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xXxSilveradoxXx's 1997 F-250 build

15K views 149 replies 15 participants last post by  Orin250 
#1 ·
Last Friday I picked up my first Ford, a 1997 PSD F-250. I bought it from a family friend and also my Landlord. It had sat next to his shop for years, and finally he decided to get rid of it. $1,000 later, and she was mine! The truck has 263,000 miles, an automatic transmission, 4:10 gearing, a tool box/fuel tank and a Boggs Equipment Repair & Fabrication rear bumper. Other than that, it's stock.







The truck also came with a set of Alcoa's. They weren't in the best shape, but neither was the truck. Both sets of tires were shot, so I needed a new set. I ended up going with a set of Toyo Open Country R/Ts in 265/75R16.







My plan, as of right now, is to do some maintenance, fix a couple little quirks and then do my power/longevity mods.
 
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#5 ·
I wasn't the first to hear about him wanting to get rid of his truck. I was honestly surprised nobody picked it up before me!

Nothing is set in stone, but as of right now, this is what I'm thinking:
Performance
-turbo-back straight pipe dual exhaust
-6637 mod
-tuning

Longevity
-E-Fuel with a Walbro GSL392BX and Cat filters
-Probably going to have to beef up the transmission
-Possibly an intercooler

Exterior
-Frosted clear blinker lights
-LED bulbs in stock housings (switchbacks on the front blinkers)
-Possibly LED light bar
-Possibly remove side molding

Interior
-Gauges (Pyro, Boost, Trans)
-Possibly HPOP, but still researching that
-Possibly tearing out the carpet and bed coating the floor

I'm also tinkering with an idea I have to use the EBPV as an exhaust brake. After that, I'm not sure. Maybe a Dana 60 front axle, maybe Super Duty Axles, maybe a turbo and fuel. I'd like to just keep it at the list above, but I'm addicted to modding. I can't keep something stock to save my life.
 
#3 ·
First thing's first, the truck has a moderate fuel leak. It's coming from the sensor or heater that is pictured below.



I've seen that people have had problems with various parts of the fuel filter canister assembly leaking. I would rather not rebuild the whole thing, considering an e-fuel system is in my future.

The next thing I need to concentrate on it fixing the shifter. That thing has major play in it. I could see it falling off or breaking at any time, which would result in me probably being stranded somewhere.

The last thing to be done is get interior door handles. I'm not sure if I want to just buy a set, or it I want to fabricate something up. Either way, it's a major PITA not having them!



The lowest things on my to do list are to fix, or remove the sagging headliner and decide if I want to remove the side molding.



 
#6 ·
I absolutely LOVE LMC, they're way better than the dealership! They have two kinds of handles, chrome and black. I'm just not sure if I would rather have something custom. The truck had the chrome ones originally, but I'll probably end up with the plain black.

Speaking of LMC, they have a nice Bronco on the cover right now. I wish I knew the tire/wheel/suspension specs on that thing!

 
#7 ·
That thing is DIRTY! I vote for custom door handles btw.
 
#9 ·
#12 ·
I thought long and hard about custom door handles, but couldn't come up with anything that I liked. Plus, it was hard to beat LMC's $20 for a pair of plain, black handles. I ordered those up, and a pair of stock replacement tail lights. My driver's side tail light is horizontally split on the outside, and a big chunk of the inside is missing. I can actually see the tail light bulbs from the tie down hole on the top of the bed. So, I'll be installing those when they come in.

I figured out that the part that was leaking on my fuel filter canister was the fuel filter restriction switch. After seeing that the switch was $50, and knowing that I'm going to the e-fuel setup anyway, I decided to just get a 1/8" NPT plug and plug the hole. I also changed the fuel filter.



It wasn't nearly as bad as the one in my Cummins a couple weeks earlier!

 
#13 ·
Yea definitly not as bad, but still not good. Haha If you want a cheap headliner you can pull that one off and go to the fabric store and buy fabric and spray glue. That is what I did for my 97 f150 as well as my lightning.
 
#14 ·
Thats a really good idea. Did you have any problem with the cloth sticking to the headliner foam, or with the glue working through the cloth and making it sticky? I've been thinking it was either fix the headliner, remove it completely or have beadliner sprayed on as a headliner.

