Intercoolers

raydav · #1 (**permalink**) 04-15-2008, 10:10 PM

I am working two vehicles.
1984, stretch E350, 89 7.3 IDI, E4OD, 3.5 dually.
2001, E350 cutaway 22' long 10' high, 7.3 PSD, 4R100, 4.1 dually.

The 2001 does not have an intercooler and the 1984 is not yet turbocharged. Putting an intercooler in a van does not seem trivial.

The only obvious place I see for them is under the vehicle, to the rear of the trans, with fans. The 2001 has a huge amount of space, but would require a large amount of plumbing.

I am currently collecting parts for the 84. So far I have two T3/T4 turbos that will mount close to the outlets of the stock manifolds, two temp gages, three pressure gages, and an electric oil pump for an oil system. It will have a full dual exhaust.

I am mostly concerned with pulling a load up mountains so pressure lag is not critical, but still kinda important.

Is an intercooler worth the trouble? And how much good will it do with all that extra pipe?

Ray

littleme13 · #2 (**permalink**) 04-16-2008, 11:50 AM

intercooler under the truck is a bad idea, they dont like rocks and stuff too much. mount it in the front. they need a lot of air to work and the coolest air possiable. by the tranny your gonna have hot hot air commin off the engine and trans excpesially if your pullin up grades.

raydav · #3 (**permalink**) 04-17-2008, 10:42 AM

[quote=littleme13;6046401]mount it in the front.

Have you ever seen a diesel in a van? The only "in the front" is hang it on the bumper, or maybe lay it on the hood.

So again, just how much trouble is an intercooler worth?

Ray

Lead Head · #4 (**permalink**) 04-17-2008, 10:54 AM

I'm sure you can squeeze an intercooler in between the radiator and the grille.

littleme13 · #5 (**permalink**) 04-17-2008, 02:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lead Head

I'm sure you can squeeze an intercooler in between the radiator and the grille.

thats what i ment by mounting it in the front, sorry for the confusion. even if you have to go with a smaller or thinner one your better off then not having one at all.

raydav · #6 (**permalink**) 04-17-2008, 07:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by littleme13

thats what i ment by mounting it in the front, sorry for the confusion. even if you have to go with a smaller or thinner one your better off then not having one at all.

There was no confusion. I knew what you meant. But I am not sure you have ever seen a van. In order to fit, an intercooler would have to be the thickness of an AC condenser, because that barely fits.

Yes, I could move the condenser underneath; it would be much easier to blumb. The second condenser in the 2001 is already underneath. But I am not finding intercoolers as thin as that.

Ray

raydav · #7 (**permalink**) 04-17-2008, 07:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by raydav

an intercooler would have to be the thickness of an AC condenser, because that barely fits.

Ok, in both cases I could relocate some things and get some sort of intercooler in front of the radiator. That leaves the plumbing. There are no open spaces between turbo, grill and intake on either.

Oh well, we don't want things to be too easy.

Are you sure it will help?

Lead Head · #8 (**permalink**) 04-17-2008, 09:17 PM

Maybe go to a junkyard or some other place that has diesel vans, and see how the 6.0's intercooler is setup

littleme13 · #9 (**permalink**) 04-18-2008, 10:04 AM

yes an intercooler will help. do you need it no. but like lead head said look at other vans and see how they have it wedged in there. with out it your going to have significantly higher intake temps, you want to coolest air possiable going into your engine for the power benifit. as for routing tubing, get the cooler mounted and then route the lines. just make sure the inlet and outlets are on the top or bottom where you can actually use them.