I'm putting together an E99 conversion kit to a 99.5 from Riffraff.

My goal is to get the truck to 100% for a tuner

I would buy the kit but I already have the blue anodized plenums and I want a working EBPV Pedestal for the cold climate that we get here and that kit does not come with it, only the blank pedestal. So with all this I'm actually saving money in a way (already bought plenums so not needed). If you don't have anything then the Kit is a better way to go.

So my question is, with the 38R turbo should I spend the extra $179.00 to have the turbo ceramic coated and another $139.00 for the ceramic coated up pipes? Is it worth it?

I don't have any fuel upgrades so I'm looking into adding the FRx with new banjo bolts, high flow fuel CVD fitting set, and Viton Sleeve set which I believe is required for the CVD fittings. Do you think all this will help performance or just stick with the FRx? My stock sticks seem to be ok just need to put in new O-rings and need to save up again before dropping more coin on a new set of injectors.

Any feed back or criticism would be highly appreciated.

 

What is your final goal/vision for your setup? The FRX would be a good upgrade for just about any setup but the rest really depends on what your injector & HP goals are for the future.

I almost did the ceramic coating (turbo, up pipes)on my Excursion when we did the upgrades last summer but I really don't play at the higher HP level that often.

 

Not really looking for high HP, "maybe" in the low 400 (just spit balling) but mainly longevity and MPG. My stock up pipes are shot so I have to do that for cooler EGT's and MPG's. Everything else seems to be ok but with 210K miles. Just recently rebuilt my turbo with Riffraff's kit and wheel so it's good but would like to upgrade to 99.5.

 

What's the point of ceramic coating the turbo? Heat dissipation? If so, isn't that of greater concern when not stock?

If you need to go under the valve covers for injector orings, UVCHs, VC gaskets, GPs, retorque rockers. There's $400+ to make it more reliable and sound for a tune. IDK

 

Ceramic coating's main purpose is to keep heat in the turbine side of the turbo, heat provides most of the energy to spool the turbo.

 

UVCH is in good condition so are the glow plugs, may do glow plugs anyways for insurance. Will definitely torque everything down.

This is from Riffraff site

*Ceramic Coating Details $140 (Optional) -
The Turbo Black ceramic was formulated for exhaust temps up to 2000*F and will hold in at least 60% of the heat from radiating out under your hood. Not all black coatings will achieve that function. These coatings have been specifically formulated for use on military aircraft.

By retaining the heat energy your turbo will spool up faster and more efficiently. We double coat the outside of the pipes to protect them from rusting and it results in a much longer attractive finish while retaining heat. The two main functions of the coating is appearance and longevity of your engine parts and gaining a more efficient running engine.

 

For 400 HP you could benefit from the FRX and the high flow CVD fittings in my opinion. New CVD fittings came with the regulated return setups I bought for my 7.3L's but retained the stock banjo bolts. I don't know if the banjo bolts upgrade is gonna yield any benefits for your goals if you plan to keep the stock fuel system.

 

It took me about a year and half of digging through my couch and my roommates truck seats to buy this set up the injectors may take a year, they seem strong for now.

The Banjo bolts are 50 bucks so not to big of a deal with the total price. Around 3,100 american dollar bills (wish it was in Pesos)

38R turbo
99.5 EBPV pedestal w/ hardware
AFE Blade Runner intake manifold
2 AIH delete plugs for the intake manifold
International Bellowed up pipes
FRx
Banjo Bolts
High Fuel Flow CVD fittings
Cylinder Head Oil rail plugs
Injector O-ring kit
and some other miscellaneous stuff

 

I did have Tugly listen to my injectors and he mentioned that there probably due for some O-rings.

 

If your going to do the fittings, now the time with the back one and up pipes off. I got to buy a new reseal kit for the fuel bowl so I was going to buy the fittings as well. I you have the money coat the pipes and turbo. I didn't do my up pipes and wish I did, no reason, just wish I would of.

 

maybe you should check your roommates wallet for the extra money instead of his seat

 

Is the only reason for the "upgrade" the ability to run the ball-bearing turbocharger? If so, it seems like a lot of wasted money to me.

 

Keeping underhood heat down and inside the engine is always a good thing...
Also, I would do a HPX while I was in the valley.

 

Agreed...

Make sure it's 100% tune it and be done with it. Then take the $2500 and go on a little vacation

 

Kind of what I was thinking, get in there while it's all apart. Money is tight. I'm on disability for falling of a semi trailer while tarpping a load (note to self... Can't fly)

Haha, no kidding!

No, unfortunately it's not. If it was just the turbo I wouldn't even think about this upgrade as I just rebuilt it with Riffraff parts.

My up pipes are in bad shape and have not seen the boost gauge go past 7psi in over 2 1/2 years (for an E99 there are around 800 bucks) My "Y" pipe boots are shot but I have new boots. When I bought them they gave me the set for a 99.5 and never returned them (working 70 hr weeks at the time). I already bought the billet plenums over a year ago for a buddy, but I guess his drugs were more important. We parted ways. The turbo pedestal is leaking around the piston and is not functioning properly. Would like to keep the EBPV, gets pretty cold here and is a nice feature for my use.

Got it

Technically it doesn't need a turbo or plenums but just about everything else to get to 100%. It's got decent power and MPG's but then again the last 7.3 I drove was Tuglys and his truck would leave me in the dust in stock tune. I would love to hang onto the extra $2500 for that comfort cushion.

Please keep this going as I'm having a hard time letting that money go that I have saved for just this project.