2002 Excursion 7.3 DSL

uptomyarmpits · Jun 25, 2009

Just bought a used Excursion with a 7.3 dsl. I have had a couple of Duramax's in the past that have pulled very well. I also just had a 6.8 V10 that did ok. I pull a 24? ft enclosed trailer with 4 - 5 sleds about 800 miles to the mountains from the pheasant capital of the world South Dakota. Does anyone have any suggestions on this excursion? It doesn't seem to have the "throw you back in the seat" power as the D'Max. Are there any power enhancements that I should consider? Any suggetions will be appreciated. Thanks!!

jthussey · Jun 25, 2009

The truck will shine when you put a load behind it. Unloaded, I don't believe it will go like a d-max. The 7.3 will pull better(lug) imo to the d-max (00-02). As for upgrades, I would just do the norm.(SCT Tuner, exhaust, and gauges) and maybe a intake. There's also other aftermarket stuff to squeeze more and more power out of it. Watch your Tranny and keep up with your fluid changes.

highmark18 · Jun 25, 2009

www.dp-tuner.com

Braaap12 · Jun 25, 2009

my old man has an 02 f350 and he has MBRP duals,edge programmer and an AFE stage 2 intake. Loaded with 2 quads, hunting gear(fuel, generator,food etc..) and a 24ft camping trailer the truck pulls amazing. Just keeps goin and can go very well over the speed limit if desired

merlin2569 · Jun 28, 2009

The 7.3 doesn't have the throw you in the seat power but it will out pull the d-max. I have an '01 F350. Put an exhaust system, programmer of your choice- i have an edge in mine, and an air intake will really make it perform. If you are willing to spend the money put a Garrett turbo and aftermarket injectors and that thing will be able to pull anything that you put behind. I pull a 29 foot enclosed 1,100 miles out west 3-4 times a year with 6 sleds and all of our gear and it will pull it as fast as you want. We usually pull at 75-80 and will get 12-14 mpg, depending on wind of course.

Powerstroked162 · Jun 28, 2009

highmark18 said:
www.dp-tuner.com

DP-tuner is having some issues right now with there tunes. They cant keep motors together sub 400rwhp. To much timing. Diesel Innovations gets my vote. www.DIperformance.com

Cowboy Steve

Mountain Maniac · Jun 30, 2009

Powerstroked162 said:
DP-tuner is having some issues right now with there tunes. They cant keep motors together sub 400rwhp. To much timing. Diesel Innovations gets my vote. www.DIperformance.com

Cowboy Steve

So your just talking about their tunes OVER 400rwhp? The other less hp tunes are functioning properly?

bigbird · Jun 30, 2009

the 7.3 will not pull anywhere near as strong as a d-max stock vs. stock. Had both for awhile and used to compare alot. 7.3 with around 60 extra hp was fairly close to a bone stock duramax. This is towing fairly large loads.

Powerstroked162 · Jun 30, 2009

Mountain Maniac said:
So your just talking about their tunes OVER 400rwhp? The other less hp tunes are functioning properly?

None of their tunes are functioning properly when it comes to timing. You wouldn't even know it unless you really knew what to listen for, you went with another tuner and were able to compare, or you were one of the many to crack a block.

Jody (Dp-Tuner) has been racking up the piles of destroyed 7.3 blocks as of lately it seems. To many running his tunes are cracking blocks and pistons below 450rwhp. There are 7.3s runnin 680rwhp on stock bottom ends at 237k miles on the clock with no issues, the diffrence, the tuner.

You might not crack a block with stock injectors and a dp-tuner but expect to be shortening the life of your engine. By how much, I dont know, I do however know that what he's doing, hasn;t been working out for the best lately.

Cowboy Steve

Powerstroked162 · Jun 30, 2009

bigbird said:
the 7.3 will not pull anywhere near as strong as a d-max stock vs. stock. Had both for awhile and used to compare alot. 7.3 with around 60 extra hp was fairly close to a bone stock duramax. This is towing fairly large loads.

Common rail vs. HEUI, apples and oranges.

Cowboy Steve

bigbird · Jul 1, 2009

I realize that. the 7.3 is good for what it is. there are a couple guys in this thread saying the 7.3 will out pull the 6.6, and that's not the case.

highmark18 · Jul 1, 2009

Powerstroked162 said:
None of their tunes are functioning properly when it comes to timing. You wouldn't even know it unless you really knew what to listen for, you went with another tuner and were able to compare, or you were one of the many to crack a block.

