Ford 7.3 chipped mileage

carl2591 wrote:
I have a 2003 7.3L PS with 168K miles that i just got 2 months ago. The truck is stock.

In some of my reading on http://www.powerstrokenation.com/ or http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/forum31/ you can see where the motor which is an International made diesel was detuned by ford.

Some of the stuff that stunts the MPG is they (ford) redesigned the water pump and use a 195 instead of the original 205 deg stat.. Diesels like to run hotter. You can see post of guys changing out t-stats and waterpumps getting some 1-2 MPG increase on that alone.

The 6 position tuners also give some 1-2 MPG on the 75HP setting as well..
As far as engines go this is maybe one of the most reliable ones made.

there are fuel crossover hoses kits that help with injector noise and can help get a .5-2 MPG same with High pressure oil cross over lines on the engine.

I choose to buy an older used model to do some mild mods on over a period of time till we get ready to go full time in 4-5 yrs.

I think buying a new truck is nice but i would rather let someone else take the desperation hit and get one from the original owner with 80K or so miles for 25 to 30K less than new with a diesel engine.

Gas is good but for towing diesel is KING..

peace out. :D

Take it from someone who's done all the mods you speak of (except fuel crossover), all those things together didn't really do squat for my mileage. But my truck does run and perform better, which was/is the main purpose. Check on your t-stat numbers, though. I have a DieselSite 203 deg thermostat, which I believe is the one they say to be the original spec'd one from International.

Now that you have this truck, time to open it up and let it free. Tymar (6637) intake, tony wildman tunes, stage 1 injectors, 5" exhaust...you're gonna be able to get so much out of it!!