Upgrades and Aftermarket - 6.0L EngineUpgrading and adding aftermarket equipment to your 2003-Up Super Duty or Excursion with 6.0L Power Stroke diesel engine. Please confine discussion of topics in this forum to those items that are specific to the 6.0L Power Stroke engine.
I just purchased and installed the SCT Xcal2 in the Econo mode into my 2003 Ford F250 Crewcab 4X4 with 6.0 PSD.
I was wondering if any one noticed any milage increase with the SCT Xcal2 in either Enoco of Tow mode. Next question, Will the econo or tow mode be safe to use when pulling a 18' Bassboat about 3000 lbs and an in the bed truck camper about 2500 lbs. Total weight about 5500 to 6000 lbs not including the truck.
I don't have an exhaust temp gauge installed and was'nt planning on installing one. When I tow I drive very easy at speeds of 65 to 75 mph to get the max fuel economy.
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2003 F250 XLT 4X4 Crewcab 6.0 PSD,Auto Trans, 3.73 Gear, Toreador Red,Procomp Leveling Kit, 33" Procomp Allterrain Tires on Eagle Aluminum Rims.Silverton 4" SS Catback exhaust. Engine Date 10/20/02 Truck Date 12/02
Diesel engines are like Whiskey they get better with age.
really not exactly what you are asking about as far as the tune goes, but, if you even plan on pulling or hauling anything with the program installed, you NEED head studs. it will be very risky to run a tune with a load and no head studs on a 6L. but it is a light load, you may be ok with the head studs and leaving the tune in, but i dont know what tunes you will have installed, so im not sure if the tune is safe to tow with, im sure others will chime in with further enlightenment.
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EARLY 99 F350, CREW CAB, LONG BED. 4X4 7.3L AUTOMATIC. EDGE JUICE W/ ATTITUDE. 4" EXHAUST, NO MFFLER, 6" TIP, COLD AIR INTAKE, "THROTTLE BODY SPACER" (ACTUALLY JUST AN INSERT IN THE INTERCOOLER LINE TO ROTATE THE AIR). DVD PLAYER, PS2, IN DASH TV, POWER INVERTER, 2-10" INFINITY SUBS IN PORTED BOX. CLASS 5 REESE TOW PACKAGE, FLIP UP GOSENECK HITCH. CB/PA, WITH DUAL TRUCKER WHIPS. TOW MIRRORS, AND CAB LIGHTS, BUG GUARD AND WINDOW VISORS. 285/75 BFG ALL-TERRAINS.
SOON TO COME: LEVELING KIT, 33X12.50 BFG ALL TERRAINS ON BLACK DICK CEPEK 17" RIMS, EDGE EVOLUTION PROGRAMMER (STACKED), HIGH PERFORMANCE HPOP, POSSIBLY 10" STACKS!
Last edited by BLOWINSMOKE99STROKE : 07-08-2008 at 05:44 PM.
Okay now after reading about all the head bolt issues, I'm worried about the newly installed SCT Xcal 2 I installed in Econo mode.
My truck is stock except for 4" catback exhaust and now the tune. It is an 2003 with 39,000 original miles and the only repairs it saw to date were flashes, oil leak and an egr valve. Warranty expires next month.
Should I return it to a stock flash and sell the tuner or take my chances. My stock milage sucks 11-12.5 mpg (thats mainly city driving or on the road pulling a bassboat) I only installed the tune to try and increase milage. I also drive it very easy keeping the shifting under 2000 rpms.
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2003 F250 XLT 4X4 Crewcab 6.0 PSD,Auto Trans, 3.73 Gear, Toreador Red,Procomp Leveling Kit, 33" Procomp Allterrain Tires on Eagle Aluminum Rims.Silverton 4" SS Catback exhaust. Engine Date 10/20/02 Truck Date 12/02
Diesel engines are like Whiskey they get better with age.
For Me, Selling The Tuner Would Not Be An Option, The Fuel Mileage Increase Is Way Too Valuable. I Would Say Your Options Are To: Drive Easy And Take Your Chances; Or Just Get Some Head Studs. They're Relatively Cheap, And As I Recently Saw A Guy Prove, It Can Be Done In Your Driveway, Without Pulling The Cab Or Motor, But It Is A Long Job. It Took Him 3 Weekends To Do His, Working A Few Hours Each Sat And Sun. Or You Can Just Have A Shop Do It. I Personally Would Not Own A 6.0 With Out Head Studs, (stock Or Especially With A Tuner), But I Also Know Someone With A 03 6.0 And A Looney Tune, With No Head Studs And No Problems, And He Is The Fastest Truck In My Town. But It Can Be The Luck Of The Draw, Ive Heard Of stock 6.0's Stetching Head Bolts And Blowing Gaskets With Just Throwing A Trailer Behind It. It Is All Taking A Chance, And It Is Just The Luck Of The Draw, But With My Luck, I Would Cyoa And Get Some Head Studs. Just My Opinion. But You May Be Fine Driving Conservatively And No Heavy Loads, Leaving The Tune In.
