7.3 IDI General Questions

Tlrfshr

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I wanted to ask some questions regarding my new 7.3 IDI I just purchased this week. I am now the new owner of a 1994 Ford F-250 7.3 IDI NA diesel truck. With that said, I had a few questions regarding replacement parts and a few upgrades for the truck.

Exhaust: The previous owner had some type of baffle put in the end of the pipe which causes a loud pop and removed the muffler. Obviously, this is slightly annoying. I don’t mind the muffler gone but the baffle has to go. Are there any aftermarket kits and or what are my options for the exhaust?

Intake: From my research so far, doesn’t seem to be any good upgrades for the intake. However, are there any small things I can do to help air flow?

Fuel System: The previous owner has had a new IP Pump put in and he stated he turned it up 3 clicks. Is this to much or will this be okay for the time being?

Additionally, my understanding is this model truck has a mechanical fuel pump. Can this be upgraded to an electric pump with double filters like on many of the more modern diesel trucks? If so, where can I find a good set of instructions on this upgrade?

Cooling System: Looking for a link to the proper information regarding the SCA’s and DCA’s I need to put in the coolant. I would like to do a full service on the coolant before really putting any additional miles on it.

Oil: Previous owner hasn’t informed me on the kind of oil and how much required during service. What will and I need and how much? Furthermore, how often do you all service your trucks?

I apologize in advance for all the questions but looking to gather some information and parts and begin working on this project this weekend.

Thanks!
 

Cubey

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Additionally, my understanding is this model truck has a mechanical fuel pump. Can this be upgraded to an electric pump with double filters like on many of the more modern diesel trucks? If so, where can I find a good set of instructions on this upgrade?

Yep. My NA F250 has an ultra cheap Mr Gasket fuel pump the last owner (3.5 years ago) put on it. Some people say they don't last, but mine sure has. Maybe just lucky? I had to replace the plastic filter once when it gel'd up in winter and the element inside collapsed in.

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I did this conversion of my turbo E350. The big Holley pump on the right is the engine pump, and the small one on the left is a fuel tank transfer pump, because this all had to be installed where the (bad, leaking) fuel tank selector valve was mounted. The Holley pump running at 5-6PSI has messed with timing so much that it won't drive faster than about 55-60mph now. It's been parked since I did that (aside from test drives) but I bought a Mr Gasket dial-looking fuel pressure regulator (not yet installed) so I can try to play with the fuel pressure as a band-aid so that it's highway drivable again, until I can get the IP timed at a shop.

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In addition, I added this water separator filter in place of the missing OEM water separator, so I have 3 filters between the tank and engine: the small one before the pump, the water separator/filter, and the stock fuel filter.

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Cooling System: Looking for a link to the proper information regarding the SCA’s and DCA’s I need to put in the coolant. I would like to do a full service on the coolant before really putting any additional miles on it.

I run Zerex G-05 in my turbo E350. No added SCAs needed. Heck knows what's in my F250... that cooling system is nasty and needs attention badly. (Shame on me!)

Oil: Previous owner hasn’t informed me on the kind of oil and how much required during service. What will and I need and how much? Furthermore, how often do you all service your trucks?

If you use the stock FL-784 oil filter that is listed for the IDIs, it takes 10qts. If you run the FL-1995 (PSD) filter that also fits most IDIs, it takes 11qts. A few people now and then say FL-1995 won't fit, but does on both of mine. FL-1995 is a bigger, better, easier to get filter so most people seem to run that.

Most any 15w40 is fine, but some people say that Shell Rotella burns worst of all in IDIs. I run whatever is cheapest or nearly cheapest at the time usually. I have Valvoline Premium Blue in my E350 and Tractor Supply's Traveler oil in my F250.
 

