My Turbo Pipes

[StephenZ]

Just figured I’d share this little journey with everyone.

I recently got a hold of a banks turbo and the banks breather box, hell of a deal. Ended up going to buy a ZF5 transmission that I had found on Facebook Market place. Got the transmission for $150, and I asked the guy about the turbo, and he said “hell if you can get it off, then you can have it.”

Backstory, the turbo was cut with a torch on the pipe setup and the pipes were no longer available.

So I simply took my torch on my rig truck and heated the bolts up just a little bit on the head, and they broke loose with a combo wrench.

I get it home, took it apart, sent it to a buddy of mines Machine Shop, he redid the turbo for me as a favor being that he owed me from previous projects I’ve done for him.

So I get it home from the machine shop, I have a short block with heads laying around from my previous build, so I’m like well hell, I’m going to Fab up the pipes and bolt the transmission to this old block and that way all I have to do is install my pipes once I throw my ZF5 in the truck.

Needless to say, I finally took some time off for the Christmas holidays and got to work.

Below are the pictures of my pipes, I’m now in the process of painting them with some 2k degree high temp paint that I got from the painters at the plant I work at. And so far it’s coming out great.

There’s also a junk yard with another 7.3 in it, that has one of the factory turbo setups. I snagged it for $100 for the turbo, pipes, and intake connection. Planning on building another 7.3 or 6.9 for a rat rod that we’ve been eyeing. If I don’t end up using that turbo setup it’ll probably go on the shelf. The only great thing with that one, is the pipes are all there so no fabbing will need to be done. Been a great end of the year finding bargains like this.

 

[StephenZ]

Attached are 5 more pics. Didn’t know it would only allow 5 pics at a time.

 

[StephenZ]

5 more

 

[StephenZ]

2 more

 

[aggiediesel01]

Looks very nice, be sure to get a heat shield sock for your slave cylinder, turbo trucks are known for cooking these after a few years of higher than normal egts.

 

[StephenZ]

Looks very nice, be sure to get a heat shield sock for your slave cylinder, turbo trucks are known for cooking these after a few years of higher than normal egts.

Was going to wrap it with heat cloth, figured it’s done my duramax good for the last few years it’s had it’s heat cloth on it. But I’ll definetely heat sock/cloth it for sure. Thanks for the reminder. I put a few coats of high temp primer and paint on it today. Not that that will help lol. Might need to get some insulation from the insulators after the holidays haha.

 

[IDIBRONCO]

Looks pretty good. It's just about how Banks did it. A few years ago, all of the pipes were still available from Banks. I bought mine from them. I had to call them and talk to a sales rep. He emailed me the parts break down for the first gen Banks (that's what mine is). I chose the parts that I wanted and ordered them new. This was my mock up while the engine was hanging on a cherry picker.

 

[StephenZ]

Looks pretty good. It's just about how Banks did it. A few years ago, all of the pipes were still available from Banks. I bought mine from them. I had to call them and talk to a sales rep. He emailed me the parts break down for the first gen Banks (that's what mine is). I chose the parts that I wanted and ordered them new. This was my mock up while the engine was hanging on a cherry picker.

Nice! So on the square banks filter box, they have the CDR pipe facing up, did they just loop that into the valve cover? All the manuals that I’ve found aren’t for the square filter boxes. That being said I’m not going with the square filter box, I’m going to just go straight into the intake with a few modifications that I’m working on.

 

[IDIBRONCO]

I really don't remember. I needed to drive the truck ASAP so I threw the engine back in N/A and still haven't got the turbo on due to a rear main seal that won't quit leaking (I'm on seal #3 right now). I've deleted the email so I can't go back and look at it.

 

[StephenZ]

I really don't remember. I needed to drive the truck ASAP so I threw the engine back in N/A and still haven't got the turbo on due to a rear main seal that won't quit leaking (I'm on seal #3 right now). I've deleted the email so I can't go back and look at it.

Alright, yeah I’m doing a little custom stuff today. Off till after the new year, and decided I wanted my transmission to be completely serviceable through the cab. Also got all my clutch assembly installed, master cylinder installed, and throwing the ZF5 in there tomorrow when my buddy comes over.

