ive got a rare(so im told) 1994 f250 turbo diesel, ive found out that it is an idi, and up grading the injectors is not an option, but i was wanting to know how to get more power out of it, and why it barely even smokes?
its not a 1994.5, it was built in january of 94

 

1994diesel,
Welcome to FTE and the IDI diesel forum.

There are injector upgrades as well as IP upgrades, but things have to be done before you go that route.

Exhaust mods are first.
Intake mods are second.
A pyrometer and boost gauge are next.

The reson it barely smokes is because the turbo is supplying enough air to completely burn the fuel.

Black smoke is partially burnt fuel.

 

thanks, i forgot to put that i already have strait piped it, so thats about as much as i have done... can propane increase hp, i have heard that it does but it can hurt the engine and turbo because of the heat?

 

94 turbo IDI here too. Theres a few of us out there!
GET A NEW DOWN PIPE! The factory one sucks. Either Banks, or ATS has upgrades. ATS has a turbo housing upgrade too that only works with their downpipe.
Get gauges.
Turn up the fuel
Shorten the wastgate rod
Now have fun!

 

hey thats awsome, thanks, do u have a vid of your truck? and what do u mean get a new down pipe? is that what comes off the turbo? what diameter, and haha, how do u increase the fuel?

 

i've got a 94 idi turbo also. it's my second one. get the ats compressor housing outlet upgrade plus their downpipe and a full 4"exhaust. up grade the air intake and install a pyrometer and boost gauges. vdo is the cheapest and they work great. after that you can turn up the fuel and play with the boost, then you'll have a strong runner. my first 94 an extended cab 4x4 with a 5spd. was a beast, i pulled on a brandnew duramax (both of us were loaded)
threw the hills of west virginia and ohio coming up interstate 77. with those mods and the fuel only turned up one flat with 7lbs.of boost, i pulled on that brand new duramax on every hill!!! boy was he pissed!! just think if i had 2 or 3 more flats on the pump and 10 lbs. of boost, i woulda sucked his paint off!! oh well i set the truck up for reliability,effiency and longevity and it ran great where i had it set-up. later, pete

 

cool story pete, i cant wait to so all this stuff to my truck! ive got to remember tho to equaly beef things up so i dont break stuff, but how do u make it get more fuel? a higher flow fuel pump?


oh and beating a duramax? holy crap! i mean i belive you but thats insane! wow
that truck must haul ***! haha
what mpgs did you get after all the mods?

 

Don't even think about increasing the fuel delivery or adjusting the boost untill after you have both a pyrometer and boost gauge.

It costs about 4000 dollars to overhaul an IDI engine.

Melted pistons and blown head gaskets are not cheap to fix.


Takes about 22 hours wrenching to swap blown head gaskets, with shop rates where they are that will cost close to 2000 dollars.




ATS turbo outlet on the left, stock Ford outlet on the right.

New 3" downpipe and turbo outlet will run close to 500 dollars.
Lowers the EGT and lets the turbo breathe easier though.


Like I said before, exhaust first.
The bigger exhaust lets more heat out of the engine.
You need that before you need anything else.

 

thanx for the advice dave, will do! i certaintly dont want to blow any pistons or headgaskets! should i do anything to the crossover pipe? will a bigger one reduce the boost?

 

ya a stock duramax probably, a modded one even with just a chip would take a idi no problem. just pointing out facts

 

ya, i bet! but im gona give it a try! 7.3l got a lot of beef! ive got a friend with a duramax, SO ITS ON! HAHA

 

I can't catch an empty Duramax.

But if I find one with a load on it, the story is a bit different.

 

yeah, a empty duramax vs my idi i'd have gotten whipped, but loaded down it's a different story. well a modded duramax would put it to me i'd think. look at it this way a stock duramax is 300 horse and 550-600 ft.lbs of torque and it didn't have nuthin for my 7.3. well what's that sayin something for our "overlooked by everybody" 7.3 idi pretty respectable i think. besides show me a duramax that's got 300,000 on the original engine?? you won't because they don't hold up like a 7.3 ford or a 5.9 cummins. aluminum block with 20:1 compression doesn't = longevity!!! your modded duramax might out pull me but for how long?? life excentency ratio, 2:1 ratio ,you'll wear out 2 duramax's before you'll wear out a 7.3 ford. but anyhow like dave said install a pyro, and boost gauges before you start turning things up. when it comes time you can turn up the stock pump. later, pete

 

my fuel mileage didn't really go down, i just basically made the engine breathe alot better. stock boost is 6 lbs. i had mine at 7 and pump turned up 1 flat, tweaked pump timing, ats exh. mods, intake mod. the truck was a beast almost a fluke, i sold it and bought another idi turbo, and have done pretty much the same mods, and my current idi won't hold a candle to the previous one. don't know what to say about that though? 15 mph highway 62 mph and under 4.10 gears. later, pete

 

acually the duramax has a cast iron block with aluminum heads. if it was all aluminum im sure they would run into reliability problems