New Truck

[Rob D]

Hi Guys,

Been in a 6.0 for the last decade. I am sure some of you will recognize my name on here.

I bought a 2003 7.3 F250 4x4 6 SPD and will be picking her up next weekend! I have been doing some 'skin deep' research on the 7.3 platform for the last couple of weeks trying to familiarize myself with some performance goodies.

The truck has a decent amount of cosmetic stuff done so she looks really nice, but performance wise she just has the following:
- Turbo back exhaust
- Aftermarket intake
- G38R turbo
- Southbend clutch
- TS 6 position chip with canned tunes

She is lifted 4" and on 35" toyos w/ traction bars. The owner I bought it from has only owned it for two months and bought it built so he does not know any further details. I asked if there were aftermarket injectors and HPOP and to the sellers knowledge they are stock.

I have a couple of questions from the poking around I have done:

1 - Seller says he runs the truck on the canned 140HP tune and has no issues. From my research stock HPOPs have trouble keeping up with oil on 100+ HP files. Is it only a matter of time if it is running fine now before it would have issues on a 100+ HP tune with stock HPOP and stock injectors?

2 - Hydra Tuner seems to be the best thing on the market for the 7.3 world because you can receive custom tunes via email similar to the SCTs with the 6.0s. Research has pointed in the direction of ******** or Tony Wildmans tuning? Is that the general consensus here? Would it still be best to buy direct from PHP as it would come with their large library of different tunes or just go directly to one of the custom tuners for purchase?

3 - What injectors (single shot or split shot) would be recommended to best match the G38R turbo and who is the best injector maker for the 7.3s?

4 - At what point are you getting in the danger zone for head gasket and ZF6 tranny failure with the 7.3 platform? Can I safely run the G38R with aftermarket injectors and not have to worry about blowing gaskets if I do not have the pedal to the floor all the time? This truck needs be a practical and reliable house truck. That is the reason I got into the 7.3 to begin with. I am not looking for a high performance rig - but if an injector upgrade and the G38R turbo wake her up while still keeping everything reliable that would be preferred. I am not looking to sink money into this truck.

Some pics from the seller below - excited to pick her up next weekend.

Thanks in advance gents.


http://i1194.photobucket.com/albums/aa370/robd4404/2003 F250/6.jpg

http://i1194.photobucket.com/albums/aa370/robd4404/2003 F250/4.jpg

http://i1194.photobucket.com/albums/aa370/robd4404/2003 F250/5.jpg

http://i1194.photobucket.com/albums/aa370/robd4404/2003 F250/2.jpg

http://i1194.photobucket.com/albums/aa370/robd4404/2003 F250/3.jpg

 

[Tom@BigTimeKustomz]

Where in NJ is this?

 

[Rob D]

Where in NJ is this?

Northern - Mark checked it out for at your shop last Thursday haha!

 

[Tom@BigTimeKustomz]

That's awesome dude. Looks real clean.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Rob D]

Thanks Tom. Mark said it looked good for its age.

 

[mandkole]

Very nice and congrats.. looks clean! Not quite as conservative as your 6.0. lol

Some comments to your questions;
--With the 2003, and moving to larger injectors, your PM rods will have you considering your tuning very carefully to control low rpm cylinder pressure. Heard of guys killing them on stock injectors as well. Lots of threads on this.

-- With stock injectors, a good '100hp' tune is giving you about all the fuel that you can make power with. Your HPO will be in very high demand.

--Most like the hydra for ease of getting tunes over the email. One of these days, I'll let the money out of my wallet for one. haha

--Not many worries on the HGs if you stay with the stock injs or a small single shot. You can swap to studs without lifting the head. Move up to a 238 or 250, pressure gets high enough to want studs, then refer back to comment #1

--Clutch upgrade is needed once you're up above 325hp, which is likely with a good running motor, 38R and a 160cc injector. Again, it depends on how often you're tapping it..

--Full force, swamps, PIS all good choices for a good reman singleshot.

Others will have their own notes to add to this. Again, congrats on the truck.

 

[Rob D]

Very nice and congrats.. looks clean! Not quite as conservative as your 6.0. lol

Some comments to your questions;
--With the 2003, and moving to larger injectors, your PM rods will have you considering your tuning very carefully to control low rpm cylinder pressure. Heard of guys killing them on stock injectors as well. Lots of threads on this.

-- With stock injectors, a good '100hp' tune is giving you about all the fuel that you can make power with. Your HPO will be in very high demand.

--Most like the hydra for ease of getting tunes over the email. One of these days, I'll let the money out of my wallet for one. haha

--Not many worries on the HGs if you stay with the stock injs or a small single shot. You can swap to studs without lifting the head. Move up to a 238 or 250, pressure gets high enough to want studs, then refer back to comment #1

--Clutch upgrade is needed once you're up above 325hp, which is likely with a good running motor, 38R and a 160cc injector. Again, it depends on how often you're tapping it..

