A few general questions on 7.3 turbo diesel.

Hello, a friend of mine has a 1994 (I think) F-350 with a 7.3turbo diesel, but it does not say powerstroke anywhere. He would like to add a little power since the truck is a 4 door duallie and it is terribly slow. The engine is in very good working condition, everything is as it should be, he'd just like a little more power out of it. IS there anything we can do to this truck to increase power levels without spending tons of money? I have a 12V cummins and you can turn these trucks way up with only free mods to the P7100 fuel pump. Is there any similiar mods for these trucks? He'd be happy to be in the 225-250hp range, so we're not looking to set any records here.

I appreciate any help you can give me to work on my friends truck

Thanks,
George

gstanfield said:

Hello, a friend of mine has a 1994 (I think) F-350 with a 7.3turbo diesel, but it does not say powerstroke anywhere. He would like to add a little power since the truck is a 4 door duallie and it is terribly slow. The engine is in very good working condition, everything is as it should be, he'd just like a little more power out of it. IS there anything we can do to this truck to increase power levels without spending tons of money? I have a 12V cummins and you can turn these trucks way up with only free mods to the P7100 fuel pump. Is there any similiar mods for these trucks? He'd be happy to be in the 225-250hp range, so we're not looking to set any records here.

I appreciate any help you can give me to work on my friends truck

Thanks,
George

Click to expand...

Are you sure this is a "turbo" diesel? I know in 94 they had turbo diesels, because I do have exhaust for that truck. I just cant remember if they were half years or not. I've got a buddy that has one (actually I think its a 96 but it's still a duallie) and our kit helped his truck tremendously. Cooler EGT's quicker spooling,....not to mention he is testing our 5" set up on that truck. Thats about all I know on the exhaust side of this truck....hopefully someone with tuner knowledge will chime in.

You can chip the old IDI's

Ford messed around with diesels in the early 90s with multiple 7.3 litre configurations and they can be hard to follow. The 7.3 was turbocharged in 93. In 93 there were both non turbo and turbo models. In 94 the turboed idi was carried over but the powerstroke was also introduced in 94. The powerstroke trucks looked the same as the turboed 7.3s with the same badging and everything on the outside. There was no powerstroke emblems on the outside of the truck. They all said "Turbo Diesel". In 95 the powerstroke was the only diesel and the they had the powerstroke emblems. That is why many people think that the 95 was the first year of the powerstroke. It was the first full year.

As for modifications. You cannot "chip" the idi's. They are mechanically controlled.
Obviously intake and exhaust should be the first mods. I am not sure if you will feel the mods but it is the first place to start on any diesel. Be creative, maybe a BHAF of some sorts?
You can turn up the pumps on these trucks with a fuel screw. Here is a link on how to turn up the fuel. But be carefull. You don't have to turn it much to get power. For reference, the general rule when adding a turbo was only 1/4 of a turn. The pump I helped with ended up with plenty of black smoke and eventually seeping head gaskets. Go in small increments. Like 1/8th of a turn.
I am not sure on timing. If you find a good diesel shop that has been around for a while they could tell you.
I would start there and see what you get. Have fun.

Don't forget egt and boost gauges!!!!
Keep boost at 12psi and less
Egts under 1100 for reliability.
You can adjust the boost on the turbo.
Beyond these things you are looking at quite a bit more money. Turbo, intercooler, etc.

Thanks for the input so far. I have found several dead ends on exhaust so far, I'll talk to crazycowboy and see what he has to offer. As to the turbo, I'm certain it is turbo, I took the intake boot off to see if it had a silencer to remove like my Cummins did. The turbo was a cute little thing, about the right size for my motorcycle.

As to it being a powerstroke or not, how can I tell? know nothing about fords except the 2001 Superduty V-10 I sold to buy my Cummins. Should it have wires going to the injectors for a powerstroke model? Help me out here and thanks so far for all the good advice.

George

www.dps-performance.com has all kinds of goodies for the IDI motors

It sounds like you've got the farely rare IDI turbo diesel. I'd either chat with Ken at DPS or take it to the local pump builder (if you know one)

the downfall to these motors is the high compression, so you can only take it so far without cracking into the motor.

I had one of these trucks and heres a few things I would start out with:

-they have a 2" downpipe stock, loose it for a three inch, kitty delete, and a good muffler and it will wake up considerably (I have a feeling Ford did that to de-tune the motor a little bit, and make the 7.3 PSD that much more appealing)

-after that get yourself a better intake setup... I went to Napa and got an air filter from a bulldozer and made the rest

-then take that puppy down to the pump shop, and get her dialed in... this ones the kicker, the fella that did mine turned the fuel, adjusted the pump timing as well as did a few "trade secrets" and it made a huge difference

-If that doesn't get you there get yourself a set of injectors from DPS or like me I'm just running some stock (stock for some other motor I think) IH injectors that the pump guy told me to get...

-Anything more than that you'll have to build the bottom end with lower commpression pistons and stronger connecting rods



with this setup it will outrun a chipped 7.3 PSD, and the total cost isn't that bad, especially if you turn the pump yourself.


Edit: if it is a powerstroke it will say 7.3 direct injection on top of the motor. If it just says "turbo diesel" then its the IDI motor. A good rule of thumb in 1994 these engines were made, in 1994.5 the PSD came out. If your truck is a '94 with an auto it has the 7.3 IDI turbo diesel, they only put the PSD with the 5 speed in '94 and only for half of the year so if its got a stick it could go both ways.

another note: I have never dealt with ken at DPS, i have met him he seems like a nice guy but I have heard some rumors floating around about some of his PSD stuff. I've never heard anything bad about any of his IDI products.

Some claim that Ken at DPS is a dead end...I personally havent ever dealt with him before, some have good luck, others dont. Actually in 94 there were 3 diesel options at one point or another, available for sale at one point in time. A 7.3LIDI no turbo, 7.3LIDI turbo diesel...from the outside its identical to the no turbo model except with an ATS turbo kit on it. Then the 7.3LDI Powerstroke. You can turn that pump up fairly easy, get ahold of an ATS turbine housing and downpipe upgrade...basically makes it 3" right of the turbo w/o the junky restricting downpipe. Call hypermax and get a cowl air induction, cheap, easy mod, and also, it gives you some helacious turbo whistle, some claim that it rivals the 99+ powerstrokes. Get exhaust for a OBS stroker, 4" would be sufficient. If you go turning the fuel up, Boost and EGT gauges are basically essential. I dont have them yet, but I dont really rod on my truck too hard, I know its limits. Depending on how old your IP and injectors are they may be in order, they seem to wake an old tired motor up, probably increasing fuel milage to boot.

Shawn