'00 F350 SuperDuty

Western Diesel Chip

The Western Diesel guys have a funny way of selling things it seems like. They are all genuinely nice people who really want you to get the most out of your truck, and it just so happens that their products sell themselves on this idea so well it's a wonder they need salesmen :) The WD chip is relatively "mild" compared to some of the ones out there, being rated at 65hp and 125ft/lbs increase over stock. Why not go more? With a turbo diesel, your #1 concern with adding power is your exhaust temperatures (EGTs). More fuel = more power, but more fuel also = higher temps. Get too hot and you'll start melting parts. So after looking at a bunch of chips, I settled on the WD unit. Like many WD owners, I was given the opportunity to "try" one out by one of their resellers. In fact, he sent two just in case I had trouble with one. When purchasing a chip, you need to get one that's coded to your computer, otherwise it will ignore the programming in the chip. Not a big deal, you can find this code in a few places, usually on the door near the hinge, or worse case on the back of the computer. Installation was easy, and while I wasn't sure about spending nearly $400 for a little chip, there was no way I was taking it back out after going for a drive in my new truck :)

First thing to do is locate the wiring harness that plugs into the computer. This connector sandwiches the firewall in between when it's connected. It's in the upper driver's side corner of the engine compartment down below the brake booster and a bunch of other stuff, right in the corner. It's a verticle connector roughtly 1" wide and 3" high, with a bunch of wires coming out the side. See above. The picture below will give you a little better view of the connector itself. There's a 10mm bolt in the center that secures it to the computer, this has to come out.

Once you get the connector off, the computer itself is under the dash against the left side kick panel (by your clutch foot). It's in a plastic "case" that is attached at three points to the cab with 10mm bolts. (Sorry, don't have any pictures of the actual removal of this..doh!) Remove these bolts and pull the computer out. You won't be able to use the casing, so take the computer out of it. The chip will be in the way. You'll find a black plastic cover about 1" x 2" on the end of the computer. Remove this and there will be an edge connector. Now this is the trickiest part, and if you have any problems after installing your chip (no start, engine dies, etc) it's probably due to this. There is a clear protective coating on this edge connector that must be removed. Once you start "chewing" at it, it will become more apparent. WD may or may not include a "cleaning tool", but I used a popsicle stick, some rags, and some laquer thinner with success. Get BOTH SIDES of the connector! It takes a lot of scraping and cleaning, really work it, just don't break the board off :). Once you get it good and clean, (when you think it's perfect, do it all over again), push the chip over the connector so that the edges of the chip are flush with the sides of the computer case (the connector is offset, it will stick out funny if it's backwards), and put a piece of duct tape over it to secure it in place. Then you can either cut out the factory computer casing and bolt it back up, or do as many people do, and just fit the computer back up there and ziptie it securely. You should end up with something looking like this.

At this point, go back under the hood and reconnect that wiring harness. That's it! NOW - Many people complain after this, or within a few days, "my truck won't start," "my truck stalls," my truck dies on the road," etc. This is because you didn't get that connector clean! If you run into trouble, aand you didn't put the computer back in it's plastic case, you can always pull it out and drive it without the chip (sigh...) until you get back home and have time to clean it again. Without that casing in the way you will be able to just pop the chip out and clean it right there with no disassembly.

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