Diesel Tuners

degenerateJEFF

World's Okayest Shooter
Life Member
Joined
Jan 18, 2019
Messages
348
Location
Ladson SC
Rating - 100%
9   0   0
My wife and I are expecting another child and wanted to upsize her Honda Accord to something more spacious. As part of that I needed to trade in my '16 bone stock Silverado 2500 to downsize my truck payment.

Before:
20190214_140535.jpg

After:
20190612_183145.jpg

I did just that, downsized, and got myself in an '06 F350. It has the 6.0L that is bulletproof. I think. It has a disconnected banks 6 gun tuner and a disconnected SCT tuner in the glovebox.

I'm new to any diesel mods, and as you can see this thing has some mods. How do I make sure I'm "bulletproof," and how do I run some different tunes? Do I run a risk of wiping the stock program? Any pointers at all for a pre-DEF diesel new owner?
 
Good tuner you have already.

Fully delete that EGR right away if not done already.

Based on the look of the new truck its already got some mods as well. Exhaust or intake?

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
 
Full disclosure...I don't own a diesel...just want one. DirtySCREW is a 5.0L. I just read a lot on diesels and am impressed on the HP/torque these monsters make.
EGR delete would be one of my first mods if it hasn't been done as @BloodRunsThicker already suggested.

Best bet is to spend a little bit a d have each of those tuners dynoed at a shop....might get a tad more outta one than the other.
Congrats and welcome to the Blue Oval family!

DS

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:
Also get you a subscription to Diesel Power magazine. Awesome magazine where you can read about many setups, the power they make and the MPGs.
It also has a section where people write in with their tech questions....that's one of my favorite parts of the magazine as you can learn how to diagnose certain problems.

DS

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk
 
Look and see if the head bolts (look around the exhaust manifold to locate bolts) have been changed out to studs and nuts, that's part of bullet proofing. EGR cooler delete is also part of the process. If you can get down to 5 Star tuning they can get you set up with that SCT tuner. Those 6.0's once bullet proofed are a beast. I like them much better that the 6.4's.
 
Exhaust or intake?

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
Sinister Diesel exhaust and intake from my limited looking at it. I'll look around and see if the EGR is deleted though it's going to be hard for me to tell if they just dammed it off at a union and deleted the program error.
Look and see if the head bolts (look around the exhaust manifold to locate bolts) have been changed out to studs and nuts, that's part of bullet proofing. EGR cooler delete is also part of the process. If you can get down to 5 Star tuning they can get you set up with that SCT tuner. Those 6.0's once bullet proofed are a beast. I like them much better that the 6.4's.
5 star is north of me but looks reasonable on distance.



I might end up taking it to a shop so they can tell me all that's been done to it so I know where I'm starting.....good or bad idea?
 
Last edited:
Taking it to a Dyno would be the best way to make sure you get every bit of power out of it as safe as possible. I've heard good things about 5 Star as well. I know a guy that had them tune his 5.0 F150 and it was day and night difference.
 
Looks nice. Intake and charge pipes. I am guessing its got a straight piped exhaust too. Head studs are necessary for bulletproofing that motor.

Ran into an old friend of mine last week with an Excursion with 656 THOUSAND miles on it and only an EGR delete. Happy lifetime of driving a diesel.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
 
My wife and I are expecting another child and wanted to upsize her Honda Accord to something more spacious. As part of that I needed to trade in my '16 bone stock Silverado 2500 to downsize my truck payment.

Before:
View attachment 131821

After:
View attachment 131820

I did just that, downsized, and got myself in an '06 F350. It has the 6.0L that is bulletproof. I think. It has a disconnected banks 6 gun tuner and a disconnected SCT tuner in the glovebox.

I'm new to any diesel mods, and as you can see this thing has some mods. How do I make sure I'm "bulletproof," and how do I run some different tunes? Do I run a risk of wiping the stock program? Any pointers at all for a pre-DEF diesel new owner?
So it looks like the egr has been deleted, you wont know if it has been fire ringed without pulling the head. Does it have a remote fuel ot oil filter location? Can you tell if the heads have been studded?

Oh and congrats on getting a real truck.
 
Last edited:
So it looks like the egr has been deleted, you wont know if it has been fire ringed without pulling the head. Does it have a remote fuel ot oil filter location? Can you tell if the heads have been studded?

Oh and congrats on getting a real truck.
20190614_160239.jpg
Not looking studded...
 
