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Old 06-30-2019, 08:28 AM   #21
sonofcy
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BTW, the 450 tires are 19.5"
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Old 06-30-2019, 11:00 AM   #22
Matt1959
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7.3

Mine started doing that right before the transmission blew up. New trans fixed it.
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Old 06-30-2019, 11:33 AM   #23
RVFD20
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From my experience the 7.3 was a beast out of the gate but quickly lost momentum in the mid range. About ten years ago my brother had a 2002 250 with the 7.3, my dad had a 2005 250 with the 6.0, and I had a 2001 6.6 duramax. We all pulled the same loads frequently doing construction work and here was my experience from those trucks. Off the line the 7.3 would out pull all of them but once you hit the mid range you are referring to it would lose steam and the duramax would pass it by. The 6.0 was the fastest of them all empty but it struggled to find a happy place at cruising speed and constantly downshifted, especially loaded. Those 7.3’s are practically bulletproof other than high pressure oil pumps and seals, and a downright mule off the line, but they definitely saw improvements with programmers that would also time transmission shifts. They weren’t known for speed either but you could rest assured they would get you and your load wherever you were going.
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Old 06-30-2019, 11:33 AM   #24
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Worked for me!

I had a Banks 6 fun tuner put on my 01 7.3 and was very pleased with how much better it performed. I never went past the #3 level and it worked great!
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Old 06-30-2019, 02:51 PM   #25
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So I'm wondering if anyone has ever changed out their differential for a different ratio, like a 4:10? If so, how much difference did it make? I am considering this instead of building up the engine and want to know how much more pulling power I could expect and what other issues it might cause.
Thanks.
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Old 06-30-2019, 02:56 PM   #26
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Mine was a 6 speed manual, but she never struggled with my 8,000ish lb camper anywhere in any gear. It had a 3.73 rear end.

Loved that truck.Click image for larger version

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Old 06-30-2019, 04:08 PM   #27
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Hey everyone I want to apologize, I didn't think this thread had any interest until Al (aka alleycat) private messaged me and realized the thread was going strong and my notifications were in spam... Al and I came to the conclusion that my truck might be slightly confused on shifts just due it being a lighter trailer, everyone has always said put the pedal down and that's all well and good but I fly when doing so and I refuse to tow that way, when I'm lighter on the throttle i get the early shifts and I agree with Al's take on it that it does seem like my truck is confused if it's supposed to pull like its empty or pull like it's full! It's the last thing that I feel it could be this truck has been looked over front and back and my parts list is to the max! I make 7 to 9 lbs boost at about 55 to 60 while towing and I do have 285/75/16s I think that answers 2 questions that were asked earlier... I might now be investigating a chip/Tuner with a tow haul mode. Thank you guys for your help and input I wasnt getting this from a different forum everyone just wanted to say put the pedal down or I need up pipes yadayada so thanks a ton!
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Old 06-30-2019, 04:30 PM   #28
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I think tuning could help you with that a lot. I don't know what sort of magic they could work on those transmissions, but the shifting of my 6r80 is cleaned up very much with a tow tune. Tuning turned my '99 7.3 into a whole different truck, but there was no tranny tuning involved, so no experience there.
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Old 06-30-2019, 07:49 PM   #29
Ken / Claudia
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FYI, I owned the 02 until this year. Put the super chip tuner in at 40,000 miles blew up the tranny at 42,000 or so. Due to over torquing the factory tranny. When it blew up I was left with 1st gear. I went with a aftermarket tranny, gauges, 2x lager tranny cooler with electric fan to use if it got hot again. That tranny was around 5400 including the other items it was around 6,000 bucks back in 08. It was wonderful and worked much better than OEM tranny. I had that so long I forgot about the old days and old shifting patterns. It was costly, but it worked and likely will as long or longer than the engine. Most I knew back then blew their trannies up if towing heavy RVs and many were buying upgraded ones from a shop in CA. I sold mine in March with 183,000 miles on it. The dealer placed it for sale at 21,775. Partly due to overall condition ,but also due to the tranny. I had the paperwork to show what it was.
Back in 1996, I test drove a 7.3 with 4:10 or 4:11 rear end and my opinion was if it was a ranch truck or always a heavy loaded work truck it would be ok but the 3:73 is better. When at freeway speeds the RPMs were higher, truck louder, taking your foot off the throttle at 65 mph was like putting the brakes on. Unknown by me what the fuel mileage was. After test driving a truck with each the answer was easy for me. I got the 1996 7.3 super cab 4x4 off road and maybe would still have it but wanted, not needed a crew cab.
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Old 07-01-2019, 02:18 AM   #30
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I wouldn't do anything like superchips. I'd go with a custom tuner who will review data logs and edit the tuning to your liking. Gearhead is known for great trans tuning, but I don't know what he does with the 7.3. I would think the goal here is little to no increase in power output, and better shift/TC strategies.
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Old 07-02-2019, 06:51 AM   #31
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While towing I lock it out of O.D.

Mine is the same. I live with it. When towing, lock out OD, but when flat, or downhill, i hit the release button, and it pulls fine. ( Pretty much means freeway time only)


Quote:
Originally Posted by Deeds View Post
Hey I'm trying to get a bit of insight here, I know it's bad to lug a diesel and that 7.3s like rpm, but I'm not sure if it's normal to struggle on acceleration like I am...
My TTs 6k lbs and my truck does fine accelerating in 1st and 2nd and I can keep my rpms up but when it shift 3rd with the torque converter being locked my rpms dump to around 1300 to 1400 rpm and being out of my powerband it kinda has to lug back up to the sweet spot but once I'm there its gotta shift to 4th/od and I gotta work on getting my rpms up again... I am constantly getting told to chip it and I really don't want to do that, I just dont know is this normal for these trucks to hate their own gear ratios like mine does or do I gotta look for other issues? Thanks anyone in advance that provides input!
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Old 07-03-2019, 04:37 AM   #32
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if your looking at tuning, check out DP tuners, he was the best 7.3 tuner around for many years. I had a couple of his towing tunes with some custom lock ups on the torque converter and it towed a 9000lb trailer like a dream.

Steve
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Old 07-03-2019, 04:39 AM   #33
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DP is who I used to tune mine. They treated me well and the tunes were great. Strong but apparently plenty safe. I drove the bajeezus out of that truck from 200,000 miles to 340,000, and the new owner is still without issues.
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Old 07-03-2019, 06:43 AM   #34
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I have a 2002 F250 with the 7.3. I added the TS Performance 6-position tuner to my truck a couple years ago. I also upgraded the exhaust to a 4" system and added a gauge for EGT. When I tow my 33" Hideout 299RLDS I usually set it to the 75hp setting. This is a noticeable difference in power and helps to keep my EGT down. I do knock off the overdrive at times when I notice the EGT moving up on long hills. The rpm's increase but the EGT drops substantially.
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