Attention 7.3l owners!

[RooDude09]

I have a 2001 f-250 7.3l with almost 99k miles on it. I tow a tt about 7500 pounds here in California. I was wondering what modifications any of you have made to assist towing. I'm not looking to dust people with black smoke but I do feel there are some modifications that could be done to help on the inclines. I feel the truck lugs a little and any incline causes a downshift. What have you guys done to your trucks? So far I have the 6.0l trans cooler and a banks exhaust that was on it. It's a "cat back" system although it doesn't have a cat. Any suggestions are appreciated.

[M_R_E_]

I have a '02 Superduty with a Napa 6637 air filter,6.0 trans cooler, coolant filter, Walker BTM. Filter and muffler let it breathe. DT Tuner with stock, 60hp tow and exhaust brake settings. Big difference. It tows the mountains going from MI to FL on I-75 great and I get 12mpg towing at 64 mph. Excellent setup.
These improvements should really help you.

[ib516]

I've had good luck with Hypertech tuners. Safe, moderate power increase. Add an exhaust system too. Skip the "cold air" intake garbage. They are inferior at filtration and add zero power.

[RooDude09]

My fuel mileage is only like 14 on a good day. About 10.3 when towing but that was a lot of hills. The tunes that have multiple settings sound good to use when not towing.

[Trail-Mate]

Diesel Power magazine had some really good articles several years ago on 7.3 builds and repair items. I have most of those issues. Good breakdown on the differences between the older 7.3 and the later ones. Since mine is a 97 you can't do much with just a chip. I have a TS 6 position chip( stock,High Idle, 50hp towing,75hp,100hp,150hp) I only use High Idle for winter warm ups and run the 50HP towing all the time. I have MBRP exhaust, Upgraded down pipe, K&N intake with large open air NAPA filter. Running Bully Dog Gauges for EGT and Boost. Just added Aeroforce FD401 Gauge which ties into the ECM. And can monitor all engine functions, including trans temp. Can run Diagnostics and clear codes. You can do it all with this Gauge. I have no issues towing the 5th wheel I have. Been scaled and I am within all ratings. I get 20 mpg hand calculated mileage when running unloaded.

[bucky]

You are not reading the right diesel mags if you feel that the content is not aimed at the general population of diesel owners. There are many articles about trans builds for towing and other power mods for the low end meant for towing. I always ask myself first if a mod will help or hurt my towing, as that is the reason I own a diesel. If it won't help me tow, I don't do it. Some of them are tempting :).
Yes I do wonder where where some of the 30 year olds got the money to build some of the superman trucks shown, but hey, to each his own.

[marcsbigfoot20b]

RooDude09 wrote:
Diesel magazines are for the guys who want to race a blow smoke all over the place. I'm interested in what real people who tow have done

I only tow 7000, which is 500 less than you but it is a tall TT.
If you did my 3 mods, your truck would be a whole new beast.
I did my research as a member of powerstroke.org then did the turbo wheel ~$200 and the Hydra chip ~$375, already had the exhaust.

If you lived in AZ I would give you a ride and you would :B

[RooDude09]

Diesel magazines are for the guys who want to race a blow smoke all over the place. I'm interested in what real people who tow have done

[Hank85713]

Roo, dont know if ya read any of the diesel mags but take a look at these 3 articles:

http://www.dieselworldmag.com/?s=7.3+engine+upgrades&submit=

[George_H]

My 01 DRW 4X4 has K&N, Superchips tuner (tow/safe 50hp), 3.5in straight through muffler, Amsoil trannie fluid and extra trannie cooler. Have had 13K 5er in 13 states including multiple trips across the Rockies. A little slow on the mountains, but does the job and I don't have $60K+ invested.

[jerem0621]

If it's a good truck I would just put fuel in it and drive.

As mentioned above... If you bump power your transmission may give you some issues.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

[marcsbigfoot20b]

My 2000 will almost run with the new ones.
Check my sig for mods....it runs like a raped ape, no smoke.

For performance, I recommend full exhaust larger diameter (major player in lowering EGT exhaust gas temps) , 16 position tune shift on the fly chip like PHP Hydra, billet compressor wheel for the turbo like Riffraff or Wicked Wheel 2.

6.0 cooler is awesome isn't it?

With those 3 mods you can run an 80hp tow tune that is really 100 with the billet wheel.
No smoke and waaaaay better transmission shifting!

[rtz549]

Some performance videos on this page: http://www.powerstrokehelp.com/7.3liter/7-3_main.asp

[Kevin_O_]

Mine is a 2001 F350 with 155,000 miles. I've owned it for almost a year. To get it ready for this camping season I flushed tranny, transfer case,front & rear differentials and replaced them with Mobil 1 synthetic fluids. So far I've installed the 6.0 cooler, MBRP 5" exhaust, S&B intake, and Autometer gauges(boost,pyro,trans temp). I'm ordering a DpTuner F5 Chip tomorrow. Everyone i have talked to say it is like driving a new truck. I know what you mean about these trucks being a little sluggish on hills. My trailer is around 8000lbs fully loaded. I have read up on DpTuner and that is who I decided to go with. They have specific tunes for towing,daily driving and racing. Call them and tell them what your looking for and they will hook you up....

http://www.dp-tuner.com/

[Turtle_n_Peeps]

Tune it and put a full exhaust on it. There will be a night and day difference if you do.

You better have an updated tranny if you do this though.

[agesilaus]

Any serious incline causes a downshift on my 2012 6.7L, so I wouldn't worry about that. The 7.3 just has a lot less HP and torque than the newer engine so you'll never match that performance.