i am getting ready to pick up an 01 F-250 with the 7.3 PSD and i plan on modding it. giving up a lightning means im gonna need some GO BABY GO In the new truck. i plan on doing exhuast and intake first to improve flow, then getting a bully dog power module for approx. 120hp and 225tq with the proper gauge to keep an eye on things.

what major risks do they motors run when you do these mods...do i need to upgrade injectors or anything to accompany the chip and other modifications?

i've been cruising alot of websites and really havent seen any dangers listed other than high EGT's.


anything else i need to be aware of?

 

Keep in mind the that the majority of the 01 PSD got the PMRs (powdered metal rods). These are nowhere near as strong as the older forged rods and don't take kindly to being overstressed. Actually to be more accurate they're more brittle. If you're running too far advanced timing it will create a much higher stress and with the older forged rods they can take the momentary shock a little bit better since they may be able to deflect slightly, whereas the PMRs it will create microfracturs in the rod. I've dealt with similar situations to this with ductile iron vs chromolly boots on John Deere test drills. Anyhow back to the truck. The general rule of thumb for safety with PMRs is less than 400hp. Now if you're lucky you MIGHT have forged rods already in the truck. In order to have them it would have to be a VERY early 01 modely year build. Production for the 01s started in mid July 00. The forged rods seem to have run out in mid Oct 00 so if you're after that the odds that you have them is almost nill. Between Sept and mid Oct it seems that the engine works would get in a shipment of PMRs and when they would run out they'd go back to forged rods until the next shipment would arrive. There is an inspection port on the side of the block where you can see if you have PMRs or forged rods. If you look on www.dieselinnovations.com and look in their gallery there are some pictures of how to inspect for rod type.

Bottom line with PMRs you're somewhat limited on what you can do powerwise and still maintain a good margin of saftey and durability. If you have them I'd forget about doing propane and water/meth inj. New injectors would probably not be best either, though the trans will probably fail before the PMRs. For a good start on this truck I'd go with a full set of guages (EGT, boost, and trans), then an open air intake like an AFE or Tymar style, then a 4" exhaust. After that then I'd either run something like the Edge Evolution programmer or a 4 position chip like a TS. I looked at Bully Dog but I decided against them. IMO the TS 4 pos chip is the way to go for the gains you get, especially if you go with the fuel7 programing. Fuel7 you might get away with if you use is sparingly with the PMRs but that is a 150hp+ program. They can basically custom burn a program to your specific truck so you have alot of options on what you want. Now once you start to get up into the higher hp range your trans probably won't like you very much and will need to be beefed up as you build the engine.

 

well i have always loved fords since i knew what a car was...but unfrotunately i couldnt find the right deal on a ford PSD, and all the problems i hear about with the 7.3 and 6.0 worry me as i cant afford to replace parts every week. i also love the reputation both in the community and in my persoanl experiences with the cummins dodge pick-up. i just bought a 99 2500 4x4 with the cummins but will always love fords thru and thru. hopefully one day finances will enable me to be back in a ford but for my age a lightning is not feasible, too much gas, too much insurance, too many tickets.

please dont shun for going to the dodge. now i am saving major money to put into a SWEET build up of a 68 stang

 

So, the 2000 7.3 I just bought will have the better rods in it correct? What would be a good safe setup on it?

 

Yes your 2000 has forged rods in it. With yours you can pretty much do whatever you want, though for my money I'd go with propane or water/meth inj last since they have the highest possibility of screwing something up IMO. Basically for your truck the transmission or clutch (depending which you have) will be your limiting factor. Honestly for a good starting setup I'd go with what I mentioned earlier. I'd get a good open air intake, 4" exhaust (5" is only needed when you're going over 450hp), 4" down pipe, TS 4 position chip (you can pick the burns you want), Sonnax tricumulator valve kit for the trans (if auto), good Southbend Clutch (if manual), Tru-max trans cooler, and a full set of guages (pyro, boost, trans). Thats a good basic setup. Alot of people like tuners instead of chips. If you're dead set on a tuner I'd go with the Edge Evolution. Its a very good all around tuner, and like the others it can pull DTCs from the engine. The downfall of tuners, and why I usually reccommend the 4 pos chip, is that with a chip you can switch programs on the fly without having to stop to reload your programing. Also you have more options with a chip since most will be custom burned to what you have done to your truck and what you want to do with it.

 

Any thoughts on the Superchips programming for the powerstrokes?

And what are the values to look at on an EGT? What's safe, what's not, what's stock.

 

Try reading this

It will give you all the info you want to know about tuners. EGTs while cruising it would be best to keep around 600* pre turbo during normal cruising for fuel mileage. Max safe temp is about 1300* and you can go a little above that for a very short burst, but anything sustained over that temp and you'll start to run into issues.