Not So Subtle E350 Shuttle - 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
- Thread starter sakurama
- Start date
sakurama
Adventurer
Thanks. I just ordered one and also have an appointment to have the gearing done next week I hope. This should help me decide what is the best gear ratio but I'm leaning towards 4.30's.
Gregor
sakurama
Adventurer
After leaving Colorado we didn't have as much time to take the kids to Bryce or Zion but we still wanted to at least take a different route home than we'd taken. I'm loath to follow the same route home on a road trip - drives me nuts. We decided to check out Bonneville and take the southern way back up to Oregon.
Bonneville was a mixed bag. It wasn't sunny which was a blessing since it wasn't boiling hot but the light was flat which isn't the ideal. It does allow for fun perspective games.
After that we kept the hammer down hoping to make it to Fields, OR by evening. We got in around 8 which sadly found the "town" all closed up. Supposedly there's a population of 82 in Fields but I'd say that is wildly optimistic. We parked next to a pair of fairly setup Nissan pickups but never saw the owners.
The next morning there were three very overland set up rigs that pulled in for fuel and I was left wondering what was the draw here?
We took off to see the Alvord desert since breakfast wasn't open until 8am and we were up early. Gravel roads and lots of wildlife.
And this was one of the highlights of the trip. The Alvord is a dry lakebed of immense proportions, namely 12 miles long and 7 across and I wasn't worried about coating my undercarriage with salt as I was at Bonneville. It would be fun to spend some more time there and explore it a bit more but it was a pretty remarkable place.
After that we visited some friends in Burns and headed home. It was pretty remarkable how much better the van worked as we came down in elevation descending Mt Hood. It was really a drastic change. While we were in Colorado I ended up taking the van off setting "4" (daily driver/economy) on the Hydra chip as it was really belching black smoke with almost any throttle. At home it never did this so I wasn't sure what was up. On setting "3" (heavy tow) it didn't spew smoke but the power was down to stock levels. When we got down to lower elevations there was a big improvement in power and switching to setting 4 didn't smoke any more. Hmmm...
I'm guessing it has to do with altitude but I'm not sure why the computer wouldn't adjust for the elevation or lack of oxygen. I'm guessing I'll have to do a bit or research into this but it makes me wonder if there's a sensor that isn't working.
I've made an appointment to have the gearing changed and ordered the OBD2 dongle so I can take a look at the RPM's so I get a bit more insight before I commit. Next up is to put a bumper on the front of this and reconnect with MG to finish up the wiring of the locker and front hubs.
Gregor
Bonneville was a mixed bag. It wasn't sunny which was a blessing since it wasn't boiling hot but the light was flat which isn't the ideal. It does allow for fun perspective games.
After that we kept the hammer down hoping to make it to Fields, OR by evening. We got in around 8 which sadly found the "town" all closed up. Supposedly there's a population of 82 in Fields but I'd say that is wildly optimistic. We parked next to a pair of fairly setup Nissan pickups but never saw the owners.
The next morning there were three very overland set up rigs that pulled in for fuel and I was left wondering what was the draw here?
We took off to see the Alvord desert since breakfast wasn't open until 8am and we were up early. Gravel roads and lots of wildlife.
And this was one of the highlights of the trip. The Alvord is a dry lakebed of immense proportions, namely 12 miles long and 7 across and I wasn't worried about coating my undercarriage with salt as I was at Bonneville. It would be fun to spend some more time there and explore it a bit more but it was a pretty remarkable place.
After that we visited some friends in Burns and headed home. It was pretty remarkable how much better the van worked as we came down in elevation descending Mt Hood. It was really a drastic change. While we were in Colorado I ended up taking the van off setting "4" (daily driver/economy) on the Hydra chip as it was really belching black smoke with almost any throttle. At home it never did this so I wasn't sure what was up. On setting "3" (heavy tow) it didn't spew smoke but the power was down to stock levels. When we got down to lower elevations there was a big improvement in power and switching to setting 4 didn't smoke any more. Hmmm...
I'm guessing it has to do with altitude but I'm not sure why the computer wouldn't adjust for the elevation or lack of oxygen. I'm guessing I'll have to do a bit or research into this but it makes me wonder if there's a sensor that isn't working.
