7.3 IDI Turbo Knock -> Engine Pull and Rebuild

MICHAEL MICHAUD

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Garrett makes the turbo for ats, so every turbo is like that. You should have a 2.5” v band flange on the turbo outlet. That ats downpipe is probably 2.75. You can cut the old flange off the stock downpipe and weld it in place of the existing flange. You will use your stock clamp if you do this.

As for the angle, these after market downpipes just fit terribly. I build my own downpipes for the factory turbo setups and don’t have to destroy the firewall to fit 3”.

I would try and work the angle when rewelding the flange and you should be able to clear the trans without cutting on the bellhousing. You usually need to fold over the body seam, remove the heat shielding, and beat on the firewall a bit to make it all fit.


Lol how the heck are people saying this thing is easy to install. Im just being a little lazy. I was really hoping it would just bolt on. I have to make 2 cuts and 2 welds lol. I dont even understand how the flange is the wrong size. At least get that right.
 

riphip

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In order to use that piston I would need a new rod or a new rod bushing since my truck is the factor turbo "K" VIN. I already got a used one in good shape from someone on the forums. Thank you for your help and response.b

Sorry, got lost in the thread & forgot yours was a K vin
 

MICHAEL MICHAUD

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Well I am sicker than hell so I went to medical and I got 2 days off of work. Its honestly too much for me to be tinkering around so I probs wont have much done. but I went to the machine shop today to pick up some everything but the block. Boy did they do a great job. They painted every single piece. I mean they didn't do a world class paint job but everything looks awesome. Very pleased. Block should be done tomorrow or Monday. If you are in NC, take your engine to Edwards Machine shop in Goldsboro.

I brought my new cam there and they pressed off the eccentric lobe and collar and pressed it onto the new cam for me. Should have brought the dang gear with me.

.007" came off the heads, not sure if the block needs it. I am using FELPRO head gaskets which give me another .010" so I should be good so long as the block keeps it real. Looking for a magnetic base for my dial indicator to take some measurements after I hand lap the valves.

Dont be jealous of me yet. Thanks for reading!
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Interesting thing is I only drove this truck 1 time. With all the upgrades #2 should be pretty sweet.
 

Thewespaul

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As long as they don’t take anything off the block you should be fine. If they do, you’ll need to be very sure you have plenty of valve to piston clearance.

With a cam going in, I would be checking it even with the extra three thou you’re getting with the gaskets.
 

MICHAEL MICHAUD

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Ill absolutely be sure to check and I am going to turn it over by hand to be sure nothing is hitting.

So my dowel pins for the heads are in rough shape. And now I only have 3. Im assuming the other one was just trash. If I am using ARP studs for the rebuild do I need the dowel pins? Anyone have some? Will 6.9 pins work?
 

IDIBRONCO

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I'm pretty sure that the 6.9 and 7.3 use the same dowel pins. I don't know if they're needed with studs or not. I used them, but won't in the future if they're not. You can't just assemble the engine and then turn it over by hand to check valve clearances. The lifters won't be pumped up fully. You need to take a couple of old lifters and modify them to be solid. first you take the retaining clip off of the top of the lifter. You just use a pick or small flat tip screwdriver. Then remove the "cap" that the pushrod sits in out and set it aside too. Dump the guts out since you won't be needing them. Then you put some washers inside (I used 3/16" that I found on a shelf in a pack of 100) to fill up the space that is left from the removed parts. Put the cap and clip back on. You don't want any give in the lifters. Then you place a little bit of Play-Doh or something similar on top of your pistons so that the valves will press in on it. Install your solid lifters and roll the engine completely over after the heads have been installed and torqued down and you install pushrods and torque down the rockers. I just used the head bolts for this. When you've done all eight cylinders, then you remove the heads and measure the thickness of the compressed Play-Doh to get an accurate valve clearance reading. I don't know if it's needed, but I first sprayed some lube (WD-40 or similar) on the tops of the pistons and the bottom of the heads so that the Play-Doh wouldn't stick. Then I waited until the next day to make sure that the Play-Doh was dry so that it wouldn't compress when I measured the thickness. I didn't particularly enjoy modifying the lifters so I only did two. That way I could use two pushrods and move them and the pair of rockers around the cylinders. This is kind of a pain in the back side, but it's worth it to know that you have the valve clearance. Typ4 says that you want at least .030" clearance.
 