So it wont be fire ringed and its not stidded. Not a big deal though, some heads never leak and some do, of they do its not the end of the world, just spend 3k and stud it. Youll never worry about it again. Fixing aftertreatment issues is 80% of out business so welcome to the DEF free world.
6.0 built on the front half of 03 dont have to have a custom tune to delete the egr, anything after 06/2003 does.
As stated before, take it to a shop and have them tune it, and leave it on the highway/tow tune.
 
If I was a betting man
.....it's been bulletproofed.

Unless the previous owner had no idea and just started buying the most expensive parts and throwing it on there.....I'd say it's bulletproofed!
I'm jealous!
DS only has 395 HP/400 Torque

You probably have 650 torque!

DS

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk
 
Taking it to a Dyno would be the best way to make sure you get every bit of power out of it as safe as possible. I've heard good things about 5 Star as well. I know a guy that had them tune his 5.0 F150 and it was day and night difference.
Where is this 5 star?

I'm in Wilmington and all we have is National speed. Mixed reviews for them.

DS

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk
 
DirtySCREW, check out Omega Tuning. They make some of the best tunes for the 5.0 out there. His tune is the only one I know of that you don't have to change tunes to run 93 or E85. It's one tune that adjusts itself for any fuel type. Check him out.
 
DirtySCREW, check out Omega Tuning. They make some of the best tunes for the 5.0 out there. His tune is the only one I know of that you don't have to change tunes to run 93 or E85. It's one tune that adjusts itself for any fuel type. Check him out.
I'm all stock right now. Might put an intake and exhaust on... haven't decided. If I do, then I'll probably tune it.

DS

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk
 
If I was a betting man
.....it's been bulletproofed.

Unless the previous owner had no idea and just started buying the most expensive parts and throwing it on there.....I'd say it's bulletproofed!
I'm jealous!
DS only has 395 HP/400 Torque

You probably have 650 torque!

DS

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk
Looks like he did just that if he didn't stud it?
 
Update: it's studded. If I take pictures of random bolts I can convince myself it's not. But on further investigation once the engine cooled and I wasn't burning myself, I clearly saw studs and nuts. TIME to see what this guy has preloaded in his SCT and blow a tranny! That's what Ford guys do right, @Rskahle? When in Rome...
 
Last edited:
Update: it's studded. If I take pictures of random bolts I can convince myself it's not. But on further investigation once the engine cooled and I wasn't burning myself, I clearly saw studs and nuts. TIME to see what this guy has preloaded in his SCT and blow a tranny! That's what Ford guys do right, @Rskahle? When in Rome...
Go smoke a Duramax and Cummins!!!!

[emoji6]

Ds

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk
 
I will say my neighbor has a 03 supercab F250 ( worst year of the 6.0L too!).

His was stock and he didn't have much trouble with it....

But

He took it out and put in a 5.9L 12v Cummins.... and did it all himself!

Truck sounds awesome!

DS

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk
 
Update: it's studded. If I take pictures of random bolts I can convince myself it's not. But on further investigation once the engine cooled and I wasn't burning myself, I clearly saw studs and nuts. TIME to see what this guy has preloaded in his SCT and blow a tranny! That's what Ford guys do right, @Rskahle? When in Rome...

The pic in post #14 is so zoomed in it is slightly difficult to be positive of our location in the engine bay. But to me it looks like the front of the driver side cyl head and it clearly shows a head bolt. Not trying to be argumentative, just want you to be sure of what you have before you go and load a +140 hp tune.
 
The pic in post #14 is so zoomed in it is slightly difficult to be positive of our location in the engine bay. But to me it looks like the front of the driver side cyl head and it clearly shows a head bolt. Not trying to be argumentative, just want you to be sure of what you have before you go and load a +140 hp tune.
I'll try to get a better shot of it tomorrow. Further aft from that picture were nuts on studs pretty sure.
 
I’ve had three 6.0’s and currently own a 6.4 and a 6.0. Also have had 2 8 cyl Duramax’s and currently have two Cummins in Freightliner chassis and a smaller Duramax in a GMC Canyon.

Deleting the EGR valve does nothing to “bulletproof” a 6.0.

Deleting the EGR Cooler definitely does. EGR coolers tend to go bad between 90K - 130K miles, and when they do they can fill up a cylinder with coolant. Bye, bye engine when this happens.

Deleting the EGR cooler - along with head studs, are the basic’s of bulletproffing a 6.0. O-ringed cylinder heads add an extra layer of protection.

If you’re going to run a tuner long term, you need head studs on a 6.0.

