Rebuild or a new truck
 

I just purchased a new holiday trailer and my 6.0L Excursion just does not have enough power driving up hills and on the highway. I put an exhaust, cold air intake and have a Edge evolution chip which I am sure has helped a bit. When I run the Edge system on the tow setting it does not take much to get a high oil temp warning and I have to back off the throttle.

So I am just would like to know if anyone has ever rebuilt there 6.0l diesel and done a complete performance re build. I have been quoted around the 30K mark at the local diesel shop in town. The shop said it would include, bigger turbo, port and polish the heads, new HD transmission, aftermarket cooling systems just to name a few. The other option is just go get a new F350 diesel and put a few aftermarket items on that.

Any thoughts or comments would be appreciated!

buy a new f350 much cheaper in the long run in my own opinion

You can make your towing a lot more fun with a LOT less money than that and still keep the 6.0.

First, ditch the Edge, it's crapola. Get an SCT with custom tunes, that alone will help big time. Secondly, you're not supposed to be towing with your hot tunes. You can get a good custom towing tune, which will not be a high power deal, just FYI. It is mostly for transmission shifting, which the Edge doesn't do anything good with.

If you do decide to do a performance build, porting and polishing the heads at that level is more or less a waste of money/time.

You will not need a HD transmission with simple mods. There are quite a few people running 155cc-190cc injectors with a turbo upgrade on stock transmissions. The key here is the custom tunes, they will aid the transmission big time.

What power levels are you looking for, how often are you towing that trailer, and how much does it weigh? We can get you a good idea of what parts to use and a rough cost if you give us some info.

Are you towing now without any gauges? That's a pretty bad idea, ESPECIALLY running a programmer, and an Edge no less... :humm: If you had your factory oil temp gauge flash at you, your EGT's had to be through the roof.

Last I checked 2011 F350's are over 50k even for a pretty basic truck.

I think he's talking about the oil temp warning on the Edge box. What are your temps while towing stevo?

Oh, ok. Didn't think about that, thanks mudstrokin. I guess that's sort of relative though isn't it, because you set your own alarms on that unit right?

I have had my oil temp gauge on my factory cluster max out once and the truck beeped at me and flashed.

I will agree to a certain extent that a custom tune with a transmission shifting will help out but it is pretty much a lack of HP and torque problem. I live in Alberta close to the rocky mountains so lots of big foot hills long climbs.

As for a new F350 I am looking in the 70-80K range even with the Canadian dollar close to par. I would like to support a US dealer rather than the ones in Alberta. The problem with a US truck in Alberta and I am sure the rest of Canada the dealers will not cover any warranty issues as it is void.

As for the why I have the Edge unit. The diesel shop that I went to said they have had great luck with Edge over the Spartan and other units so I went with that.

When I tow the trailer it is on the "tow setting" which is 60hp and 100ft/lbs TQ. I do have the EGT on the edge unit which I watch very close. The oil temp light that goes off is on the Edge unit not the trucks dash. The oil light on the Edge unit has a warning at 250F and will go off when I am around 1100-1200F EGT.

I am just looking for enough power to keep up with the normal traffic speed not doing 37miles/hr going up hills on a 68miles/hr highway.

Trailer that I just purchased is a Arctic Fox 30U. Very heavy pig! in the 8500-9000lbs dry weight.

Thanks guys!

I tow a 21' travel trailer with mine, it's probably around 5klbs loaded. With Innovatives aggressive towing tune, I can start at the bottom of a hill around 50mph and get up to 70mph in a pretty quick amount of time, EGT's stay below 1200 as long as I dont flat foot it. If I do that, they climb quick, but it's easily controlled. The shop who sold you the Edge, hasn't tried custom tuning then. You couldn't pay me to run an Edge.

How much power do you want to end up with, and what do you want to spend? It can be done.

You should start by getting the oil temp situation squared away

Keep the truck, it will be cheaper. Get rid of the Edge, it is crap. A custom tuned SCT is the best thing for a 6.0l. If anyone tells you any different they are dumb asses.

It wouldnt surprise me if your oil cooler is clogged. What are your coolant temps looking like compared to your oil temps?

Thanks Mdub707

I wonder how your tune would work with another 4500lbs on your trailer which would be around the total weight of my trailer?

As for getting another tune I would in a heart beat if it would let me at least keep up to the speed limit.

What is the increase HP and TQ over stock that you have on your tune? What is the maximum HP & TQ for SCT that will yet be safe on the motor?