Quick pyro question...maybe 2 or 3...

[oregon-mike]

Hey all,
I don't have any aftermarket gauges in my truck yet. They're on the list of future add-ons but none have made their way into the truck yet.

My truck is bone stock. No turbo. No turned up pump. We use the truck almost exclusively for hauling the horse(s) around. The places we've hauled to so far have had no hills to speak of. In a few weeks we may be headed south of us to Roseburg (anybody need anything from between Eugene & Roseburg on the boob express?) and there are quite a few big hills between here & there. Last time we went there we were with a friend in her 99 powersmoke turbo dually and it was working hard to keep 55-60 going up the hill (Rice Hill) with 2 horses in the trailer.

My question: do I need to worry about a pyro & temps with a stock setup towing a trailer that's well under max rated weight (figure only about 5k pounds with one horse & gear)? Or maybe...how much *should* I worry?
It seems like Ford would have put a pyro in the truck if the engine would melt down during normal use. I'd consider the route we're taking, with a small load, to be normal use. Nothing like TonkaDoc is doing for sure

Thanks in advance for any info & insight,
Mike

 

[JwS]

Altitude will make a big difference, my van was fine at sea level, hardly smoked and temp was never an issue. When I got out here to 5000 feet+ it became clear that it would put in enough fuel to run really hot when I got above about 7000 feet or so, and when I get up to 9000 I have to be really careful. I have had the temp get up and really surprise me until I figured out to watch the exhaust when I get up there. I think I've solved this by putting on the turbo which should compensate for the altitude. seems to work so far! In my opinion that is mainly why Ford eventually started turbocharging the engines, to compensate for altitude and not have high altitude calibrated motors.
JwS

 

[Ottoparts]

I bought my trick in medford and drove it to portland towing a toyota 4x4 van on a dolly (not sure of the weight) with no issue. My truck is totally stock also.

 

[FordGuy100]

Ahh yes, good old rice hill. I would say you should be fine, just have someone watchign your exhaust and if it starts belching out the black smoke back off some. You should be fine though, but it sure would be nice to throw a pyro in there and tell us what you see.

 

[Rot Box]

I just put a pyro on my truck, and I am really glad I did!

Having only owned it for a few months I thought it was bone stock, but if I lay into it for a short time on flat ground unloaded it can hit 1200 degrees almost too quick Guess I have some tuning to do...

Anyway it's cheap insurance either way, and faily easy to install so I would recomend it expecially when pulling.

 

[Diesel JD]

Well, a totally stock motor can usually make around 1100*f egts, but without a turbo if the fuel is turned up it will get very hot very fast. I almost never have seen over 700 degrees with my truck with the ATS non gated system, fuel mildly bumped up.

 

[razorback]

i just bought a banks pyro and i have a banks system..where should i install the pyro on the exhaust?

 

[GREASE FIRE]

how much do they cost?

how much should i expect to pay for a pyro and how do you install them? do you have to drill & tap the exhaust manifold or what?
thanks,
paul

 

[Diesel JD]

Drill and tap the exhaust manifold might be best but especially if you have a turbo, you'd have to be real careful to assure that there were no shavings in the exhaust manifold before it was reinstalled. Pyrometer thermocouples usually go for around $40 type K I believe is what we use, a thermometer(gauge is around $100) It's a pricey deal but its an important step when going to a turbo or changing to a greater than stock fuel delivery system. In spite of the fact that stock motors are not supposed to generate EGTs in excess of 1100*F they can and do becuase for instance a clogged air filter or a change in the timing could easily increase that number. Also many rebuilders of injection pumps slightly turn up their pumps on assembly. So a pyro is really not a bad idea on any diesel or performance gas engine. A good compromise is to mount the pyrometer in the upipe(pre turbo) this is still the hot side of the turbo and most manufacturers have a drilled and tapped hole ready to use, it just will give you slightly cooler readings but it should still be close enough unless you want to push the very limits of meltdown. If you have a NA engine you could just tap the Y-pipe within 3" of the exhaust manifold. Its suggested that the thermocouple be welded in instead of just a drilled/tapped hole to reduce the likelihood of its coming loose. This procedure might also be acceptable for a turbo engine but one would have to be very sure not to leave any grit or shavings in the pipe.