Installing a Turbo? Read This!

[icanfixall]

Ok say you find a head gasket failure. Stud it and get it running. then some fool steals it or runs a red light and totals it. Your allowing the "what ifs" to ruin your rig. A what if is driving you nuts thinking about it. I understand having confidence in your rig is paramount to feeling safe on the roads. Time will prove itself for you.

 

[Greg5OH]

Your allowing the "what ifs" to ruin your rig. A what if is driving you nuts thinking about it. I understand having confidence in your rig is paramount to feeling safe on the roads. Time will prove itself for you.

this X100

 

[snicklas]

I have been quoted several times in the above posts.

@79jasper
@snicklas

Sirs, I did not intend to cause offense or poke fun at Powerstroke engines. I have been an unfortunate victim of mis-information, it appears. I truly did not realize some of the numbers you posted.

I sincerely apologize.

Not a problem. There have been several posts in several different threads my many different people here lately talking about how unreliable and expensive PSD's are. They are not as bad as has been portrayed, and trust me, my PSD has been to help out an IDI on the side of the road more than once.........

 

[sjwelds]

I'll say this. Every time I see an Excursion with a PSD - whether 6.0 or 7.3 - I'm instantly wishing it was mine. That would have to be the ultimate family rig, not to mention a pile of fun.

and now......back on topic...........

 

[IDIoit]

how expensive PSD's are. .

i wish i could say that they were inexpensive! i have 5x the ammount into my PSD with head swaps than i do in my IDI with a complete engine and trans swap.
nonetheless...I LOVE MY PSD!
i have to admit, i love my IDI more, mainly because its a manual.

I'll say this. Every time I see an Excursion with a PSD - whether 6.0 or 7.3 - I'm instantly wishing it was mine. .

solution, build a 6 door IDI!!!!!

and now......back on topic...........

we now return to the previous program lol

 

[Diesile]

sherman johnson, I don't think there is a need for apology. The injector market lately has been all over the place depending where and when with discontinued items adding to the mix. Injectors and the labor to replace them have been a fraction of the same in a psd and that may be changing.
That being said it is only one item in the care of both very good diesel engines, I own both.

 

[FORDF250HDXLT]

I'll say this. Every time I see an Excursion with a PSD - whether 6.0 or 7.3 - I'm instantly wishing it was mine.

careful what you wish for.snicklas experiences with the 6.oh no is the exception not the rule with that disaster.
http://www.underhoodservice.com/getting-stoked-to-service-the-6-0l-power-stroke/
http://www.internationalpowerstroke.com/6.0L-powerstroke-problems.html
http://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-...iesel-engine-class-action-lawsuit-settlement/
http://www.bigclassaction.com/settlement/ford-defective-diesel-engine-class-action-lawsuit.php

diesel forums are littered with horror stories of good folks loosing their ars in engine repairs that put a great,great deal of strain on a many family.within just a hour or two reading about these guys and their families hardships with massive repair bills for their 6.0 trucks,you'll want to be in tears for them.the saga continues over and over and over as people still keep buying the things.it doesn't take long to visit high traffic diesel sites' 60l sections to see the hardship horror stories of families so upside down on those trucks.bad,bad deal that hurt so many families.

 

[Black dawg]

So, I recently installed a turbo kit on my truck and months before I bought it I asked if I should get high performance head gaskets and studs... I was told no by many people and that it would be a waste of time and money. Well I am here to tell everyone that it is not a waste of time and money... My engine has 102,000 miles on it and no more than 500 miles after a turbo install and no more than 5 - 6 PSI of boost, I have a head gasket failure.... Some people have better luck, I didn't.... Now I have to tear the engine apart. I just want to share this so that someone else doesn't get the wrong advice. If you want a turbo, REPLACE you head gaskets and studs with high performance ones. I have a build thread, once I find some I will share the link....

If your engine really does have 100k on it, that is probably the lowest miles a 7.3 has lost a head gasket (if that is what is wrong).

My 7.3 has almost 370k on it now (never apart) and had turbo since about 210k. It has been hot (250+) an embarrasing amount of times, seen boost close to 20 psi, and sustained 10+ psi for at least an hour. (Strong headwind and rain, so temps were never an issue.

 

[PwrSmoke]

Bad advice. Must have come outside of here because I think it's in the "strongly advised" category, if not "mandatory" with this gang... and rightly so. The IDI wasn't designed for a turbo and age plays a part so it's almost a sooner or later thing. My truck went about 15 years before it blew head gaskets (my turbo was installed in '87 before the truck was even a year old and had 7K miles) but it had more dyno time than any 10 other trucks and about 80K miles towing at 18K GCVWR. Wasn't all that many lines, though.

Well, it's inconvenient but you'll have a better truck at the end. You know one end of a wrench from the other so it should go well.

 

[Agnem]

Scott is right about the minimal cost difference. It USED to be accurate to say a PSD was more expensive, back when the aftermarket was not as supportive, and injectors weren't a dime a dozen. Now that said, there are several different levels of "reman" 6.0 injectors, some of which have new tips and coils and most of which do not. You will pay up to $300 for a really high quality 6.0 injector with more new parts in it than the average bear. I only have the price for one of my brands listed there to reduce confusion. Once I get someone on the phone, I can educate them so they can make the best decision for themselves. As for labor to install, you will pay a little more there also, and if your valve cover gaskets or harnesses are old, they will all a few dollars to the repair. Of course we all know if you only have to change one injector, an IDI beats a PSD any day of the week. You can have an IDI repaired and running down the road before you get the valve cover off the drivers side of a PSD. Of course you may have to battle air or fuel leaks for weeks afterward, but hey...

