I am new to this site. I own a 92 f350 7.3 na crew cab long box 5 speed manual. I have 230k miles on it and the motor is all stock, exhaust has been changed to 3" with a 3 tube high flow muffler, and I changed the stock radiator to a high efficiency along with a new water pump, thermostat and fan clutch. about 3 years ago I was having an heating issue while I was pulling only, turned out the center of the radiator was plugged so I flushed the system and replaced it all! now the truck won't hardly get up to temp unless you are pulling! the truck had straight pipe on it when I bought it 10 years ago but that was sooooooo loud when I was in the throttle I had to be waking people up driving through town. just this year I had the 3" pipe installed and last week I finally found someone that could tell me what the bowl looking part was on my air cleaner cover, it has now been removed! I pull an enclosed trailer to the dunes and back 2 -3 times a year weighing roughly 6500 lbs. the truck did get a new injection pump installed 8k miles ago from diesel specialists in omaha neb. the truck runs great but in 5th gear I can not maintain 75mph up any hill with any kind of side wind. the best she will do is 60 -7o mph, I usually lose 10 mph going up long steep ones. I have noticed that in 5th climbing trying to maintain even 70 with the pedal literally to the floor it starts to smoke and I start losing power and speed! I have not been able to find any kind of cold air kit or ram air scoop for this truck, is there one out there and would it help? are there any other suggestions to get just a little more power out of it? I pulled my trailer back with a buddies ( chevy ) ya I know but that 5.3 gas burner pulled better than my diesel, I was embarrassed so I need to do something! any and all help would be appreciated!

I recently came across a banks sidewinder kit (used) for $850 with a newer roto master turbo and bought it but after looking at what it's going to take to install it I am just going to re-sell it and try something else ( I have been reading about turning up the inj pump ) or find a newer truck.

 

here is the pic of the turbo I bought for it. good or bad on a high mileage motor?

 

I'm not familar with the banks setup, but adding the turbo wont hurt. The turbo will actually help the motor last longer by forcing more air through the motor and keeping it cleaner. Lot's of people add turbos to motors with 200k miles and dont have any problems. I also wouldn't reccomend turning the fuel up until you have a pyrometer. It's too easy to overfuel and melt the motor. Adding the turbo will also allow you to add more fuel since you will have more air. Hypermax sells a cowl induction kit that pulls cool air from the cowl panel. I think it is listed for the turbo trucks but have heard several people say it fits the NA trucks as well.

The 5th gear in these transmissions isn't really meant for towing. I only use 5th when towing if I'm on a flat surface or light downgrade. You dont want to bog these motors down by pegging the gas pedal as you are losing speed uphill, you are just adding extra fuel that will overheat the motor and melt your pistons. 1250 is as hot as you want to get and only for a few seconds. I usually back off when the guage hits 1150.

These trucks aren't known for speed, they have a reputation for lasting a long time and being easy to work on since everything is mechanical and not run by a computer. They wont get you there the quickest, but they will get you there.

 

thanks for the info! I will have to look into that cowl inductions system. I would put the turbo on but I am seriously thinking about buying an '01 powerstroke w/180k I just found. the dealership will only give me $3500 trade for mine so I would rather keep it since it has been reliable for everything but pulling my enclosed on the interstate and it has plenty of personality dents so I never worry about scratching it. in the 130k miles I have put on it I have towed ( probably 85k of it ) with a 3k lb and 4400lb boat and a car trailer, a few bobcats and farm equipment down the highway and once or twice on the interstate in 5th with out problems. If I leave it in 4th than 65mph is as high as I am willing to take it, it sounds like it's ready to pop and that pushing 3k rpm empty I can run 80mph between 2700 and 2800 rpm. what is the highest and safest rpm you would recommend?

 

I have been told you can run these motors up near the redline all day and they wont care. If I'm trying to get the best mpg, I keep the rpm in the high teens. I have no problems cruising at 2500-2700 rpm on the freeway though. I rarely need to hit the freeway when towing though so it is easier for me to remain in 4th gear.

