Opinions on what to do to my '97 F350 7.3L powerstroke

[rangerfredbob]

Took the plunge and ordered a Mishimoto radiator and Gates water pump last night from Amazon, they had the radiator for $370 on Prime...

I'll flush the cooling system while it's apart, it sounds like a good time to pull the grille and see what cutting needs to be done for the intercooler... at least see if I can get the cutting done.

 

[rangerfredbob]

To do a compression test the valve covers have to come off and at least the glow plugs have to come out which is around a 3 hour job on a good day... who knows if the glow plugs will come out anyway, could have to pull heads when I get there if any break off...

 

[Barnbuilder]

Yea I've done it a couple a couple times. But it would be good to know before spending a lot of money.

 

[rangerfredbob]

Pretty sure I found my cooling issues today... I put the new Mashimoto radiator in and the new water pump, once I got the radiator out I noticed about 1/4 of it was plugged externally with mud/dirt, and some pretty nasty coolant goo was in the bottom. Flipped it over and ran the garden hose through it and it flowed pretty slow and a lot of the milky yellow mixture flowed out for several minutes... To top that off the thermostat was installed wrong, it should be under the gasket and it was over the gasket...

Flushed it with a few gallons of distilled water after I pulled the radiator and before I pulled the water pump, topped it off with fresh coolant, some "NAPA Cool" and distilled water... I don't have anything lined up that will test it's cooling capabilities since it was fairly specific on what it took to get it hot...

Weather is not cooperating for anything, the last several weeks there's been really nice weather during the week and rain/wind on the weekends... today I had the popup canopy up over me since it was raining, then there was a 20+ mph cross wind... quite frustrating... Anyway in depth health checks aren't in the cards right now but I'll see what I can do when I get further...

I don't know if I mentioned it earlier but on the last trip I was around 19k pounds I think over the pass, I was running it a little harder (higher rpm sooner) than normal and made it up most areas at a higher speed than normal but on the long hard areas it just got hot... still had some to give but no room temp wise, just not enough to get to 4th gear with no boost under 2000rpm.

 

[Hay Dude]

Pretty sure I found my cooling issues today... I put the new Mashimoto radiator in and the new water pump, once I got the radiator out I noticed about 1/4 of it was plugged externally with mud/dirt, and some pretty nasty coolant goo was in the bottom. Flipped it over and ran the garden hose through it and it flowed pretty slow and a lot of the milky yellow mixture flowed out for several minutes... To top that off the thermostat was installed wrong, it should be under the gasket and it was over the gasket...

Flushed it with a few gallons of distilled water after I pulled the radiator and before I pulled the water pump, topped it off with fresh coolant, some "NAPA Cool" and distilled water... I don't have anything lined up that will test it's cooling capabilities since it was fairly specific on what it took to get it hot...

Weather is not cooperating for anything, the last several weeks there's been really nice weather during the week and rain/wind on the weekends... today I had the popup canopy up over me since it was raining, then there was a 20+ mph cross wind... quite frustrating... Anyway in depth health checks aren't in the cards right now but I'll see what I can do when I get further...

I don't know if I mentioned it earlier but on the last trip I was around 19k pounds I think over the pass, I was running it a little harder (higher rpm sooner) than normal and made it up most areas at a higher speed than normal but on the long hard areas it just got hot... still had some to give but no room temp wise, just not enough to get to 4th gear with no boost under 2000rpm.

Thats what I thought was going on! Another indicator of clogged radiator is poor AC performance.
9 out of 10 times, most problems are simple, easy fixes.
Lets hope this was the fix.

 

[crashz]

Glad you found the issues! Those cooling stacks can trap a lot of crud. I think the fan actually pulls stuff into them.

Pulling hills with 35 inch tall tires and at 19K gross combined weight is a chore for a modern truck. Let a lone a 23 year old rig.

I was reminded of you when I got a few loads of recycled asphalt for my parking area. I took 3 tons at a time, so my scale weights were right around the GVWR of 15,000lbs. Overall, the truck drove great, but I had a good grade to pull from a dead stop on a right hand turn, and she had all she could handle accelerating to traffic speed uphill when in third gear. I never saw boost higher than 13psi, but could hear the whistle coming on around 3psi. My engine is healthy, relatively young (180K) and purrs like a kitten. But she will not keep up with a modern 6.7L diesel.

 

[YLee Kioti]

So with cooling done I looked for exhaust parts and saw none.
SO did you replace the OEM crushed down pipe? That normally chokes off good flow.
Replacing the the down pipe and a slightly larger (not by much) turbo will spiffy up the perky get with a bit more go.
Also the fuel pressure can be upped a bit by shimming
the spring. This was done in the fuel filter housing. So take a look at yours.
Course going on memory of my 2003 PS 7.3l
Installed a Amsoil by-pass kit. 350k is not bad, good maintenance and 500k should be doable.

The guys at diesel Stop should help out more. I left them when I sold my 2003 11 years later.
Not fast but a steady hard working engine.
Best of luck....

 

[rangerfredbob]

It is a hard worker, runs like a top, just one needing some freshening...

I saw the thing on the regulator spring, need to look into some of those other things. I do have a replacement mechanical pump I've been meaning to put in it...

I'm pretty sure the radiator was factory, the lower hose is, still has the stapled on hose clamp...

I don't want to be stranded doing what I do with the thing so I'd rather have less questionable parts, it's working now but the HPOP is unknown, one of those left me stranded before, it's time for injectors, and should do glow plugs, turbo pedestal is leaking so might as well freshen the turbo with replacement wheels... with all the uphill travel an intercooler will help...

I didn't do the work on it before, I've looked up there and the down pipe is round and 3" so someone did that at some point. Most of what I've done to it has been maintenance: oil cooler O rings, starter, air filter, oil changes, lowered it 2", resealed filter bowl, valve cover gaskets, glow plug relay, changed HPOP, changed cam sensor, changed HPOP sensor and a list of other piddly things...

 

[YLee Kioti]

I also installed a Baldwin fuel water separator.

Got it here- https://www.dieselsite.com/

A upgraded fuel pump will help also instead of the OEM.

If the frame is in good shape this looks like a keeper to freshen up and enjoy for years.

 

[rangerfredbob]

I haven't driven the thing unloaded in a LONG time, I'm talking no trailer and nothing in the bed, it's pretty sporty for a 7400lb beast... I had to pay attention to speed as it accelerates a LOT faster than the '97 Ranger and has more snoot left at 60mph in 5th gear... it's downfalls must be turbo related and probably worn injectors, it used to have a little more power...

That said, so far so good on the radiator, thermostat holds it to the same temperature it did before, the excavator I towed wasn't far or up any hills so no ideas how much better it works...