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EARLY 99 F350, CREW CAB, LONG BED. 4X4 7.3L AUTOMATIC. EDGE JUICE W/ ATTITUDE. 4" EXHAUST, NO MFFLER, 6" TIP, COLD AIR INTAKE, "THROTTLE BODY SPACER" (ACTUALLY JUST AN INSERT IN THE INTERCOOLER LINE TO ROTATE THE AIR). DVD PLAYER, PS2, IN DASH TV, POWER INVERTER, 2-10" INFINITY SUBS IN PORTED BOX. CLASS 5 REESE TOW PACKAGE, FLIP UP GOSENECK HITCH. CB/PA, WITH DUAL TRUCKER WHIPS. TOW MIRRORS, AND CAB LIGHTS, BUG GUARD AND WINDOW VISORS. 285/75 BFG ALL-TERRAINS.
SOON TO COME: LEVELING KIT, 33X12.50 BFG ALL TERRAINS ON BLACK DICK CEPEK 17" RIMS, EDGE EVOLUTION PROGRAMMER (STACKED), HIGH PERFORMANCE HPOP, POSSIBLY 10" STACKS!
Sorry Dude, but I disagree. I have been driving with a tune of some type for over 70K miles. Most of that was unloaded with Extreme Street and the rest was towing 10K lbs or more with Aggressive Tow w/turbo brake. My truck is in my Sig and I do not have head studs. I've climbed mountains on my way to the dunes at speed and never had a problem. I do have guages and even at the top of that mountain, I was only at just under 1100 degrees. The tow tunes that Eric puts out are top-notch. I trust them, but I don't have to as I have guages to prove it.
If you don't drive like an idiot all of the time (I do sometimes), you may not need studs. That being said, it seems that every 6.0 is like a snowflake and no 2 are alike. I got lucky with mine. You maybe didn't with yours, who knows.
^^^ I Will Agree, No Two Are Alike, And You Probably Got A Good One. I Would Not Take The Chance Of Haveing A Bad One, Just Because I Know I Would Blow Some Stuff Up, But Yes There Are Some Good Ones Out There And You Can Get Lucky.
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EARLY 99 F350, CREW CAB, LONG BED. 4X4 7.3L AUTOMATIC. EDGE JUICE W/ ATTITUDE. 4" EXHAUST, NO MFFLER, 6" TIP, COLD AIR INTAKE, "THROTTLE BODY SPACER" (ACTUALLY JUST AN INSERT IN THE INTERCOOLER LINE TO ROTATE THE AIR). DVD PLAYER, PS2, IN DASH TV, POWER INVERTER, 2-10" INFINITY SUBS IN PORTED BOX. CLASS 5 REESE TOW PACKAGE, FLIP UP GOSENECK HITCH. CB/PA, WITH DUAL TRUCKER WHIPS. TOW MIRRORS, AND CAB LIGHTS, BUG GUARD AND WINDOW VISORS. 285/75 BFG ALL-TERRAINS.
SOON TO COME: LEVELING KIT, 33X12.50 BFG ALL TERRAINS ON BLACK DICK CEPEK 17" RIMS, EDGE EVOLUTION PROGRAMMER (STACKED), HIGH PERFORMANCE HPOP, POSSIBLY 10" STACKS!
^^^ I Will Agree, No Two Are Alike, And You Probably Got A Good One. I Would Not Take The Chance Of Haveing A Bad One, Just Because I Know I Would Blow Some Stuff Up, But Yes There Are Some Good Ones Out There And You Can Get Lucky.
Why Do You Capitalize Every Word?
Anyway, I have had an SCT tuner on my truck for over 50k miles now. For small towing jobs.....< 3k lbs., I don't switch over to my tow tune. I have not had head studs installed and there are very few times that it pukes. Just don't drive like an idiot!
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'03 250 CC SRW SWB, 4x4, XLT, 6.0 T/S, MBRP Turboback, Custom SCT, DiPricol Pyrometer, Adj Pedals, Reverse Sensors, ARE Z-Series Top, Sprayed bedliner, Remote Start/Keyless Entry, Edge Mini-spring pack, Bilsteins, 285's, Sirius Radio, Dark Highland Green
^^^ I Will Agree, No Two Are Alike, And You Probably Got A Good One. I Would Not Take The Chance Of Haveing A Bad One, Just Because I Know I Would Blow Some Stuff Up, But Yes There Are Some Good Ones Out There And You Can Get Lucky.
