1997 7.3 powerstroke mods
 

hey i am new to diesels and diesel bombers so excuse my ignorance please, i was just wondering if there were any mods that i can do to my 97 7.3 that are easily done/cheaper? my buddy has a 6.0 and he did a blue spring mod and banjo screw, egr delete and i was just wondering if there was anything like that i can do to mine, i know the basics like an exhaust, intake those kind of things but if there is anything could you tell me and please explain what you are saying to do because i most likely wont have a very good idea on what it is.:c:

Not much you can do with a 7.3.. They run fine stock and upgrading costs money. If you don't wanna spend anything, do an intake and exhaust and be done with it. Maybe a chip down the road...

Those are my next steps for sure, after those things is their anything I could do from the 500-1000 dollar limit? I'm still a student so there is a limit for me. Thanks for the reply!

Gauges...3-500 bucks depending on the quality of gauge...

Chip...4-500 bucks with some custom tunes...

I've heard tony wildman is good ad ts chips, what do you think of them?

I love my Tony Wildman chip... Great product... Sometimes hard to get a hold of and might have to wait a bit longer to receive the products from him but he does great work...

How much of a gain did you notice from it? Is it worth buying one? I don't care much for fuel economy and if it raises the egt's I have an intercooler off of a 6.0 that I'm a little hesitant on putting on because I can't really afford anymore turbo lag haha what would the gains be for putting on the intercooler? Any performance increase?

I threw the chip in at the same time as the injectors so I don't actually know what the chip does by itself... The intercooler will drop egts, you won't notice added lag. No perf increase though. The chip will net you about 60hp give or take in the highest setting...

Oh okk, I have one more question, when I do a cold start in my truck it starts great but will puff white/blue smoke. It seems to smoke less when turn the glow plus on 3-5 times before starting what would that be?

Could be a mix of things... Blue smoke is usually oil. White smoke is raw fuel... Could be glow plugs, relay, injector orings...

Here's a tidbit for you though. Just turn the key and leave it for 30 seconds. Then start the truck. See what happens... The WTS light means nothing. Your glow plugs stay on much longer than the light does. THe light is a dummy light. Just turn the key and wait.

Ok thanks! I'll try that today and let you know

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So I tried it and leaving the key on for 30 seconds made it smoke more then turning the key on and off 5 times. Truck starts within 2 seconds even in -4 celcius I don't know if that will help you try and diagnos the problem:s:

Here is the way the glow plug system works... First thing is to just forget about the WTS light. It means nothing. When you turn the key to the "ON" position. The relay kicks on and sends power to the glow plugs. Now this happens for up to 90 seconds depending on engine oil temp, outside temp...etc... Cycling the key as you do only does this,,, turns the glow plugs on, turns them off, turns them on, turns them off... Catch my drift?

You can visually watch this by watching your ammeter suck down when you turn the key on. Then it will pop up later randomly. Thats when your glow plugs shut off.

Here is a video a guy from another forum posted. Shows you exactly what's going on with the gp system. I have the same led in my truck...

Defiantely get gauges before you get a chip/ programmer.......most importantly pyrometer. Ya dont wanna cook the turbo for not knowing where your EGT's are, and running it too hot.:rocking:

Ohh that makes sense, where on the relay would I put the led power wire to? If the glow plugs turn off fast after I put that light in does that mean I have a bad relay or glow plugs?

It would be a bad relay then... The LED isn't showing you anything but the functioning of the relay. The light could come on and the relay could be good but you could have bad glow plugs... IMO for the cost of glow plugs. I swap them on every 7.3 I purchase... It's one of the first things along with fluid changes... It's just too easy not to do and gives me peace of mind...


You can easily test the relay with a multimeter... Basically there will be constant power to one of the large lugs and no power on the other large lug with the key off. Then with the key on, the relay should have the same power on both large lugs. The one that was initially no power and then has power is the side that goes to the glow plugs. That's the side you attach your wire from the LED...

Awesome thank you a lot for your knowledge! If I have any other questions down the road would you mind if I message you? I'm only 17 so I'm sure ill need some other questions answered

Yep, also, make sure you check through the 7.3 section if you have a question... plenty of good info here...