Will a factory turbo hurt a NA engine?

MaterIDI

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Will a factory 093 turbo kit hurt a 1993 na engine? I keep getting told it will blow it up, i really don’t think 8 pounds of boost will hurt it. Just wanting a factory 093. I have brand new injectors and a turbo idi pump. Engine runs fantastic with no blow by and 241k miles, I’m just scared of ruining such a good running engine. Just wanting a little more power, not wanting to win a race. Will it actually hurt it?
 

Nero

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A 100% stock 093 kit will not hurt a stock n/a idi at all.
Some may suggest to retorque your head bolts for safe measure, but the wastegate will prevent over boosting and keep your engine within safe parameters.

Oh, and get a pyrometer installed in the exhaust manifold.
 

MaterIDI

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A 100% stock 093 kit will not hurt a stock n/a idi at all.
Some may suggest to retorque your head bolts for safe measure, but the wastegate will prevent over boosting and keep your engine within safe parameters.

Oh, and get a pyrometer installed in the exhaust manifold.
So would you bet on it not hurting it? I wouldn’t think a turbo with the boost cranked up would hurt it, I'm not going to crank it up. I am just being told its going to blow it up, and it somewhat scares me a bit.
 

FrozenMerc

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What do you mean by "blow-it-up"?

A turbo forces additional air mass into the cylinder such that there are more oxygen molecules to mix with and burn the fuel. This produces additional power, via a more efficient and complete burn. If the injection pump is stock and the timing is correct, this should actually lower your exhaust gas temps (EGT's), therefore you are less likely to see piston and cylinder damage under full fueling conditions due to high EGT's that are caused when there is an excess of fuel in the mixture. The flip side is you are producing additional power which increases the stress on internal engine components since the turbo increases both average and max cylinder pressures. However, the original Naturally Aspirated 6.9/7.3 IDI engine was developed to be very robust and tough at it's maximum rated power output of around 185 hp. Adding a stock turbo, and maintaining the stock NA pump will likely bump the power up to the 215 to 225 hp range. While this will result in a slight increase in component wear, it likely will not be noticeable. For example the expected lifespan may drop from 300,000 miles and 10,000 hr to 250,000 miles and 8,500 hrs. International Navistar changed very little when they added the turbo for the '93 model year. Basically a heavier piston pin and more robust connecting rod, and that was it. Those changes were made to get the engine back up to that 10,000 hr life expectancy.

Now, if you add a 200 cc pump, a giant turbo, intercooler, and spin the thing past 5,000 rpms, we can talk about "blowing it up".
 

IDIBRONCO

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What do you mean by "blow-it-up"?
Now, if you add a 200 cc pump, a giant turbo, intercooler, and spin the thing past 5,000 rpms, we can talk about "blowing it up".
People do overuse that phrase way too often. I worked with a younger guy who used that term for every time that something of his quit running. I tried to explain to him that "blowing something up" means "with disasterous results" and usually includes some internal parts now being external. It never did sink in.
 

Clb

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Take EVERYTHING with a grain of salt....
Fwiw
My 93 had an ats 093 installed aftermarket, truck had 37k on the clock, it was set at 3 psi.

It's at 14.5-15 psi now.
Running an R &D 80-90 and bb injectors per Justin

There's not a lot of difference between the idi and t versions.
 

Dirtleg

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I'll chime in as well. I added a factory turbo setup to my NA 93 7.3 in 2008. Turbo had a brand new center section. Also added a moose pump. Wired the waste gate completely shut. I see boost as high 15 psi. Still running great. No oil leaks either.

3 years ago on 2 days notice, I changed the oil, and took it on a 4500 mile road trip from Virginia to Moab, through the Rockies and over Monarch Pass. (11,300 ft) It got ran hard that entire trip. Pulled a trailer all the way back at 80 mph. (Except for the day we struggled with a bad FIPL). Used less than a quart of oil the entire trip.

So no, I don't believe a factory turbo setup will harm a healthy NA IDI engine.
 

frankenwrench

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Lol. Im running a gtx 3582 turbo with a 110cc ip with intercooler and see 22lbs of boost fairly often pulling heavy loads. I will admit I have also installed headstuds due to high boost, and to make me feel better about it. Engine was na and has 467,000 miles on it now, that I am aware of of course. Lol. And for the last 300,000 of its life it has been heavily boosted and heavily fueled. It does fine with a regular regiment of pulling 17k +/- a few hundred pounds. Change oil regularly, check elc or sca (whichever flavor you prefer) frequently and change fuel filter every so often and you will be fine. Especially with a stock turbo set up. Just the stock turbo will wake the truck up a good bit and make it alot more enjoyable to drive in my opinion. Maybe not killing corvettes, but getting out of its own way and getting up to speed from a stoplight/stop sign and flowing with traffic better for sure. My opinion? Do it. After you do, your only regret will be not doing it sooner.
 

IDIBRONCO

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If you're seeing that much boost fairly often, I feel like head studs are a requirement, not an option.
 

frankenwrench

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If you're seeing that much boost fairly often, I feel like head studs are a requirement, not an option.
I dont remember the suggested amount of boost before studs are required, but I put new head gaskets and studs on as soon as I added the turbo. Even on my truck in my picture I did the same although its just the stock style ats 093. Not sure it was necessary, I just feel better about it.
 

IDIBRONCO

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The general rule of thumb is 10 PSI max for a 6.9 and 15 PSI max for a 7.3. Those are for engines with head bolts. Only a rule of thumb. People can and do successfully run higher boost numbers while using head bolts. On something like that, I prefer to keep it safe and stick with the rules of thumb. Why try to save money by NOT buying studs only to have a head gasket let go and then have to buy the studs? That's the way that I see things.
 
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