Performance wise, increasing the size of the exhaust system helps too. More power and they run cooler.
 
Good looking truck but lets start at the beginning and address a few things. I'm going to stress some things that will be vital to the health of your engine/trans/wallet, you may not like my advise but take it from some one who has been there and done that with a tuned/deleted 6.0. Your expecting a new child, your about to have a good amount of new expenses, are you sure that your ready to risk a $4k transmission and a $3-5k+ head job(minimum) by loading up tunes and going balls to the wall? I've been where you are (minus the child) and I can tell you that this is a long and expensive road your about to embark on.. BUT if your good with it and open to listening, lets roll...

Throw that Banks 6 gun in the trash. It will ruin your transmission. The SCT tuners (the tunes I run anyway) program the transmission AND the engine. They will alter shift points, and shift pressure to TRY to keep your trans in check and try to keep your clutches from frying. The Banks system only tunes the engine. These transmissions are notorious for burning out the direct clutches that control the 3-5 shift when they are tuned. You can buy upgraded direct clutch solenoids to help increase shift pressure but in my experience it was only a band aid.

I'm going to ASSume that you got the truck from a dealer so you don't know about the history or whats been done to it. The first thing you need to do is to get a monitor and/or gauges to keep an eye on the engine vitals or at least have someone with a scan tool (Auto Enginuity or Snap-on, etc) check your vitals to see what she looks like. I use Auto Enginuity for trouble shooting and an Edge CTS to monitor vitals (there may be better monitors now, i've been out of it for a little bit).

Judging by the engine pic you posted, I believe you have a stock oil cooler (the lack of additional braided hoses coming from the top of the engine is a giveway). Looks like they changed one charge pipe and the intake pipe and intake elbow (looks like stock intercooler boot on the turbo). Unless your going for BIG power, the factory intake/filter setup is perfectly fine up to around 600hp IIRC. You won't get 500+ unless you do bigger turbo and injectors. The pretty stuff is just bling, aside from maybe a couple threaded bungs in the intake elbow your not gaining much of anything over stock (plastic charge pipe is still there as well which i'v seen crack and leak). I'm curious to see the studs your referring to as well, that one pic looks like a factory TTY bolt. The studs will have 12 point nuts on them.

What are your oil/coolant deltas? Temp difference between the oil and coolant need to be under 15* (they may even recommend below 10* now), if they are at 15* or higher your oil cooler is starting to or is plugged up. You need to invest in a coolant filter if you plan to keep the stock oil cooler setup. This will filter out fine silicates that will clog cooler. Clogged oil cooler leads to flash boiling coolant in the EGR cooler which blows it out and can lead to blown head gaskets even without tuning.

FICM voltage is important as well, Ideally should be 47-48v

Has the trucks EGR cooler been deleted? You can delete the EGR cooler and leave the EGR valve in and hooked up, no need to install a block off plate. Mine didn't throw codes going this route (2004 model).

Your truck (if it hasn't been addressed already) will more than likely need stand pipes and dummy plugs replaced along with the STC fitting on the HPOP. Not hard but something to be mindful of the symptoms.

Get your maintenance down, check over your engine vitals with a fine tooth comb, see what you have before you go hot rodding and let something loose that could have been prevented.

Delete it, throw a good tow tune on it, maybe replace the turbo with an 03 model if you want it to sound like a F16 and don't mess with it any more.

I've always been fond of Truck Source Diesel's tunes. I run a tow tune from them now, but also have their Super Panty Dropper on deck if I feel like playing. They are great folks to deal with. A custom dyno tune would get the most our of your truck performance wise but if your after a reliable family rig just keep it dialed down with a tow tune.

Now, if your not scared to spend your kids college savings account and take out a second mortgage for repairs, we can talk about upgrading turbos, upgrading fuel delivery, and throwing a set of 190/100 sticks in there.

Feel free to drop me a PM if you want to pick my brain or have questions, I've spent my fair share of time under the hood of mine.

Powerstroke. org used to be a HUGE wealth of knowledge but I haven't been on that site in a while to see whats going on there now.
 
Good looking truck but lets start at the beginning and address a few things. I'm going to stress some things that will be vital to the health of your engine/trans/wallet, you may not like my advise but take it from some one who has been there and done that with a tuned/deleted 6.0. Your expecting a new child, your about to have a good amount of new expenses, are you sure that your ready to risk a $4k transmission and a $3-5k+ head job(minimum) by loading up tunes and going balls to the wall? I've been where you are (minus the child) and I can tell you that this is a long and expensive road your about to embark on.. BUT if your good with it and open to listening, lets roll...

