so after towing my bronco close to 1000 miles this weekend to do some wheelin i found out REAL quick that just because i have the injectors i cant exactly use all of the trucks true potential. i HAVE to get an intercooler b/c i was able to hit well over 1400 way too fast!

ok so after doing some reading i have found that ANY intercooler is better than what i have now, but the 6.0 IC's seem to flow better. BUT if i go that route i will have to piece it all together, which i am unsure of exactly what i need. i am assuming 2 IC pipes, a spider pipe, and 6 boots. is this correct?

do the aftermarket systems flow better than the OEM IC's? i havent been able to find good numbers to compare (prolly just not looking in the right spot!) so i am not sure. if they do i am thinking it would be worth the extra cost to have the pipes and boots and all in one package.

you guys gotta help again, i cant tow again till i get an IC!

-cutts-

 

I am planning on the same thing.Surely someone on here has done this and will offer us some help!

 

I did a banks IC that was a year ago I didn't have the time to make the pipes and I'm not so good at welding. It was better for me to get the kit with all the parts. You can look at TJ webshots he made one from 7.3 superduty I think. good luck.

 

i did the 6.0 IC i made the pipes out of steel and got the boots from the dealer it was a pretty easy job there is some posts on this already search for them they will help a lot ohh and i heard that the spider manifold isnt made anymore so check ebay good luck

 

Fishy, look in my gallerys. I have all my intercooler install pics with writeups. If there are any gaps, feel free to call me anytime brother. I did the 7.3 cooler and built my pipes out of stock ones. Your biggest hurdle will be the Y pipe. You can fab your own out of your existing Y pipe, or hunt for a factory one. Good luck either way. Hope that helps.

 

The 6.0 IC is probably the best one to use unless you buy a complete kit ($1500-$2000) All the aftermarket kits are big money! If you can weld you can build your setup. And considering you do serious off road I am sure you can weld or you know somebody who can.

To piece a setup together you need an IC (7.3 or 6.0, 99-07 units) these can be had one ebay easily, you will also need a set of 7.3 superduty pipes, and some extra mandrel bent elbows (I used an extra 7.3 superduty drivers side pipe, so to build my pipes I used 3 total superduty pipes, 2 drivers side and one passenger side), and you will need 4 main tubing boots (is you use a 6.0 cooler they use a 3.25/3.0 inch hose its a stepped up hose), then you will need a y-pipe with intake plenum boots. The y-pipe is the most difficult to track down. You can either use an early 99 7.3 y-pipe (no longer made, can't buy them new and sell for $150 on ebay and everybody wants one), you can modify your stock y-pipe with pretty good success(36072&cat=500&thumb=1)

or you can look into an aftermarket unit (banks,GTS)that you might be able to find used.

There is also another way to go about the piping. banks will sell their Technicooler kit without the cooler. so you get the y-pipe and piping and boots. It will need to be modified I think if you use a 6.0 cooler but its still a great kit. There is a performance parts site that has the banks kits for sale at a good price. Banks has changed their sales of these kits. I don't seem to have the link to site though. Maybe somebody else know what I am talking about.

As far as the aftermarkets flowing better. yes they probably do. With your mods will you notice much difference. Probably not. with your mods are they worth the extra cost? IMHO no they aren't worth it. I put my IC project together for $250. I got some great deals. If you get average deals you should be able to get setup for around $500 or less.

Here is a link to my webshots pics and comments
http://good-times.webshots.com/album/558862199oiOiZN
this is also a good how to link that I based my set up on
http://members.localnet.com/~boys3/


that should be enough info to help you make a good decision.

 

sorry i havent gotten back to you guys i have been pretty busy with work.

thanx for all the responses and it looks a lot easier than i anticipated. SO i think i am going to go with the 6.0 setup with whatever pipes i can find and weld them. and yes i can weld (BTW, i bought a ReadyWelder from a guy on pirate, Richard with Stubbs Welding, for a super deal... $399 to my door! i used it this past weekend to mend a bent drag link and it is SWEET! I now keep it in my toolbox in the PSD! Just a heads up!)

any of you have any spare IC parts laying around you wanna get rid of be sure to let me know i will help you clean the garage floor off so the wife will quit complaining!

-cutts-

 

the banks and the spearco intercoolers will flow better than the oem's or the ats but the $$ ive got a 6oh spearco in my truck. i did that and built a new pipe kit and spyder when i did that. ive got the 99stuff and the gts pipes sittin in the shop. there gonna go on ebay soon. i saw an additional 300deg drop with the spearco over the 7.3ic. but the largest thing i noticed was the less drop across the ic and less lag. temp diffs are gonna vary depending on truck setup, temps. i saw this when it was about 90deg out with just the truck. normally runnin the snot out of it on this stretch it was up about 1200deg and now with the truck empty i dont see over 900 in this stretch.

 

i would say a 300deg drop is well worth the cost of an IC... no offence tim

 

I will soon be doing an intercooler install as well. My main concern is the turbo y pipe. I will probably have a few questions for those who have done it here soon.

 

None taken! I didn't think they would make that much difference! I might have to keep my eye's open for a used IC for cheap. Yeah right, cheap!?

 

haha yeah i'm really gonna need an IC seeing how my EGTs hit around 1200 (POST TURBO) pulling a 12k trailer!!!! i was just reffering to the post above me haha a 300 degree drop would help me out so much!! especially once i get those stage 2 or 3's in this baby!!