not looking to blow lots of smoke and burn down the road....I love my truck and take care of it....I am looking to optimize the power, responsiveness and fuel efficiency- thanks for the suggestion about trying out the standard tunes that come with it....that probably would be the best approach!

 

[SUPER-STROKE]

I am slowly upgrading my 02 7.3- I am the original owner and have babied it- I have put the Donaldson Blue 6637 air filter on it- am scheduled MBRP 4" straight exhaust install next week and after that I was thinking about the PHP Hydra chip with tunes by 1023- The thought of a little more power and better fuel efficiency appeals to me especially when towing my little 6000 pound travel trailer in the mountains- the one thing that I was wondering about was the fact that many of us are familiar with the dilemma of transmission failure for some reason with these 7.3's....my original tranny failed at 73,000 miles- and as I said I take impeccable care of my truck and drive very responsibly, so failure wasn't because I was abusing it.....so Ford installed a new tranny.....now I am at 112,000 miles and although I would love to get a chip I am a little concerned that it may put undue stress on this new tranny and possibly cause another transmission failure.....is my concern valid- or am I just being paranoid?? I would appreciate feedback from others that have knowledge on my position and can give me their educated opinion- Thanks!

Get a trans go tigger kit installed in your trans and a deep oil pan and a big trans cooler to replace the factory small one. Preferably the 6.0 heavy duty cooler. Bolts right in place.

Then you will be all set with no worries. That is the cheapest way to be safe.

Your next step would be to have a nice triple disc billet torque converter installed. Then you will have no worries when towing.


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[JustinOOO9]

Honestly if you just daily drive and tow...

a modified valvebody from John woods it Bryan truck shop would improve shifting. Making things a bit firmer makes you feel the shift more but is better for the transmission since sliding smoothly into gears raises heat and wear to make it feel smooth but you want a nice firm
Bump for low heat and quick shifts to improve transmission life.

each tune Will have a different shift pattern to maximize power, and life. But... a modified valvebody is a very worth while investment since it’s a mechanical performance mod. Will not hurt at all only improve the life of a transmission.

my truck tows 5th wheels, skidsteers, dump trailers, side by side boats,you name it.

the modified valve body, 2008+ mirror upgrade and the wicked wheel two turbo wheel were big helps In improving the truck without tuning. I have the php hydra but it’s been in a box for two years. I like it but I have felt fine with not winning races etc.

 

[CamoGirl]

Honestly if you just daily drive and tow...

a modified valvebody from John woods it Bryan truck shop would improve shifting. Making things a bit firmer makes you feel the shift more but is better for the transmission since sliding smoothly into gears raises heat and wear to make it feel smooth but you want a nice firm
Bump for low heat and quick shifts to improve transmission life.

each tune Will have a different shift pattern to maximize power, and life. But... a modified valvebody is a very worth while investment since it’s a mechanical performance mod. Will not hurt at all only improve the life of a transmission.

my truck tows 5th wheels, skidsteers, dump trailers, side by side boats,you name it.

the modified valve body, 2008+ mirror upgrade and the wicked wheel two turbo wheel were big helps In improving the truck without tuning. I have the php hydra but it’s been in a box for two years. I like it but I have felt fine with not winning races etc.

YIKES.....landslide....LOL....I do appreciate everyone's input....but I didn't realize just how MANY different approaches there would be...I have a mobile pet grooming service, so my (mostly) daily driver is my Ford E350 gas engine high top van....my 7.3 is in the carport most of the time, hence the 112,000.....I was thinking that jazzing the performance up a little might be fun....but there seem to be so many aspects of the tuner upgrade that I need to consider....there seems to be a lot of things(and a lot of money) that I probably should spend beforehand IF I want a tuner...to be smart about things.....so I am still wondering if getting a tuner is worth it in the long run(for me)....I've got the Donaldson Blue installed....getting the 4" straight exhaust....I am thinking that upgrading the tranny cooler to the 6.0 larger one is probably the next thing...between now and then I will continue to educate myself on this tuner idea......The experts say that the stock auto transmissions in these 7.3's are great yet so many people have transmission failure on these 7.3's and not even the experts can say why-.....my stock transmission failed at 73.000 miles and I take impeccable care of maintenence….and I drive like an old lady....I usually am driving empty nd when I do tow, it is a 6,000 pound camper, which is nothing compared to what many people town with their 7.3's....it's frustrating....I wish there was a more clear answer to this whole issue....Thanks again for your input-

 

[JustinOOO9]

Honestly.... tuner will take years to pay you back. Talking maybe .5mpg boost max over time.

The transmission cooler with help a ton. Reduces trans temperature and improved life tremendously. Honestly my two favorite upgrades are the 6.0l transmission cooler. And the 2008 mirrors.

the 3rd is the turbo wheel. The php hydra is cool but again I haven’t used mine since before 2018 and love the truck just as much.

 

[CamoGirl]

Honestly.... tuner will take years to pay you back. Talking maybe .5mpg boost max over time.

The transmission cooler with help a ton. Reduces trans temperature and improved life tremendously. Honestly my two favorite upgrades are the 6.0l transmission cooler. And the 2008 mirrors.

the 3rd is the turbo wheel. The php hydra is cool but again I haven’t used mine since before 2018 and love the truck just as much.

Thanks again for your input....sounds like you have a point.....sigh ….I've always been practical- even though I was thinking about having a little "Fun", skipping the tuner, at least for now, sounds like the smarter choice....since I plan on driving this truck until God calls my name, my first consideration needs to be on Longevity for the truck....good input, thank you.