Throw that Banks 6 gun in the trash. It will ruin your transmission. The SCT tuners (the tunes I run anyway) program the transmission AND the engine. They will alter shift points, and shift pressure to TRY to keep your trans in check and try to keep your clutches from frying. The Banks system only tunes the engine. These transmissions are notorious for burning out the direct clutches that control the 3-5 shift when they are tuned. You can buy upgraded direct clutch solenoids to help increase shift pressure but in my experience it was only a band aid.

I'm going to ASSume that you got the truck from a dealer so you don't know about the history or whats been done to it. The first thing you need to do is to get a monitor and/or gauges to keep an eye on the engine vitals or at least have someone with a scan tool (Auto Enginuity or Snap-on, etc) check your vitals to see what she looks like. I use Auto Enginuity for trouble shooting and an Edge CTS to monitor vitals (there may be better monitors now, i've been out of it for a little bit).

Judging by the engine pic you posted, I believe you have a stock oil cooler (the lack of additional braided hoses coming from the top of the engine is a giveway). Looks like they changed one charge pipe and the intake pipe and intake elbow (looks like stock intercooler boot on the turbo). Unless your going for BIG power, the factory intake/filter setup is perfectly fine up to around 600hp IIRC. You won't get 500+ unless you do bigger turbo and injectors. The pretty stuff is just bling, aside from maybe a couple threaded bungs in the intake elbow your not gaining much of anything over stock (plastic charge pipe is still there as well which i'v seen crack and leak). I'm curious to see the studs your referring to as well, that one pic looks like a factory TTY bolt. The studs will have 12 point nuts on them.

What are your oil/coolant deltas? Temp difference between the oil and coolant need to be under 15* (they may even recommend below 10* now), if they are at 15* or higher your oil cooler is starting to or is plugged up. You need to invest in a coolant filter if you plan to keep the stock oil cooler setup. This will filter out fine silicates that will clog cooler. Clogged oil cooler leads to flash boiling coolant in the EGR cooler which blows it out and can lead to blown head gaskets even without tuning.

FICM voltage is important as well, Ideally should be 47-48v

Has the trucks EGR cooler been deleted? You can delete the EGR cooler and leave the EGR valve in and hooked up, no need to install a block off plate. Mine didn't throw codes going this route (2004 model).

Your truck (if it hasn't been addressed already) will more than likely need stand pipes and dummy plugs replaced along with the STC fitting on the HPOP. Not hard but something to be mindful of the symptoms.

Get your maintenance down, check over your engine vitals with a fine tooth comb, see what you have before you go hot rodding and let something loose that could have been prevented.

Delete it, throw a good tow tune on it, maybe replace the turbo with an 03 model if you want it to sound like a F16 and don't mess with it any more.

I've always been fond of Truck Source Diesel's tunes. I run a tow tune from them now, but also have their Super Panty Dropper on deck if I feel like playing. They are great folks to deal with. A custom dyno tune would get the most our of your truck performance wise but if your after a reliable family rig just keep it dialed down with a tow tune.

Now, if your not scared to spend your kids college savings account and take out a second mortgage for repairs, we can talk about upgrading turbos, upgrading fuel delivery, and throwing a set of 190/100 sticks in there.

Feel free to drop me a PM if you want to pick my brain or have questions, I've spent my fair share of time under the hood of mine.

Powerstroke. org used to be a HUGE wealth of knowledge but I haven't been on that site in a while to see whats going on there now.


Nothing to add, listen to this right here
 
I run sct livewire on my 6.7 as I did on the 6.0
Good looking truck but lets start at the beginning and address a few things. I'm going to stress some things that will be vital to the health of your engine/trans/wallet, you may not like my advise but take it from some one who has been there and done that with a tuned/deleted 6.0. Your expecting a new child, your about to have a good amount of new expenses, are you sure that your ready to risk a $4k transmission and a $3-5k+ head job(minimum) by loading up tunes and going balls to the wall? I've been where you are (minus the child) and I can tell you that this is a long and expensive road your about to embark on.. BUT if your good with it and open to listening, lets roll...

Throw that Banks 6 gun in the trash. It will ruin your transmission. The SCT tuners (the tunes I run anyway) program the transmission AND the engine. They will alter shift points, and shift pressure to TRY to keep your trans in check and try to keep your clutches from frying. The Banks system only tunes the engine. These transmissions are notorious for burning out the direct clutches that control the 3-5 shift when they are tuned. You can buy upgraded direct clutch solenoids to help increase shift pressure but in my experience it was only a band aid.

