Budget diesel truck mods: Ford Powerstroke edition

So what if you don't want to buy a '15, but you want to have more power than a '15 does?
Then you learn how to build that, and that's what this thread was supposed to be about. And it can be done.

The guys who do this don't care about warranties. We don't go to the dealer and wait weeks or pay crazy amounts for something as simple as slapping in a new lift pump. We just bolt it in and know it was done right. Amazon can get you one in a day, so can places like Genosgarage.com.

About the gears, I have 4.10s and a Gear Vendors overdrive that effectively makes them 3.20 when I hit the switch. Under a heavy load, 4.10 is a lot better even with a lot of power.
But I'd say if you have 3.73, that might be a pretty happy medium... do you pull hills with enough weight that your truck feels like it wants lower gears?

blofgren wrote:

Super_Dave wrote:
I have a 2006 Dodge Dually, 48RE tranny and 3:73 gears. I'm entertaining the idea of going to 4:10 gears. Anyone with experience able and willing to comment? I just bought a 2018 Big Country 5th wheel and know it will be a heavy load. The truck is used almost exclusively for towing.

I'd try it out first; the Cummins has a lot of low end torque. My truck has 3.73 gears as well and it pulls our 16k high profile fiver with ease.

Do you have the 6 speed transmission? I would think that might work with the 3:73 like my 4 speed with 4:10’s.

Me Again wrote:
...

2015, stick my hand in the door handle to unlock, push the start button and enjoy the luxury. Some flashes a year ago improved the Aisin while towing and fixed the gear hunting.

.....

Case Closed! Love it the way it is! Have Max Care 8yr/120K Warranty.

X2 Love my 15 just as it came!!

Housted

Super_Dave wrote:
I have a 2006 Dodge Dually, 48RE tranny and 3:73 gears. I'm entertaining the idea of going to 4:10 gears. Anyone with experience able and willing to comment? I just bought a 2018 Big Country 5th wheel and know it will be a heavy load. The truck is used almost exclusively for towing.

I'd try it out first; the Cummins has a lot of low end torque. My truck has 3.73 gears as well and it pulls our 16k high profile fiver with ease.

I have a 2006 Dodge Dually, 48RE tranny and 3:73 gears. I'm entertaining the idea of going to 4:10 gears. Anyone with experience able and willing to comment? I just bought a 2018 Big Country 5th wheel and know it will be a heavy load. The truck is used almost exclusively for towing.

thomas201 wrote:
Warranty??? More important, what is your experience at finding a good shop to fix any problems with the mods when you are a 1,000 miles from home? Are shops comfortable working on deleted and modded trucks? Easy to find? Common knowledge among mechanics? We are a RV forum, so this is a great consideration for travelers. If I cannot get it fixed, forget it.

My experience is it depends on factors of where you go. I had a very common break down (lift pump) and Yuma dealer told me 2 week waiting list even to get in. Neighbor 3 days later had check light on come on. Went to dealer and came home 700 lighter and 1 new exhaust sensor

Me Again wrote:

ShinerBock wrote:

DirtyOil wrote:
I too am interested in seeing what's available for RAM... seeing that you are now advocating for mods. Some of the Ford mods you listed, with the "straight pipe" mod, have "downpipe back" and "turbo back", aren't those "deleting" particulate filters etc...? Black smoke... more NOx...

I was never against mods or deleting. I was just against people making false claims like saying their deleted truck is clean just because it does not spew black smoke after deleting. That is false since you cannot see the NOx and fine PM coming of the tailpipe. If you delete you will pollute more than stock, there is no way around that.

If you live in an area where PM and Nox is a major issue due to geographical and hot weather exacerbating the smog issue like southern California then it is probably not a good idea to delete. However of you live in an area to where that NOx has a chance to dissipate into the stratosphere(where NOx is a good thing) then it might not be that big of an issue.

Is it not illegal to remove a muffle on a vehicle with over 10K GVWR?

Not a muffler since it is only a sound device and not an emissions device unless you have noise laws where you live. It is illegal to drive a vehicle on the road with removed or altered emissions devices such as catalysts, DPF, and/or EGR's. Some places crack down on them really hard while other places don't as with many other things that are also illegal on the road like driving any speed over the speed limit, not using turn signals when changing lanes, loading your vehicle over its registered GVWR, installing aftermarket HID or LED lights in a halogen lens, driving in the left lane when not passing or turning right, and so on.

ShinerBock wrote:

DirtyOil wrote:
I too am interested in seeing what's available for RAM... seeing that you are now advocating for mods. Some of the Ford mods you listed, with the "straight pipe" mod, have "downpipe back" and "turbo back", aren't those "deleting" particulate filters etc...? Black smoke... more NOx...

I was never against mods or deleting. I was just against people making false claims like saying their deleted truck is clean just because it does not spew black smoke after deleting. That is false since you cannot see the NOx and fine PM coming of the tailpipe. If you delete you will pollute more than stock, there is no way around that.

If you live in an area where PM and Nox is a major issue due to geographical and hot weather exacerbating the smog issue like southern California then it is probably not a good idea to delete. However of you live in an area to where that NOx has a chance to dissipate into the stratosphere(where NOx is a good thing) then it might not be that big of an issue.

Is it not illegal to remove a muffle on a vehicle with over 10K GVWR?

DirtyOil wrote:
I too am interested in seeing what's available for RAM... seeing that you are now advocating for mods. Some of the Ford mods you listed, with the "straight pipe" mod, have "downpipe back" and "turbo back", aren't those "deleting" particulate filters etc...? Black smoke... more NOx...

I was never against mods or deleting. I was just against people making false claims like saying their deleted truck is clean just because it does not spew black smoke after deleting. That is false since you cannot see the NOx and fine PM coming of the tailpipe. If you delete you will pollute more than stock, there is no way around that.

If you live in an area where PM and Nox is a major issue due to geographical and hot weather exacerbating the smog issue like southern California then it is probably not a good idea to delete. However of you live in an area to where that NOx has a chance to dissipate into the stratosphere(where NOx is a good thing) then it might not be that big of an issue.

Cummins12V98 wrote:

Reason I ask people to block me is because by me making a simple comment they get all twisted so it would be easier if THEY blocked me so THEY would not get so upset. I have said many times I will NOT block anyone, I just go to the next post or topic simple as that.

No, you are not just making simple comments. You are purposely going out of your way to be an internet nanny and go off topic to tell people what to do with their trucks even though the OP(me) requested not to. And it is not just one time, it is every time there is a thread about mods. Even in a thread where someone was trying to get help and you lectured him on warranty instead of helping him and we had to turn to PM's because of your derailment to get his problem fixed.

Why do you feel the need to be that rude to have to do that? Do you think others are stupid and cannot think for themselves? Do you think you are some warranty internet superman out to protect peoples warranty even though they don't care? Or is it that you figure that if you don't want to void your warranty or tune your truck then others should not either because that would mean that they have something that you don't?

Cummins12V98 wrote:
Carry on!!!

That is what we are trying to do. So please stay out of mod threads if you are concerned about warranty. There is no reason to discuses mods if you are not going to do them. Just hit the back button like I do when I don't care about the threads topic.