Intercooler hook-up question

[ttman4]

Well I have a '90 CC Dually with a '94 Factory IDIT, 4" body lift, 3" frame lift. Several yr ago I mt'ed an intercooler from I think a '99 Power Stroke, but never plumbed it up. With the lifts I have on this thing I have more room than usual to run the tubing to plumb.

My question is what size of tubing should I try to run? I need to measure the turbo outlet & snaleshell inlet for intake (approx 2") & the intercooler ID inlet/outlet (approx 3") I don't know what size of tubing I should use for best performance......2", 2 1/2", 2 3/4", 3" etc.

I was going to look round & order some exhaust tubing & elbows & rubber silicone boots to run the tubing. I've kept the intercooler sealed up with rubber plumbing caps & clamps all these yrs so it should be clean.

Anybody got any thoughts? I'm all ears.

 

[subway]

i can try to track down the numbers if you are interested but any tubing above 2 1/4 (hypermax intercooler kit size) should get you adequate performance. i ended up using 2 1/2 since i got good deal on that size piping but having upgraded since to 3 i have not noticed a performance difference. 2 1/2 is a bit easier to sneak through the engine bay and run if that makes much difference to you.

the ford intercooler should be an oddball 3 1/4 size. not real common but it is not hard to get adapters and clamps through the usual online sources.

i have found exhaust tubing works just fine if you crimp the ends to let the boots hold on. i made a simple crimp with a old set of vise gripes and a muffler clamp welded on. takes a little bit of hand strength but works great.

 

[subway]

down in post 8 has the piping info i found years ago

https://www.oilburners.net/threads/what-size-intercooler-pipe-to-use.64017/

 

[ttman4]

Thanks Subway for the link & the vicegrip thought. I think I can visualize the clamp welded on.
Sounds like 3" would be best for me, 2 1/2" minimum.

Been doing my daily work & honey-do's, staying up all nite reading & searching for info....get to sleep about once a month.

 

[subway]

I cant take credit for the idea but it seems to work well and was super cheap to make.

The tube picture shows the bead I made with my clamp as bare since it cracked the paint off vs a factory rolled ridge on the pipe I got.

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[YJMike92]

I would say three inch. One of the intercooler fittings should be three inch the other may be a little larger. I did something similar with the vise grips to create a ridge in the pipe when i did my powerstroke. How will you mount to the turbo outlet and intake manifold?

 

[ttman4]

How will mount to the turbo outlet and intake manifold?

Still thinking on this part. I need to go round town & look at some other set-ups & see how turbo outlets & intake manifolds mounts/hook-ups are done & the approx size of these points (2").

Either way, nice looking '99 intercooler mt'ed nicely on my rig for a few yrs & not hooked up is a shame & needs to be used!!! No excuses!!

 

[The_Josh_Bear]

Subway has you all taken care of, so much good info in those posts he quoted/wrote.

I just did the Ebay after cooler and so it's a different cooler but practically the same for tubing.
I used 3" and would never do that again without the monster fuel and turbo that would necessitate it. Any DIY tubing kit is a pain to get past the radiator and up around the accessories in the first place, 3" was really obnoxious. I'd go 2.5" in this application unless you have plans for bigger turbo and fuel.
HOWEVER that monster body lift you have will allow a LOT of room over the engine that I didn't have.

I also cheated and have E-fans, plus I relocated my fuel filter because of how stupid running the DIY kit piping was, and I've been wanting to relocate that damn thing for a long time.

You'll need just 3 special sized boots, a 2" adapter and two 2.75" adapters. The OD of the turbo intake and the OD of the intake hat(it tapers but this works) are 2.75. The OD of the turbo outlet is 2".
So in my case it's a 3"x2.75" reducer boot, and 3"x2" reducer etc.

With exhaust tubing and a welder you could do any type of bend you wanted, but I had to keep it simple with what I had and cant TIG weld. So I will leave you with a few pictures!
The cheap filter was just to get her back on the road... not sure what to do about a better filter just yet...

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[The_Josh_Bear]

FWIW, I'll say that going to an intercooler with the off-set air filter is amazing for access to the IP, injectors, and glow plugs. Take off the filter with one hose clamp, get the throttle cable and bracket out of the way, and I can take all the injector lines off without moving anything else. Awesome! I even pop-tested all 8 on the truck! So satisfying.

 

[ttman4]

Thanks guys. Thinking bout 2 1/2" etc. just got to get it all lined up & do it.

Yes my 4" lift helps on room in a lot of other ways too. All in all I got tired crawling round with my fat belly trying to wiggle under this thing, so I did some lifting. Life is easier cept when I'm trying to get into this thing.

 

[ttman4]

• Well ordered a 2 1/2 inch inner cooler tubing kit off of eBay approx $75. I still have to order some extra connectors but I think I can make this thing work somehow. These tips you guys gave me are going to help when I do my intercooler.
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  Been working on some other stuff on the rig. Redoing my Dana 60 steering axle set up. Russ redid my factory 093 turbo for me. THANKS RUSS!!! These 12-16- 18 hour days about killing me. Too many projects I have going right now. Trying to get my shop built that I have been wanting for years and years. But I am going to get this rig running, drive it around, checked out then get my intercooler hooked up and see how things go then.

 

[YJMike92]

Sweet!

 

[subway]

looking forward to the progress!