Several
years ago I upgraded my pickup truck from a 1990 F150 2wd 6 cyl. (the old Ford
300c.i.d. engine, great engine for light trucks) and bought this 1997 F250 4x4
with a Powerstroke diesel. The change was necessitated by a sudden increase
in my family (two more kids in a little more than a year). We didn't own a vehicle
that would comfortably hold all five of us. It was one of the best moves I've
ever made. The truck has been off the beaten path a lot, including in Big Bend
National Park.
I
really needed an ALL-Purpose vehicle. This is IT. Cruises down the highway with
five people with no trouble at all (and everyone is comfortable). Hauls a tremendous
amount of gear (or pulls a trailer) easily. Goes offroad like a goat. You wouldn't
believe some of the places I've put this beast. I've crawled rock, slogged through
mud, driven in deep sand - the truck just keeps going. It gets better fuel mileage
than the old F150 did (20-21 on the highway at 75mph with the AC running).
Of
course, all this comes with a price. Maintenance is pretty steep. Takes 14 quarts
of oil for an oil change. Filters, antifreeze, etc. are similarly expensive.
However, the engine comes with a 100,000 mile warranty and I'm aiming for 500,000.
And Man...there's nothing like stomping the accelerator at ~1800rpm as the turbo
kicks in and feeling that punch.
There
are a lot of web pages out there about Ford Powerstrokes. Read some of the comments.
Almost everyone who has one loves it. A lot of the pages are about modifying
the engine to get even more power. For a long time I resisted making any mods,
but after 3 years and 60k miles I've gotten interested in improving performance
(partly inspired by the expiration of my factory warranty). The Ford/Navistar
7.3 diesel has enormous potential, but it is possible to make modifications
that markedly improve the performance of this engine.
Some
useful pages.... DieselStop.com - (Was
Ford-Diesel.com until Ford made them stop using the name, seems like ford might
have better things to do) great page, lots of information, wonderful message
boards and discussion forums Ford-Powerstroke.com
- biased towards the new Superduties, some useful information Steve Baz's home page
- Great page, lot's of really useful info and links. And, Steve's
truck looks almost as good as mine, but I think he needs front brush bars Joe Servo's Powerstroke Enthusiasts
Website - nice site, good info Swamp Donkey's
Diesel Site - interesting modifications Carpentractor's
Web Site - great articles on maintenance
and repair
I
left the truck completely stock for a long time (even put stock-sized tires
on it once - but only once). Recently I've been making some performance modifications.
Some of those changes are mentioned below, others are described on my modifications
page. I've also upgraded the factory stereo
system.
I
replaced the stock front hubs. The automatic hubs are WORTHLESS. They left me
stuck on the beach a couple of years ago. The hubs dropped out of 4wd when I
parked the truck. They won't lock up unless the truck is moving, and you can't
move in deep sand in 2wd. A set of Warn manual hubs fixed that problem (cheaper
than replacements from Ford).
I
really like the way this system works. I have complete control over both ends
of the front drive. When I expect to need 4wd (e.g. when we go to the beach
for a week in the summer, or when I'm working out in the boonies for a few days)
I lock in the front hubs. Then if I need 4wd it's just a matter of pulling the
lever and putting the transfer case in gear. Of course, while I was trying to
diagnose a "clunk" noise in the front end I discovered that the shop
that installed the hubs hadn't replaced the spindle nuts (as they should have).
The
modification program started out inocently enough, I replaced the MAP sensor
with a MAP simulator circuit. I
wasn't trying to improve performance (although it did), I was just trying to
restore performance when the MAP sensor quit (for the second time). The increase
in performance was so dramatic that I decided to try some other modifications
to unleash the potential of this engine (supported by the freedom of an expired
warranty). I've made several modifications recommended on the Diesel-Stop
forums including the 10K mod, shimming the fuel pressure regulator, and a crossover
hose between the high pressure oil galleries on the heads.
Easily
the most ambitious and most extensive (and most expensive) modification has
been the addition of a 4" suspension
lift kit. Of course I added bigger tires at the same time (only bought stock
size tires once, only once in my life). I really like the lift. The truck looks
even better (and it was a sharp truck to begin with). It drives and rides great.
I installed the lift kit
myself and there's more information on that page.
Another
large project was a clutch
replacement and getting rid of the Dual Mass Flywheel. I also installed
a new turbo downpipe while I was in there.
