. You are my Hero! LOL.... I'd love to be able to put one on my turbo, but at present it's a no go. I was talking with Brad today, and we had a discussion about the possibility of machining the inside of the VGT to fit my 472, which I'm not opposed to at all. I'll know more about that later this summer.
But heck I'm excited to see how your truck runs. Get'r done......

 

LOL thanks. They make a Turbonator for the S400 series. Will it not fit? Why does it need machining to fit yours?

 

They do make the VGT for the S400 but only up to an 83/74 Turbine housing, where as my sxe472 turbine is 87/72. I did reach out to Diesel Power source, and they told me that they did not have plans at this time to build one for my turbine size. They also told me that I could install the 83/74 in my 472, then the VGT would work just fine. So, if I do decide to install the VGT, it's either replace the turbine wheel or look at some machining on VGT to make it fit. I'm just not interested in loosing some top end to make this work. Granted it might not be that much, and I'll still have the option to go back if I don't like it. Decisions decisions..
What's a guy to do
I haven't researched it yet as to how much machining the VGT housing would require, as well as if there's enough meat in the housing to make this work.

 

Good Lord you really went with a monster turbo alright. Machining that housing for 87/72 is going to be a lot of work because the vane mechanism has to match the turbine OD too

 

I am not anywhere close to installing yet but I couldn't help but mock things up. It looks like I will have to reclock the vane actuator.

 

Looks like you can index every 45 degrees?

 

Dan, you are correct.

 

If you need something in between....I might know a guy.

 

There's quite a bit involved in indexing the vane actuator.

 

More than just holes...alrighty then.

 

Leonard, I was wondering how long it would take before you put the parts together.

@RacinJasonWV Today was the day I mentioned earlier when I said I would try to get some pictures for you as we towed our 12,000 lbs 5th wheel to our camping spot.

Here they are...


All of the following pictures of EGT/boost were taken at the indicated speed and RPM with cruise control set while in 5th gear (6th gear for those that count L as a 1st gear).

None of these were long hills, but they were moderately steep and I took A LOT of pictures. The ones you see below are when the EGT gauge peaked and maintained its position before going back down as the hill leveled out.

Normally on this stretch of road I would have the truck in 4th gear around 2200 RPM as the truck us happiest and strongest between 2000 - 2500 with the SXE on PHP 65HP tune.

 

Thanks Sous. I see 1100 and 11psi seem to be your normal in this condition. That is impressive.
Im not sure if our “moderate” hill descriptions are the same 😂 but I’m still glad to have some reference points.

I have yet to hook to the trailer since fixing the small boost leaks. Not sure how much they could impact EGT but any leak is bad so they’re fixed now.

On a separate but related note, I did find a small leak at the rear cylinder of PS manifold. I need to get it cleaned up to check how active it is but I cannot feel it by hand (with a cold start). Of course the fan blows back down the side of the block too so I’m trying to hide the moving air from the fan while checking. But I’m pretty sure it can’t be felt at idle. When I found the leak on the DS years ago it was obvious to the touch. The lower photo was taken with a borescope and cannot really be seen with the eye due to location. But I can get my fingers in there.

I have to admit this isn’t on my short list of repairs as the DS removal was a nightmare. How negatively do you guys feel this is impacting my performance?

First step will be to clean or coat the area to try and understand how bad it is. I found Anti-sieze to work well on the uppipes to manifold connection (still have a very small leak there too). What have you guys found that is good to remove the soot for inspection? The location makes wiping it off really difficult.

I was waiting to share these photos until I had a little more time to look into it but since I’m already on here. Lol.

 

I don't think I could tow my fifth wheel at that rpm except on flat ground. I try to keep mine between 1900 and 2200. Climbing is a different story. 2500 to 2700, but hills around here and threw the mountains are much steeper. Auto, CC LB 4x4 with WW in the turbo. 1.0 exhaust housing. Thirty-five foot long fifth wheel between 12 and 16 K Max. I'd say mostly around 12 to 13 K the way I use it. I'm still on the fence about this only because of visual inspections we have here.

 

I know right? I'm amazed I managed to hold out this long.

 

Jason, you are right that our description of a "moderate" hill can be dramatically different, but this is what I have available to me during our journey to the interstate. Don't use the view of the hill out of the windshield because the pictures were taken after 99% of the hill was behind me. I probably took 50 pictures and ended up with 4 peak EGT number pictures.

We live 1 mile from the lake and we are camping on the SC side of the same lake, so the trip is very short and not a lot of opportunities to get more pictures. Unlike the video I made which is a good 300 miles one way to the beach campground.

We had plans to ben the the Rocky mountains and Glacier NP by this time, but the pandemic put a stop to that. When I do get a chance to run the mountains in NV, NM, WA, MT, CO, ID, etc I will do my best to log the readings. We are hoping next year, but who knows...

As for the leak, that sucks... How much that is affecting your performance is hard to say in my opinion, but any leak is not good. Like you, I would probably just run it until I got up enough gumption to fix it. You MUST keep the rest of the boost and exhaust system air tight though...

Now you are dealing with two leaks pre-turbine... I think you already know my thoughts on that.

Try simple green with a good rinse. You could try a pressure washer too.

Chet, I don't normally do this because I can tell the truck is not very happy with the load at that ROM in the top gear. Although, I do drive like this on flat ground if I am going straight for a while, say more than 5 miles or so. As seen in my "SXE results video" I have the truck in 5th gear at 55 MPH because the last stretch to the beach is flat and about 12 miles.

At that speed, I prefer the truck to be in 4th as it just runs more healthy.

There are some pretty steep and winding mountains around here too. SkySkiJason posts pictures of them from time to time. Nothing like that 10% grade on the west side of Jackson WY though. When we get out west again, I am going to see about going that route and staying in Teton somewhere. Based on what I have seen from the truck climbing grades in GA, NC, VA, WV and PA the truck will do great. Total weight of truck, trailer and cargo are 18,000 - 20,000 lbs at any given time based on various fluid, fuel and storage capacities.

Chet, this is a great performing system, but knowing that you need to remove it and re-install it every two years... Sir, I would NOT recommend you go this route.