6.0 Inter-cooler install, the hard way.

[4xforddiesel]

I had finally gotten around to installing my 6.0 inter-cooler, using an e99 spyder and Carson Stauffer Diesel Pipes. I had gotten the inter-cooler, spyder, and boots/clamps for $400 locally, so the extra $140 for the pipes wasn't that much more of a leap to me.

I started by taking only the grille and plastic headlight molding thingy out. I figured that I could get away without taking my bumper and the valance off, but you really should. It'll save you time in the end.

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Then, through a series of hard, long looks and consulting my eye-crometer, i got an idea of where i wanted the inter-cooler to sit. I was not a fan of cutting, bending, and slotting the condenser/center support mounts(I'm a fabricator by day, so its not because the lack of ability.) I also didn't want to lose the lower bolt in the radiator bracket. I know how easily these trucks bend and crack the core support, so i wanted to keep as much strength as i could.

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I cut bare minimum material that i could've out, using a jigsaw and saws-all. On the passenger side, i had to trim a tiny bit up into the radiator support bracket, but not even close to cutting out the bolt. I also ran a bead around the area cut, to re-join the two sheets of metal that i savagely seperated.

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I then set out to making mounts. For the upper, I took some 1/2" aluminum flat stock, and machined it out to sit on the shoulder of the core support just above the inter-cooler. The bottom mounts will be weld-on, and they are made from 1&1/2" steel square tube, 1/8" wall. I matched the step in the frame, and they fit snug in the inter-coolers slots.
Will continue in the comments, i have more pics of the install than this.

 

[4xforddiesel]

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This is how they sit in there. I will use a bushing on the top mount (An old skateboard truck bushing thingy) so im not too worried about the body flex during off-road use to ruin my inter-cooler. The top mounts need to be fit pretty damn close to perfect, but the bottom mounts will allow some play before you nail em down. So figure out the height you want, make the top mounts, then make the bottom mounts accordingly. There will be tons of mock up, assembly, disassembly, and reassembly throughout this process.

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The place i decided to put it in, the top mounts were about flush with the top of the core support (laterally, not vertically), and i moved the bottom mounts far enough out to where i had 1/8"-3/16" of room between the center support bracket and the back of the inter-cooler. Once you figure the positions out, weld em in. (while i'm not a fan of welding on your frame, or mating things from the body to the frame, i believe the bushings on the top of the inter-cooler and the location of the welds shouldn't lead to too many headaches down the road.

 

[4xforddiesel]

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I had to trim a bit of the plastic headlight black mount-thingy, just around where the ends of the inter-cooler is. There is tons of mounting hardware around this area, so i wasnt worried about losing strength and my lights drooping or something. It also has two weird tabs in the center, facing towards the inter-cooler that need to be trimmed. After some light trimming in some low-stress areas, there is about 1/8"-3?16" of room from the grille and plastic thingy to the inter-cooler.

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Next step is boots and pipes. Since Carson Stauffer diesel didn't count on me being a hard-headed glutton for punishment, the pipes didn't fit exactly perfectly (but they would have if i were a normal person, and i highly recommend their inter-cooler pipes. They did list as a disclaimer, that the inter-cooler needs to be mounted according to the pipe design.) I went down to my local rubber store, industrial rubber supply, and bough myself 3' of some 4-ply silicon hose(if i remember correctly. It just needs to be heat and oil resistant.) In my case, i only needed a 5" boot, a 6" boot, and two 7" boots to make it work. (Cool tip; when cutting hose like this, use a clamp you may or may not have offhand as your guide. Find the length you want, put the clamp on, tighten it down to where its snug but manageable, and work it down around to being square with your tape-measure. Tighten her down to where she wont move, and work along the edge with a razor-knife. Itll give you straight cuts, and something to monologue about in your online forums.)

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With everything in place, and tightened down, it looks pretty good. I found that the high side AC line better fits over the hot side tube, and it responds well to some gentle bending with a fence post and elbow-grease. I stuck a little rubber pad onto the hot side tube near the AC compressor, just in case they decide to vibrate together during driving. The passenger side-tube needs to go below the battery cables, and you need to be sure nothing is going to be touching anything moving (Duh).

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I tried to put the stock airbox back in, because i'm weird and wanted to do only one upgrade at a time. However, it wouldn't fit with the hot-side tube in the way, so i had to go get robbed by my local napa and get a 6637 filter. I love the look, it just makes me cringe, knowing that i coulda had the intake setup for 1/2 the price if i had ordered it online... But overall, it looks great!

 

[4xforddiesel]

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With everything all together, and fitting just barely, the only thing left to do is take it for a test drive. The lights in my bumper made the bumper about 50% harder to install, and the inter-cooler now made it another 50% harder to install. So the most frustrating part of this whole ordeal was bolting the damn bumper on so i could drive it already!

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So my truck is mostly stockish (hydra w/php tunes, zf5, ccsb, stock exhaust with muffler chopped off and hollowed out cat) and i can actually feel a difference for what its worth. I was making about 20lbs of boost at WOT and little to no smoke before the install. I have a long hill that's probably about a 5% grade, and cruising at 75mph, i was at 10lbs of boost and 1100* before the install. After the Inter-cooler, i can only make about 15-16lbs of boost, spew a bit more smoke, and that same grade at 75mph puts me at 8lbs and 900*. It definitely feels like it has more power and throttle response, despite more smoke when i lay into it. It also sounds like i have a boost leak, but after 2 weeks and better mpg, im chalking that up to the intake making my turbo louder.

Thanks a ton for wading through all the words and pictures just to get to this! I like to do things the hard way, so this took longer than it should've. I am proud of the install though, and i plan on keeping the truck as intact as i can while i slowly upgrade it! Im not sure if i recommend doing this the hard way, but knowing that my core support is just as strong as it was before and my new condensers will go in without a hitch really puts my mind at ease.

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She's come a long way, from a ccsb with a floppy 50, all stock engine, a wore out clutch and a ring&pinion missing teeth in the rear. Now shes got a hydra, south bend single mass flywheel/clutch, detroit tru-track locker in the rear, dana 60 up front with national springs, and a whole lotta love. Thanks for making it through my first post, im sure yall will see more of my f-275 in the future!

 

[Thewespaul]

Very clean install, looks great!

 

[subway]

very nice! thanks for sharing.

 

[Alwaysreadyrob]

Good thing you didnt use Mishimoto parts!
Their trans cooler costed me a $ 5,600.00 John Wood Tow Master Transmission and they own up to nothing !
One busted hose is bad... but 2 ?
Within 100 miles