7.3 turbo options

[Maverick]

The turbo on my 2002 7.3 just started to whine, and before I spend any money that I don't have, I wanna figure out the options.

It started to whine about halfway up Parley's last saturday, egt's around 1200. Had to slow down for traffic and so then dropped to 2nd and nailed it...and the whine started. The whine gets louder with boost. Someone told me it might be the compressor rubbing the side of the housing under load. Tomorrow I'm gonna pressurize the system to make sure it's not just a leak.

The rig is a 2002 eXcursion. DP Tuner, homebrew intake, built tranny, walker BTM. Works pretty good towing my jeep, though egt's have always been higher than I think they should be.

I would be completely satisfied just rebuilding the turbo. The problem is that I don't know what I don't know...kind of like a newbie rebuilding a Dana 35, when for the same cost a Dana 44 or other upgrade could be had. Are there cheap upgrades that can be done while I have the turbo apart? What is the upside? What is the downside?

I figured I'd head out to Ron's Turbo Shop on Monday and get some ideas.

Thanks,
Brett

 

[bull7467]

I have a Industrial Injection turbo on my 2000. I have had 20k on behind it( I know a bit much for a one ton) and only hit 1200 once on the way from Mesquite to Ogden. It is a updated Garrett with a larger wheel. With your heat being high, what tunes do you have on your DP? Also another cheap upgrade is a 6.0 intercooler put in your truck. Its a pretty simple switch and will drop our EGT at least 50* at load.

At least that has been my experience.

 

[Maverick]

I have the 60hp high altitude tow, 80hp high altitude tow and 80 econ. I can spin the pyro around 3 times if I want to (but I don't) I keep it at 1200. If I'm not towing, and just need to get past someone, I'll take it a little past but it's only for 2-3 seconds.

So a different turbo will lower egt's?

Where does one find a 6.0 ic? ksl?

 

[Rot Box]

I would look into getting rid of the exhaust backpressure valve while your into it that far. A friend of mine removed his last weekend and claimed it dropped the EGT's quite a bit. Just an Idea

 

[Maverick]

Well, I checked for leaks (to see if it was a whistle vs a whine) and no leaks. Looks like it's gotta get rebuilt.

Any recommendations?

 

[Maverick]

I have a Industrial Injection turbo on my 2000. I have had 20k on behind it( I know a bit much for a one ton) and only hit 1200 once on the way from Mesquite to Ogden. It is a updated Garrett with a larger wheel. With your heat being high, what tunes do you have on your DP? Also another cheap upgrade is a 6.0 intercooler put in your truck. Its a pretty simple switch and will drop our EGT at least 50* at load.

At least that has been my experience.

Industrial Injection. $850 for a rebuilt, $1800 for upgrade. Hmmm. More than I wanna spend right now, that's for sure.

 

[LT.]

Upgrades can be had at good prices if you shop around for used upgraded turbos. Be careful if you do decide to upgrade. It sounds like this is a daily driver and weekend tow rig. Make sure you shop for a turbo that will accommodate your needs. Too large a turbo and you will have more lag than you will really want for towing. Industrial Injection is based in Salt Lake City. This would be a great place to start.

LT.

 

[Maverick]

Very much a (winter) daily driver and year-round weekend tow rig. It's either pullin' the jeep somewhere, or blasting over Parley's summit on the way to the family cabin.

If an upgraded turbo will help with the dd/towing, then great, otherwise not interested. It's not a race truck, though it can get moving pretty quick.

 

[Kiel]

Do some research on a van turbo if your gonna get a rebuilt stock unit.

 

[Maverick]

Do some research on a van turbo if your gonna get a rebuilt stock unit.

Benefits of the van turbo for a dd/tow rig?

Knowing nothing, I click around, I remember it being mentioned in a few of the threads I've been reading: The interweb tells me it's a larger housing and non-wastegated which means....higher boost but more lag? Good for racing but not towing? vice versa?

Seems like some of the benefits I read about aftermarket turbo's is getting rid of turbo lag, more boost early on, etc.

I do know that I wish it had a little more poop at 2000 rpm, but would that blow the engine apart? I recall reading that while it makes a lot of torque just below 2000, it's not good to lug it either. But then, how is "lug" defined? 1000-1500? 1500-2000? anything below 2500?

 

[bull7467]

Industrial Injection. $850 for a rebuilt, $1800 for upgrade. Hmmm. More than I wanna spend right now, that's for sure.

Ouch I didnt remember them being that bad. www.dieselsite.com has a Wicked Wheel. The upgraded turbo will move more airflow. With your DP tuner you probably don't want to go nuts on a huge upgrade. If you talk to diane or jody at DP they can tell you about the wicked wheel and how it will affect your current tuning.

The advantage of the 6.0 Intercooler is it is a larger surface area to cool the charged air. Check with junk yards or even http://www.car-part.com/. They are pretty easy to replace, Inter change boots are available www.dieselsite.com.

