Red's F350

[red]

Wonder if this truck will break the average 2 year truck lifespan with me haha.

1999 F350 4x4 with 7.3 powerstroke and 4 speed auto. Trans was rebuilt about 15k miles ago, has 300k miles on the chassis but honestly less blowby than the 6.5 in the HD had when it was healthy. Behaves stock with engine performance. Had a small fuel leak from the filter assembly which from what I've found is a very common issue on these engines. Great body besides the bed and front bumper.

First big trip was to recover the HD, bring it up from southern Utah to northern Utah. Since it has the stock tiny transmission cooler I kept it in 3rd gear at 60mph.





Little over halfway had a tire fail, caught it before it popped.







That was on the 1st day of ownership. Day 3 it got hit while exiting the highway. I was partway into the exit lane when the car that had been behind me decided to exit and pass me at the same time. Resulted in scratching the paint on the front passenger door around the plastic strip. His driver door was damaged and the front fender got chewed up by my tire (no tire damage for me). He emphatically wanted the cops involved, and gave a dramatic presentation to the highway patrol officer about "This truck tried to run me over and now I can barely stand because my left leg hurts, and I just got my car back from the body shop yesterday!" Literally, one of those guys. Sounded like the officer gave him a reckless driving ticket so a bit of karma there. Tried to claim that damage on the rear corner of his car wash from the truck but the officer pointed out that the mud on my truck wasn't even disturbed (same height), indicating that no contact was made there.

 

[MrMarty51]

Off to a good start anyhow.
Get them dings and scratches applied right away so You can actually drive it.
just kidding.
That looks like a nice unit and should be good for a lot of miles.
I have often thought of if the 6.5 engine in My truck failed and I could not find a good replacement, about the IH version of the diesel V8 being something that could be transplanted in its place.

 

[MrMarty51]

My BIL has a 99 or possibly a 2000 F350 CC LB, his has over 500,000 on the ODO. No engine work at all as far as I know.
He just went through the front suspension and steering for the first time last winter.
He would never sell nor trade that truck for anything else.

 

[dbrannon79]

Nice lookin rig ya got there. color even matches your name! good lookin dualy on the trailer too!

 

[red]

I'm not worried about the engine needing a rebuild for at least a few years, the little bit of blowby isn't significant enough to be a problem yet.

The fuel leak however, is getting fixed this week as it has gotten worse. Went ahead and upgraded to a fuel filter bypass and hard line upgrade from CNC Fab rather than fight with the stock filter housing and known problematic stock fuel lines. Using the Raptor 150 lift pump and 2 filter setup from the HD on the F350. Replaced the fuel pickup tube in the tank with a 1/2in model as well. Installing that stuff as the bed gets swapped. Cut the front 2ft off the bed and did the first test fit on the truck.

 

[Twisted Steel Performance]

Well if after 3 days someone tried to run you over, the poor red ford might not make it another 2 years LOL

 

[BIGR]

Nice truck, red what a shame that some prick in another vehicle ran into you. These days many drive above their ability, for some reason or another? Poor sorry drivers out there that lack driving skills and could not stick their finger up their, yada, yada......

 

[red]

It's going to get a heavy front bumper and rock sliders along the cab for offroad protection, didn't figure I'd need any armor by day 3. The guy also tried to claim that the bed damage at the rear on the Ford was from the accident. Showed the officer the flat tire pics from the HD recovery 2 days prior which clearly pointed out the bed damage was from a previous wreck.

Did some test plumbing for the fuel. Stock tank under the bed, both filters and lift pump on top of the bed like before, it seems to draw the fuel just fine.

Next step is the bed mounts. Then run the new 1/2in fuel supply line, rip out the old supply, and take everything off the intake valley to install the new filter bypass and hard lines.

 

[Will L.]

Having dash cam front and rear is getting more and more important for proof.

 

[JayTheCPA]

THIS ^^^^ This is *exactly* why I now have DVR systems. Had a fool do the same sort of stunt, except decided to pass me on the shoulder. But then tried to brake-check once in front of me only to (likely) realize that the grill of my truck was wider than his puny eco box of a car. I was actually looking forward to the collision as the DVR had an awesome view of it all Oh, and the DVR has GPS embedded as I have gotten pulled-over for doing ~20 mph for more than the actual speed. Guess I will never give a 'thumbs-up' sign to a Copper shooting RADAR again, as clearly it was confused with another single-finger-salute. Luckily (for the Officer) I was given a warning. (Yeah, I complained to the Chief of Police about that one, and the complaint was taken seriously.)

Trans was rebuilt about 15k miles ago,

By whom? If it was not BTS or Wise, start planning for another one soon.

