LB7: Need help with some decisions

[bbakes907]

I'm brand new to the website and diesel performance overall. I have done a good amount of research on every aspect of diesel motors. The problem is I am stuck wondering a bunch of things. I need good advice from people who have been there and done it. I am a do-it yourself kind of person and before I go ahead and dive into a full blown build I have to know exactly what direction I should take my truck. I have a GMC 2002 2500HD Sierra with approximately 120,000 miles on it. It is completely stock but I know I want to do some modifications to it. The problem is I just graduated college, have a full time job, and money is a little bit of an issue. From reading a bunch of forums I do know that my injectors are going bad on my truck. Faint white/blueish smoke is coming out of my truck whenever I am at a stop light or sitting at idle in park. With that said, I have a faint idea of what I want out of my truck but that's about where it ends.
Basically I never plan on going over 550/600 hp. Maybe 10 years from now I will want 1000 but for now I am completely content with having a motor that can do 500 all day as a daily driver. I know I shouldn't go above 400 HP on my tranny and I wont have the funds to rebuild that for at least a year more like 2 but since I have to replace my injectors I figured I may as well do a couple other things while I have everything pulled apart. I have tons of questions if yall could give me some serious advice.

1. What injectors should I replace the stock ones I have? Rumor has it those stock injectors are good up to 600 HP so should I just replace with brand new ones? What about remanufactured ones?

2. I was going to put a FASS air/fuel separator. I was looking at the 200gph should I go smaller or bigger?

3. Since I am doing the injectors, should I replace my head studs with some ARP studs?

4. I need a nice tuner suggestion for the LB7. My thoughts were the PPE economy tuner, seems like it is really all I need. What is everyones thought on this as a tuner?

5. I will be replacing my exhaust... 3in or 4in? I honestly love how quiet my truck is but I would like better flow and maybe just a little extra noise... I mean it isn't a GM without a little noise. Turbo back or cat back? Is there any backpressure problems from removing the cat?

6. Any other suggestions for mods? I am not looking to go crazy over the top yet, I will eventually... but I would like to have a beautifully running daily driver that I can also have some fun with for right now.

All your ideas and advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks for helping me out!

 

[LWATSON]

You have an LB7 you don't have a cat unless you have a Cali truck. You can do a cat back system and save money and still have just as much performance gain. The PPE programmer is a good choice if a tuner is what you want. I wouldn't do a lift pump on a truck with a stock 5 speed. The 5 speed trans cant hold allot of extra power and the lack of a lift pump will be a limiting factor for you. I limped the trans on my 03 with a Banks 6 gun with no lift pump.

 

[Kspen90]

I'm brand new to the website and diesel performance overall. I have done a good amount of research on every aspect of diesel motors. The problem is I am stuck wondering a bunch of things. I need good advice from people who have been there and done it. I am a do-it yourself kind of person and before I go ahead and dive into a full blown build I have to know exactly what direction I should take my truck. I have a GMC 2002 2500HD Sierra with approximately 120,000 miles on it. It is completely stock but I know I want to do some modifications to it. The problem is I just graduated college, have a full time job, and money is a little bit of an issue. From reading a bunch of forums I do know that my injectors are going bad on my truck. Faint white/blueish smoke is coming out of my truck whenever I am at a stop light or sitting at idle in park. With that said, I have a faint idea of what I want out of my truck but that's about where it ends.
Basically I never plan on going over 550/600 hp. Maybe 10 years from now I will want 1000 but for now I am completely content with having a motor that can do 500 all day as a daily driver. I know I shouldn't go above 400 HP on my tranny and I wont have the funds to rebuild that for at least a year more like 2 but since I have to replace my injectors I figured I may as well do a couple other things while I have everything pulled apart. I have tons of questions if yall could give me some serious advice.

1. What injectors should I replace the stock ones I have? Rumor has it those stock injectors are good up to 600 HP so should I just replace with brand new ones? What about remanufactured ones?
Stock injectors are good up to 800hp from what I remember. You can no longer get new LB7 injectors, all are now reman. Make sure to get them from Exergy, or another reputable vendor from this site.
2. I was going to put a FASS air/fuel separator. I was looking at the 200gph should I go smaller or bigger?
200 GPH is overkill, but I'd go ahead and get it if you can afford it just in case you decide to take the truck to a level that you need it in the future.
3. Since I am doing the injectors, should I replace my head studs with some ARP studs?
Again, not necessary, but if you have the money, might as well do it while youre there
4. I need a nice tuner suggestion for the LB7. My thoughts were the PPE economy tuner, seems like it is really all I need. What is everyones thought on this as a tuner?
PPE is good, but EFI Live is best
5. I will be replacing my exhaust... 3in or 4in? I honestly love how quiet my truck is but I would like better flow and maybe just a little extra noise... I mean it isn't a GM without a little noise. Turbo back or cat back? Is there any backpressure problems from removing the cat?
At least 4in turbo back, and aftermarket downpipe. I've always liked Profabs downpipes.
6. Any other suggestions for mods? I am not looking to go crazy over the top yet, I will eventually... but I would like to have a beautifully running daily driver that I can also have some fun with for right now.
My suggestion is to build your trans before you do anything else.
All your ideas and advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks for helping me out!

I think i covered it all. My answers are typed under all your questions.