I'm going to ASSume that you got the truck from a dealer so you don't know about the history or whats been done to it. The first thing you need to do is to get a monitor and/or gauges to keep an eye on the engine vitals or at least have someone with a scan tool (Auto Enginuity or Snap-on, etc) check your vitals to see what she looks like. I use Auto Enginuity for trouble shooting and an Edge CTS to monitor vitals (there may be better monitors now, i've been out of it for a little bit).

Judging by the engine pic you posted, I believe you have a stock oil cooler (the lack of additional braided hoses coming from the top of the engine is a giveway). Looks like they changed one charge pipe and the intake pipe and intake elbow (looks like stock intercooler boot on the turbo). Unless your going for BIG power, the factory intake/filter setup is perfectly fine up to around 600hp IIRC. You won't get 500+ unless you do bigger turbo and injectors. The pretty stuff is just bling, aside from maybe a couple threaded bungs in the intake elbow your not gaining much of anything over stock (plastic charge pipe is still there as well which i'v seen crack and leak). I'm curious to see the studs your referring to as well, that one pic looks like a factory TTY bolt. The studs will have 12 point nuts on them.

What are your oil/coolant deltas? Temp difference between the oil and coolant need to be under 15* (they may even recommend below 10* now), if they are at 15* or higher your oil cooler is starting to or is plugged up. You need to invest in a coolant filter if you plan to keep the stock oil cooler setup. This will filter out fine silicates that will clog cooler. Clogged oil cooler leads to flash boiling coolant in the EGR cooler which blows it out and can lead to blown head gaskets even without tuning.

FICM voltage is important as well, Ideally should be 47-48v

Has the trucks EGR cooler been deleted? You can delete the EGR cooler and leave the EGR valve in and hooked up, no need to install a block off plate. Mine didn't throw codes going this route (2004 model).

Your truck (if it hasn't been addressed already) will more than likely need stand pipes and dummy plugs replaced along with the STC fitting on the HPOP. Not hard but something to be mindful of the symptoms.

Get your maintenance down, check over your engine vitals with a fine tooth comb, see what you have before you go hot rodding and let something loose that could have been prevented.

Delete it, throw a good tow tune on it, maybe replace the turbo with an 03 model if you want it to sound like a F16 and don't mess with it any more.

I've always been fond of Truck Source Diesel's tunes. I run a tow tune from them now, but also have their Super Panty Dropper on deck if I feel like playing. They are great folks to deal with. A custom dyno tune would get the most our of your truck performance wise but if your after a reliable family rig just keep it dialed down with a tow tune.

Now, if your not scared to spend your kids college savings account and take out a second mortgage for repairs, we can talk about upgrading turbos, upgrading fuel delivery, and throwing a set of 190/100 sticks in there.

Feel free to drop me a PM if you want to pick my brain or have questions, I've spent my fair share of time under the hood of mine.

Powerstroke. org used to be a HUGE wealth of knowledge but I haven't been on that site in a while to see whats going on there now.
I'll add use HOT SHOT SECRET
The last 6.0 I had, the more miles it racked up the noisier the injectors got

This addative works wonders on the diesel injectors
 
@Chdamn

Didn't you have or still do a 6.0L powerstroke??

DS

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk
 
I run sct livewire on my 6.7 as I did on the 6.0

I'll add use HOT SHOT SECRET
The last 6.0 I had, the more miles it racked up the noisier the injectors got

This addative works wonders on the diesel injectors

Never used hot shot but I used to add 2 stroke oil to the tank at every fill up. Seemed to help quiet things down a bit as well. Stopped doing that out of shear laziness and aside from the injectors being a bit noisier I can't tell much of a difference.

OP, I'll add this, you have to be religious about maintenance on these trucks, they cannot be neglected. They arnt the bullet proof work horses of years past. Both oil and fuel filters need changing at proper intervals. If oil changes are neglected you will have injector issues, read up on stiction (hot shot and the 2 stroke oil are suposed to help this).

Reason for the oil, the glorious EPA hadn't mandated ultra low sulphur diesel when these engines were designed. Sulphur in the fuel acted as a lubricant. Sulphur content when these engines were developed was around 500ppm, when ULSD was mandated in 2006/07 this number dropped to 15ppm.

Imagine someone coming into your house and reducing your coconut oil at the same rate.. no bueno.







Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Good looking truck but lets start at the beginning and address a few things. I'm going to stress some things that will be vital to the health of your engine/trans/wallet, you may not like my advise but take it from some one who has been there and done that with a tuned/deleted 6.0. Your expecting a new child, your about to have a good amount of new expenses, are you sure that your ready to risk a $4k transmission and a $3-5k+ head job(minimum) by loading up tunes and going balls to the wall? I've been where you are (minus the child) and I can tell you that this is a long and expensive road your about to embark on.. BUT if your good with it and open to listening, lets roll...

Throw that Banks 6 gun in the trash. It will ruin your transmission. The SCT tuners (the tunes I run anyway) program the transmission AND the engine. They will alter shift points, and shift pressure to TRY to keep your trans in check and try to keep your clutches from frying. The Banks system only tunes the engine. These transmissions are notorious for burning out the direct clutches that control the 3-5 shift when they are tuned. You can buy upgraded direct clutch solenoids to help increase shift pressure but in my experience it was only a band aid.

I'm going to ASSume that you got the truck from a dealer so you don't know about the history or whats been done to it. The first thing you need to do is to get a monitor and/or gauges to keep an eye on the engine vitals or at least have someone with a scan tool (Auto Enginuity or Snap-on, etc) check your vitals to see what she looks like. I use Auto Enginuity for trouble shooting and an Edge CTS to monitor vitals (there may be better monitors now, i've been out of it for a little bit).

Judging by the engine pic you posted, I believe you have a stock oil cooler (the lack of additional braided hoses coming from the top of the engine is a giveway). Looks like they changed one charge pipe and the intake pipe and intake elbow (looks like stock intercooler boot on the turbo). Unless your going for BIG power, the factory intake/filter setup is perfectly fine up to around 600hp IIRC. You won't get 500+ unless you do bigger turbo and injectors. The pretty stuff is just bling, aside from maybe a couple threaded bungs in the intake elbow your not gaining much of anything over stock (plastic charge pipe is still there as well which i'v seen crack and leak). I'm curious to see the studs your referring to as well, that one pic looks like a factory TTY bolt. The studs will have 12 point nuts on them.

What are your oil/coolant deltas? Temp difference between the oil and coolant need to be under 15* (they may even recommend below 10* now), if they are at 15* or higher your oil cooler is starting to or is plugged up. You need to invest in a coolant filter if you plan to keep the stock oil cooler setup. This will filter out fine silicates that will clog cooler. Clogged oil cooler leads to flash boiling coolant in the EGR cooler which blows it out and can lead to blown head gaskets even without tuning.

FICM voltage is important as well, Ideally should be 47-48v

Has the trucks EGR cooler been deleted? You can delete the EGR cooler and leave the EGR valve in and hooked up, no need to install a block off plate. Mine didn't throw codes going this route (2004 model).

Your truck (if it hasn't been addressed already) will more than likely need stand pipes and dummy plugs replaced along with the STC fitting on the HPOP. Not hard but something to be mindful of the symptoms.

Get your maintenance down, check over your engine vitals with a fine tooth comb, see what you have before you go hot rodding and let something loose that could have been prevented.

Delete it, throw a good tow tune on it, maybe replace the turbo with an 03 model if you want it to sound like a F16 and don't mess with it any more.

I've always been fond of Truck Source Diesel's tunes. I run a tow tune from them now, but also have their Super Panty Dropper on deck if I feel like playing. They are great folks to deal with. A custom dyno tune would get the most our of your truck performance wise but if your after a reliable family rig just keep it dialed down with a tow tune.

Now, if your not scared to spend your kids college savings account and take out a second mortgage for repairs, we can talk about upgrading turbos, upgrading fuel delivery, and throwing a set of 190/100 sticks in there.

Feel free to drop me a PM if you want to pick my brain or have questions, I've spent my fair share of time under the hood of mine.

Powerstroke. org used to be a HUGE wealth of knowledge but I haven't been on that site in a while to see whats going on there now.
Really not trying to break anything. This was the response I needed though! I'll run stock until I'm more comfortable and have a better grasp as to the limits and what's been done to it. I'd really like to work on it myself but I have a LOT to learn.
 
Ive run my pretty close to stock (reliability upgrades of course, but still running stock head bolts), and she's been all that and a bag of chips.

Biggest thing was dumping the junk ford coolant and getting some quality cat ec-1 diesel rated coolant in there.

100k on some mild tunes (mostly because i got rid of the junk stock turbo for a pmax), and its still running strong.

So take care of her, and she'll take care of you.
 
Back
Top Bottom