--Full force, swamps, PIS all good choices for a good reman singleshot.

Others will have their own notes to add to this. Again, congrats on the truck.

Thanks bud. The truck does have the Southbend clutch in it so I should be okay there hopefully!

I will continue looking into injectors and such. How much work is it getting at the HPOPs on these and are the aftermarket kits drop in or remote relocations?

 

[Rob D]

Mandkole - Seems like staying under 400 HP and the PMR rods should be fine? Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I did do some research about the 7.3s before making a purchase but didn't come across the rod topic. Good to know brother.

 

[mandkole]

Guys have killed rods on just tuning-- It's about controlling the torque. Some may chime in who've dealt with it. It's a drawback for performance but it can be managed.

Much easier to do a pump on the 7.3. It's on the front cover on top of motor.

Get a scan gauge to keep track of the vitals real time.

 

[Rob D]

Guys have killed rods on just tuning-- It's about controlling the torque. Some may chime in who've dealt with it. It's a drawback for performance but it can be managed.

Much easier to do a pump on the 7.3. It's on the front cover on top of motor.

Get a scan gauge to keep track of the vitals real time.

Copy - thanks

 

[Powerstroker7.3]

I ran a pmr motor with 250/100 for a good little bit. The trick is to keep the fuel up high. You don't want too much down low torque cause that will throw a rod. A good injector for the 38r and a pmr motor would be around the 160cc to 180cc range. I did end up throwing a rod and don't really recommend that injector with a pmr motor


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Magnum PD]

As long as your tuner knows you have PMRs, that is a critical point.

Curtis is a member on here who knows about keeping a pmr rod engine together. He can help with questions.

But good thing is more reliable than your 6.0, just not a drag truck

 

[Rob D]

Ya I gotta say kind of sucks buying a 7.3 bc of the legend of them being the most reliable motor and now reading into this subject having to worry about eating a rod with just a tune!

 

[kingbilly68]

I would buy the hydra from g.h. Or whatever tuner you are going to use that sells it. Usually a little cheaper and you get their tunes plus it includes full access to php tunes at no extra charge. That's all I got.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Rob D]

As long as your tuner knows you have PMRs, that is a critical point.

Curtis is a member on here who knows about keeping a pmr rod engine together. He can help with questions.

But good thing is more reliable than your 6.0, just not a drag truck

Just scanned over your rebuild thread. You have the patience of a saint haha!

 

[Rob D]

After some more digging around I think I will keep the truck exactly as it is - get rid of the TS chip and replace with a Hydra and custom tune and call it a day. This should keep me in the safe zone. Not wanting to dump money into a RR fuel system and upgraded HPO system just to run a small single shot upgrade to remain in the safe zone. Cost for that added HP just is not worth it. I will keep my eyes open for a built short block or nice stock 99-00 low mileage factory forged rod motor. The intent for this rig was never to be high performance, I just thought I could possibly make more out of the turbo it is coming with, without getting into any trouble.

 

[PSD POWER007]

I think with a HPOP and 180/80's and your current 38r, you will have a very safe and reliable set up running on Gear head tunes. And you could always look into the Driven Diesel RR that keeps the fuel bowl.

 

[CurtisF]

Ya I gotta say kind of sucks buying a 7.3 bc of the legend of them being the most reliable motor and now reading into this subject having to worry about eating a rod with just a tune!

It's pretty rare to see that happen these days. Tuning has come a long way from the time when it was more common to see massively advanced timing and huge cylinder pressure spikes.

PMR's are actually nothing to be really concerned with. They only become a factor if you're looking at more extensive modifications, such as larger injectors. Mild injector upgrades will be fine, as long as you stick to a reputable tuner that has a lot of experience with these.

Not wanting to dump money into a RR fuel system and upgraded HPO system just to run a small single shot upgrade to remain in the safe zone.

Just FYI, a small single shot upgrade actually will use less oil than the current stock split shots you are running. In other words, with proper tuning you won't need an upgraded HPOP with small singles if that's the route you end up going.

I will keep my eyes open for a built short block or nice stock 99-00 low mileage factory forged rod motor. The intent for this rig was never to be high performance, I just thought I could possibly make more out of the turbo it is coming with, without getting into any trouble.

No need to hunt down a short block, unless your actual intention is much more power than what you're currently shooting for.... which from the sounds of it that's not the case.

Mild power upgrades are fine. Again the importance is to make sure it's tuned by someone very reputable in the business and who has done a lot of these.

 

[Rob D]

Thanks Curtis. Who is your favorite tuner? I have ran Matts (GH) on my 6.0 and loved them. In the 6.0 world a lot of the tuning was around the 5r110 tranny and his shifts were great. Firm but smooth. With the truck being a ZF6 it will be interesting to see how tunes will change as the most noticeable for me in the 6.0 was the shift points.

 

[SDS97_7.3]

Curtis tunes his own truck