 

[bbakes907]

Thanks for the advice. As this is my first diesel motor I have ever worked on, should I replace the injectors myself or just take it into a shop? I have worked on tons of 5.3s and rebuilt snowmobile motors without any problems whatsoever but never a diesel and since the injectors are such a major part I am wondering if it would be better to just take it to a shop... decisions decisions....

 

[dirtydmax]

Thanks for the advice. As this is my first diesel motor I have ever worked on, should I replace the injectors myself or just take it into a shop? I have worked on tons of 5.3s and rebuilt snowmobile motors without any problems whatsoever but never a diesel and since the injectors are such a major part I am wondering if it would be better to just take it to a shop... decisions decisions....

Do your homework and do your own injectors,the more you know the better off you will be at diagnosing issues in the future not to mention this is what we all love to do,have fun with it:thumb:

 

[Brent@LDS]

I would consider doing them yourself! It will save you a lot of money, just takes time.

 

[danzick]

so I dont think stock injectors will flow anywhere near 800HP. After replacing mine, I regret not going with like 40 overs. tuning will be a little easier on your engine when you get it tuned up with that built transmission. I think stock ones will flow just north of 600 HP. If the money is there I would get the FASS system. They say running positive pressure to the CP3 is easier on it, and air is an enemy. the extra filtration is nice. Plus as a bonus you dont need to replace the stock filter very often after installing a fass and the filters are 10 times easier to replace.A 4 inch exhaust with a muffler has a quiet mellow sound. Not much louder than stock. as for tuning, get an autocal from any reputable tuner. once you have that, it allows you to expand your tuning needs later where a canned tuner box wont.

 

[TheBac]

If you dont have the money to do things properly to start with, then the best advice I can give you is to wait, save up your money, and be smart about mods when you have enough cash to pay for them.

Since you cant do the trans, dont bother with any of your other ideas except to replace the injectors (Brent@LDS can help with that). Keep power down to 400rw and simply enjoy your truck.

 

[bbakes907]

Thanks for all the advice. I think I'm going to go with new injectors, do it myself, and a fass system because I've heard it helps with injector life and read a bunch about having positive pressure to the pump is super beneficial plus more filtration is always better. Other than that I'm going for exhaust and a Ppe Econ tune and don't plan on doing anything over 400rwhp until I'm ready to do everything right.

 

[Brent@LDS]

Thanks for all the advice. I think I'm going to go with new injectors, do it myself, and a fass system because I've heard it helps with injector life and read a bunch about having positive pressure to the pump is super beneficial plus more filtration is always better. Other than that I'm going for exhaust and a Ppe Econ tune and don't plan on doing anything over 400rwhp until I'm ready to do everything right.

Sounds like you are in the right direction!

 

[OnixMax]

I'm brand new to the website and diesel performance overall. I have done a good amount of research on every aspect of diesel motors. The problem is I am stuck wondering a bunch of things. I need good advice from people who have been there and done it. I am a do-it yourself kind of person and before I go ahead and dive into a full blown build I have to know exactly what direction I should take my truck. I have a GMC 2002 2500HD Sierra with approximately 120,000 miles on it. It is completely stock but I know I want to do some modifications to it. The problem is I just graduated college, have a full time job, and money is a little bit of an issue. From reading a bunch of forums I do know that my injectors are going bad on my truck. Faint white/blueish smoke is coming out of my truck whenever I am at a stop light or sitting at idle in park. With that said, I have a faint idea of what I want out of my truck but that's about where it ends.
Basically I never plan on going over 550/600 hp. Maybe 10 years from now I will want 1000 but for now I am completely content with having a motor that can do 500 all day as a daily driver. I know I shouldn't go above 400 HP on my tranny and I wont have the funds to rebuild that for at least a year more like 2 but since I have to replace my injectors I figured I may as well do a couple other things while I have everything pulled apart. I have tons of questions if yall could give me some serious advice.

1. What injectors should I replace the stock ones I have? Rumor has it those stock injectors are good up to 600 HP so should I just replace with brand new ones? What about remanufactured ones?

2. I was going to put a FASS air/fuel separator. I was looking at the 200gph should I go smaller or bigger?

3. Since I am doing the injectors, should I replace my head studs with some ARP studs?

4. I need a nice tuner suggestion for the LB7. My thoughts were the PPE economy tuner, seems like it is really all I need. What is everyones thought on this as a tuner?

5. I will be replacing my exhaust... 3in or 4in? I honestly love how quiet my truck is but I would like better flow and maybe just a little extra noise... I mean it isn't a GM without a little noise. Turbo back or cat back? Is there any backpressure problems from removing the cat?

6. Any other suggestions for mods? I am not looking to go crazy over the top yet, I will eventually... but I would like to have a beautifully running daily driver that I can also have some fun with for right now.

All your ideas and advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks for helping me out!

Obviously you know you need injectors. Find Brent@LDS on here. Lincoln Diesel Specialties has the cheapest and great quality injectors. I did mine in January and Brent helped me over the phone and email when I hit a road block.

I'd go EFI Live tuning. Idaho Rob seems to be big on this forum. I'm gonna hit up DuramaxTuner.com for mine.

200gph is way overkill. I'm thinking of going with a FASS 95gph but I'm not into performance. FASS 150 should be plenty. You're going to want that extra filtration too, especially after you tear the top of the motor off..

4in exhaust is how I am going to go. MBRP with muffler supposedly sounds close-ish to stock.

Notice how I said "I am going to" in most of my responses. College, full time job, money a little right here too!! Good luck on your build; LB7 is a great motor.


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