Friend of mine recently got a 91E350 metrobus for a camper conversion

It has the 7.3 non turbo diesel

After filling up and driving for a while he refilled calculated the mileage and was only getting 10 MPG

That seems pretty poor for a N/A Diesel

It has factory Single Exhaust Original Ford Muffler And 2 1/2 tail pipe

The exit pipe coming under the bumper is smashed a little


I was wondering if a new high flow muffler would increase mileage or perhaps a dual exhaust setup

We were hoping for 12-15 MPG

Attached is a pic of how big the setup is im sure its size and wind drab have a huge role in the poor mileage

Just hoping someone with a 7.3 knows about exhaust or average mileage

Another friend of mine has a cargo van same size engine and he gets 20+

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l204/DirtyTex_2006/harrisbus.jpg

Anything you can do to de-restrict the exhaust will help. How many miles does it have? It may need injectors.

Nick

It has 117K It was an old hospital bus so it was alway maintained at the dealership

The motor is very clean so i can tell its 117 not 217 since the odometer only goes to 99k


One person had suggested we add a turbo dont know if that would increase or lower the MPG

.........One person had suggested we add a turbo dont know if that would increase or lower the MPG

Mostly likely it will increase you mileage....... it just depends on how much you enjoy the new found power:). Even though its a lot of money, I highly recommend the turbo...... it makes a diesel work soooooo much better:cool:

I have a shoe string relative that put the banks kit on his 1990 F250 and his mileage went up an easy 10-15%. IIRC, even more when he was towing.

http://store.bankspower.com/Categories.aspx?Category=05c38a2d-54b2-46bf-9acd-5c969e9e7105


As stated above. At a minimum anything you can do to reduce the restrictions on the intake AND exhaust will improve the mileage.

What was the cost on that banks setup for your relative?

What would be wrong with getting all junkyard parts from a turbo 7.3 and retrofitting them onto ours?

We plan on having this as a camper bus and we are going to pull a 25 foot pontoon barge with it thats max width 8.5' wide

So we need extra power and mileage would really help



Dont know if we should just upgrade to a high flow muffler and then upgrade to 3" tailpie or run a dual setup

Who makes a cheap muffler for a diesel?

I had thought about putting an imitation flowmaster on there for 29.99 like i said it still has the original ford muffler with a smashed tailpipe lol

Sorry I don't remember...... it was fifteen years ago when he turbo'd that truck. It made a huge difference especially when loaded down. I think the Banks kits new are around two grand these days.

Boy, with the conversion as well as towing, I'd say a turbo is a must.

I may be wrong, but I think ford only Turbo'd the 7.3 idi engines for a year or two and I think they basically used the ATS turbo kit. It didn't say ATS on it, but it sure was a clone.

I'd also look to see if a van was ever offered with the turbo. I'm pretty sure the factory turbo will bolt to the engine, its just a matter of if it fits the space limitations of the van.

Hypermax also makes turbo kits for the old NA 7.3's. You can also advance the IP for a little gain in MPG. Maybe run some Power Service fuel treatment through it. It's fairly inexpensive from WalMart.

Nick

I know you right about wal mart we bought a gallon of the PS for another project from autozone then went to wal mart to get some other misc supplies 2 dollars cheaper there

The IP whats the procedure for turning it up And where is it located and keep in mind this is a van its like 10 pounds of S*** in a 5 pound bag

But with the way the fuel prices are going we never every MPG we can get

Were debating between running a larger single exhaust and maybe a dynomax bullet or a cheap full boar muffler off ebay .

Or running a dual 2 1/2 flowmaster type setup

What are the pro's and cons of a single exhaust large diamter pipe vs duals on this N/A diesel?

We were talking about 4" but i reccomended 3.5" due to the larger muffler selection and cheaper prices on the pipes and bends

It would be something i would fabricate on the 3.5 single

Duals would be a muffler shop bent to specs

Were thinking exiting in front of rear tires for several reasons 1 the pipe is smashed from the bumper hitting the ground due to its long rear past the wheels.

2 when we back the barge into the water it wont get submerged

Plan to spend at least 2 grand on a turbo kit. If I were doing the exh. I would do the single just because it would be much cheaper; use the stock head pipes and collector and expand from there. I don't think a custom dual set up would be worth the $. On advancing the IP, I don't know; I'm not a mechanic. You probably have to remove it and tun it's driveshaft. Which way? I don't know. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable will chime in. Or maybe try to find forum that deals with these engines; maybe an IH forum.

Nick

thedieselstop.com has 7.3 IDI and 6.9 forums.

Nick

Has anyone used a hooker aerochamber muffler on a diesel

Were going to go with a single 3.5" exhaust ran by me with some kinda low restriction muffler something cheap hopefully

Its a cold natured beast that 7.3 is it takes me 3-5 trys to get it cranked we have a 6.2 88 1 ton GMC van it cranks first or second try

Has anyone used a hooker aerochamber muffler on a diesel

Were going to go with a single 3.5" exhaust ran by me with some kinda low restriction muffler something cheap hopefully

Its a cold natured beast that 7.3 is it takes me 3-5 trys to get it cranked we have a 6.2 88 1 ton GMC van it cranks first or second try

Use a straight-through muffler, not a chambered one. It doesn't really matter with an n/a engine, but it will if you ever decide to add a turbo.

Nick

The 2000$ aspect of the aftermarket turbo will more than likley keep us from doing that maybe if we find a good used setup

I think we are going to go with the dynomax bullet muffler 3.5" should add a few mpg hopefully ill post pics of the setup after i build it up and hopefully a mpg increase report!