Hey, I’ve got a 1991 ford f 250 with a 7.3 idi with aftermarket garret turbo and I’m wanting to pull it and build it a little. R&D sells a lot of good performance parts for the idi’s. I was wondering if any one out there had done much performance wise to an idi. Granted ik it’s not by any means a performance motor but just wanting to do some upgrades.

 

There have been a few good build threads, and honestly, some folks are doing some fairly modern upgrades to these high-compression monsters. The VGT thread was particularly interesting, despite being beyond my budget for the truck.

As far as I know, performance-wise you've got very few options with the IDI, but you happened to find one of the best options already with r&d.

 

I think the biggest question is how much power are you looking for?

 

I’m not really looking for any big numbers because ik they not there with an idi but just a little more. I’ve got an extra idi motor that came with the truck and it looks to be in good shape. But I know that r&d has everything I want. I would like to put a 110cc pump amd 50 hp injectors and a borg Warner turbo amd head studs. My main question is tho with having a bigger turbo do I need to lower the compression. I’ve heard of people doing that but I wasn’t sure if they sold different pistons or something along those lines. But if I could get maybe 250 hp wise I’d be plenty happy. I do use the truck to pull a 30 ft gooesneck with a 9000 lb bobcat. The truck does it but I’d like a little more power

 

You shouldn't have to drop the compression as long as you head stud it

 

Okay. I do plan to put head studs in it. Should I be worried about connecting rods or pistons or crank. Any thing along those lines

 

Not with the 110cc pump, that's not a worry until you go 150cc+

These bottom ends are really tough in stock form

 

like DOC has said.........

Buying Aftermarket bolt on crap is just that...

There are folks that build these engines to be High Performance and it's a sound Platform for doing that...but there are probably better options in using different engines.

you need a Plan and an objective of what you want to determine what you need .... what are your Goals what do you expect out of the build ?

One thing I don't hear form many in these forums is Blueprinting ...I haven't spent much time in the "Performance Forum" maybe better answers would be found there as this Forum mostly deals with OEM last Major Engine build I did used Roller Crank and basically Roller everything else... lots of custom machine work.

not trying to be rude but it's hard to answer questions when the outcome is not truly known..if ya catch what I mean..... some folks just want to just Roll Coal ... easy enough but no Gains

 

Okay thank you that’s good to know. To answer for lone wolf. I’m not looking for some crazy build. I just want 200-250 hp to make the truck a little more fun. It doesn’t need to be fast. It not gonna be racing of any sorts. It’s just a work truck and could use a little more power. That’s the truck ans it’s a great running truck but it’s got several leaks and amd way way to much blow by. I’m guessing it probably just needs a set of rings but if I’m gonna tear into it I wanna make sum upgrades

 

What current mods do you have?

With a free flowing intake/exhaust you should make that much power if you just turn the fuel up. Get a pyrometer gauge first though.

 

why do you think it has too much Blow By did you measure it ... FORD says 6" max and that only equated to just 0.2 PSI ...

 

I don’t know how to measure blow by and I know idi’s have blow by but it really seems excessive. I’ve got a blow by hose that runs from the valve cover down out the bottom of the truck

 

To reply to DOC. The truck is all stock and I’ve already got a pyro and a boost gauge. The pump is turned most of the way up amd when I have the truck fully loaded at about 2800 rpm I see about 5 lbs of boost

 

Sounds to me that you have a drive pressure leak or something somewhere. Knowing which model of turbo you have will help for diagnosing no boost and advice regarding upgrades. IDI's have a lot of blowby, if it runs good dont worry about it. Sounds like someone has removed the CDR and added a road draft tube, i would reinstall the CDR unless you are intercooled, then its your choice. You say 200-250hp, they were 180 NA, can get 200+ whp with a maxed out stock pump and off the shelf turbo. Nothing "not performance" about an IDI, they lead all other diesels in tq and hp every year they were made, the bottom end is basically identical to the powerstroke minus .100" rod beam width and a .120" smaller wrist pin (for NA engines). A 90cc pump would work very well with your current turbo assuming we got things working as theyre intended, and would make around 230whp. The 110cc gives you 300whp or about 400 at the flywheel, however you would be looking at an intercooler, head studs, and at least a compressor upgrade if not a drop in turbo. I have a 110, S362/68.91, cam, and injectors on mine and the power is dead on with current diesels, in fact i was able to pull on our 2011 powerstroke and i was loaded a solid 800lbs heavier. With the 110cc a nice cheap LuK clutch is happy, and if youre blessed with an E40D thats in decent shape, you wont kill it. Once you start looking past the 110cc, clutch options for towing are basically non exsistant and you will want to upgrade the converter as well as a tune or valvebody or both on the E40D, the aforementioned things like studs and intercooler are absolute must (must on the 110cc imo if towing heavily). More importantly, the 150cc pump would be grey area as far as im concerned with NA rods, especially on something that works for a living. Shouldnt need to drop compression, not until at least 180cc or some kind of inline pump. Its been my experience that my power is limited only by my temperature gauge, even with the 110cc (pyro isnt an issue), and literally, my entire cooling system is new or improved from stock. Im told ceramic coating the heads under the precups or the outside of the precups helps quite a bit, but i couldnt find a place locally, and shipping the heads off didnt work with my time frame. Another thing im wanting to try is an auxiliary oil cooler. I built mine with the intention of buying a 150 down the road once i was able to find a clutch solution. That doesnt seem like it will come to fruition, and honestly, the 110cc has as much power as is necessary to pull anything these pickups should be pulling.

 

Even new off the lot with a road draft tube the blowby would seem excessive and coat the underside in oil.

You've got a fuel problem. How far did you turn the pump up flats wise? Does it blow any black smoke? It should roll a nice amount down low if it really is close to maxed.

You should be able to see 15psi of boost loaded. Maybe check on the wastegate to make sure it isn't improperly adjusted.

What type of turbo kit do you have? I know you said aftermarket Garret, but like custom, 085, 088, 093?

Does it have stock downpipe/exhaust?

You should be able to get quite a bit more power out of what you already have if nothing else at least for now, then decide upgrades based off of how much more power you want.

Seems to me you've got a current issue that if solved may bring enough power back to it.

Cheapest way to verify the shape of the motor is probably a $30 harbor freight diesel compression tester.

You can build a manometer diy though