2002 F250 diesel - discovery and build thread.

[ericbphoto]

Test drive complete.

 

[Blmpkn]

Burnout video?


Those craftsman screwdriver handles are my absolute favorite... for whatever reason. I despise solid color handle screwdrivers.

 

[ericbphoto]

Burnout video?


Those craftsman screwdriver handles are my absolute favorite... for whatever reason. I despise solid color handle screwdrivers.

Haven't tried a burnout yet.. pretty sure it will do it now. It chirped the tires during a shift accelerating up a steep 2-lane mountain road the other day. That was before adding the tuner.

I grew up on Craftsman screwdrivers. Those are the only handles that truly feel right in my hand. I still have a bunch of them even though I switched to Klien years ago because their blades last longer in heavy use.

 

[RobbieD]

Absolutely.

Cool. They just don't make stuff anymore like they used to.

 

[RobbieD]

Test drive complete.

View attachment 103154

Congratulations!

Any test drive that you don't walk home from is to be considered an unqualified success.

 

[scotts90ranger]

I'm very interested in the thoughts on the tunes as it's hard to read how things work... I completely despise "modern" throttle curves, most new things use 1/4 throttle to do 70mph, I like the setup on the 2.3L Rangers where it's linear through the whole pedal movement, sure those are gutless but so is a 7.3L when it's loaded going up hill... I have a manual so I want to start from a stop without looking like I don't know what I'm doing... I sand camp sometimes so sometimes it takes some throttle finesse to make things work...

I should probably order my pile of parts soon before the new years price hikes happen... I should probably call who you dealt with before I just order online through full force or whereever I said...

 

[ericbphoto]

I'm very interested in the thoughts on the tunes as it's hard to read how things work... I completely despise "modern" throttle curves, most new things use 1/4 throttle to do 70mph, I like the setup on the 2.3L Rangers where it's linear through the whole pedal movement, sure those are gutless but so is a 7.3L when it's loaded going up hill... I have a manual so I want to start from a stop without looking like I don't know what I'm doing... I sand camp sometimes so sometimes it takes some throttle finesse to make things work...

I should probably order my pile of parts soon before the new years price hikes happen... I should probably call who you dealt with before I just order online through full force or whereever I said...

This tuner can hold up to 15 tunes. I could have downloaded more. But I read somewhere a few weeks ago that I shouldn't mess with any that add more than about 80hp unless other hardware mods have been do to support it. The tuner site has a long list of free tunes. Plus, you can get others to create custom tunes for you. I don't think I need that. The 40hp daily tune is probably what I'll run most if the time. The modified stock tune is interesting. I noticed extremely firm shifts with that one. Not sure what else they did in that tune. I would assume that most of the towing tunes center on modified shift points in addition to the power stuff. If you have a manual transmission, they might not make much difference other than the power.

I did find out that it seems I am now overboosting the MAP sensor at full throttle with higher rpm. There is an easy remedy for that.

Your comment about the 7.3l being gutless definitely does NOT apply to mine. Not by a long shot.

 

[scotts90ranger]

Ok, gutless is taking it a bit far , mine's a rocket ship (my normal baseline reference is a 2.3L Ranger, doesn't take much to seem faster) stock and worn out when it's empty, once you get the combined weight over 12k pounds things start slowing down on hills which is usually where my buddy with a stock '02 Duramax will pass me going up hill because he can... and at that point it isn't too hard because I'm usually in 3rd gear going 38mph...

Yeah, the going past where you are is part of why I need a bunch of $$ in parts, the older HPOP's can't handle as much power as yours can which is one of the limitations so on my list is stage 1 injectors and a ported HPOP which should let me run a tuner for 100hp which is all I want... that's still like $2500 in parts then the labor of putting in the intercooler... and the injectors...

 

[ericbphoto]

Used it to tow the Ranger down to the local ORV Park today, about an hour each way. I am duly impressed again. I used the +40hp towing tune. 20ft car trailer with built Ranger on it. Anyone who says diesels are slow either doesn't know anything about modern diesels or is trying to compare them to top fuel dragster. I can accelerate and pass at will on any interstate terrain.

 

[scotts90ranger]

Yep, sounds about right, turbo diesels just love to eat... the time I lost most of the lug studs on the rear wheel of my F350 while I was towing with a camper in the bed it'd felt a little odd around 70mph (combined weight around 18k?), pretty sure I didn't lose any of the studs until I stopped at the intersection... did great until I get to uphill sections that are longer than a mile or two...

 

[ericbphoto]

Well, it has been running nicely. I've been trying to figure out how to get the best economy out of it. That's frustrating. For the last 2 weeks, I have been running on the "stock modified" tune. That seemed like it was doing alright. But, when I stopped to fill up last night, the trip odometer indicated only 417 miles driven, for a mpg calculation of about 13.5ish. I could have sworn my last fillup was 500 miles ago by my memory of the odometer. So I wonder if there is an issue with my trip odometer (electronic). I'm pretty sure I have seen it zero out on it's own a couple times in the past without me pushing the button. Anyway, if I had driven 500 miles over the past 2 weeks, that would give me 17mpg. That's better. Not what I want, but better. For the next 2 weeks, I'm going to drive with the tuner bypassed and see what happens. I also wrote down the odometer reading when I zeroed the trip odometer, this time.

In other news, it started up on the first try this morning in 15 degree weather. It was a bit sluggish (batteries aren't exactly new) and took some extra cranking. But I did NOT have to recycle the glow plugs for a second try. That seems pretty good to me. I just got home from Lowe's where I bought a wifi switch/ timer thingy so I can plug in the block heater and schedule it to turn on about 3 hrs before I need to leave for work in the mornings. That should be the ticket to perfect cold weather starts.

 

[sgtsandman]

Do they do the winter fuel thing with diesel? If so, that might be part of the problem aside from the extended warm up cycle just because it is cold

 

[ericbphoto]

Do they do the winter fuel thing with diesel? If so, that might be part of the problem aside from the extended warm up cycle just because it is cold

I don't know if anything is different in diesel in the winter, or not. As far as starting is concerned, I think it's doing fine. Exactly what I expect. Concerning fuel economy, I don't really know what to expect. If I'm getting 17, that's not horrible for this big heavy beast. It maybe ought to be closer to 20. I thought Matt mentioned It should or could be low 20s. But I don't know what the design criteria was when new.

 

[sgtsandman]

I don't know if anything is different in diesel in the winter, or not. As far as starting is concerned, I think it's doing fine. Exactly what I expect. Concerning fuel economy, I don't really know what to expect. If I'm getting 17, that's not horrible for this big heavy beast. It maybe ought to be closer to 20. I thought Matt mentioned It should or could be low 20s. But I don't know what the design criteria was when new.

The impression I have is the same, low 20s when not doing anywork. But that might be under ideal conditions. My 2011 is supposed to get 23 on the highway and never did see that when everything was still stock. It came damn close a time or two but never hit it. But your guess is as good as mine.

 

[ericbphoto]

The impression I have is the same, low 20s when not doing anywork. But that might be under ideal conditions. My 2011 is supposed to get 23 on the highway and never did see that when everything was still stock. It came damn close a time or two but never hit it. But your guess is as good as mine.

I haven't measured an "all highway" tank full yet. I'll get that in February when I take mom up to Pennsylvania to see my brother and his family.