Do the Hutch Mod Now or Weep Later and be forced to replace your injectors.
Ford Painted the Inside of the Fuel Tank ! ???
http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/11837 ... -tank.html
I guess the hutch mod could be considered optional on a 7.3 F250/F350 pickup truck because they have plastic fuel tanks (but most people do them anyway along with the Harpoon Mod).
The diesel vans, however, especially need the hutch mod (as do the F450s and F550s) because they all have a steel fuel tank. And since the tank is made of galvanized steel, which is fine for gasoline but which reacts with the sulfer in diesel fuel, the in-tank fuel pickup screens get clogged up with the 10-13 year old peeling paint, which causes a fuel starvation problem which damages the injectors (even if the injectors avoid being damaged by being clogged by the paint itself).
Here is the Hutch Mod that I did:
Hodgson's Hutch Mod/Frame Rail Pre-Pump Strainer
http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/12028 ... ainer.html
I am considering doing a different connection to the fuel pump to eliminate the quick disconnect at that juncture. But maybe not. My main goal was to eliminate the in-tank screen and to add a frame rail fuel diesel strainer/filter with a plastic screw on see-through jar so that I could see if it is clogged by the continuing peeling paint.
I bought 2 of everything including the Racor filter and will offer the second set on ebay as I stated in the thread.
If you want to buy the parts yourself, I also list the parts I used on my thread.
But alot of 7.3 enthusiasts think that I over-did the job. Do a search, there are many ways to the hutch mod. Check out Guzzles:
http://www.guzzle7pt3.com/hutch.php
BTW, if you read my thread carefully you will also see that the van in-tank pickup apparatus has the float on the opposite side of where it is on the F250/F350, so that crazy bend in the return line tube to go around the float is not necessary in the van. On the other hand, the van tank has a baffle which is in the way which requires you to either notch the baffle (DO NOT USE ELECTRIC TOOLS IT IS A FRIGGIN' FUEL TANK WITH EXPLOSIVE FUEL FOR CHRIST'S SAKE!) or to make the bend above the baffle.
Hope this helps,
Tim Hodgson