I know there are a ton of powerstroke forums out there, but they tend to lean toward the brodozer side. That's not me. I've got a 115,000 mile 1997 F250 HD Powerstroke. I like it quite a bit. This last weekend I towed a 12,000 lb triple axle enclosed trailer with it 500 miles, and while it was great on the interstate- it struggled on some long hills and especially up Monteagle mountain. I'll only tow this trailer a couple of times a year probably, but it's annoying to me that my dad's 2000 V10 pulls better. So i'm considering adding a 6 position switch to the truck to add some power when towing. I don't care anything about rolling coal or anything like that, I just don't want to fall on it's face headed up the mountain again. Does anyone else have experience with this? Btw, I've got the 3.55 gears on this I think. It runs 70 mpg at about 1900 rpm.
I do, I ran a TC chip in my last 7.3 PowerStroke. I really liked it, even on a hotter tune it got better MPGs.
Shoot me a message if you decide to go that route. I work at a diesel performance shop.
Also interested, have a '00 F-350 7.3 all stock as far as I know. It's my DD and tow a 24' enclosed.
Professor_Brap said:
I do, I ran a TC chip in my last 7.3 PowerStroke. I really liked it, even on a hotter tune it got better MPGs.
Shoot me a message if you decide to go that route. I work at a diesel performance shop.
sweet! will do. thanks a lot. I'm new to diesel
In reply to rslifkin :
1997. Thanks, though it had put that.
Don't forget to upgrade the injectors. Just one or 2 steps up should be enough.
In reply to markwemple :
isn't that like crazy money?
On a 97 you'll probably want to add an intercooler before turning up the power. The early 215hp 7.3 PSD doesn't have one. IIRC, you can transplant the one off a 99+ (which were anywhere from 230 - 275 hp stock depending on year and trans).
In reply to markwemple :
Zero need for injectors if your just doing a small tuner on a mostly stock truck.
In reply to Professor_Brap :
I have questions. May I message you?
SVreX
MegaDork
6/13/18 3:05 p.m.
ALL trucks struggle up Monteagle Mountain.
My dd is a 1999 7.3L chipped powerstroke with 560,000 miles. I tow a lot.
Intercooler first. Then any OBD port tuner with multiple power modes. Most have “Economy”, “Towing”, and “Power”. Push a button to change it.
You should be fine with stock injectors, unless you time for Power. But then, you’ll want to upgrade your exhaust.
My truck never leaves “Economy”, even when I’m towing. Half a million miles...
What intercooler did you change to?
In reply to grover :
Most upgrade injectors are cheaper than OEM. THe labor is a big hit but not if you do it yourself.
markwemple said:
In reply to grover :
Most upgrade injectors are cheaper than OEM. THe labor is a big hit but not if you do it yourself.
They all seem to be $1000+.
Mostly good info has been noted before. If you are yanking with it, an intercooler will make a big difference, search the diesel forums, its been done 100x and is cheap if you go with used OEM parts, which will be fine until you start making big power.
You didn't say if manual trans or auto but with an auto, some tuners are good (custom tunes) and some are not ideal (Edge) since if they don't tune the trans it will not live long behind a spun up engine.
My last truck (2002 7.3, 300k, original unopened trans) had a Superchips downloaded tune and then a Bully Dog switchable, both were "OK" but not fantastic. Superchips tune was pretty weak and the Bully Dog had some fishbiting.
Current truck (also a 2002 7.3) has a bigger HPOP, injectors, and a TS tune. Its awesome.
So yeah - switchable tune, get an intercooler, make sure everything else is up to snuff, stock injectors should be OK for a bit.
SVreX
MegaDork
6/13/18 5:04 p.m.
In reply to markwemple :
I didn’t change the intercooler. It’s a ‘99. Came from the factory that way
In reply to SVreX :
Yeah, all 99 to 03s did. By your statement, I thought you meant upgrading yours. Is yours a 99 or a 99.5?
SVreX
MegaDork
6/13/18 5:16 p.m.
In reply to markwemple :
I wasn’t saying what I did to mine. I was offering advice as to what he should do to his.
Mine is just a tune. No other mods at all.
Cotton
PowerDork
6/13/18 5:51 p.m.
SVreX said:
ALL trucks struggle up Monteagle Mountain.
My dd is a 1999 7.3L chipped powerstroke with 560,000 miles. I tow a lot.
Intercooler first. Then any OBD port tuner with multiple power modes. Most have “Economy”, “Towing”, and “Power”. Push a button to change it.
You should be fine with stock injectors, unless you time for Power. But then, you’ll want to upgrade your exhaust.
My truck never leaves “Economy”, even when I’m towing. Half a million miles...
No, not all trucks struggle up Monteagle. My old truck, a tuned 02 k3500, and my current stock 2013 k3500 both ate it up. Both duramax/Allison trucks. Of course those aren’t early powerstroke trucks if that’s what you meant.
For my 95 f-super duty I went with TS 6 position chip and baby swamp injectors, which is Swamp Diesels mildest performance injector. It really woke the truck up! I also have a down pipe that should help a good bit, but haven’t installed it yet. I’m probably done after that since I don’t really use this truck much anymore.
In reply to Cotton :
The allison is the best trans but the duramax, umm........
The newer diesels certainly have more power but the older ones, especially the powerstroke and the Cummins, are more reliable.
Cotton
PowerDork
6/13/18 6:42 p.m.
markwemple said:
In reply to Cotton :
The allison is the best trans but the duramax, umm........
The newer diesels certainly have more power but the older ones, especially the powerstroke and the Cummins, are more reliable.
I’ve had them all and the duramax/Allison is my favorite towing combo. I got the extended warranty on the 2013, no problems yet, but if they come it’s the dealers problem. The truck is just a beast...it tows heavy and makes it feel effortless.
The 02 k3500 was reliable other than injectors, which both my 7.3s needed as well, but it’s a bigger job on the early duramax trucks and they seem to need them more often.