You do a lot of YACKING for someone that doesn't even own a 6.0. What's up with that anyway?
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'03 250 CC SRW SWB, 4x4, XLT, 6.0 T/S, MBRP Turboback, Custom SCT, DiPricol Pyrometer, Adj Pedals, Reverse Sensors, ARE Z-Series Top, Sprayed bedliner, Remote Start/Keyless Entry, Edge Mini-spring pack, Bilsteins, 285's, Sirius Radio, Dark Highland Green
I just purchased and installed the SCT Xcal2 in the Econo mode into my 2003 Ford F250 Crewcab 4X4 with 6.0 PSD.
I was wondering if any one noticed any milage increase with the SCT Xcal2 in either Enoco of Tow mode. Next question, Will the econo or tow mode be safe to use when pulling a 18' Bassboat about 3000 lbs and an in the bed truck camper about 2500 lbs. Total weight about 5500 to 6000 lbs not including the truck.
I don't have an exhaust temp gauge installed and was'nt planning on installing one. When I tow I drive very easy at speeds of 65 to 75 mph to get the max fuel economy.
I tried an econo-tune on my SCT. I wasn't very impressed. I get better mileage with the top tune that I have, an aggressive street tune. I picked up a couple mpg over stock. Just have to drive sanely.
Certainly your tow tune is good for your towing/hauling purposes. But like I said in a previous post, I might not even use that and use my normal higher power tune. Depends on the truck of course. I would bet your economy tune is a towing "safe" tune as well. But you probably won't get the added benefit of the nice transmission downshifts and delayed upshifts you'd get with the tow tune.
GET YOURSELF AN EGT GAUGE!!! I looked at my EGT gauge all the time when I first put the tuner on. Now I pretty much know what it does and only really look at it when towing heavy. But I HIGHLY recommend you get yourself one for piece of mind. To be honest, I hardly ever look at it anymore, but in hindsight, I'm glad I installed it.
With the weight you are towing though, just keep your eyes on things, smell for coolant and see if you have lost any if you've been working the engine.
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'03 250 CC SRW SWB, 4x4, XLT, 6.0 T/S, MBRP Turboback, Custom SCT, DiPricol Pyrometer, Adj Pedals, Reverse Sensors, ARE Z-Series Top, Sprayed bedliner, Remote Start/Keyless Entry, Edge Mini-spring pack, Bilsteins, 285's, Sirius Radio, Dark Highland Green
really not exactly what you are asking about as far as the tune goes, but, if you even plan on pulling or hauling anything with the program installed, you NEED head studs. it will be very risky to run a tune with a load and no head studs on a 6L. but it is a light load, you may be ok with the head studs and leaving the tune in, but i not firmilliar with their tunes, so im not sure if the tune is safe to tow with, im sure others will chime in with further enlightenment.
BULL EXCREMENT!!!!
What do you do, buddy.....read a couple posts on the board here and assume that if you run a tuner, you HAVE TO HAVE head studs?
Guess what? I don't have head studs and have been running with the custom tuned SCT for THOUSANDS of miles. Guess what again? Many of those miles are towing HEAVY!
People like you that spread such blatant disinformation are no help to this guy. Sure, some 6.0's have exhibited problems from excessive cylinder pressure due to tuners. I will go out on a limb and say that most of these tuners were NOT SCT's. I will go out further on that limb and state that the tunes were poorly programmed and allowed for excessive cylinder pressures.
Blowing head gaskets are the EXCEPTION to the rule, folks.....not the norm. Of course you wouldn't know that, BLOWINSMOKE99STROKE, because you don't have much experience WITH THIS ENGINE!!!
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'03 250 CC SRW SWB, 4x4, XLT, 6.0 T/S, MBRP Turboback, Custom SCT, DiPricol Pyrometer, Adj Pedals, Reverse Sensors, ARE Z-Series Top, Sprayed bedliner, Remote Start/Keyless Entry, Edge Mini-spring pack, Bilsteins, 285's, Sirius Radio, Dark Highland Green
I couldn't tell you if it would be safe to tow with, but I sure love my X3 programmer. I got it mainly for the mpg increase, and have realized a gain of about 2.5 on the highway. I use the Pro-Race tune from Dfuser. If you get into it, the power increase is amazing, but I can see the dollar bills flying out of the exhaust pipe!
I do plan on getting an Edge Insight with EGT probe so I can watch my stats, but for now I'll just drive sanely and tow with it set stock. Good luck! You won't regret the purchase.
What do you do, buddy.....read a couple posts on the board here and assume that if you run a tuner, you HAVE TO HAVE head studs?
Guess what? I don't have head studs and have been running with the custom tuned SCT for THOUSANDS of miles. Guess what again? Many of those miles are towing HEAVY!