MICHAEL MICHAUD

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I'm pretty sure that the 6.9 and 7.3 use the same dowel pins. I don't know if they're needed with studs or not. I used them, but won't in the future if they're not. You can't just assemble the engine and then turn it over by hand to check valve clearances. The lifters won't be pumped up fully. You need to take a couple of old lifters and modify them to be solid. first you take the retaining clip off of the top of the lifter. You just use a pick or small flat tip screwdriver. Then remove the "cap" that the pushrod sits in out and set it aside too. Dump the guts out since you won't be needing them. Then you put some washers inside (I used 3/16" that I found on a shelf in a pack of 100) to fill up the space that is left from the removed parts. Put the cap and clip back on. You don't want any give in the lifters. Then you place a little bit of Play-Doh or something similar on top of your pistons so that the valves will press in on it. Install your solid lifters and roll the engine completely over after the heads have been installed and torqued down and you install pushrods and torque down the rockers. I just used the head bolts for this. When you've done all eight cylinders, then you remove the heads and measure the thickness of the compressed Play-Doh to get an accurate valve clearance reading. I don't know if it's needed, but I first sprayed some lube (WD-40 or similar) on the tops of the pistons and the bottom of the heads so that the Play-Doh wouldn't stick. Then I waited until the next day to make sure that the Play-Doh was dry so that it wouldn't compress when I measured the thickness. I didn't particularly enjoy modifying the lifters so I only did two. That way I could use two pushrods and move them and the pair of rockers around the cylinders. This is kind of a pain in the back side, but it's worth it to know that you have the valve clearance. Typ4 says that you want at least .030" clearance.

That sounds like **** haha! Unreal advice though thank you. I would probably do 4 lifters since then i only have to torque the heads once.
 

IDIBRONCO

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You don't need to remove the heads to remove the lifters. Just leave the valley pan off. You don't even need the hold down in the center. You're only going to do a few revolutions at maybe 3 or 4 RPMs. I did use the hold down that goes in between the pair just to keep then straight and to get an accurate reading. Also, don't try to reuse the head gaskets (hopefully you weren't thinking of doing this). They won't uncompress once the heads have torqued and there is a chance that they won't completely seal a second time. Then you will blow a head gasket. Just so you know, there is eight lifters per side, not four. Thanks, Wes. That's what I thought and I won't use them with studs again.
 

MICHAEL MICHAUD

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You don't need to remove the heads to remove the lifters. Just leave the valley pan off. You don't even need the hold down in the center. You're only going to do a few revolutions at maybe 3 or 4 RPMs. I did use the hold down that goes in between the pair just to keep then straight and to get an accurate reading. Also, don't try to reuse the head gaskets (hopefully you weren't thinking of doing this). They won't uncompress once the heads have torqued and there is a chance that they won't completely seal a second time. Then you will blow a head gasket. Just so you know, there is eight lifters per side, not four. Thanks, Wes. That's what I thought and I won't use them with studs again.

Yes thank you for the info @Thewespaul

Yes. That makes perfect sense you dont even have to pull the head each time you move the lifters. Im not all mentally present right now thats why im not working on the engine today, of course there are 8 lifters per side...

When you say dont reuse the head gaskets do you mean the old ones that were in before I pulled the engine. Or that I need to buy 2 new sets of head gaskets one for the test and one for once the valve clearance checks good? I am really thinking that you mean I need to buy 2 sets and ill be honest that makes me sad. There has to be a way to avoid wasting two new headgaskets.

I guess 50 bucks is worth peace of mind but all these peace of mind 50 and 60 dollar purchases really start to add up
 
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IDIBRONCO

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That's what I'm saying. Two new pairs. I know, it sucks, but it's cheaper than engine trouble after all the work that you put into this. You can use 6.9 head gaskets. They are cheaper than 7.3 gaskets on Rock Auto. At least they were a few months ago. The price difference is shocking.
 

Macrobb

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Um, pretty sure that someone here said you *can* use the same gaskets for "testing" as for actually running on - they won't really "set" until it gets hot. And you are only just assembling, cranking over by hand, etc.

Personally, I'd be tempted to just get an aluminum shim the thickness of the "compressed" gasket and use that in place of the head gaskets. Just need to hold the heads in place.
You still want to have some extra clearance overall, so I'd err on the side of caution based on what you find. If it's too tight, the valve seats can be recessed as needed - ask Justin @ R&D about that(Typ4 is also doing the same thing).
 

MICHAEL MICHAUD

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So my new lifters should be here
Um, pretty sure that someone here said you *can* use the same gaskets for "testing" as for actually running on - they won't really "set" until it gets hot. And you are only just assembling, cranking over by hand, etc.

Personally, I'd be tempted to just get an aluminum shim the thickness of the "compressed" gasket and use that in place of the head gaskets. Just need to hold the heads in place.
You still want to have some extra clearance overall, so I'd err on the side of caution based on what you find. If it's too tight, the valve seats can be recessed as needed - ask Justin @ R&D about that(Typ4 is also doing the same thing).

Well first off. Im tempted to just use the old head gaskets that are sitting in the trash. Secondly since I already bought 2 new additional FelPro headgaskets last night I might just return 1 and use 1 for the torque procedure for accurate clearance checking. If the clearance is under .030 is it cheaper to shave the pistons or recess the valve seats.

Does shaving pistons require a rebalance of everything?

When replacing the lifters is there anything I have to do. My new lifters should be here today. Just leave them soaking in oil or just install them out of the box?
 
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