Well I finally got all my parts gathered up and was able to install all of it. I had a couple exhaust leaks that started this whole process....

I found that the drivers exh manifold had a broken bolt head and also the turbo had a broken bolt head between the exh side and bearing housing. I originally thought that one was a collector gasket.

I dropped the tranny, pulled the original up-pipes/collector/turbo. I rebuilt the turbo, and replaced the compressor wheel. I also installed the EBPV delete pedestal and outlet housing. The turbo stuff went together well, no issues.

I took off the exh manifolds and put in gaskets and new bolts. I was able to pull them fairly easy without pulling the inner fender or wheels. I also didn't have any rusted bolt problems. Then I put in the new IH bellowed up-pipes and new collector. I ran into a time consuming issue with lining up the new collector with the turbo. I could not get the bolts holes to line up. IH includes 2 new bolts as you are suppose to replace the studs with bolts. I tried for hours and eventually got it, but damn what a pain in the a$$!! I ended up leaving everything loose and using a punch in one of the holes and having a helper pry in a different direction. I assume it was because of the new bellowed pipes needing to stretch into place.

I put a new rear main seal in for good measure while I had the tranny out. I put in the new Southbend clutch kit and SMF. I got the next step up from the stock clutch, about 350hp rated IIRC.

This all made a huge difference, there is much much less smoke now and the turbo seems to spool faster. Also the clutch engagement is nice and crisp. Really feels like a whole new truck.

One issue I am concerned about is the down pipe is resting against the up-pipe and has started to wear into the down pipe. I tried moving stuff around to no avail. Is that normal or is maybe my down pipe a little off with specs? Seems like my motor rests a little closer to the firewall than most. The tranny support bolts are all the way back in the slots.

Sorry for the long post and I wasn't able to get any pictures of the process cuz I was kinda crunched for time.

 

Sounds like a good sized project all done! Always nice to fire it up after being torn down. You're gonna want to get the pipes to stop rubbing. I'm not sure how as its hard to tell for sure what is going on over the net. I'd keep trying to rotate it some, or "massage" the dp if necessary. You'll want to do something before you rub a hole in one.

 

A hammer will dimple the dp enough for a bit of clearance to avoid touching.

 

I just noticed I have the same issue with the DP And the bellowed up pipes. The crappy thing is, is my DP won't pull apart into 2 pieces. It's stuck together!! I notice a weird sound when downshifting, like crackling in a tube??? It's the best way to explain it. I think it has to do with the DP and up pipes touching. Doesn't do it when I accelerate only downshifting and revving over 2k rpms. Weird??!! Hopefully I can get that turd of a DP out, without cutting and buying a new on. Lol

 

By crackling I mean like the 7.3 cackle in a tube.

 

Well I finally got it. My big problem was getting the 2 pipes apart and then getting it back together. After a few hours of twisting, wiggling and hammering I finally got it apart. I had to bend the DP in where it was contacting the up-pipe, not the solution I wanted but it was the only way I could get it to work.

I had the same problem with the noise from them rubbing. This fixed it. Thanks guys, the truck sure is fun!!

 

Glad to hear that!!! I thought I screwed something up!!! I tried to get my DP to come apart before and it was a no go!! Without the up pipes in it came out the bottom. Lol