Engine repair / upgrade after road trip
Somewhere between the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone, approximately 1000 miles into our 3400 mile road trip with the camper, the Ford 7.3 decided to run on 7 cylinders. I had gambled a bad fuel injector would hold for the trip and lost my bet. The rest of the trip including a run at the Homestake Pass on the Continental divide had me struggling with the roughly 16k lbs of truck, camper and trailer. My only usable rpm range was between 2k and 3k. Anything lower and it would shake too much.
So on return home, I took my trusty 7.3 to a guy I call the "truck whisperer". He knows his way around 7.3s as he used to race one at the track. I told him I wanted something "special" and could tow our current camper and cargo trailer with ease as well as a possible 16k 5th wheel should we have the need in the future.
I'm in it for upgraded injectors, new up pipes, new turbo, upgraded high pressure oil pump, new tunes and a host of other things I can't remember now. Yup, expensive but cheaper than buying a new truck, at least that was what I told the Mrs... Truck will be in the shop for at least a week. I asked what type of power I should expect. He estimated 400hp and 800lb of torque is a fair number (the truck has many other upgrades already installed). It's no modern 6.7 of course but that ain't to bad for an engine that started at 210hp and 425lb of torque (early 99).
My goal wasn't for track times but rather just being able to pull heavy loads and keep the EGTs in check. I know the 7.3 isn't the first motor gear heads run to for crazy power but I'll be pretty happy having the power I think.
My question to others is, just like we all like to tinker and upgrade our camper, how many of us are modding our trucks as well and to what extent?
So on return home, I took my trusty 7.3 to a guy I call the "truck whisperer". He knows his way around 7.3s as he used to race one at the track. I told him I wanted something "special" and could tow our current camper and cargo trailer with ease as well as a possible 16k 5th wheel should we have the need in the future.
I'm in it for upgraded injectors, new up pipes, new turbo, upgraded high pressure oil pump, new tunes and a host of other things I can't remember now. Yup, expensive but cheaper than buying a new truck, at least that was what I told the Mrs... Truck will be in the shop for at least a week. I asked what type of power I should expect. He estimated 400hp and 800lb of torque is a fair number (the truck has many other upgrades already installed). It's no modern 6.7 of course but that ain't to bad for an engine that started at 210hp and 425lb of torque (early 99).
My goal wasn't for track times but rather just being able to pull heavy loads and keep the EGTs in check. I know the 7.3 isn't the first motor gear heads run to for crazy power but I'll be pretty happy having the power I think.
My question to others is, just like we all like to tinker and upgrade our camper, how many of us are modding our trucks as well and to what extent?
