It adds horsepower and torque. You may set it on a 140hp tune but it may only actually be 100 its not 140 raw HP more than likely. Like others have said and I adding a custom tuned chip isn't going to hurt anything as long as ya got gauges to monitor everything. Now if you set it to the highest setting and smash the pedal to the flor from a stop and stay in it and do it from a roll etc yeah you might break something,blow a trans. You need to be easy on it and carass it like a baby.

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Unlike most kids, i take care of my stuff. haha.

 

Then nothing to worry about.

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I understand where your coming from saying you want some performance, but what is it for? the 7.3l will outperform of your buddies trucks unless they have serious money in them. Please don't put performance parts on there just so you can "Roll Coal" you will regret it when you are spending 100-150 $ a week in diesel fuel. As far as a motor with 260k on it, the motor it self will be fine as long as it was maintained and serviced regularly. You're main problem with the added power is the bottom end of your motor going out. You said you don't have money for a rebuild so I wouldn't chance it. The TS 6 position is a great chip and wont do much damage if you know your limitations, a set of gauges never a bad option.

 

My buddies all drive rice burners. The baddest truck in our lot is an 02 1/2 ton chevy. Haha. And I'm not about the whole "Rollin Coal" thing. I'm more about makin it a bit faster. If you ask me, the 7.3's are all dogs. My dad bought a new 02 7.3 when they came out and they were just as doggy as mine is. And thats another problem. The guy before me i'm not thinking changed the oil too many times. And i know i'm probably one of the first to grease it. I know somebody tried because they broke the fitting. But I myself change it every 4-5,000 miles and grease it.

 

7.3L or atleast the one I own isn't a power hungry machine. But then again I didn't get it for that reason. Its got a 6' lift on it on 35's. I donno what rear end I have. But I know my dad had a 96' stroke and it wasn't doggy at all. I know a few other boys that had some 7.3L and love them more than the new 6.6's they bought. But for chips, I'd agree with most guys a custom tuned chip means they are more tuning toward your rig rather than just out of the box tuner. I don't run chips on either of my rigs, because I personally know people whom have had problems with their trucks after chipping them. Not saying that you would have an issue. But, being 16, even though you take care of your stuff your gonna wanna bark them tires and blow a little coal....been there done that LOL. Guages are just all around good idea even if some are already in place. Then you can keep an eye and everything thats going on. Sometimes you can peek at those guages and see something off that you can't feel or have a big notice in just by looking over and seeing somethings not where it should be. I'm looking at getting a set of gauges for my rigs just to have me some. They look cool when someone walks by..LOL..but with that being said I know like all the guys say nothings bullet proof, and how it sounds that engine you might have..might have some serious issues one day if you truely believe that he didn't take care of it the way it should have been taken care of. Thats my fear with everything I buy. my 99' was a horse hollar and my 03 was a company truck. So I've known what they had done to them. Just be careful when gettin on it and pay attention. (I know I think I repeated everything that was pretty much said before but just thought I'd throw in my two cents )

 

Thanks I appreciate it. And I went and started mine a minute ago, and i went down the road, i know this a really good thing, but as of now with whats done to it, if i mash on it, i can't get it to blow black smoke. But, i noticed that i really can't notice my turbo spooling until i get 3/4 the way down on the pedal. Could it not be getting enough air? my dads got an 04.5 and has an aftermarket turbo mouthpiece.

 

Alright, Im gonna clear some things up for ya. First of all, the tranny gauge in your dads truck isnt actually measuring your direct tranny temp, but instead it is being estimated by your PCM.
Secondly, once you start modding, you wont be able to stop, so prepare for that, and plan out exactly how you want to do your build before you start.
Third, the 7.3L are not "doggy" unless they are tired and are in need of maintenance. This being said, you need to figure out why it feels "doggy" before you begin doing modifications. The best way to understand your truck is to have gauges and a scanner. The best scanner out there is Auto Enginuity which I would recommend getting from this guy. Riffraff Diesel: AutoEnginuity Total Ford Enhanced Bundle
I also recommend getting the rest of your parts from him as well, great service and prices.
Once you know what your truck is doing under the hood, (you will probably have to clean a couple things, replace grow plugs, torque injectors and replace some orings) then you begin your modifications.
Always gauges first, like the other guys said, isspro or autometer. Autometer has more astetical options, but isspro are just as good of quality for cheaper.
On builds, you have to start with supporting mods before you can add HP mods. Supporting mods include, fuel, air, exhaust, and tranny upgrades. Without these, you are restricting your engine and causing it to not run as efficiently as possible and leading to failures down the road.
For air, I reccomend a 6637 filter (look it up) simple and cheap and performs very well.
For fuel, I recommend hutch and harpoon mod (look up these as well) a little more challenging.
For tranny, there are many different ways you can go, but definitely larger cooler and maybe a filter and upgraded valve body from john woods or BTS.
I think you said you already have a 4in exhaust so you are good there.
Next, comes power.
Chips. Custom tuning hands down wins. TS style chip is great, but get one from bts, tony wildman, php, or the like. The hydra by PHP is what i will be investing in soon this summer to replace my canned chip. Another option is DP Tuner, look them up. I hear they are good as well, just different design.
Your truck will now be at a solid level and be able to kick your ricer friends butt.
Enjoy

 

Thanks, Caedo. One thing i'm questioning is the injectors. I'm not sure if they're all firing. And another thing is the turbo. I think its being deprived of air. And yes, i have a 4inch exhaust. And one thing i noticed after i bought the truck, is that it had an airaid. I thought kick *** i just saved myself some money. WHen i took it out to clean it, it looked as if it had been sitting in a barn for 10 years. It was terrible. The guy before me didn't take care of it like he should have. And thanks for the fuel mod reccomendation, i looked at lift pumps, but was boggled by their prices. So i thought i would steer clear. Is it in a sense just opening up the lines a bit?

 

In a sense yes, the hutch mod gets rid of the stupid fuel mixer in the pick-up line as well as redirects the return fuel away from the pick up boot so that you don't get aerated fuel in your system which is bad for the injectors.
With that many miles, it is possible that you have a few weak or dead injectors. Which by the way will kill your power with even one being down. But, with That auto enginuity program that I was talking about, you can test your injectors from right inside your truck without even having to pull them.

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Is that airaid an oilable filter I presume? If so, then yeah, clean it and oil it, then your turbo should be getting enough air