My truck is a 1989 Ford F-250 extended cab 4x4 zf5 speed.

I bought my system used off of ebay - while it it was dirty, it was in excellent shape - no shaft play in any direction on the compressor wheel.

The whole install wasn't complicated as much as it was a pain sometimes. The clearances around this turbo system are tight people. It barely fits.

Processes based on how much of a pain they were (starting with 1 being the greatest pain):

1. Bolting the turbo to the flange
2. Cutting and bending the firewall
3. Fitting the uppipe casting in
4. Relocating the glow plug relay
5. Fitting the downpipe in
6. Ensuring that all the wires and cables are heat shielded and won't get burned

The filter I used is a Spectre 9732. It fits perfectly and was inexpensive.
I stripped the rust off all the pipes with a wire wheel mounted on a 4 1/2 inch angle grinder. Then I prepped and painted with VHT ceramic paint. I wrapped the crossover pipe and the downpipe with header wrap and then painted that with the same paint.

I did not drill any holes in the valley pan and there does not appear to be an oil leak yet...

For exhaust I am doing a 4 inch diameter pipe exiting all the way back in the factory location.

Since I bought my kit used I don't have the banks ram air box so I will do without it until I can find one. - Or do you all think this intake box is unnecessary? - I just feel like I might be sucking in some hot engine bay heat like this.





Yes I still need to figure out the vacuum hose block location, and I need some gauges which will be VDO or ISSPRO. I took it out for a drive today but I doubt I'll overboost or melt pistons because I didn't turn up the fuel.

Conclusion: This drives like a new truck, the power and throttle response is amazing, and I have not even turned up the fuel! As much of a pain as it was, the turbo was totally worth it! Every IDI should have one. Boost is instant, and it whistles and spools up nice at idle. I will update you all on this in the future.

Thank you to all the members that helped me along this way, this board is a fantastic resource, which I hope to contribute to.

 

Congrats man, Im sure glad to hear thats working out for you.

 

Sweet. i like the air filter.

 

Blue, I am down with that mounting flange location being a PITA, you can barely get a wrench on some of the nuts! When I did my engine swap I had to get mine off then on again! When I swap the sidewinder onto my 94 IDIT I might pull the cab! I have heard it's not too hard.

Looks good. The Sidewinder is a good mod for these engines. I am going to swap mine from my 93 to my 94 factory turbo when I have a little time. It works much better with these engines. If you find an air cleaner box, make sure you get the support bracket that mounts to the intake manifold or it won't stay clamped on tight.

Good luck,

Mac

 

nice going.if you have more power without turning up the fuel,odds are she was running a bit rich as n/a.
you can call up banks directly for any missing parts.all parts and turbo's for the sidewinder is still in full production.

 

I feel like the ATS 093 might have a louder turbo whistle. Does that appear to be true? They both seem like solid kits but I like that Banks still sells turbos and their parts.

FORDF250HDXLT: It did seem like it was just a tad rich n/a, as I did get black smoke from time to time if I wanted - which I can't complain about.

You seem like you are out for getting better fuel economy like me. Will you still turn your pump up? I think I will see what kind of mpg numbers I get without turning it up, then I will go for it and experiment, of course once I can stop enjoying all this newly discovered power.

 

Looks great. The only problem I can see with it, its not on my truck. Good luck with it.

Chet

 

Stomp her to the floor and let her sing... Thats what IDI's are for...

 

My Sidewinder whistles like Dixie compared to the factory unit (which is an 093) it is night and day. In fact when the guy I bought it from followed me to my house, he said he could hear the sidewinder over his truck while driving it! I am sure the larger exhaust has something to do with that.

And Racin...

That is sig worthy! lol

Mac.

 

Nice install. They are a pain in the **** to install but once you finish it, you will be pleased with the results. It helps a lot and saves a lot of time to have all the parts and tools categorized and ready to go.

 

i turned my ip up 1.5 flats,and id estimate i was 1/4 flat too high to start with.
what you want to do,is load up and pull a big hill.set your fuel up for this,NOT when empty.empty doesn't need,nor will build much for boost (im 8k when empty) it's the EGT and boost gauge you want reading perfect when pulling a large hill.set it up that way,and you know you can just run 'er.
good luck on stopping enjoying the new power lol.im doing pretty good at keeping my foot out of her now though.give yourself a little play time lol.a few tanks of reduced economy won't hurt ya too bad.it's all about the long haul anyway.

 

Man, I knew I should have put it on my slow, heavy 4x4 cab and chassis truck - which will certainly see some heavier hauling - I might go the hypermax pulse turbo route for this truck if I can get one at a good price (and I will probably fab an intercooler setup for it) - although I don't like that the hypermax is not wastegated. Due to the lack of a wastegate, I don't know how great it would be over the Banks for plowing snow and other areas where I need that low end power.

Hopefully I will have some mpg numbers in the next month or so - progress on this f250 idi is slowing as among other things I am working on a 140 gallon custom air compressor project - so I can sandblast and paint the underneath of this truck (It's rustfree and I want to keep it that way - it spent its whole life on the west coast until now).

By the way congrats to eaton and FORD on your successful installs, everyone is installing these things now - rightfully so.

 

Anybody know if they make a upgraded compressor fan for the sidewinder. I am thinking about putting studs in my heads and new gaskets and would like to run a bit more boost.

 

keep an eye on that air filter. I had the same one on my sidewinder. it lasted about 2,000 miles before it collapsed in on itself.