Powerstroke, now what?

[BRONCO]

Hello,

The father of one of my very good friends recently purchased a 1996 Ford Powerstroke. It is 4x4 250 Auto. Long bed 4 door or extended cab whatever the longest they made?

He wants more towing power. He is not into drag racing, but I am sure he will floor it a few times around town.

He asked me about hypertec? I tols him I would check with the pros and get back to him.

So I ask, what is the scoop? Does he need exaust, turbo, intercooler, injectors, Transmission, so on and so forth?

Whos tuner / module?

At what power points does he need to get the exuast, tranny upgrades?

EXAMPLE. Up to 50 HP nothing but hyper tech. 50-90 HP exaust. 90HP and over totaly built tranny.

I have no idea what I am talking about when it comes to Furds, that is why I ask.

 

[Mike]

First off, how much weight is he towing. He needs to change out the factory air cleaner box ASAP to an open element air filter, AFE,KN, TYMAR,,whatever his choice is, do that first. Secondly do the turbo Down Pipe. Thirdly get a set of guages so he knows whats going on under the hood. If he tows a heavy load he needs to go to a 28000 lb stacked plate tranny cooler and get rid of the stock cooler. After hes done all that and he doesnt have enough power to satisfy him then move on into a flip chip or one of the Tuners available on the market now. Make sure he stays ontop of his coolant and keeps the anti cavitation additive at the proper levels. The first two mods I mentioned will help immensly with EGT's. Number three will prolong tranny life. Number four is mostly for ego and leaving ricers in a cloud of smoke, but I did gain fuel economy on my 95 with the addition of a SCMT along with an 80 horse kick in the pants.

Good luck with his PSD, they are good machines contrary to what the Chevy/Dodge boys will lead you to believe. Dont hesitate to ask for anything else either.

Mike

 

[hheynow]

Well said by 95_Stroker. That's basically what I did, but don't have gauges or a chip. My truck runs so much better after the Tymar and downpipe mod. I rarely tow so I never bothered getting gauges or a chip. If he adds a chip then the PCM will need to be re-flashed. Check for a clean fuel filter as well as a clean fuel regulator screen .

 

[BRONCO]

The cavitation you refered too? You are talking about antifreeeze not fuel?

If a chip is in order who should he look to? edge Evolution, Superchips?

Other than keeping the tranny cool, des he need a shift kit, converter, electronic device?

Who is a trustworthy vendor with good prices/parts?

 

[hheynow]

Originally posted by BRONCO
The cavitation you referred too? You are talking about antifreeze not fuel?

Yes, the coolant needs FW-16 added periodically to keep the SCA (supplemental coolant additives) within range. Ford and IH sell test strip kits for testing the SCA levels.

Other than keeping the tranny cool, does he need a shift kit, converter, electronic device?

A TransGo shift kit helps the E4OD shift smoother. Unless he's not happy with the way it shifts...not needed but helpful in hopefully extending the tranny's service life. A stock torque converter is fine but I upgraded to a HD torque converter when I had my tranny rebuilt. It cost $525.00 for the upgrade. Chips & tuners...I have no first hand opinions.

 

[Mike]

Other than keeping the tranny cool, des he need a shift kit, converter, electronic device?

Simple answer, No. The E4OD when not abused is a decent tranny, keep it cool and clean fluid and he should get good service life out of it.

If a chip is in order who should he look to? edge Evolution, Superchips?

Ive got an SCMT 1705 that I'm using and it seems like a good product. I like it for the fact that I can read my codes with it. I dont think I am getting the punch I could be getting if I were using one of the other style of chips.

Who is a trustworthy vendor with good prices/parts?

There are scores of vendors out there. Dale Isley at TYMAR Performance is a PSD guru. Heres his website, its not much more than a link right now as he is rebuilding it, but there is a phone number and e-mail info there.
TYMAR

This guy is up and coming in the deisel performance arena. He's laying down some real good injector kits for us PSD'ers at a very reasonable price, his website also has numerous other products from chips to tranny's. Check out Jonathans stuff at Swamps place.

