Crossroads....To Turbocharge or Not????

[eywflyer]

Hi Folks!

I'm a 1st time poster, but you all have posted tons of info that has helped me for years. I am at a crossroads with my good friend that I bought new the end of 1991. It's a '92 F250 Supercab, 7.3L IDI, 5 speed, 4:10, 175K miles. It was repainted and got a new bed about 6 years ago. Everything is still stock but the Facet lift pump install (thank you for all the great posts!!). Obviously not my everyday driver anymore as the mileage shows, but my only utility vehicle. The truck has been in MD all of it's life and I'm going to be moving to a 5000' elevation out west in a couple of years. I know this normally aspirated engine will suffocate up there. My original plan was to leave the truck with my daughter here in the east and treat myself to a new truck after 30+ years of unwavering service.

A few things bother me. The cost of a new truck is insane now. I doubt I will ever buy another vehicle that will last 30 years again (that I can work on myself). And, I hate giving up on a great piece of equipment.

I have read the numerous posts on the many stages of turbocharging these engines. I just want some general opinions (here we go) on the practicality of a soup to nuts retrofit on an engine of this age, approximate cost (I would not do the work myself), and wether or not the Turbo would put more stress on an engine of the age that it is just not worth the cost of install and future maintenance.

Thanks for listening!!

 

[jrollf]

IMHO it is worth adding a turbo. 175k miles isn't bad for a 7.3 IDI that has been taken care of. Even a mild turbo setup will help a lot at 5,000 ft elevation, you won't notice a loss in power, and it will smoke less then it does now (unless you turn the IP way up).

Cost will vary widely... from fairly cheap if you can find a 93/94 Turbo Diesel setup.in a junk yard to kind of expensive if you want all new. A couple of the sponsors here (like CDD) can give you more advice about your options.

If you want a completely new drop in kit, Banks still makes the Sidewinder package for your truck, but it will set you back $3,500 plus install if you pay someone else to do it. Your truck appears to be in great shape, and in my opinion, worth spending the money if you intend to keep it. That said, if you sell it, I'm not sure you would realise a return on investment.

You may want to consider installing head studs in place of the head bolts. However, there are a lot of Turbo'd IDIs running around with factory head bolts, especially if the boost is kept down around 10psi (The Banks in this example has the waistgate set around 10psi) that run hundreds of thousands of miles without issue.

There is no real additional maintenance with a properly setup turbo.

I'm like you, I have a 93 F350 Turbo IDI and can't see myself ever buying a new truck because of the insane prices and I don't want to buy a newer used truck as my current one is in good shape, it's a bit of a lottery buying another used vehicle. I have the Banks Turbo linked above (Previous owner replaced the factory turbo with the Banks) and have been very happy with it. It's not the choice you want if you decide to build "big power", but if you want a reliable driver that performs decent, it is worth considering.

 

[u2slow]

I would look for a TiDi F350 parts truck to score the whole engine and front axle from.

 

[catbird7]

I added a rebuilt factory ATS 093 turbo to my truck when it had over 200,000 miles. All stock no studs runs max 7 lbs boost and the difference is night and day when compared to naturally aspirated. The truck you're describing sounds like it's worth buying a new banks sidewinder. Since these trucks are mechanical and the computer is located between the drivers ears, you'll also need a mechanical pyro and visually monitor exhaust temps.

 

[lotzagoodstuff]

Here’s the question I’m going to ask you: how much are you going to tow and how often?

If you look at the red and white truck in my signature, it was just about identical to yours. I hauled a race car and a trailer quite a bit locally in the greater Portlandia area, and I drive my back of truck 12 foot S&S camper to over 5000 feet many times to fish and/or camp. It was just fine, but I’m pretty patient.

That being said, the few times I towed my drag car over the pass, it was quite slow at times. You really get good at “making a run for the hill” and turning up the radio with your hazards on in third gear waiting on the crest of the grade.

All that being said: I loved the lower complexity of the normally aspirated engine, especially with the 5 speed.

Here’s what you could think about doing: procrastinate! Take your truck there normally aspirated, then see how you can tolerate it with the work and duty cycle you put it through, and add a turbo if necessary.

Lastly: if you haven’t timed your truck for a while, I’d get it timed as it’s surprising how far it can move if you haven’t checked it for a while.

Good luck whichever path you choose on your high altitude journey.

 

[IDIBRONCO]

Here’s what you could think about doing: procrastinate! Take your truck there normally aspirated, then see how you can tolerate it with the work and duty cycle you put it through, and add a turbo if necessary.

I completely second this idea.

 

[eywflyer]

Thanks for your thoughts gentlemen. All I would be looking for is to maintain my lowland performance at altitude. I’m not trying to create a diesel Godzilla. So the thought of just a 7-10 psi boost sounds good to me. My injector pump is 15 years old and injectors are original. I have no smoking issues so I never thought to have the pump retimed or the injectors replaced. But I guess that would be money well spent. I’m not sure I want to swap the whole motor out for fear of getting someone else’s problem. I don’t tow heavy loads much anymore but I would be making a few cross country trips back and forth to Utah with a 24’ cargo trailer to move equipment that can’t go with a moving company. After that, I’d probably sell the big trailer and heavy hauling would be infrequent. I guess I might have been overly critical about how a normally aspirated diesel would perform up there. I just remember the “old days” of driving a carbureted vehicle out west and how painful the hill climbs were. I didn’t mention that my clutch is still original….tick, tick, tick. Thanks again guys!

 

[IDIBRONCO]

I guess I might have been overly critical about how a normally aspirated diesel would perform up there. I just remember the “old days” of driving a carbureted vehicle out west and how painful the hill climbs were.

My Blue Truck is N/A and I haven't felt that it's performance was completely terrible even at 6000" or so. Does it lack compared to the 2200' elevation where I live? Sure, but then again, most of the time I was towing (fairly lightly) anyway. If you're mostly using your truck as a daily driver and not towing, you may not feel that you need a turbo. Then again.... That's why I agree on the waiting to see part. There will still be turbos available if you want one in the future.

 

[lotzagoodstuff]

I didn’t mention that my clutch is still original….tick, tick, tick.

I had 220K on what I was told was the original dual mass flywheel clutch before I swapped it to a single mass version, and although it rattled a lot on shut down, I did drive it to the trans shop: it didn’t strand me.

You seem like a pretty reasonable guy, and driven without crazy loads and drag strip launches, I feel like you could get a lot of miles out of a clutch if you are reasonable.

That being said: i would measure the movement in your flywheel and plan for a replacement based on the travel of your current dual mass version.

See: you will get to spend money on stuff, just not the turbo…..yet

Timing, fuel system, clutch, then turbo. It’s easy spending other peoples money