Going to make the whole “transmission hump.” A screw on type just like the shift cover is.

 

[atc92]

looks good, how much hp/trq will this add on a conservative setup? I ask because my 92 came with the Turbo ats setup and honestly it just feels like a truck. Not fast by any means. I was told it adds 5hp based on the ford specs I have seen ? I felt this was low but then again my background is turbocharging gas engines where we double the hp. This is my first diesel anything.

 

[IDIBRONCO]

looks good, how much hp/trq will this add on a conservative setup? I ask because my 92 came with the Turbo ats setup and honestly it just feels like a truck. Not fast by any means. I was told it adds 5hp based on the ford specs I have seen ? I felt this was low but then again my background is turbocharging gas engines where we double the hp. This is my first diesel anything.

Well, yes, according to Ford, that's about right with 5 HP. The whole set up was VERY conservative about power gains. The entire thing was pretty restricted and was set up to make very little boost. With a stock, unmodified Factory Turbo set up, I've seen it claimed that you can make up to 250 or so HP just by closing the wastegate and turning up the fuel. You can double the HP of these engines over stock, but you will have to have the fuel and the air flow to get those kinds of gains. None of the turbo kits that were sold for these truck will be able to do that. The turbos just can't flow that kind of air and you'll need a bigger injector pump. By the time that you are even trying to double the stock HP, you should also have an intercooler. Turbocharging a gas engine and one of these aren't very comparable when you come down to it. The very basics (putting a turbo on the engine) are the same, but the science behind it is VERY different.

 

[aggiediesel01]

looks good, how much hp/trq will this add on a conservative setup? I ask because my 92 came with the Turbo ats setup and honestly it just feels like a truck. Not fast by any means. I was told it adds 5hp based on the ford specs I have seen ? I felt this was low but then again my background is turbocharging gas engines where we double the hp. This is my first diesel anything.

Banks and ATS each always claimed their turbo systems added about 50% more hp and torque to the wheels over stock and often published Dyno graphs purporting to show that. The ford factory system was basically a detuned ATS system with virtually no increase in fuel delivery. It had to be detuned for production and emissions reasons as well as Ford was about to introduce the new technology powerstroke that was only rated for about 20% more power than the n/a IDI.

If your truck doesn't have the oomph you think it should, it's likely related to pump timing, fuel delivery volume from the pump and or low cracking pressure injectors. All the fuel system components wear over the miles and by now most should have been replaced or rebuilt 2-3 different times. The waste gated ATS system should make the truck a comparable driving experience to any of the stock 7.3 powerstrokes and often even quicker than those. If not, you are missing out on the fun they can be. That system should make 12-15# of boost as ATS intended it by 2500 rpm, if not you may have fueling issues or compressor or waste gate leaks.

 

[StephenZ]

looks good, how much hp/trq will this add on a conservative setup? I ask because my 92 came with the Turbo ats setup and honestly it just feels like a truck. Not fast by any means. I was told it adds 5hp based on the ford specs I have seen ? I felt this was low but then again my background is turbocharging gas engines where we double the hp. This is my first diesel anything.

Honestly, it feels like it’s added a little get up to it. However, I’m in the middle of making my drive shaft since I added a ZF5 to the truck in place of the C6 that I had. However it spools up with no issues or turbo lag that I can tell of. Once I finish my drive shaft I’ll really be able to tell what it’s like. Before the turbo and pipes the thing was sluggish as hell, even with the IP turned up. The only thing I did to the motor was rebuild the top end, put new stock sized pistons in it, and new lifters and push rods. Other than that, I haven’t been able to drive it yet with the ZF5 and Turbo additions. Waiting for the junk yard to dry up a little so I can go snag a 2 piece shaft and shorten it up for the truck. Lol.

 

[IDIBRONCO]

Turning the fuel up on a N/A engine doesn't actually accomplish much other than giving you higher EGT's. These engine can only draw so much (so little?) air through the intake. They need the boost from the turbo to get enough air into the engine so that it will burn more than stock levels of fuel.