I had to run some errands, and decided to take my wingman, Otis! :grin:



 
#18 ·
I didn't have any problems with it at all on either. The one has been done for about 8 years and is still holding up great and the other is only a couple years old.

Force Field Fast Tack Uphol Adhesive 12Oz | Jo-Ann

Headliner Spray Glue | Jo-Ann

I used something similar to this. And just found a fabric I liked to do mine in. And it was easiest to pull the whole headliner out. Cardboard and all and do it out of the truck then put it back in.
 
#20 ·
I didn't have any problems with it at all on either. The one has been done for about 8 years and is still holding up great and the other is only a couple years old.

I used something similar to this. And just found a fabric I liked to do mine in. And it was easiest to pull the whole headliner out. Cardboard and all and do it out of the truck then put it back in.
Really?! That sounds like it's actually a really easy, good fix! Looks like that mod is in my near future! :beer:
 
#19 ·
Not much has gone on in the last week, as far as my truck has been concerned. We've started to work up the ground in preparation for planting rice.





I was going to do some maintenance to my Dodge Ram and my F-250 as well as maintenance and install some goodies on my girl's Trailblazer this weekend. Things were good until I got the Trailblazer on the lift and noticed this...



Needless to say, it took all day Saturday to locate and get a lower control arm. So, no love for my trucks last weekend. :crying:
 
#21 ·
It is. Let me know if you need any help. When I did it I layed it down on top op if before I sprayed any glue down. Then folded half back sprayed the liner as well as the fabric and worked from the center out. Then did the same with the other half.
 
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#22 ·
Will do! I'm going to be doing that at the same time as I do my gauges and fix my shifter, which I want to do before I do ANY performance mods.

I ended up hitting up Retro Solutions and ordered up a HID kit and some LED tail light bulbs for my new housings. I've already got a spare LED switchback for the front, just need to decide if I want clear stock looking parking/blinker lights, or if I want to go with something else.
 
#23 · (Edited)
I was able to get the Old Man's 34 Ford off the lift the other day and was able to get the F-250 on.



Looked everything over and things seem good. It's an old farm truck, so it's not the cleanest, but most everything is in good working order. The only thing that is completely shot are the u-joints in the front end.



Luckily for me, the front end isn't making any noise with the hubs unlocked, so the front end is good for now (as long as I don't need four wheel drive). So, sometime soon i need to either replace the u-joints, get a Dana 60 from an OBS or I need to get Superduty axles.
 
#24 ·
Is that your antenna fighting the ceiling tile? :hehe:
 
#27 ·
You got a great deal on that truck! Probably paid more for the new tires than you got the truck for. Enjoy it :thumb: The 7.3 may not be the most powerful of the powerstrokes but it's probably the most dependable
 
#28 ·
I had a few minutes today between running errands so I decided to install the new tail lights and the LED bulbs in them. I got the tail lights from LMC and the LEDs from Retro Solutions.













Yeah, luckily I had the spare cash and the heads up on the deal. The stars just happened to align for me. Yeah, I dropped more on tires than I did for the truck! It's actually a very enjoyable truck. Don't get me wrong, I love my Dodge Ram too, but it's nice not having to really worry about EGTs, trans temps and breaking things.
 
#35 ·
I just got the 7.3 saturday, haven't had a chance to do anything to it yet. Got the title & plates today. Plan is air intake, turbo back straight exhaust and still not sure if a chip or tuner. Still researching, leaning toward the tuner for the monitoring.
Once you get that thing home just fix what's leaking, maybe the tranny rear since you have it out. May as well change the rest of the fluid and screen too. I wouldn't do the engine rear unless it's leaking
 
#36 ·
I just got the 7.3 saturday, haven't had a chance to do anything to it yet. Got the title & plates today. Plan is air intake, turbo back straight exhaust and still not sure if a chip or tuner. Still researching, leaning toward the tuner for the monitoring.

Once you get that thing home just fix what's leaking, maybe the tranny rear since you have it out. May as well change the rest of the fluid and screen too. I wouldn't do the engine rear unless it's leaking

There is no good monitors that tune. I say buy a cts2 and the hydra. @Corey@CNCFAB has a deal on both of them.
 
