2007 Ford F350 Crew Cab Build

Hi PhilG,

I will keep you up to date when I can, I might surprise you and do a work log on it too. I've been doing some research on how to install the carputer in the 300SE without cutting or drilling. It wont take much money so it may happen sooner than I was planning. I've been thinking it will be a good distraction/project to keep my mind off the bike. I'm missing my bike so I'm madly saving to buy the parts I need to get it back up to standard and safe to ride again, as safe as a bike can be.

Take care, Neil

PhilG
I must say I've coveted that alpine sound processor since I first saw it in your build over a year ago. I would love one of those but those things are frigging expensive - that is if you can even find one. The new model PXA-H800 is starting around $600 bucks on eBay and an additional cost for the remote controller. That is way above my budget at this time but oh I wish someone would love me enough to get me one for Christmas - Santa I hope you read these posts.

Anyway I am still following your updates and hoping that one day my work log will get moved to the completed section although I don't see that happening anytime soon

Dluvr22, I don't regret the H700 a bit. I wish I was talented enough to control it with the PC using the AINet but I'm not even close to capable of figuring that out. I have never had to deal with an ounce of electrical noise in my audio which is pretty cool to me. No ignition system firing doesn't hurt either.

The 700/701's are out there at reasonable prices, I paid $200 used for the main box with power harness & the controller with no cables, mic etc. I got lucky and Crutchfield was clearing out the newer blue controllers for 1/2 price, I think I got it for 100-150 with all cables etc so for under $350 I was set up. I thought that was reasonable.

As far as moving logs to the completed section.....ya....some day :ohwell:. You'll probably beat me to it. Your Avalanche is coming along nice, keep up the good work, I'm following along. 10" Monitor is on my list hopefully for spring.

Really nice work you've got going here. I feel what you're saying about the truck going to the scrapyard before the project is ever finished. I've pretty much told myself I'll keep this truck forever. Hell some people have gotten 1,000,000+ miles out of a 7.3L motor, so if I can get half that before a swap the motor more than did its job. And bottom line, I don't care all that much about having a new truck, I'd rather spend my money making this one better and doing things I enjoy in my free time.

The console looks like it will be really nice (if you ever finish it *nudge*) and I like what you've done with the sound system.

I also like the puddle lights. I think I may take this a step further and do side illumination for turn signals. As in whenever the blinker is turned on that whole side of the truck will put white light on the ground. Not a flashing light, but constant until the turn signal is switched off. It makes changing lanes much safer in two respects, one you can see what's in your blindspots better, and two people who are in your blind spot or past your rear blinkers know you're intending to change lanes. Now I haven't had this diesel long, but one thing I've noticed, when people see it, let alone hear it spooling, they tend to get the hell out of the way. The same lights (or some of them) could be used to see the ground as you're hopping out. They could be controlled through the computer so I can adjust the logic to fit my needs. Being able to see the ground well might also save a twisted ankle or two from jumping out of this beast.

What line of work are you in? I ask because it seems like you've gone through a lot of trucks.

SierraStroker, watch your DCA's levels in the coolant, and the 7.3L should last you a long, long time. Regarding your not wanting a new truck, I am "there" now too! I am not interested in DPF's, Exhaust fluid, etc. We have e-testing around here...Also I think the SD kept improving in look from 99 to 07 then took a weird turn for the worse when they accidentally put the headlights in upside down in '08.... I think on purpose but I'm still not sure :) When I bought my '07 at the end of the MY, there was an identical built '08 available for the same money but I still took the '07 and no regrets.

Regarding your mirrors, IMO, I would just look for a set of late 03+ mirrors to get your signals/markers & bonus out with heated mirrors. 3 bolts and the mirror in on, just a bit of wiring and voila-your golden. As far as having a few trucks , yes I have had a few as I've done some heavy towing over the years but like I said, I don't want anything newer than '07 at this point. I may even drop a Cummins in this one when the time comes.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PhilG

SierraStroker, watch your DCA's levels in the coolant, and the 7.3L should last you a long, long time. Regarding your not wanting a new truck, I am "there" now too! I am not interested in DPF's, Exhaust fluid, etc. We have e-testing around here...Also I think the SD kept improving in look from 99 to 07 then took a weird turn for the worse when they accidentally put the headlights in upside down in '08.... I think on purpose but I'm still not sure :) When I bought my '07 at the end of the MY, there was an identical built '08 available for the same money but I still took the '07 and no regrets.

Regarding your mirrors, IMO, I would just look for a set of late 03+ mirrors to get your signals/markers & bonus out with heated mirrors. 3 bolts and the mirror in on, just a bit of wiring and voila-your golden. As far as having a few trucks , yes I have had a few as I've done some heavy towing over the years but like I said, I don't want anything newer than '07 at this point. I may even drop a Cummins in this one when the time comes.

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Yes in terms of appearance I completely agree with you. I prefer the look of the '05 front end and the '07 beds. At some point I may try to upgrade to these, but again appearance is a long way down the road from function and reliability.

I chose the 7.3l for a number of reasons. First off its reputation for reliability. I plan to take this truck to some remote locations (hopefully not as the only rig, but you know how that goes) so getting stranded there won't be fun. Second was simplicity. I don't have any experience working on diesel engines, and this generation of 7.3's has the technological advancements I desire without being choked down by a ton of smog equipment. Third is its rumored tolerance to alternative fuels. I'd like to start making biodiesel soon and might even look into a full wvo conversion. I'm still hesitant to go the WVO route though because I've heard it can wreak havoc on your motor anyway, but there's a lot of conflicting reports. I think it may be due to a lot of people running WVO which was poorly filtered or simply not preheated enough though.