Jody (Dp-Tuner) has been racking up the piles of destroyed 7.3 blocks as of lately it seems. To many running his tunes are cracking blocks and pistons below 450rwhp. There are 7.3s runnin 680rwhp on stock bottom ends at 237k miles on the clock with no issues, the diffrence, the tuner.

You might not crack a block with stock injectors and a dp-tuner but expect to be shortening the life of your engine. By how much, I dont know, I do however know that what he's doing, hasn;t been working out for the best lately.

Cowboy Steve

That is odd, I have NEVER heard a bad thing about DP Tuner, and with all the guys on ford-trucks.com running them, have never heard of that issue. I have DP on my truck, had it on for the past 40,000 miles, just clicked 141,000 on the odometer. My buddy has over 180,000 miles on his with no issues, and he is hard on his equipment. Where did you get this info?
Weird, you list Jody's name in your signature at the bottom....

Blk88GT · Jul 1, 2009

MBRP 4"
Ford AIS or AFE Stage 2 (depending what you prefer, better filtration with somewhat better airflow or just monster flow)
Gauges (trans, boost, EGT)
6.0 trans cooler
Tuner of your choice

It really woke up my 02 F250 and I don't hesitate to pull anything with it. It made a night and day difference as far as get up and go. The truck struggled to pull a 28ft enclosed before, but now it's a whole other animal.

The weak link on these trucks is the transmissions. I see more trucks with DP Tuners needing new ones than any other tuner out there. This is probably attributed to the big HP #s his tunes are cranking out over the other guys. I'll take reliability and sacrifice some power over big HP any day, specially when a new trans is 4k.

Powerstroked162 · Jul 1, 2009

bigbird said:
I realize that. the 7.3 is good for what it is. there are a couple guys in this thread saying the 7.3 will out pull the 6.6, and that's not the case.

Well it depends.....

highmark18 said:
That is odd, I have NEVER heard a bad thing about DP Tuner, and with all the guys on ford-trucks.com running them, have never heard of that issue. I have DP on my truck, had it on for the past 40,000 miles, just clicked 141,000 on the odometer. My buddy has over 180,000 miles on his with no issues, and he is hard on his equipment. Where did you get this info?
Weird, you list Jody's name in your signature at the bottom....

#1. Ford-trucks.com is a great site if your looking for tech info. When it comes to guys lookin to make more then 300rwhp, you wont find them on FTE. I frequent the site every now and again, so do a few others that are making some good numbers on fuel

#2. I get my info from several diffrent sites, friends who have been DP tuned who now have windows in their blocks, or engine builders who have sen more then their fair share of Dp-tuned scrap blocks. If you'd like to find out for yourself, post up or do a search on www.PowerstrokeNation.com.

#3. Jody tuned my truck in '06, havent had my tuner updated since. Back then he was a big name in the tuning game, never did I hear of any Dp-tuner issues then, but as of recently, last year or so, he has had way to many issues with timing rearing its ugly head. I have just upgraded to a new tuner within the last month, I haven't even installed it yet, no time with work. So yes, Jody has a tuner in my truck, but Im not looking to have any new chip updates from him with these issues he's having becoming an everyday thing it seems. So the only other option was to go with someone else.

blackcloud2k · Jul 2, 2009

Powerstroked162 said:
DP-tuner is having some issues right now with there tunes. They cant keep motors together sub 400rwhp. To much timing. Diesel Innovations gets my vote. www.DIperformance.com

Cowboy Steve

x2 on this. Im not a big DP fan. I have ridden in several DP tuned trucks and im really not all that impressed. I have been running DI tunes for 70K miles with a few updates here and there and the DI tunes have been flawless and make great power.

jthussey · Jul 7, 2009

bigbird said:
I realize that. the 7.3 is good for what it is. there are a couple guys in this thread saying the 7.3 will out pull the 6.6, and that's not the case.

I used to work @ a RV dealership and hauled campers weekly in the summer months. We used mainly chevy's (boss's choice). I did get to pull a bit with a 01 7.3 we had before i was done working there. The 7.3 did pull better hands down. Stock for Stock. The chevy was notoroius for downshifting all the time. The 02 duramax was alot nicer to ride in and would get better mileage. They were very reliable trucks. You may have experienced otherwise, but this is what i have seen with those two models. Don't get me wrong, the chev is a nice truck and was a way better ride.

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2002 Excursion 7.3 DSL

uptomyarmpits

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