Was thinking of adding a turbo to my 93' 7.3. Motor and truck run well with 115k miles. E40D was replaced at 98k 4 years ago - it was my dad's truck til he passed away last year so I pretty much know all that was done to it and that he never used any SCA.

Between ATS, Hypermax and Banks I'm interested in opinions and advice. I question some of the performance specs I'm reading at their sites. Also each company packages their kit differently as far as what's included and what you have to buy separately. All are wastegated nowadays except the Hypermax pulse.

Curious about tuning a turbo on a 93 also...

Thanks,
Mike

 

ATS is hard to beat.

The only tuning to be done is adjust the fuel up for the extra air the turbo is giving it.

You need to get SCA's in it right now, hopefully the truck is low mileage.

 

I'd get rid of it only because the block is weaker because of not getting sca and it will probably go before it hits 200k a new crate motor with a warrenty or going thru and rebuilding the motor 100% new will cost you $6000+ and 2500 for the turbo thats 8500 dollers ya you can go cheaper routes but you pay for what you get (except if you go out and buy a new 6.0, I hear those things a questionable). you can go out and get a newer pickup or if the bodies in good shape and you start (saving up) looking to replace the motor. I would keep it only because it stinks to own a diesel that you don't know the history behind it. these things can seem to nickel and dime you to death.

 

Are you 100% positive there are no SCAs in the truck???
Just go ahead and check the SCA levels in the coolent. Maybe there is some/enough there afterall. SCA test strips are cheap.
Is it possible that he(dad) had a dealer/mechanic do coolent system work on it and they used SCA additives, or they could have used a coolent that already had SCAs in it? Maybe he did not know he had SCAs afterall!
Just a thought.
Was your Dad the original owner?
Good Luck

 

Cetane-
Good idea - that's real likely. What I'll have to do is call the dealership he had do work since I flushed and replaced coolant before I drove it home January. He was the original owner and I have all the maintenance records. Part of the reason I want to keep the truck is because I know how he drove (he was 73 when he bought it). He was a retired farmer and pretty meticulous when it came to lubricants, air filters etc. I know he was pretty irritated at having to replace the transmission with under a 100k.....
If coolant additives don't look like a problem I'm still thinking about the turbo.
I did some searches but kept getting interested in other stuff I found people talking about!
Thanks
Mike

 

Good. Hope you can get some confirmation from records Etc. It would be cool to be able to keep something that has been in the family like that.

 

Yeah, the cool factor plays into it a bit...
and I have to admit that I've been sitting here (for longer than I want to admit) thinking about why I like this truck, diesels, and trucks in general. Why I like Fords v. anything else so far even though the truck I miss the most was a '67 Chev, 3 sp, 232 ci (the first truck I bought). That said (which oughta get tossed into another forum) I shouldn't have mentioned the additive, probably.
Since I wanted some turbo advice... grin.
Thanks folks-
Mike

 

Were glad to be of help to ya. There are a lot of folks here with turbo advice.
Its just that coolent without SCAs is a huge red flag to any 6.9 and esp 7.3. (all diesels really) Cavitation is the arch enemy. If you got that, there ain't much need for a turbo! That's why we jumped on the SCA thing.
Do a search on ATS, Banks, and other turbos on this forum. You will learn more than you will believe. There are a lot of turbos running out there.
I don't know enough about them yet, except enough to say they are real nice and make nice HP.
Cost $2500 to 3500ish.
Hopefully someone else will jump in here for you and further answer your questions.

 

Its OK if your first truck was a chebby. Ya got to crawl before you can walk. I don't dislike them particularly. Chebby has its place in the world.
When it comes to the diesels, I love the 6.9/7.3 stuff.

 

Frome everything I have read the ATS kit is the best. Ford contracted ATS to build the turbo systems on 1993 and 1994 factory turbo IDI engines (like mine), and thus it is likly that ATS has put considerably more effort into developing there system for this truck than did any of their competitiors. Plus, with the ATS kit you will be able to get virtually any part for it from a Ford dealer if necessary.

good luck

 

The true ATS kit has a three inch downpipe that makes the turbo breath much better.
Ford tried to reinvent the wheel with the ATS system they installed in 93 and 94. They used a 2.25" ID downtube that they ran over with a fork lift. It really hurt the turbo performance, but it was easy for them to get it between the firewall and the block.

With the 3" down pipe my IDI will run right with a 96 Power Stroke pulling the same size load. Course I did do a little work on the intake to the air cleaner also.

 

I'd been leaning towards ATS... but wasn't sure my logic was sound. Its good to get some other opinions. Replacement parts is a good point, especially since a friend told me today his uncle was stuck in Yuma for two weeks waiting for a chip from Banks. Dunno the whole story yet.
Dave I'd be interested to hear more about your breather patent. I was told years ago that dirty air, inefficient air cleaners, etc. hurt more diesel motors than anything else.
Thank you!
Mike

 

I to would like to hear more about the work you did on the intake side. I am planning on doing the 3" down pipe and turbo outlet, but don't know what the best way of opening up the intake would be.

 

No patent, just a Saturday with a sawsall and sheet metal tools.

40 square inches of intake behind the grill that get funneled down to the stock 4" hose going into the air cleaner.

Cut the stock radiator support out on the drivers side and fabricate a new one that is out of the way.

I wound up with a 3 x 9 hole beside the radiator.
Then fabricate the scoop out of sheet stock, 4 x 10 at the front 3 x 9 through the radiator support.
Right behind that it goes to 6 inch round duct with a 6 x 4 reducer in the end of it.
A 4" single wall flex elbow that the stock 4" plastic flex duct slides over and hooks to the air cleaner box on the other end.

Max boost level stayed the same, but it does boost higher a lot faster at low RPM's.

If you look behind the parking light you can see the stock air intake hole that Ford used on the 86 model, it was a huge 2 x 3 inches.
A 7.3 NA will want 423+ cubic feet of air a minute at 3300 RPM at sea level.
A turbo can almost double that figure at 15 pounds of boost.
850 cubic feet do not fit through a 2 x 3 inch hole very well.
To visualize that is a 10 foot x 10 foot room with an 8.5 foot ceiling worth of air going in the motor every minute. That needs a big hole to go through on both ends of the motor. With the expansion after combustion I am starting to wonder if my dual 3" stacks are enough on the exhaust side.

 

Dave,

What would the effect be if a person does the front air intake like yours, but leaves the exhaust alone for now? With alot more air coming in, and getting compressed by the turbo, but being forced out the 2.25 down tube, am I going to be looking at too much back pressure?

What if a person opens up the air intake like yours and does NOT turn the fuel pump up at all?

Basically, what order should a person do the mods in, without being forced to do another mod? Example - open the air intake means you MUST open the exhaust at the same time, or else....