Need more power, 2005 IH 7300 with DT466E
 

Hello to all,
I am hoping some one can give me some advice on my 2005 International 7300 with a Dt466e. It has a gvw of 32k and a combination gvw of 58k. We regularly move from 30k to 45k pounds. My problem is that I don't have enough power to move this kind of weight.
The engine is set from the factory at 245hp. I'd like to get it to about 325 if I could. The truck has a 4x4 Allison 5 speed automatic. It is a 3500RDS series. The rugged duty series are rated to handle 80k pounds, so no fear of damages to driveline.
I do have the bigger cooling components, not the smaller ones that are found on the Dt466 rated at 195 or 225hp.
My question is, how do I get more power out this engine? Take it to my IH dealer and reprogram? Or do the power modules or chips that are available for the Dt466 actually work? I can find a number of them for sale, but cannot find anyone that has real world experience that can tell me if they work or just a waste of money...
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!! This truck is almost not safe to try to merge onto an interstate while pulling a trailer 😨

You would be best to go to IH and ask them to turn it up if you are the owner of the truck.

I got some info back from my International dealer today. They gave me a couple of options:
The truck is currently at 245hp.
Option #1 -- 255hp, no physical changes
Option #2 -- 265hp, need to replace top piston rings
Option #3 -- 285hp, need to replace top piston rings
Option #4 -- 300hp, need to replace top piston rings, hi pressure oil pump, and transmission!!!

I told them, ok maybe I would go for the 285hp option. How much would it cost? They said the ecm flash is $300 for any option, a new hp plate for on the engine is $100 for any option. As for the top piston rings, they said because it is a high hour engine (12,000hrs) they won't do the piston rings without doing a full overhaul/rebuild. Not what I had in mind but they are supposed to get back to me with pricing on that.

I don't remember all the torque numbers but it is currently rated at 620 ft/lbs. The 285hp option would take it to 820 ft/lbs.

Does any one know what kind of increase in speed I would see trying to lug a trailer uphill with an extra 40hp and 200 ft/lbs torque? Would it be very noticeable? If it goes up the hill at 30 mph now would it do 35? 45?

I'm not sure what 200 extra ft/lbs torque would do but it seems like it might be substantial...???

I will post back when i get the numbers on the engine rebuild...

If anyone has any insights or opinions, please chime in...
Thanks!

I personaly have never had much luck towing with the allison unless it was manually shifted. With the increase in HP and TQ you will notice it. Keep an eye on your shift points, dont let it upshift until you know it will be in the power band (peak tq) when it does shift up to the next gear. The last truck I had with the allison was an 82 Chevy that was a retired garbage truck. It had the GM 8.3(de-boat anchor) and the 4-speed allison, loaded with 13 tons of silage, I wouldn't let it shift until the rods wanted to come out and play. If i left it in drive, it would shift way to early and have no power. Had it in 3 diff shops and they all said everything was adjusted properly.

Actually the way it is programmed currently if you put it down against it will redline it before every shift. I don't have any complaints about the Allison.
International wants $22k to do a rebuild on the engine so unless someone else has a way to turn it up, I guess I'll just drive around really slow...

$22k???? I would do a bit of shopping around. I think you can buy a complete new engine for less than that. To overhaul a N14 with rebuilt heads wasn't even close to that kind of money.