At that mileage I'd watch for signs of the HPOP going. Highly recommend getting a monitor and watching the injector oil pressures and duty cycle.

Another trick is to clean out the exhaust pressure tube as it gets fouled with carbon. When this happens, the computer does not get correct inputs and the mileage and power fall-off.

If there is any thought about modifying the exhaust (if not already done), it MUST get supporting turbo mods. If not, the turbo will fail from surge. At a minimum, a better compressor wheel will prevent surge from an aftermarket exhaust.

For the fuel tank, look into the Hutch and Harpoon Mods. Do NOT re-use that plastic shower head thing.

 

[dbrannon79]

I'm not too knowledgeable on the ford diesels, but when using an external lift pump, I would open up the tank and eliminate that sock strainer in there plus install an inline filter between the lift and the tank, this way you'll hopefully never need to open the tank again!

 

[red]

Fuel tank pickup tube, filters are a davco 230 water separator followed by a 2 micron final.





Edge cts3 monitor is in the plans. Exhaust is factory size

 

[JayTheCPA]

Pickup tube looks good Might consider checking-out the Harpoon mod as this will make the fills easier.

CTS3 will work nicely with the 7.3. The only reading it does not get is ECT as the PCM does not get this value. There is a dash gauge for coolant temp, but God alone knows what it really means outside of some range of "C" to "H". So watch oil temps as this is what the PCM uses for fuel decisions. Related, very few use Edge tunes and go with some other tuner via PHP Hydra.

If the intake is OE, there are definitely better options out there. Just stay away from the K&N tapered cone style as my experience with it is that it cannot flow enough air and collapses under load. Modifying the intake will not affect the turbo.

If there is interest, can turn the exhaust back pressure valve (EBPV) into an exhaust brake.

Truck looks like it has 4WD If so, watch which fluid goes into the X-fer case. Ford changed the spec and shortly thereafter X-fer cases started to go boom while at highway speed. IIRC, synthetic aftermarket stuff like Amsoil is Ok. Related to 4WD, if the front hubs are OE, look for better ones.

Oh, and if you want a real semi-posi rear, Ferd's OE design is not it. Will need to look into something like the Eaton. Sadly, in OE form, 4WD with a locking rear is a joke. One tire will spin while the other 3 sit there. Don't ask how I know I really miss the Burb's 4WD with G80 rear as it would dig four holes.

Also, get something that will do a buzz test on the injectors. Weak or inconsistent buzzes is not good and a sign that the injectors need attention sooner rather than later. Related, avoid doing back-to-back buzz tests as each one consumes some oil, and the injectors rely on oil to fire. So would not hurt to start the truck between tests.

 

[red]

Pickup tube looks good Might consider checking-out the Harpoon mod as this will make the fills easier.

CTS3 will work nicely with the 7.3. The only reading it does not get is ECT as the PCM does not get this value. There is a dash gauge for coolant temp, but God alone knows what it really means outside of some range of "C" to "H". So watch oil temps as this is what the PCM uses for fuel decisions. Related, very few use Edge tunes and go with some other tuner via PHP Hydra.

If the intake is OE, there are definitely better options out there. Just stay away from the K&N tapered cone style as my experience with it is that it cannot flow enough air and collapses under load. Modifying the intake will not affect the turbo.

If there is interest, can turn the exhaust back pressure valve (EBPV) into an exhaust brake.

Truck looks like it has 4WD If so, watch which fluid goes into the X-fer case. Ford changed the spec and shortly thereafter X-fer cases started to go boom while at highway speed. IIRC, synthetic aftermarket stuff like Amsoil is Ok. Related to 4WD, if the front hubs are OE, look for better ones.

Oh, and if you want a real semi-posi rear, Ferd's OE design is not it. Will need to look into something like the Eaton. Sadly, in OE form, 4WD with a locking rear is a joke. One tire will spin while the other 3 sit there. Don't ask how I know I really miss the Burb's 4WD with G80 rear as it would dig four holes.

Also, get something that will do a buzz test on the injectors. Weak or inconsistent buzzes is not good and a sign that the injectors need attention sooner rather than later. Related, avoid doing back-to-back buzz tests as each one consumes some oil, and the injectors rely on oil to fire. So would not hurt to start the truck between tests.

Not decided yet on how the stock tank will get filled with the new bed. There are 4 options I'm looking over :
1. Filler located at the outside edge of the bed (common flatbed spot). Known to be a problem with regular flatbeds due to the shallow angle and because of the gin poles the filler would be sitting ever lower than usual. Not really in the plan.

2. Cut a access door in the bed and fill there. Viable option since the first 2 feet of the bed is occupied by the headache rack so shouldn't often have an issue with access. Could accidentally place cargo over the door preventing fill-up.