Swamp Donkey

DPP sells good quality parts for Ford,Chevy and Dodge. I bought my turbo down pipe from them. Excellent service.

Deisel Performance parts

 

[Mike]

XcumminsX,

Go back to the warroom, you are adding nothing of value to this thread.

Mike

 

[Dieselmaster]

Originally posted by XcumminsX
Dont get mad just cecause ford is crap....Show me one ford that has lasted over 500,000...

This isn't the place for this kind of BS... Everyone but yourself, are trying to keep the Tech forums civil to attract people to this board... If you want to start something, there are already several threads in the warroom just for this kind of junk. Infact I believe one of them is dedicated just to you. But leave this one alone.

 

[XcumminsX]

OK, I understand..Sorry. I tried to delete my 2 posts but it wont let me...Someone please do it

Nick

 

[Dieselmaster]

I don't have too much experince with the trucks under my 99... though my buddy has a 95 and we have done a couple of things to it....

We added a SC right off the bat... it definatly was noticable... not as much as it would be in an automatic but it was definately better than stock...

We also change his clutch to a single piece flywheel... That DMF sucked in major way.

One of the things that really got my attention with the older models was the downpipe... That is just nuts how the squeezed that thing down to make it fit in there... In my opinion that is one of the first things that I would change if it were my truck....

I personally am a big fan of letting the motor breathe better. Like everyone else has said... more air in and more air out. I think any of the different intakes will work and it comes down to personal preferance. The exhaust can be a little more spendy but I highly recommend it.

Also to me gauges are must if hauling... you can hit high temps so fast if your not watching it... I was just hauling something a couple of weeks ago and was going up a pass... The truck was pulling real easy and I still had lots of pedal left but my buddy was watching my gauges and was like " How hot did you say that the pyro should read before you need to start worrying." I was already at 1400...

I also have the Transgo shift kit in my truck... I have said it before but I will say it again... If I had to shoose between the chip and the shift kit... it would be a tough decision... The shift kit just made the truck that more enjoyable.... That was when I had the SC.

Actually, now that I have my new DI 4 setting chip, there is no comparison... This new chip is a monster... even in the lower settings... its just plain mean...

 

[BRONCO]

SC ? Super chip micro tuner.
DI 4 ????

I will recomend the air box upgrade ,down pipe and tranny cooler and gauges before anything else. Being in Colorado and all I am sure the EGT's could skyrocket at 7000 -10000 Feet elevation.

 

[hheynow]

As 95_Stroker said a 28,000 rated stacked cooler is what many are using. Check out the TruCool 4590 as well as Hayden coolers. When I installed my TruCool I replaced the three cooler tranny hoses with new ones (supplied with the cooler). Check the old hoses to make sure they are supple and have not chafed themselves thin.

 

[Dieselmaster]

Originally posted by BRONCO
SC ? Super chip micro tuner.
DI 4 ????

SC = Superchip, no microtuner ... I used to sell SC so I have all the equipment and such to just do the chips... I don't have much experience with the tuners... infact I have no experience with the tuners..... SC makes all their programs on the mild side as to keep from breaking things... At least thats my opinion of them... If your wanting something a little more peppy then a TS or DI chip is better....

Oh yeah DI = Diesel Innovations, David Lott...

I got one of his chips from a guy who totaled his truck... I had them reprogram the chip for my code... All I can say is wow... even the mild program that is supposed to be like 50hp is more than the 80hp I was running with the SC....

The throttle response is crisp, right there when you give it some... The power pulls strong all the way up... Its very nice. the 125hp setting is just plain nuts... It smokes like a freight train when you floor it. Crazy power.....

 

[Quadzilla]

All the information given is good, with one exception:
HHeynow said: "If he adds a chip then the PCM will need to be re-flashed."
That isn't true, unless the chip is one of the old single-page chips. All the chips nowadays are of the four-page variety, and they over-write the code in the pcm. My pcm is a TEE5 code, my chip is TDE0. Once the chip went in, my truck forgot it was ever a TEE5. No pcm reflash necessary.

 

[hheynow]

hheynow: Chips & tuners...I have no first hand opinions.

QZ, Just shows how much I need to learn...