7.3 idi Turbo oil line and such fun.

Long painful story short, the goofy oil line that runs from the turbo to the back of the engine has the appearance of impending failure. Not to mention I have the engine on a stand right now and I have the top steel line but currently misplaced the brass fitting coming out of the block, so. . . . I suspect I need an upgrade at least. Besides that, I desire to add the line for the oil gauge on the pillar mount gauges as well as another sensor to wire the glow plugs into. No pressure and the plugs will cycle via the relay, once oil pressure comes up, the relay turns off and is no longer needed.
The thought of adding a buzzer hooked into the oil system is also playing in the back of my mind also.
Any ideas of where to get an upgraded line?
Thanks in advance!

I like the simplicity of your idea for manual glow plug control (or maybe it’s semi automatic), and I really like the buzzer idea. Wes at Classic Diesel Designs, and Russ at Russ Repairs both offer an aftermarket oil feed line. You’ll have to search through their websites.

I haven't looked at Wes's site for a while. I wasn't aware that he sells them too. That's good. One more place to buy parts for our engines is never a bad thing.

I just ordered the oil line and valley pan grommet from Classic Diesel. Now to see what shows up and how to add an adapter to that in order to add the other items to the oil line feed.
The other considerations are the proximity to the turbo unit (heat) and the lack of access on the back of the engine. Makes me wonder about another more accessible oil port on the engine.

Judging from the picture, Wes's oil feed line is designed to attach to the oil port on the bellhousing of the block right behind the oil filter. I know that Russ's line is designed to attach there. You can either plug off the port where the factory oil feed came from (1/4" NPT on a Turbo block, 1/8" NPT on a N/A block) or use it for some or all of your other items.

IDIBRONCO said:

Judging from the picture, Wes's oil feed line is designed to attach to the oil port on the bellhousing of the block right behind the oil filter. I know that Russ's line is designed to attach there. You can either plug off the port where the factory oil feed came from (1/4" NPT on a Turbo block, 1/8" NPT on a N/A block) or use it for some or all of your other items.

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I hadn't looked that close at those kits. What is the thinking behind that?

If memory serves, the original set up was a brass fitting off the block to a rubber seal to the metal line that feeds the turbo. The solid line eliminates the rubber seal. The problem still being, for me, the plug location for the remaining items I would like to plug into the oil system. The back of the block, while staying away from the heat of the turbo, is not an easy access if something goes wrong at the connection to the plug.
I have a suspicion that a section or two of "Fire sleeve" is going to be beneficial in my application.
Look it up on Ebay.

Brett, a lot of the aftermarket turbos get their oil from there. I guess it's relatively easy to access there as compared to underneath the turbo.

Noiseydiesel said:

If memory serves, the original set up was a brass fitting off the block to a rubber seal to the metal line that feeds the turbo. The solid line eliminates the rubber seal. The problem still being, for me, the plug location for the remaining items I would like to plug into the oil system. The back of the block, while staying away from the heat of the turbo, is not an easy access if something goes wrong at the connection to the plug.
I have a suspicion that a section or two of "Fire sleeve" is going to be beneficial in my application.
Look it up on Ebay.

Click to expand...

Here’s what my setup is like obviously it’s on the bench right now, but other than the leaking olives, it was working well for me. I have the original pressure switch and the sender for the aftermarket gauge. The sender in the intake hat is obviously for boost pressure. The other thing you could do is use an additional relay and control your glow plugs with the factory oil pressure switch. It closes to ground at 8psi I believe.

I suspect mine will be close to the same. First port for the dash gauge, just to watch it bounce to zero while the oil gauge in the pillar mount has an actual number. Second port for the pillar gauge. Third port pressure switch to the glow plug relay. Fourth port for a red idiot light and buzzer.
That should be enough for entertainment.
Flip side of the coin, the engine still is currently out, the Allison still needs install along with drive line mods, The Dana 60 axle is about 40 feet from the front of the truck and I still haven't looked too much at the rear suspension for doing the super duty spring mod to that also.
Tonight should be going out to reroute the wiring harness that I laid out wrong and then the engine hoist (tomorrow) should get hooked up and the engine suspended in mid air while the rest of it gets done.
I am running out of time and weather to get this all done so i am really looking at what i need to do to get this on the road in another, 3 weeks would be nice, how about 4?
Once I get the engine installed and running it might be a faster track to completion.

I purchased a 30 inch oil feed line and the appropriate -4 an fittings. One for the block oil feed and one for the turbo feed block. I used a 45 degree fitting on the block riser. It will be either 1/8 npt for a NA block or 1/4 npt for a turbo block. The turbo oil manifold I'd either 1/8 or 1/4 depending on direction it faces as it can be reversed pointing the sensor to the passenger and feed to the driver.

I ran another 24 inch line from one of the 1/8" galley oil plugs on the driver's side to a remote pressure switch for the aftermarket gauge. I used the stick sender on the turbo as my idiot light. If it reads anything, I know I getting oil to the turbo. The remote sensor reads the true pressure from the block instead of at the turbo.

Pic is the feed line I purchased for the turbo. In the engine pic you can see the routing of the oil feed line and the circled remote line below the AC line. It's barely visible.

I just didn't like all the fittings hanging off the oil manifold. I don't know how well the brass fittings will hold up with the engine vibration.

Wow. I hadn't thought about that and also am a bit leery of a brass manifold and engine vibration.
The back of the head is a nice idea but not so nice if something goes wrong with that connection in the future. I might split the feed off the back of the block and run a second flexible oil line to a remote manifold not mounted on the engine.
Food for thought and if I wasn't sidelined with a 700 mile road trip yesterday to get a propane tank and the installation of that in the next few days, it might get done real soon.
I like the distractions while the vehicle that could make all the side trips easier is F.O.R.D.

TNBrett said:

I hadn't looked that close at those kits. What is the thinking behind that?

Click to expand...

IDIBRONCO said:

Brett, a lot of the aftermarket turbos get their oil from there. I guess it's relatively easy to access there as compared to underneath the turbo.

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The block ports are also a much better supply of oil flow and oil pressure. Not sure that will help the turbo since the factory setup is usually pretty well thought out but it's something.

Similarly if you want to feel a lot better about your oil pressure, make sure your sender is in the block.

The block port at the top rear of the engine is what feeds the turbo. Got another one????

You have several. They are along the lower part of the block, close to the oil pan, on the driver's side. IIRC, there's four, but some may not be very easy to reach because of the oil cooler and/or the crossmember. From the factory, they all had a 9/32" square head plug on the 7.3's. There may be one on the rear oil cooler head, but I'm not sure about that.