IDIBRONCO

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As far as the electric fuel pump upgrade goes, my advice is to stay away from the Facet Duralift pumps. The quality isn't very good these days and most don't seem to last very long. You're not looking for high pressure, you're looking for volume from these pumps. All you need is 3-5 PSI to the engine, but you want to keep it for as close to full throttle as you can. The varying fuel pressures will change the injector pump timing. If you have too much fuel pressure at an idle, you should install a regulator to help keep the pressure down. Retarding the timing is a Band_Aid fix. It will make your timing be close at lower RPMs, but it will retard back more as the RPMs rise due to having inlet fuel pressure.
Now for the pump being turned up. The easy answer is that since you're N/A three clicks is probably too much. I have to admit that I don't know what a "click" is on turning the fuel up or down at the IP. We usually go by "flats" on the allen wrench that's used to adjust the fuel.
You're right. There isn't much that you can do to the intake. A popular one is to use a Napa 6637 air filter. This is a large filter that clamps onto an intake tube of sorts. Most people make something that clamps onto their air intake and lets the filter lay on the driver's side inner fender. You could probably remove your air filter, the plastic flexible intake hose, and clamp something onto the round (incoming) part of your air cleaner.
One last piece of advice. Since you're running N/A, make sure that the seal underneath the head of the bolt in the middle of your air cleaner is good. If it isn't, and your hood seal isn't in good shape, water can leak from the back of your hood onto the air cleaner. If that seal isn't good, it can drip down into your engine and cause major damage the next time you try to start the engine.
 

Clb

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Hit the stickies and tech sections, read
Read lot's and come back with the new questions...
 

chillman88

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Can this be upgraded to an electric pump with double filters like on many of the more modern diesel trucks? If so, where can I find a good set of instructions on this upgrade?

To expand on what has already been said on here, yes you can use something like the "fass" kits or the "airdog" kits. I know @tjsea is running one on his (after fighting with it a good deal to get the regulator set correctly). I believe R&D has a kit for these trucks. I couldn't justify the cost for mine though. You're FAR better off putting the money into a turbo kit. For the price of the high end double filter setup you can usually snag a used turbo kit. For what it's worth, I've had almost no issues with my mechanical pump, except when the cheap aftermarket one died and started leaking on the ground. Still got me home though! Yes electronic pumps can be convenient, but they're expensive.

EDIT: Here's the kits from R&D https://idiperformance.com/product-category/fuel-system/
 

franklin2

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I wanted to ask some questions regarding my new 7.3 IDI I just purchased this week. I am now the new owner of a 1994 Ford F-250 7.3 IDI NA diesel truck. With that said, I had a few questions regarding replacement parts and a few upgrades for the truck.

Exhaust: The previous owner had some type of baffle put in the end of the pipe which causes a loud pop and removed the muffler. Obviously, this is slightly annoying. I don’t mind the muffler gone but the baffle has to go. Are there any aftermarket kits and or what are my options for the exhaust?

Intake: From my research so far, doesn’t seem to be any good upgrades for the intake. However, are there any small things I can do to help air flow?

Fuel System: The previous owner has had a new IP Pump put in and he stated he turned it up 3 clicks. Is this to much or will this be okay for the time being?

Additionally, my understanding is this model truck has a mechanical fuel pump. Can this be upgraded to an electric pump with double filters like on many of the more modern diesel trucks? If so, where can I find a good set of instructions on this upgrade?

Cooling System: Looking for a link to the proper information regarding the SCA’s and DCA’s I need to put in the coolant. I would like to do a full service on the coolant before really putting any additional miles on it.

Oil: Previous owner hasn’t informed me on the kind of oil and how much required during service. What will and I need and how much? Furthermore, how often do you all service your trucks?

I apologize in advance for all the questions but looking to gather some information and parts and begin working on this project this weekend.

Thanks!

Fix the exhaust and the drive it and save up for a turbo kit. Leave the fuel system alone, the mechanical pump is fine and works well. On the cooling system, I run GO5 also. Any type of diesel rated oil will work. If you are blowing a bunch of black smoke when you nail the throttle, be careful you can damage the engine. You can leave it like that and stay away from pulling any loads till you get a turbo, or you can get in there and turn the pump back down.