#42 ·
I would be looking at the front seal too and upgrading the trans cooler to a 6.0 Trans cooler.
 
#46 ·
After doing some research on the 6.0/26-Row cooler, I learned that it's much harder to get an intercooler in with a 6.0 cooler in there. I decided to go with the Tru-Cool Max 40,000 GVW transmission cooler. I saw a member on here, in another thread, said that he had both the 6.0 cooler and the Tru-Cool, and noticed no difference between the two. I think the Tru-Cool will be just fine. If it isn't, I can always upgrade later. I actually ordered two of the Tru-Cool coolers, one for the Ford and one for the Dodge. When I built up the transmission in the Dodge, I found somebody that had the same transmission in their truck and copied their ATF cooling setup. I didn't really stop to think that their truck was pretty much a track only truck any mine was a daily driver! Needless to say, the transmission in the Dodge can get pretty hot and an upgrade is long overdue!

I also ordered up a Viton input shaft seal so that should be on it's way before too long. I've also decided to go with Autometer Factory match gauges in the truck, so a trans temp gauge will also be on it's way soon.



Lastly, with the transmission out, I want to do anything I can to make my life easier in the future. I know that when people install a 3" downpipe, they can have problems with a seam on the firewall and/or an ear on the transmission. I'm planning on removing the ear on the transmission and clearing the firewall in anticipation of a full exhaust. Is there anything anyone else can thing of to do with the transmission out?
 
#48 ·
I would do uppipes while you have the trans out. Way easier with all the room. If you hadn't ordered the trans cooler yet I was going to say you could have my stock one. I am getting ready to pull mine off this weekend and put the 6.0 in my superduty.
 
#50 ·
I did some research on up-pipes, they seem to be quite a problem for OBS guys. I like Irate Diesel's one piece up pipe. It's on the more expensive side, but it's one piece and, by design, gets away from using two gaskets. I may have to take full advantage of having the transmission out!



Thanks for the offer of the transmission cooler, but I had ordered mine a day before my last post and they actually arrived this morning.

Prices went up here too mostly cause it turns out we're sitting on top of 2 of the richest shale patches in the country, the Marcellus & the Utica. So fracking really took off till the prices fell last year. I've had offers for my mineral rights of over 4 times what I paid for the farm but I'm not selling. Just the lease paid the farm off plus...:)
I name my cows and mess with em but I have no problem taking one to the butcher shop every year. ;) The chickens, sheep, & goats are all my wife & boy's. I do like the fresh eggs & goat milk though. The way it works is, they take care of the animals and I keep everything running
Sounds like quite the life you've made for yourself! .......I still couldn't send one of my barnyard friends to freezer camp! :rofl:
 
#53 ·
That's a heavy beast with the transfer case on it. Hope the input seal fixes your problem. At least out in CA you don't have the rust issues we have here, where they spread tons of salt every winter.
My 7.3 decided the oil pan was rusty enough and it was time to start leaking. I got a new one coming from Autonation Ford White Bear Lake. They have the best prices on OEM parts even with the shipping charges, and they're a site sponsor too. I'm not looking forward to the replacement job though. I'm planning on trying to jack up the cab and motor and not pull it all the way if I can. I know it's possible so we'll see.
OK, good luck with the tranny, and take care of your nuts :)
 
#54 ·
I think the new input shaft seal will fix the problem. I saw in another thread that a guy swapped out his tail lights for LEDs and his transmission stopped locking up. He ended up wiring in resistors and they fixed the problem. I switched out the lights to LEDs before I went to Oroville so I'm thinking that caused my torque converter to not lock up, resulting in overheating the transmission. I'm still going to look everything over, but I'm fairly sure that was the problem. At least this time I'll have a Viton input shaft seal and a transmission temperature gauge. I've already got the resistors, so I'll also be wiring them in too. Now all I've got to wait for is the one-piece up pipe.

Man, that salt is brutal. My girl's 2004 Trailblazer is from back East and it's pretty rusty. Underneath my California 2004 Dodge is completely free of anything other than light surface rust.
 