People like you that spread such blatant disinformation are no help to this guy. Sure, some 6.0's have exhibited problems from excessive cylinder pressure due to tuners. I will go out on a limb and say that most of these tuners were NOT SCT's. I will go out further on that limb and state that the tunes were poorly programmed and allowed for excessive cylinder pressures.
Blowing head gaskets are the EXCEPTION to the rule, folks.....not the norm. Of course you wouldn't know that, BLOWINSMOKE99STROKE, because you don't have much experience WITH THIS ENGINE!!!
MY WORK COMPUTER IS STUCK ON CAPS LOCK, TO ANSWER AN EARLIER QUESTION, AND THAT'S THE WAY IT SHOWS ON HERE SOMETIMES, JUST THE FIRST LETTER.
NO I DONT READ A FEW POSTS AND THEN ASSUME YOU NEED HEAD STUDS, IVE WATCHED 7-8 TRUCKS BLOW THEIR HEAD GASTKETS, AND 2 OF THEM ACTUALLY BLOW THE MOTORS, AND THEN GO, "DANG I SHOULD'VE GOTTEN HEAD STUDS!" SO YES I DON'T OWN A 6.0, BUT IVE TAKEN A FEW OF THEM APART WHEN A FEW PEOPLE DECIDED THEY WERE TOO COOL FOR HEAD STUDS.
GUESS WHAT? TWO OF THOSE TRUCKS HAD SCT TUNERS. GUESS WHAT AGAIN? ONE DIDNT EVEN HAVE A TUNER, HE JUST HAD HIS GOOSE NECK BEHIND HIM. GUESS WHAT FOR A THIRD TIME? IVE ALREADY SAID, IF YOU DRIVE EASY YOU MAY BE FINE, AND I HAVE SEEN 1 PERSON THAT PUT AN SCT TUNER ON, NO HEAD STUDS AND DROVE LIKE AN IDIOT, AND IS FINE. BUT BECAUSE OF WHAT I HAVE PERSONALLY SEEN, AS WELL AS WHAT IVE HEARD AND READ I WOULD NOT OWN A 6.0 WITHOUT HEAD STUDS, EVEN IF IT WAS STOCK. THEY ARE CHEAP INSURANCE, ESPECIALLY IF YOU RUN A TUNER.
BY THE WAY SPEAKING OF EXPERIENCE WITH A 6.0, WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU DISASSEMBLED ONE IN A DRIVEWAY WITH OUT PULLING THE MOTOR OR CAB, TO CHANGE THE HEAD GASKETS, BECAUSE YOU, OR ONE OF YOUR FRIENDS THOUGHT THEY DIDNT NEED HEAD STUDS. WELL THE LAST TIME I DID THAT WAS ABOUT A WEEK AND A HALF AGO, AND HE VOWED TO ALWAYS RUN HEAD STUDS IN THE FUTURE, BECAUSE HE SAW HOW MUCH DAMAGE HAD BEEN CAUSED. HE DROVE LIKE A CIVILIZED HUMAN BEING, WITH A BANKS TUNER.
I TOLD YOU MY OPINION, IF YOU DONT FEEL THE NEED FOR HEAD STUDS, THEN GOOD FOR YOU. I PERSONALLY WOULD RUN THEM NO MATTER WHAT.
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EARLY 99 F350, CREW CAB, LONG BED. 4X4 7.3L AUTOMATIC. EDGE JUICE W/ ATTITUDE. 4" EXHAUST, NO MFFLER, 6" TIP, COLD AIR INTAKE, "THROTTLE BODY SPACER" (ACTUALLY JUST AN INSERT IN THE INTERCOOLER LINE TO ROTATE THE AIR). DVD PLAYER, PS2, IN DASH TV, POWER INVERTER, 2-10" INFINITY SUBS IN PORTED BOX. CLASS 5 REESE TOW PACKAGE, FLIP UP GOSENECK HITCH. CB/PA, WITH DUAL TRUCKER WHIPS. TOW MIRRORS, AND CAB LIGHTS, BUG GUARD AND WINDOW VISORS. 285/75 BFG ALL-TERRAINS.
SOON TO COME: LEVELING KIT, 33X12.50 BFG ALL TERRAINS ON BLACK DICK CEPEK 17" RIMS, EDGE EVOLUTION PROGRAMMER (STACKED), HIGH PERFORMANCE HPOP, POSSIBLY 10" STACKS!
Last edited by BLOWINSMOKE99STROKE : 07-08-2008 at 05:47 PM.
Hey guys, I didnt want to start a new thread jus for this questions. But Im looking at pickin up a tuned for my 06 6.0 but i have a 200k mile warrenty on my motor. I was wondering how well can the dealer detect if you had a tuner installed in the past?
Linear Mode