I know you have a new toy to play with, but the turbo is going to be the best bang for the buck to upgrade your truck.
 

IDIBRONCO

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One more thing that I forgot to mention. I know that for some reason, it's popular to just do one or the other, but the IP and the injectors wear at the same rate and should be replaced as a set. I understand that money is sometimes a problem, but it shouldn't be a big length of time between the two being replaced. There's only four know places for known good replacements of these parts. If the IP didn't come from one of them, you'll probably have issues with it. Some places clean them up, paint them and sell them as "rebuilt". In no particular order, the places for quality fuel components are Mel at Conestoga Diesel (Agnem on here), Russ (Typ4 on here), Wes at Classic Diesel Designs (Thewespaul on here), and Justin at R&D IDI Performance.
 

Danielle

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Some of us are very happy with our NA heehee. I'll get there when I get there! :)

One of my favorite upgrades has been the electric fuel pump. I followed the thread in our tech section to the letter and used a pump from Amazon. So far so good.

Oil on any forum with any group of enthusiasts is like discussing underwear and people will have their own experiences and advice to give.

Although it is very overwhelming, our tech section and stickies are an insane wealth of knowledge. I joined in 2011 and I am still going through them as I can. So scan them for now and pick out what you need. But get an idea of what's there. Some of it may come in handy later! I find myself going back there a lot.
 

franklin2

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Some of us are very happy with our NA heehee. I'll get there when I get there! :)

One of my favorite upgrades has been the electric fuel pump. I followed the thread in our tech section to the letter and used a pump from Amazon. So far so good.

Oil on any forum with any group of enthusiasts is like discussing underwear and people will have their own experiences and advice to give.

Although it is very overwhelming, our tech section and stickies are an insane wealth of knowledge. I joined in 2011 and I am still going through them as I can. So scan them for now and pick out what you need. But get an idea of what's there. Some of it may come in handy later! I find myself going back there a lot.

I am perfectly happy with my N/A also. But if you want some more power, the turbo is the way to go. Anything else is mainly hype.

Cutting the soup bowl out--hype

Taking the muffler off, mainly hype. Yes you might get 10hp more out of it. You mainly get a noisier truck. I never noticed a power increase I could feel and could use.

I did drive a turbo equipped truck before. It felt like there were two engines under the hood compared to my N/A truck.
 
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IDIBRONCO

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Just for the record, I didn't mention a turbo since the OP didn't mention one. I try to answer what they're asking instead of recommending something completely different.
 

franklin2

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Just for the record, I didn't mention a turbo since the OP didn't mention one. I try to answer what they're asking instead of recommending something completely different.

I am just trying to steer him to the shortest path to success without wasting time and money.
 

Cubey

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Some of us are very happy with our NA heehee. I'll get there when I get there! :)

My F250 is good enough with the very short light camper. When towing a 27ft travel trailer... no, it was too weak IMO. I'd constantly drop to 40-45mph on moderately steep hills. Thankfully, I never took it into the mountains before I sold the trailer.

No way would I want my motorhome without a turbo. If my ATS 085 ever fails, I'd have to have it fixed or replaced with another van compatible turbo kit. During strong Kansas head winds, my top speed was about 50-55mph even with the turbo.
 
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Tlrfshr

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Thanks for all of the input guys. I was able to purchase this truck for almost nothing and it’s in okay shape.

I spent the day today looking at upgrades and items which need to be replaced on the truck. I meant to snag pictures of some items and post them on here with questions about where to find replacements and or if it was an added feature by the previous owner.


I’ll be sure to read up on the Tech info before I begin asking questions. As for upgrades, I plan on a turbo but this truck is a project for me. Everything is being upgraded or replaced when it comes to fuel system and a turbo system from R&D.

Have any of you upgraded the factory fuel pickup in the tank to a fuel sump? I know leaking is a concern as well as dirt but the dirt doesn’t concern me when it comes to having an upgraded lift pump with the double filters for the fuel. Thoughts?
 

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