Hi,

I just finished installing a brand new banks turbo kit on my 93 F250, and I have to say I am disappointed. I expected a much faster truck when empty and to be honest I'm not sure it's any faster. I will admit that the turbo whistle sounds great but I don't think a whistle is worth $3K.
When you accelerate hard the turbo whistle goes away or is masked by what sounds like rushing air through an oversized pipe, that's not the best description but it is very noticeable. As soon as you back out of the throttle the sound goes away.
I took the pressure chamber off and found oil all over the air intake, up inside the pressure chamber and inside the turbo, is this normal? I only have about 50 miles on it since the install, so I wouldn't expect that.
This being my first turbo I am not 100% certain how it’s supposed to sound and work so any help would be great.

 

Sounds like you are loosing boost somewhere.
Also sounds like there is a CDR problem.

Did you install a boost gauge by any chance?

 

Also, did you turn the fuel up?

 

That's another thing I am Disappointed in, the boost gauge never returns to 0 it returns to 1.5 pounds and that’s with the boost line disconnected from the back of the gauge. The highest boost I have seen so far is 5 pounds, that's after correcting for the 1.5 pound difference. Since where talking gauges the pyro never dips below a 100 degrees and it was doing that right out of the box.
I know there is a way to test the CDR valve but I forgot how to do it, a refresher course would be welcome.

David85, the instructions said to turn the fuel up a 1/16th of a turn or half a flat of the allen wrench. I have always read here to turn it up 2 flats, so I split the difference and turned it up clockwise 1 flat.

 

First off, sounds like you definitely have a boost leak. Any sort of "whooshing" sound generally points to that. It'll never feel very fast with a boost leak.

Second, it also sounds like your gauges are screwed up. On the pyrometer, did you mean 1000 degrees instead of 100? What sort of gauges are these and how are they hooked up, where's the pyrometer probe installed and where are you getting your boost readings from?

 

1/16th of a turn seems really low, I found it takes one full flat (1/6th) to feel any difference at all. Do the instructions give any expectations for smoke, boost, or EGTs?

When I first but my used turbo on, I too was dissapointed, untill I turned the fuel screw up, than I was happy.......for a while.

 

Several things,
What are you local temps running?
If you are having 80 degree days, the pyrometer will say 80 before you start the engine.
My truck is black, when the temps are warm and the sun shines all day, I have seen temps over 100 on mine before the engine starts.

Boost gauge sitting on 1.5 PSI, sounds like the gauge is FUBAR.

Fuel should be increased at least 1 flat, probably more like 1.5 or 2 flats.

The boost leak could be on either side of the turbo, either between the turbo and the intake or between the exhaust manifolds and the turbo.

The exhaust side is easier to find, just look for the black soot build up at the leaking connection.
Sounds like you should have an oil stain near any leak on the intake side.

I don't know enough about the Banks system to guess where your leak may be though.

 

ghunt, Both gauges are from banks, the pyro sensor is on the turbo pedestal and the boost line is attached to the pressure chamber. Both sensors where installed in the pre-threaded holes that banks provided.

David85, I was mistaken with the 1/16th of a turn it was 1/6th. I did initially turn the pump up 1/6th but it felt basically the same as before the turbo. I talked with a guy who installs the banks turbo kits on regular basis, and he said that I needed to increase it again until I had a 1/4 turn in it or two flats. I made that adjustment and that made a big difference.
As for the operating characteristics the manual states, cruising on level ground at 60 mph the pyro should read 400-600 degrees. On the quick test drive I made after the fuel adjustment it was reading about 450-500 degrees.
For boost the manual states 1-2 pounds for the same conditions as above. I was reading about 1 pound, so I guess it's some where near right.

Dave S, thanks for the tips on finding the leak, I will take a look at that this weekend. Today was 70 degrees and the pyro was reading right at 100 degrees. I suppose that's ok it just gives me a larger safety cushion when I start reaching the 1000 degree mark.

I think I will call banks and ask them about the gauges. Does international carry the CDR valves for these trucks? If so does anyone have the part number?

 

As soon as you start the engine up...the pyro should read approx. 250 and up...doesnt sound right to me??

 

My Banks gages read the same way. I thinks it's a way for Banks to protect themselves from over zealous HP junkies, and unfounded lawsuits.

There's prolly nothing wrong with your CDR. Replacing it will not reduce the oil in the intake. Only a RDT, or re-ringing the engine will cure the oil issue.

 

fonefiddy, I sure hope I don't need rings already seeing as the engine only has 12,000 miles on it. I didn't have the oil mess before the turbo, you could look down the intake and it was nice and clean.

 

Where does Banks hook the line from the CDR into the intake?
I am assuming somewhere between the filter and the turbo?

What do you have for an intake in front of the banks filter box?
What are you running for a filter?

A couple things happen with a turbo.
The vacuum between the turbo an filter is higher than it would be on a NA motor.
And at 5 PSI boost, you compression ratio goes from the stock 21.5 to 1 to almost 29 to 1.

Higher compression ratio means more blow by and a higher vacuum means the CDR is sucking harder to get even more cranckcase vapors into the engine.

 

I called Banks to ask about the gauges, they basically said the same thing that fonefiddy had already posted how ever they wouldn't directly come out and say it.

Dave, the CDR is mounted between the filter and turbo just as you mentioned. I tried to post a picture of it but I couldn't figure out how to do it. As for the air filter it's a K&N cone style filter. The air intake is the stock snorkel thing that came with it from ford. I will try to figure out how to post some pictures, it would be a lot easier to understand with a pic or 2.

The sound I was hearing turned out to be an exhaust leak where the down pipe and turbo connect, so problem solved there.

I also talked to Banks about the oil out the tail pipe, they said it is a common complaint. They recommended cleaning or replacing the CDR valve. I chose to replace it just to get rid of any doubt as to whether or not I cleaned it properly. After replacing I am still getting oil out the tail pipe, replacing the CDR valve did help but not a complete fix

Now for the really cool part, I use to get about 16 mpg if I drove between 60-65 mph and now driving at the same speeds I get 21.5 mpg. I know your thinking that must be a mistake but I have filled up three times on the first it was 21.6 mpg the second was 21.2 mpg and the third was 21.5 mpg. I can't believe the difference in fuel mileage.-jammin

 

Set up a gallery is the best way to post pictures.

Grey bar at the top, click galleries.
Then click create/manage

Fill out the info, and up load the pictures to your gallery.

 

Hey gr8ride, I bought one of these banks kits back in january and its still not installed. I have the same year truck you do (1993 f350) and I cannot get the turbo to fit on the pedistal because it will not clear the cab. Did you have this problem, If so, how did you fix it. Bash the cab in with a large hammer or were you just lucky? I get 16 mpg right now with e40d and 4:10 and if it get over 20mpg, that would be killer!!!! Anyway, Im glad you got your working. At least someone has good luck. Later