6.0 intercooler for the 7.3

[wftree]

THIS WAS ORIGINALLY POSTED IN THE "OTHER " FORD WEBSITE.

I place it here for your enjoyment

With the EXPERT help of the guys from the Western New York Powerstroke Club, Thanks Gar, Jim, Jeff and Kory, I just finished the 6.0 intercooler.

The new intercooler is 31% bigger.

Original 30x18x2
6.0 30x21x2.25

It was easier than I thought, much of the time was on the fly engineering. I have not fired it up yet so I have a few concerns I will address.

INSTALLATION

Either drain radiator or drain enough to remove upper radiator hose
Remove over flow tank on top of the radiator
remove all radiator and AC condensor mounts but do not remove either
Remove upper radiator hose.
Remove bolts holding fan shroud
I have a stick so you might have to move the tranny cooler on an auto??

Remove 2 bolts holding Intercooler and hoses connecting to pipes

Tilt back the radiator as far as possible and pull the intercooler out. This will take some manuevering to get it clear of the AC lines(removing the condensor mounts allows moving of the lines) but it will come out. Better to have 2 people one at each end.

The new intercooler is 1/4 inch thicker so you will have to get the fan shroud in just the right spot and the radiator a little farther back to get the new one in place. again 2 people for this. Bolts right up to the original mounts.

NOW THE FUN PART

The intercooler tubes do not fit!

This took some time but our fearless leader Gar Hanson figured it out.

The inlet is smaller on the new intercooler, same size 3" as the intercooler tubes. The outlet is the same size as the original.

The inlet and outlet are also an inch shorter so we needed to fill this gap and figure out the size problem.

The solution was simple. you need 2 napa intercooler hoses Part number 1701 and 1740 and 2 extra clamps

Cut off 2.5 inches of the oultet pipe near the intercooler, passenger side of the truck, save this short piece. attactch the 1701 hose on the shortened intercooler pipe, attatch the 2.5 inch piece you cut off to connect the new hose from NAPA to the stock blue hose. This blue hose fits on the new intercooler. you use the new NAPA hose to add 1/2 to 1 inch of length. Cutting the pipe and reconnecting it with a 1/2 inch or so gap gives you the extra lenght you need.

On the other side the NAPA hose 1740 adds the extra length needed.

Thighten it all up! put the other parts back in place!

DONE

I figure about a 4 hour job all together if you eliminate the trip to NAPA and the on the fly engineering time

I have not fired it up, need to do coolant flush and fill but not today.

MY CONCERNS!!!!

I am hoping the hoses will stay in place on the passenger side. Since when you cut the pipe there is no ridge to help hold the hose. If this becomes a problem I will weld a bead on the intercooler pipe to help hold it in place. I think a vendor(Bob Riley) could make a hose set up that would make this much easier. Of course I want 10% commission on all sales


Kory and Gar took a lot of pictures and they will be posted at www.WNYPA.ORG soon

I will not be fired up for a few days till I get my coolant change and Dahl filter installed but I will let you know if there is a SOP difference and what effect it had on EGT's

WFTREE

 

[Wideopen]

Sounds awsome..Did you Dyno the truck before you started the Swap??? I'm just courious on if the bigger cooler will make a noticable difference? Keep us informed .. we care more about a project like this..than the "Other " place... I seen some pics on thewww.WNYPA.ORG web site ..but I couldn't tell what exacly the outcome was..

Nice work and keep us informed..

 

[Mike]

Nice, very nice article. I'll be interested to see the performance results when you get them.

Mike

 

[wftree]

I would love to have those numbers. I dyno'd last fall and planned again in the spring with no additional modifications. WNYPA is having a run in Bradford PA sometime this spring, ONLY problem is my engine took a **** and is being replaced. Should be up and running tomorrow. I really wanted comparison numbers but I dont think it would be a fair comparison now.

EGT drop 100 to 150 degrees

WFTREE

 

[quickstart]

Lets put the old intercooler back on the new engine, get the dyno numbers on it , then put the 6.0 in and run it in Bradford. The more we do it the faster the change will be. I'm sure the guys in Bradford have everything we need.

 

[wftree]

If we have the time I would be willing to do it. I figure about an hour to switch it. I could put the old one back in and then switch back to the 6.0 on the dyno. My only thoughts are there is no wind on the dyno so you would not be getting the full benefit from the intercooler

WFTREE

 

[Wideopen]

True on the wind I guess we'll just have to take your word for a seat of the pants feel..

 

[quickstart]

I'm sure they have some fans down there that would work. They have just about everything else. I remember cause that Dodge needed more air cause it was over heating.

 

[jlayne]

sounds pretty cool 100-150 deg. drop in temps would be VERY nice, how much does ford want for one of those? I do have a question though, does it have the same flow rating as the original one, I'm asking this because of the smaller intake tube on the IC.

 

[wftree]

I have no idea on the flow rating. My opinion is that it is as good or a little better due to a slight drop in boost??????

total cost for the job was 300.00 or so with a commercial account at Ford the CAC was 250 plus the boots.

the tubes on our trucks are 3" so I am not sure why the 7.3 CAC had 3.25 intake?

We are running the air through the 6.0 backward but I do not think that would be a problem. It sure would be nice if someone has a flow bench and could test them

WFTREE