 

[USNENFTS]

I'm going to hopefully have the engine completely apart by Sunday night and I want to have the block bored to allow for "Wet-Sleeves" to be installed. This will stop any chances of cavitation happening because the materials used in various liners are by far better than the casted block (depending on quality) that allows cavitation to happen. So, some of you asked what exactly the engine is doing.... The engine can be ice cold or at operating temperature, the coolant system gets EXTREMELY pressurized when started, enough to pop the cap right away and send all the coolant into the overflow tank, from there it continues to bubble into the overflow tank.... Compression is getting into the system from somewhere, either the block or the head gasket and I ain't gonna go through the trouble of replacing head gaskets and studs only to not have it fix the problem...

 

[PwrSmoke]

Don't you mean "dry sleeves?" Wet sleeves are removable liners.

You never know until you tear it down, but the head gasket is a much more likely possibility and that may be all that's wrong. If you have a cavitation hole, it will be obvious. If there's no actual leak at this point, I'm not exactly sure how one would look for signs of cavitation if it hasn't broken thru yet (which is obvious). Sonic testing comes to mind. I suppose running a bores cop into the water jacket would be another. When I overhauled my engine a couple of years back (after it blew head gaskets), I could see pretty well thru various places.. freeze plug holes, etc., but not every area. I had always used a SCA, so my 6.9 showed no hint of a problem (gunmetal grey on the interior surfaces of the cooling system). FWIW, after about 140K miles, by bores had less than 0.001" taper, so all I did was hone and rering.

One thing to keep in mind is to match the new piston rings to whatever material the liner will be made from. The optimal piston ring is matched to both the material and the finish (honing pattern). I suggest you bear that in mind when selecting your parts. I recall seeing one liner manufacturer actually have a general type of ring recommended in the specs but it's something to research. Also, sleeving is a delicate art to get the right interference fit so the sleeve doesn't come loose down the road. The times I've had to do it, I always had less anxiety when I found the best guys to do it. You don't want a guy to get OJT on your block!

 

[icanfixall]

The wet sleeve idea is not what the sleeve is for the idi community. Where did you get this wet sleeve idea for the idi engine. Installing a sleeve in an idi engine is easy if a shop understands how it is done. Do not allow the shop to tell you they put the sleeve in the refrigerator and freeze it to shrink it. That will not work. At the very least it must be cooled in dry ice or better yet cooled in liquid nitrogen. A 2 thousands interference fit is a must. The lip at the bottom of the cylinder must be about 1/4 inch so the new sleeve has a bottom to be pressed down to. The sleeve needs to be held in the block with a strongback and all thread till the temp is normal again or the sleeve can creep up out of the block bore. The sleeves will be too tall for the block but that normal. They get machined off even with the block deck. The best sleeve is the Darton sleeve. It has a flange at the top and needs special machining to fit correctly. Otherwise the L.A.Sleeve Company is what you will get. Also deciding what sleeve you want needs to be done too. there is a soft. Medium or hard material. Most use the medium. You will never wear out the hard sleeve but you will replace rings.
What to eliminate any possibility of cavitation in the future then sleeve down to 6.9 and use studs We are only talking about 25 cubic inches. Hardly enough to think about. Sleeving down has been mentioned in this thread already too. It was probably glossed over in a fast read. Please read up on using 6.9 head gaskets on a 7.3 engine. Mel and I discussed this for a few years and feel it is a good idea. I even bought a set of both gaskets. Measured them and found NO DIFFERENCE. One member came in here saying there was a size difference and the fire ring was not built for a turbo on the 6.9 gaskets. Thats BS and not true. Do you think Banks or any other turbo company could sell a turbo if the engines could not handle the boost. Whether or not these engine were designed for a turbo they sure can handle them. How they handle them and what care they are given is an open question.

 

[IDIoit]

You don't want a guy to get OJT on your block!

if i was the one getting OJT, id do it for myself!

another thing to remember, is if you sleeve 1 cylinder, its likely that the cylinders next to it will distort.
so an overbore is needed.

 

[USNENFTS]

There is a really good shop here in Washington that all the diesel shops send blocks and heads off to. The reason i want wet sleeves is because then cavitation virtually goes away, because depending on the quality of material used the cylinder liner wont flex under combustion force like the block does creating that little low pressure pocket which allows the coolant to flash boil and cause cavitation. With the wet sleeves I dont have to worry about the blocks and how thin the darn walls are because the water will come to the sleeves anyway. This whole issue in itself is what makes me not want to own an IDI anymore.... I feel like the only way they last is if they have had SCA's in them whole time! Which I know mine didnt have when I bought it.... And i doubt the spare engine I have had SCA's in it either... So I am willing to bet that BOTH engines I have are virtually scrap metal at this point.... I am about to pout a Navistar T446 in the truck.... Unless I can find a BRAND NEW 7.3L IDI block then I will be good to go. Anyone know who will make one or where I can get one?