I was kind of looking into the PSD trucks before I got my IDI. My biggest problem was the money these people wanted, $8-9k for a truck with 250k miles or more. I had heard they dont last as long as the IDI's, probably since most people chip them and then beat the snot out of them. If I could have found a low mileage truck for that kind of money I may have done it. My truck only has 121k miles on it right now, picked it up with 117k and the body/interior were really clean. I even had enough left of my truck budget to get my guages and stacks installed.

 

they aren't cheap here either! the one I am going to go look at is an '01 with a 189k crew cab long box white with power interior clean, 3.73 rear end, all stock but they still want $12k. site unseen he's willing to give me $3500 for mine but after having just replaced ( in the last 2 - 3 years ) the cooling system (including the radiator) ,inj pump, a new clutch, exhaust, tires, brakes, axle seals, had all the fluids changed and emergency brake cables I don't want to part with it for that. when I bought the truck 9 or 10 years ago one of the exhaust manifolds had a crack in it so I bought two new ones from ford and put them on as well. I like this body style better than the new ones as well but it needs to pull my trailer with my toys. I will try the turbo if I don't buy the psd. the trailer itself only weighs 3900lbs it pulls it no problem empty it's when I put my 4 wheelers and rail plus gear that loads it down!

here's a clip of my rail at the dunes. I was teaching my daughter to drive in the first part of the video the motor is an 3.8 v-6 out of a '01 impala.

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my tach seems to read 3500 where red line starts is this accurate or is 3k pretty much it? I usually run 2700 - 2800 at 80mph or 75mph but most of the drive is through kansas and the speed limit is only 70. I have also noticed that if I set the cruise I don't blow smoke rather and it does a better job maintaining but there is one nasty hill that is 4 miles long on the od and fairly steep that no matter what the wind I lose 10 mph or I have to shift 4 and run 65 at 3k. I will have to buy a pyro guage to see where the temps are but my coolant temp guage ( after market ) shows I am running under 210*.

I think I will get the guage and then play with turning the pump up just a little before I mess with the turbo.

 

Nice rail, that looks like fun.

I have held mine at 3300 rpm pulling some twisty hills with a camper in tow. My tach has the yellow section before it turns red and once I hit the yellow all my power disappears. It's not likely you will see much change in engine temp with the rising exhaust temp as it fluctuates so much. I still only have the factory temp guage but it didn't move when I was at 1100* pulling a hill in 3rd gear at 3k rpm. The cooling systems on these trucks are overbuilt. When I replaced my radiator, I got it from the auto parts store I work at and people kept asking me what I needed a school bus radiator for.

The turbo would help, it will make the hills a lot easier to tackle. You would also be able to get rid of the muffler since the turbo acts like a muffler. If you end up keeping the IDI, check out oilburners.net, they have the most heavily populated IDI forum I have seen. Tons of friendly people over there, it's where I have gained most of my knowledge in the short time I have owned my IDI.

 

governer. these engines were designed as tractor engine. made to run at WOT all day. diesel power did a write up on the testing that the 6.9 went threw. i run mine at 3300 all the time off road with no problems. on road i am at 3000 at 85 mph.

 

I will have to check them out, thanks. I'll be coming up to st anthony's idaho ,next july or aug for some fun on those dunes never been there before.

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thanks for the info. I was just about to ask if they had a rev limiter! I am still running stock tire size which is 33" tall, I would have to look again but I believe it is 235 - 85x16 which if I'm not mistaken is the same thing as 33-12.50? I was going to ask if you had 3.55's but with the 36" tires that would explain the speed and tach increase. I have been afraid of blowing it up at the high rpms but I will have to see what it will do at 3k in 4th. I read the owners manual (well part of it) when I bought the truck. it said that max hp was 1800 rpm so that is where I have been shifting at all these years except when pulling this enclosed trailer I have to run it up to 2200 before shifting or it feels like it wants to fall on it's face.

 

I think these motors make more horsepower in the higher revs. I just had my truck dyno'd recently and my max hp was at 3250 rpm. My max torque was hit at about 2000 rpm.