I've heard a lot of guys talking about the Fummins swaps, I could definitely see the benefits. I'd probably shy away from that for the reason that it makes it very difficult for anyone else to work on the truck, and even those who do are going to blame everything on the swap. I plan to do as much wrenching on this truck as I can, but there also might be times when my lack of skill, knowledge, and/or time will mean the truck has to be in the shop.

Ya I'm still learning about coolant types for diesels. Is there something specific you'd recommend? Or are you talking about testing the coolant for DCA level even besides a routine flush? I understand pitting can occur if things aren't correct.

I'm also curious what synthetic oil you'd suggest I run for this winter. If you have input there I'd like to hear it as this pig is due for her 5 gallons.

In regards to the mirrors, yes I'd like to have some newer ones. I'd love a set of the motorized telescoping ones, but its not a necessity. Heat would be nice too, as this truck will spend a good part of its life in the mountains in the dead of winter. I realized the motor is going out in the right side mirror, so a upgrade is due as it is.

Side illumination will be a separate deal though, I'm not just talking about turn signals on the mirrors. I'd like to be able to subtly or drastically illuminate the entire side of the truck as needed. I'll probably just run a strip of LEDs along the bottom of the body for this and make them multi circuited or dimmable.

05-07 font ends & beds are the same, it's the trim level /option packs that dictates the grille/bumper look. I've never messed with alternative fuels, the cost savings are likely there but I'm just not convinced the modern diesels are up to having this stuff fed to them unless they are designed for it. The beds are all the same, the '08's got an embossed SD tailgate and upside down taillights installed but the same sheet metal.

I was just speaking of DCA levels but it sounds like you have a handle on that, very important. I've never run synthetic, with an EGR engine, I would prefer to drop it more often and get the soot out of the oil then extend the interval with the $$synthetic, probably a good idea for the 7.3 though.

I was just referring to the 03-07 signal mirrors, the 08+ power fold are still pretty pricey but the prior gen like the ones on my truck can be found fairly cheap.

Well, I think I have waited the prescribed 2 years for the fiberglass to cure....:rolleyes: So guess I better get back at it and get it finished. I hate reading work logs that are left half finished and abandoned, I don't want to be one of those guys. The problem is the console is basically functional, that was the mistake..... installing it like that, "it works, whats the problem?"

So it's out of the truck, and here is were I went from there:

I decided not to cut it apart to lower it 2", huge job obviously and I found a "middle ground" solution. I decided to just flush the console bucket which would solve the issue of appearance and lower everything about 1". I will need a flat 1" wide trim molding to stick over the seam where the console meets the bucket to bridge the gap.

Attachment 68302

I also flushed the drink holder and here is the end result:


Attachment 68303



I took a belt sander with 50 grit and knocked down the highs, I added a bit of glass to a couple of problem areas and sanded once more. I have to say I'm pretty happy with the surface of it considering this is the bare FG, I haven't added any filler yet.

I decided to add a guide coat to it and run the long board over it just to see how much filling I had to do and it doesn't look too bad to me. The rear section is a different story, it will take some work to straighten out.

Attachment 68304

Attachment 68305

Attachment 68306

I then glassed the switch bucket and left to cure. I don't know if it will work out the way I want but I guess we'll see, I have other options if it doesn't. The resin is very old (I bought it right at the end of my work on this 2 years ago) and I'm having trouble getting it to cure so I may have to start over on this but its a small stand-alone component anyway.

Foiled and waxed:

Attachment 68307

Glassed:

Attachment 68308

More to come, thanks for looking!

Very nice. Good to see you working on this again, hopefully my teasing helped get you motivated.

The reason I was thinking of running synthetic was to help with cold starting. I snowboard a lot which means parking the truck in freezing temps without access to plug in the block heater. I dont know nearly as much as id like to about these trucks, so i defer to your advice. Also my alternator just went out. Any thoughts on how big of a HO replacement i should get? I was thinking 200 amp to cover the extra electronics ill be adding. Will this pit noticeable strain on the motor? Best place to get one?

The main reason I was able to get back to it is the truck has been parked since the start of Dec & I likely won't need it until late Jan. So it was a no-brainer especially considering I made a paint booth last year that can double as a glass booth and it's easy to heat & ventilate. So as much as I hate working inside on this and having to heat the work-space, the time is now.

Synthetic is great for any engine but IMO, a better choice for the 7.3 than the 6.0 due to the fact your exhaust isn't being rerouted through your engine polluting the oil (thanks emission gods). You could go 10w30 Rotella-T or similar if you wanted to change it more often but not as big a deal on your engine.

Post #70 on page 4 of my log has the details of what I did for an alternator. I just had a small local guy build one to my specs. I think it was rated as 220 A but on his test bench, it output 160 A absolutely clean. He would have rebuilt my stock unit for about $110, this one cost me $220 which I thought was fair, he had to use the larger housing to build this one so that of course added to the cost, that meant he couldn't use any parts from my old one. I think a replacement Ford stock is $250-350 range so whatever. Mine was still working when I replaced it but had a ton of miles on it and experience tells me these don't last forever and they fail at the most inopportune times. On the side of the freeway with towing and a Ford replacement, it would be easily over a $500 repair. I would rather due it on my terms.