I've made an appointment to have the gearing changed and ordered the OBD2 dongle so I can take a look at the RPM's so I get a bit more insight before I commit. Next up is to put a bumper on the front of this and reconnect with MG to finish up the wiring of the locker and front hubs.
Gregor
bknudtsen
Expedition Leader
Turbo diesels love air. Can't get enough. As you went up in altitude (and ambient temps for that matter), the air obviously became less dense. With your tuner set at 4, the air/fuel ratio became richer the higher you went, (over fueled in diesel terms) which causes the black smoke. This is also when you'll see your EGT's start climbing. Towing tunes are usually leaned out to prevent high EGT's under load. A pyrometer is a must when running tunes or towing, IMHO.
Still, it sounds like something is off. Almost like your not building boost. I would start by confirming that your MAP sensor is working properly. If you google 7.3 MAP issues, you'll find plenty of examples of 7.3's with low power issues. Maybe MG can take a look when he has it again, or take it back to the shop that did the initial work.
Still, it sounds like something is off. Almost like your not building boost. I would start by confirming that your MAP sensor is working properly. If you google 7.3 MAP issues, you'll find plenty of examples of 7.3's with low power issues. Maybe MG can take a look when he has it again, or take it back to the shop that did the initial work.
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sakurama
Adventurer
I've ordered the gauge cluster for the A-pillar: Trans temp, boost and EGT and MG says he'll have time next week to squeeze me in (busy guy!) and the ARB bumper I ordered from him is also in so we'll have a day to get the wiring installed to the new switch pod that I'll have to make, wire up the rear locker, the front auto hubs, the new fog/driving lights in the bumper and get the gauges in. Hopefully MG can teach me about wiring as we're at it. I've never been good at it but am always trying to learn.
I think once we have the gauges in and I can see the RPM's via the OBD2 app I'll have a lot more info on how things are working. I'll do some research on the MAP issues as well. It did feel down for most of the trip and that surprised me as I expected the 7.3 to have loads of torque. Here at sea level it's plenty powerful but it didn't seem right that it was down on power as much as it was.
Gregor
mgmetalworks
Explorer
Yep! They'll take as much boost as you can feed it and still retain working head gaskets.
Sorry... I don't do engine work on 7.3s (and 6.0s).
bknudtsen
Expedition Leader
Sorry... I don't do engine work on 7.3s (and 6.0s).
Ha! I don't blame you.
Well i have stayed up passed my bed time reading the whole thread. Absolutely love the write up on everything! Great photos as well. (I looked at your website as well, absolutely love the photo of the guy in the brown jacket on the Yamaha bike!)
How is the overall ride of the 6" MG setup now that ya have some on/off road miles on it?
How is the overall ride of the 6" MG setup now that ya have some on/off road miles on it?
Bikersmurf
Expedition Leader
I realize your gearing is quite tall, but it does sound like your 7.3 isn't working quite right. Even though mine tips the scale at over 9k lbs, I've not seen many vehicles that can beat it across the intersection. It has boat loads of torque and it doesn't feel like the 4+ ton beast it is.
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sakurama
Adventurer
So I bought the Foseal OBDii wifi scan tool and it works... for about a minute. Then it shuts off the engine and I get a "Service Engine Soon" light on the dash. I looked it up and I guess the Powerstrokes aren't OBDii compliant - at least with this scan tool. It's a shame as it was really cool to see the RPM's and GPM readings and I'm sure a lot more if I could access it.
Does anyone know if there's a scan tool that works with the 7.3 engine?
Gregor
Sorry to hear that. Weird it doesn't work. This is the one I use with my Ipad:
https://www.plxdevices.com/Kiwi-OBD2-OBDII-CAN-Wireless-Bluetooth-Diagnostic-p/897346002344.htm
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk
https://www.plxdevices.com/Kiwi-OBD2-OBDII-CAN-Wireless-Bluetooth-Diagnostic-p/897346002344.htm
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk
djbonsu
Adventurer
Hmmmm, I once had a "driver monitoring dongle" thingy provided by my then insurance company progressive to monitor my driving and it wreaked all kind of havoc on my pcm. Van work idle funny and shut off randomly w/o codes. Unplugged it and it was good to go. smh.
I used this for a scan tool and mount it right above the steering column.
https://www.amazon.com/ScanGauge-Au...000AAMY86/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8