1994 F350 CC 4X4 NA engine with an ATS turbo.
Ive never been impressed with the power of this engine. Ive been using it to haul a 2000 lb camper around for my first few years of ownership. Ive taken the camper off and now Ive been towing a 5500 lb boat and trailer around.
Over memorial day weekend, I towed the boat from Los angeles to Lake Mead, NV. My first long tow at 270 miles each way. I was not impressed with the performance. Im only towing 1/2 of the rated 11,000 lb tow capacity. EGTs were always bumping up against redline. Engine coolant temps were constantly in the 3/4 range of NORMAL. At one point, the ENGINE TEMP idiot light illuminated (i didnt even know that thing worked) while pulling up and on ramp and going up hill. I had to slow down to 35mph to get the light to turn off and then i had to maintain 2nd gear, 800 egt, 5 lbs of boost and 35 mph to keep the coolant temps low til i got to the top of the hill while every one was passing me. Embarrassing.
For a 1 ton truck with tow package and all the bells and whistles of the day, it really didnt perform how I was expecting. Granted, outside air temps were north of 100 degrees, but I was expecting better carrying such a light load.
The only thing that worked properly was the transmission. I have an external cooler and the radiator cooler and the temp stayed at 190 or below for the whole trip.
Even with it turbocharged, it didnt feel like the turbo was pulling its own weight. I could watch the boost come up but not feel a significant seat-of-the-pants power increase. I just felt like I was doing alot if engine temp/egt temp/transmission management for not alot of performance. The miles were ticking by painfully slow.
Im curious if a Factory turbo engine may have better luck since it has a different cam with less valve overlap. I might change that and see how it behaves before I look at possibly changing the engine or selling the truck.
I anyone has any ideas, Id love to hear them.

 

What's your timing at?

 

I was running 9 degrees but I rolled it back to 6 degrees before the trip hoping to lower the EGT a bit.

 

Which ats turbo model?

What shape are your pump and injectors?

 

I guess i should have mentioned that its an ATS 088 turbo.
The injector pump is a u-haul rebuilt unit with about 2000 miles on it. The injectors are OEM units with about 6000 miles on it.

 

Turbo pumps put out more fuel. Did you turn the existing pump up all the way? Sounds like you need more fuel.

 

EGTs were constantly maxed out around 1100 degrees. I had to do alot of throttle and transmission management to keep everything happy, which made me unhappy. It required more mental attention than should be required for only a 5500 lbs load. I wouldnt even attempt to move 10,000 lbs on the freeway; it would be a disaster.

 

Timing and spray pattern will greatly affect performance and egt. I'd make sure your timing is dead on, then I'd be probably do a compression test just to rule out other issues.

You may have to look at a true rebuilt pump and injectors. I had a 90 cc CCD pump, Moose injectors, factory turbo kit and it ran very well even with 35" tires.

 

Turn your pump up. Turbo pumps are calibrated differently. More fuel. Open up the side of the pump and turn the fuel up all the way. Turning up the Injector Pump on a 7.3L or 6.9L IDI

 

DO NOT TURN THE PUMP ALL THE WAY UP.
you only turn it up one or two flats at a time then go for a hard run. when you see a slight haze of smoke out the exhaust on full throttle under load, it is turned up enough, or even a hair too much.
black smoke is unburnt fuel.

 

There's not many flats left to go up with the stock setting. With the 4 door, trailer, and load I bet he'd still be in need of fuel maxed out. But like Tom said, do 2-3 flats at a time if you want. If you're rollin coal I'm sure you'd figure it's too much.

 

He won't turn the pump up at all until EGTs are reasonable.

 

i have struggled similarly with heat/power issues going over the grapevine/tehachapi passes in the past.

heat: PO put some POS radiator 2 core plastic top so i recently put oem ($100 craigslist) which helped. that aftermarket radiator created a 2-3" gap in between the shroud which i think may have allowed air to escape decreasing vacuum. i put a new fan clutch and suggest you make sure you got a motorcraft thermostat as mine didnt to start which is notorious for causing these problems. i was missing some of the rubber that blocks air from going over radiator into engine bay so got some from junk yard. also i didnt have the bumper with the cutouts so did that upgrade ($100 craigslist with bull bar!). i also made an air dam for that so air cant escape under radiator.

even with all that last weekend while going over tehachapi pass (ambient temp close to 100) i had to turn off a/c bc she was at 210 and rising which is way better than the 250 i was at on the pass early on before all these upgrades. i was pleased with the heat this time as it was very manageable but it does take some attention and effort.

power: got head studs/cam/moose jr pump/type4 inj/new to me upgraded turbo which boosts over 15 (highest my gauge reads) r&d cold air intake but even with all this i am still in 3rd going over the hill at about 35-40mph@3k+ rpm if i lose momentum. although i did pass some big rigs and i am towing a 20 something foot toy hauler with 2 quads/3 dirt bikes and supplies (water tank) for a family so prolly like 10k lbs, she had 4.10 in it but i couldnt handle the rpm/noise so i changed to 3.55 w/eaton trutrak and built up the motor.

the shop that did the work (redmans in oakhurst ca) said i would need an intercooler which i agree and my egts only redline if i am in too high gear for the hill.

i had a 6.7 and was spoiled with 800 lbs torque and didnt have to slow down but kept triggering CEL for different stuff (egr mostly).

didnt want to deal with CARB BS here so i gave it to my dad until i get to AZ when i can take off the DPF/EGR

these upgrades have all been done over the past year i have owned her but i am pleased with this rig.

she has personality which the new one didnt and she dont look like every other f series out there.

i will prolly put a bigger turbo and stage one injectors once i do the intercooler.

for now im busy working on my f100 which has been too long coming.

hope this helps

 

what size down pipe/exhaust do you have? i have 3" DP and 4" straight with side dump before rw.

i wrapped my crossover and i swear it gained a little boost (old worn out turbo), i read about it on here and was skeptical but it sure did work.

 

Thank you for your detailed response. I swapped out my factory radiator with a champion aluminum 3-core radiator, and then quickly realized I made a mistake and had my original radiator repaired and re-installed. Ive been replacing parts with motor craft but I havent messed with the thermostat. It seems to be operating well. I have the rubber on the apron, but ill need to look underneith to see if i have the lower air dam. If not, ill make one. My truck doesnt have the holes in the bumper; its been on my mind for about a year, so ill persue that. My truck is very stock except for the ATS 088 turbo and muffler delete (PO modified it with straight 3" pipe that dumps before the back tire.) Im alittle afraid to wrap my cross over pipe because its pretty rusty. Im sure any additional heat will cause it to shatter like a piece of glass. Classic diesel designs upgraded turbo and a r&d cam shaft has been on my mind.
When are you driving back through Tehachapi? Id like to meet up with you and see your truck.