3. Filler neck secured to the headache rack. Basically vertical fill angle, no risk of access getting blocked. But the filler hose could possibly be cut on accident.

4. Only fill the bed tank. Cap off the stock tank Filler neck and use a pump to transfer fuel from the bed tank down to the stock tank.

Options 2 and 3 are mostly a difference in how long the filler hose will be.



Agreed from what I've found with tunes, planning to go Hydra. Ordered up the Edge CTS3 gauge, fuel pressure sensor, and EGT sensor today. Tune will come later.

4wd, warn manual hubs up front. Eventually will get lockers for both axles.

 

[JayTheCPA]

No matter which option for the filler neck, the Harpoon Mod should help as it will reduce foaming while adding fuel. If not already familiar with this tank, the last 3 gallons take as long to dribble-in as the first 35 took to go full blast.

I have seen custom installs with the filler neck attached to the headache rack. Common mount is to put the opening between the cab and rack. Going this route will also add a bit more capacity to the tank.

If the truck has an overhead display which gives fuel economy, this is known as the lie-o-meter. Safe route is to take at least 15% off of its calculations for both fuel economy and distance to empty. It is useful for a general idea of what is happening with fuel burn. For example, one time I accidentally left the front hubs locked on a road trip and the lie-o-meter was the first indication that there was an extra load on the motor.

In case you notice dampness behind the rear seats, those vents on the cab's back wall are known to leak. Am not aware of any fix other than pure creativity.

Watch for rust. Brine is not kind to this generation of truck.

 

[red]

No matter which option for the filler neck, the Harpoon Mod should help as it will reduce foaming while adding fuel. If not already familiar with this tank, the last 3 gallons take as long to dribble-in as the first 35 took to go full blast.

I have seen custom installs with the filler neck attached to the headache rack. Common mount is to put the opening between the cab and rack. Going this route will also add a bit more capacity to the tank.

If the truck has an overhead display which gives fuel economy, this is known as the lie-o-meter. Safe route is to take at least 15% off of its calculations for both fuel economy and distance to empty. It is useful for a general idea of what is happening with fuel burn. For example, one time I accidentally left the front hubs locked on a road trip and the lie-o-meter was the first indication that there was an extra load on the motor.

In case you notice dampness behind the rear seats, those vents on the cab's back wall are known to leak. Am not aware of any fix other than pure creativity.

Watch for rust. Brine is not kind to this generation of truck.

Just read up on the Harpoon mod. If I'd known about it when installing the new 1/2in pickup tube I would have done it, but not going to fight with that damn locking ring on the tank again haha. Reason being is the black plastic locking ring on mine is warped, took a good 45 minutes just to thread it on and that was with the bed off/easy access.

Since there is a 60 gallon tank on the bed, I'll just fill the stock tank till it clicks then fill the bed tank. Finally go back to the stock tank for 1 more click if I want to fight for the last 3 gallons.

Yea never trusted any fuel economy readouts. Number calculations so far have been 16.5mpg when empty and with the fuel leak, 9-10mpg towing at roughly 22,000 lbs combined with the fuel leak and 3rd gear at 2500rpm. Not ideal conditions due to the fuel leak and higher rpm.

Wrapped a protective case around the new 1/2in fuel line that runs from the final filter to the engine, all I got done on the truck today.

 

[Will L.]

iirc the harpoon mod is so you can fill the tank 100% it close to it as possible.
There is a reason DOT mandates the tank not allow filling all the way.

That fuel is really cold underground. Fill your tank most of the way or all the way. Drive home and park the truck. Let it sit and warm up to a really hot day and all that heat causes fuel to expand.

Next 2 mods you might get to do is:
clean the fuel spill in the driveway mod
Replace ruptured line or ruptured tank mod

This is same reason you don’t fill until the pump shuts off, then you just keep filling slowly...

 

[JayTheCPA]

The Harpoon mod is to eliminate a condition which creates a LOT of foaming during the fill. After doing the Harpoon mod, it is possible to use the big-rig pumps without blowing foam out the filler neck.

FWIW, filling this tank 100% is actually not possible as there are two chambers which trap air when the tank gets full. All it takes is a short drive for this air to slosh its way into the filler tube and reduce / eliminate the risk of pushing fuel out from expansion. So unless somebody has an underground storage tank at home, and fills the truck from that underground tank, the drive home from a fuel station will take care of expansion risk from both consumption and displacement

 

[Will L.]

Cool. Just so folks know diesel fuel can expand & create pressure.

 

[MrMarty51]

I usually shut the pump down the first time the filler nozzle clicks off, or top it to the nearest dollar if it is close to the next dollar.
A gallon or so aint going to make a lot of difference on how far I can run before the tank goes to bone dry.