#57 ·
Can't believe you scored that truck for $1k lol... I work in Marysville so let me know if you need any help. Im a newer 7.3l owner but learned from a 6.0 and I'll be replacing the axel spindle/needle bearing tomorrow on my 99 7.3l.


if your wanting to firm up the shifting a sonnax shift kit can really help reduce slippage. a valve body does the same thing but its expensive to go that route.

I would check your front axels out too. be a good idea to grease everything up and inspect it.
 
#58 ·
Sorry for the lack of updates, I've been slammed at work and the Dodge (my daily) needed some work. My friend, Logan, broke his ankle/foot Memorial Day Weekend so I have had no help with the truck or work. Anyway, I've accumulated parts and am finally slowing down enough with work to show some love to my F-250.

The Irate one-piece up pipe is gorgeous! I kind of feel bad that it'll be basically hidden once installed.







I've been eyeballing a spot for the transmission temperature gauge. I haven't measured yet, but it looks like it'll be tight if it fits.



Holding the gauge over the spot where I want to put it. The gauge face is a few inches closer to the camera, so it looks bigger than it is.



The new transmission cooler, a Tru-Cool 40,000 GVWR cooler



Since I haven't used my flare tool in a while, I made a practice flare. It looks stock!



I also picked up a Transgo Tugger shift kit and some other, various transmission parts.



I found this in my transmission parts package. It was just in this little plastic bag. Anybody have any idea what it is from?

 
#60 ·
Yep 6.4 is common rail, everything about the 6.4 costs more. Doesn't help it was only out for a few years. Very maint. intensive, or unforgiving for lack of maintenance. Mine ran great but the head gasket was starting to go and the oil cooler was bad. I put a BPD oil to air cooler in it. Plus it had the rust issues I mentioned earlier.
When we got the 7.3 it was a supercab and so was the 6.4. We needed a crew cab so the 6.4 had to go. Got a sweet 05 King Ranch.
And the 6.0 has the same type of injectors as the 7.3, they have known issues, HGs, oil cooler, EGR cooler. But they also have known solutions, ARP studs, BPD oil cooler, and EGR delete. It's also rare for a 6.0 to grenade like a 6.4 can. Not saying it can't happen, just rare, the 6.4's were notorious for catastrophic failure. Figure if I'm going to have a money pit I may as well have one that can be bullet proofed. Would have also taken a nice 7.3 crew but couldn't find one, and by getting an 05 I got the more modern front suspension so it rides and handles pretty good.
 
#61 · (Edited)
With the transmission out, and having to remove the cobra-head downpipe to massage the firewall, I decided to pick up an exhaust. I preferred to just get the downpipe, but after crunching numbers, it made sense to just bite the bullet and get a full exhaust. I decided to pick up a Diamond Eye straight pipe, dual exhaust (Part #:K4309S-RP). After trying to order it up, I found out that nobody would ship the exhaust to California... So, I decided to take a drive to the promised land!



Luckily I was able to pick the girl up after work on Friday and head to Reno. Stayed at the Silver Legacy and the next morning picked up my exhaust. Since I knew the straight pipe exhausts weren't able to be shipped to California, I decided to pick up an exhaust for my Cummins while there. It's basically the same setup I have for my Ford; Diamond Eye straight pipe (this time 5"), dual exhaust.



So, now I have yet another thing on my Ford's to-do list!



Yep 6.4 is common rail, everything about the 6.4 costs more. Doesn't help it was only out for a few years. Very maint. intensive, or unforgiving for lack of maintenance...
I'm still new to this Powerstroke's injector setup, but it seems so goofy to me! Common Rail makes so much more sense in my mind. Was the 6.4's problems due to the common rail design, or the engine design? Seems to me like the 7.3, at least the OBS 7.3s, had really small injectors from the factory. I could see where if the 6.4s had larger injectors that were tuned down, people would get in over their heads with tuners.

...Figure if I'm going to have a money pit I may as well have one that can be bullet proofed...
True story.

...Got a sweet 05 King Ranch....
I've seen some King Ranch trucks. Those like a limited/special edition Lariat?
 
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