Will it work? Or your suggestions?

[WIZ-KID]

So I have a '92 which I posted doing the intercooler on. Well, that's all good, but the engine is TIRED! I picked up a '94 IDIT engine to rebuild and install. My plans are to build it to pull a 5th wheel RV. Lots of mountains any which way I'd travel from here (pacific nw) So here's my idea; Machine shop block & sleeve all 8. Use stock pistons (maybe shave tops and ceramic coating). Gapless top comp rings. Stock cam. I have a set of ARP's for it. I'd go with the R&D RD2-90 pump. The BB code injectors currently in the truck only have a few thou on them, so I'd use them. I currently have a 1st gen Banks turbo (I rebuilt) 3"DP, to 4" all the way back (muffler deleted). I also have the turbo from the '94. It's a Garrett wastegated. (I'd do the mod to 3"DP if I ended up using it). I kinda like the Banks, but don't know if it can be modded for more boost. And how much boost should I shoot for pulling about a 10k trailer up and down these mountains? And the fresh air intake is already the large Baldwin filter. Question; how to tell if torque converter is a billet or not. And anything else to indicate that tranny has been "bulletproofed"? Person who sold me the truck was a "little" less than honest, so I'm not expecting much! So suggestions and input before I get going on this is appreciated! BUT! Let's not go overboard here. I'm not looking to rolling coal like an old locomotive. (younger guys, Google "locomotive smoke" to see what I mean) Got to go WORK on the 5th wheel, but I'll check for your comments later. Thanks in advance!

 

[genscripter]

Nothing on these 30-year-old IDI's is bulletproof. Just inspect and rebuild as best as you can, and keep a set of tools in the cab just in case.

 

[saburai]

Nothing in the way of passenger vehicles is really Bulletproof. On the other hand these old trucks are pretty tough...

 

[Thewespaul]

No need to sleeve all 8 at the 230ish hp the 90cc pump can support. You don’t even need to stud the engine at that level.

 

[WIZ-KID]

Thanks all! So do you guys think it'll pull 10, maybe 12 k OK? My concern is getting up and over the mountains out here at a reasonable speed. And yes, nothing's bulletproof. Just that who sold me the truck claimed it has a billet converter and tranny rebuilt for towing, but who knows!

 

[Macrobb]

I think, based on past experience that your worries are going to be coolant temp and trans fluid temp. With only a 90CC pump, it'll clean up nicely, and EGTs won't be your limit I don't imagine - worst case, you might have to back off from max throttle a hair.
But the coolant temps on long grades, that's going to be the number to watch.

My '93, currently not the 'best' one I have(something's tired in it, that's for sure) just pulled probably 10-12K - a Bobcat S300 with bucket and forks, on a heavy custom equipment trailer(pintle hitch).

On the flats, I maintained 65. I didn't push it because I was worried about the trailer axle bearings, which could use some love... but it did it.
I went from nearly Montana on I-90 over the pass towards Coeur De Elane... that was the hardest pull I did. I was in 3rd gear doing like 35-40 MPH... because my coolant temps hit 230 right quick. I had more power, but between that and the EGTs, I was at perhaps half throttle. Now, I have a RD2-110 and Stage 1 injectors on there, so a *lot* more fueling possible(and I'm turbo-air limited right now).

Basically, just plan on going 25-40MPH up any of those 4-8% grades. If you can get a good run at it, you'll have better luck, but that 12K is a *lot*. It takes a ton of power to effectively accelerate that sort of load which you are doing when you go uphill - you are "accelerating" against gravity.

 

[WIZ-KID]

I do have a trans cooler and trans temp gauge, EGT and Boost also. Champion 3 row radiator. I used to drive truck and was surprised how fast temps went up pulling a full load (80k) through the mountains in so Oregon and n Cal. I did these passes with a (company truck) Cummins M-11, (330hp) and a 10 speed and that truck had to work 140% to get through the passes, usually at 25mph, if I was lucky! I kinda forgot about the temps (just minor detail). One thing I can do that should help the temps a bunch, pull less weight. My current 5th wheel isn't heavy, but I had been looking at getting a new (used) one.

 

[franklin2]

You will always hit 230F with these trucks if you are waiting for the stock clutch fan to kick in.

 

[Thewespaul]

Do the coolant mod and you’ll have no coolant temp issues.

I just pulled my 34 ft triple axle avion up to west Texas a few weeks ago with the shop truck. With a modified stock pump, stock turbo and no intercooler I had no temp issues running 80 on cruise control up most hills. I down shifted for one mile long 8% grade but still held my 80 mph pace, which is the speed limit on i10.

@Macrobb if your truck is struggling that much you’ve got some serious problems with that engine

 

[The_Josh_Bear]

Hey fellow PNW IDIer!

IMHO:
1. Dont do all this work and NOT cam the engine. 11% increase over the ENTIRE powerband and more torque hundreds of RPMs lower will be spectacular all day every day. This is for the Typ4 torque cam. R&D's (stage 1?) has very comparable numbers but runs a little higher in the rpm band. They had side by side dyno charts over on FTE some years ago and while they were different engines, the curves were very silimar just a few hundred RPM offset.

2. If you have the studs, run em!

3. Do the "7.3 cooling mod". Use google-fu if need be. (That's what you get for making me look up locomotive smoke haha!)

4. Sleeving is crazy expensive last I heard...never done it just saw the price on the forums and cried a little. Maybe it's less than I think?
Pretty unnecessary on this build with the RD90.

5. You might take the money saved from sleeving and look into going with a better turbo than the stock versions. Mel has a fancy-pants ball-bearing turbo thats supposed to be the cats pajamas...but R&D has a bolt-on option stage 1 that is better/more efficient than the stock options. Especially with a cam and RD90. @Thewespaul suggested that same turbo could be had on Ebay for only a few hundred bones.

Happy building! Dont forget pictures and updates!

 

[Thewespaul]

Where are you getting this 11%?

 

[The_Josh_Bear]

From FTE, this link post #22:
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/930491-camshaft-for-the-idi-the-torque-cam-typ4.html

"...Ok just got off the phone with the cam shop. They dont have any hard data onthe IDI.But they have a customer that does the GM diesel with the same grind they have a 12% increase in torque and HP. And the boost and torque numbers come is 200rpm sooner.
this is on an engine dyno not a chassis so the gain will be less% on a rolling road..." -TypeFour
That quote was from Feb 2010.

Obviously I remembered it a little wrong, but I was close! And I'm not sure that a 12% increase would be less than 12% on a rolling chassis, simply because percentages scale. If you add X amount of driveline resistance to the same engine, the output would be lower but the difference in cams should still be 12%.

And obviously the GM isn't the same application, etc. But Since nobody EVER builds an engine just to dyno a cam on the same engine, we don't know for sure.

And upon further reading, same thread post #147:
"When the cam was first developed it made 11% more torque and HP across the board.
That was 20 years ago. So, just a hp number isnt really important as the timing fuel and all the other variables can affect those results in IDENTICAL trucks.
The gain is important. I might do a before and after on the dually just cause." -TypeFour
That quote was in late 2016.

 

[79jasper]

Still no comparison to the engine at hand, but.... if you search hard enough, I think you will find cam only swap on the gm side of things. I seem to recall a few.

But I could be losing my mind as well, so there is that.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

 

[WIZ-KID]

Thewespaul. What is under your hood?OMG! And I know you all in Texas are crazy! Speed limit on SURFACE streets is 50/60mph. (around El Paso) What's the hurry! You gotta be pulling 12/14k or more. Josh Bear, did you search images for "locomotive smoke"? There's some that look awesome! You must be one of them younger guys. I'm old enough to remember one once when I was little. It was used locally to move cars. I'll look into the cooling mod and a cam. I've thought about a cam but gotta draw a line "somewhere!". But I guess it could still be an option. Depends, like with everything else on my list, what can I afford. Where in Wa. are you. I'm in Spanaway/Graham area.

 

[Thewespaul]

Comparing what it made power wise on a Detroit carries no weight on a 7.3, it’s apples to oranges.

@WIZ-KID I did a build on the truck fairly recently, mostly spare parts I had laying around. The link is in my dog if you want to see the details, title is something like “the new CDD shop truck build” iirc