Probably the best people to talk to on the 7.3 that I know of are Bill Moon at Gillett Diesel, Wayne Yates at Elite diesel in CO or Jody/Diane at DP. Bill runs a 7.3 with a DP and he is local.

My recomendation is look on ksl, junkyards, Diesel forums for someone who is getting rid of a stock turbo and switch it out. Get the 6.0 intercooler and put it in and see if it brings the EGTs down a bit. Another thing is to talk to DP and see about getting a towing program for the GVW that you are using. It will bring your EGTs down and possibly your MPGs up:greg:. It is like 40 for the tune and the cost of shipping and in my opinion a GREAT way to save your turbo. All in all you could be into this scenerio less than an Industrial rebuild and have a much bettertowing truck. IMHO.

PS if you really want to drop EGT's, Check this out.:thumbs:www.xtremediesel.com/snowperformanceboostcoolerstage-3.aspx

 

[bull7467]

Benefits of the van turbo for a dd/tow rig?

I do know that I wish it had a little more poop at 2000 rpm, but would that blow the engine apart? I recall reading that while it makes a lot of torque just below 2000, it's not good to lug it either. But then, how is "lug" defined? 1000-1500? 1500-2000? anything below 2500?

IMHO A new turbine wheel in a factory housing will give you a little more at 2000 but that engine doesnt like over about 2500. My definition of lugging is using to much throttle at to low an RPM. The turbo cant move enough air to match it. Warning signs are your EGTs are Rising quikly and you arent going faster. Just down shift let your EGTs calm down and let it pul the hill at a speed that it wants to pull it. Also my EGTs try top stay consistently below 1100. Any thing over 1000 and MPGs go down the drain. 1500-2200 is a good range shoot for a bout 18-19 cruising.

Lugging
An engine porducing too little power because a trucker has failed to downshift when the engine speed dropped below the normal operation range.

IMHO

 

[Maverick]

My recomendation is look on ksl, junkyards, Diesel forums for someone who is getting rid of a stock turbo and switch it out. Get the 6.0 intercooler and put it in and see if it brings the EGTs down a bit. Another thing is to talk to DP and see about getting a towing program for the GVW that you are using. It will bring your EGTs down and possibly your MPGs up:greg:. It is like 40 for the tune and the cost of shipping and in my opinion a GREAT way to save your turbo. All in all you could be into this scenerio less than an Industrial rebuild and have a much bettertowing truck. IMHO.

Good ideas. I've left a couple messages for folks parting 7.3's, nothing yet. I think you're right, the stock turbo (since I'm happy with the performance) and a 6.0 IC is probably my best bang for the buck.

What makes it even more fun is that I need to have the problem solved this week, due to the fact that I have a week long camp the following week, followed by a 2 week trip to the midwest...all powered by the 7.3 with the whiny turbo. Gonna be a busy day tomorrow.

Regarding the DP tune, the current tune is:

1. stock,
2. high idle,
3. 60hp high altitude 9000-13000 lbs towing,
4. 80hp high altitude 5000-9000 lbs towing,
5. 80hp econ

I talked with Jody quite a bit before the install, and then some more after I installed the tuner about the high EGT's. I cleaned the IC & tubes, checked for leaks, installed a different filter and the walker BTM. The BTM helped, as did the filter a little. That was a couple years ago.

Thanks,
Brett

 

[blownsmok97]

Throw a wicked wheel in it, put a popoff valve on the line going to your map sensor (i think they call it a boost relief valve) to help with defueling and compressor surge. a little bit bigger of a turbine housing will help with egts up high, but might result in slightly more lag.

 

[Kiel]

I think the wicked wheel is a waste of money. I would talk to wide open if you want to talk to the ford guys, they have the worlds fastest 7.3 afterall

 

[bull7467]

There is a lot of opinions on the wicked wheel. The guys at Wide Open do know there 7.3 though.

 

[Caleb]

I think the wicked wheel is a waste of money. I would talk to wide open if you want to talk to the ford guys, they have the worlds fastest 7.3 afterall

Only talk to Wide Open if you are willing to spend a lot of money. When I had my 7.3 I tried talking to them and they didn't give me the time of day.

 

[Kiel]

Only talk to Wide Open if you are willing to spend a lot of money. When I had my 7.3 I tried talking to them and they didn't give me the time of day.

I have talked with Zane a couple times over the last 5 years with good results, nothing crazy mind you. Plus they are the west only BTS trans dealer

 

[Maverick]

Thanks all for the help/education.

Update:

Neighbor recommended G&R Diesel & Performance. They had prices that didn't skeer the stuff outta me...and could get it done quick, which I needed. They are hooking me up with the turbo and great price on the install. What was very cool was they were patient and took the time to talk to me through different options and educated me about surge.

I was really torn on doing the install to save some money...but they're only 3 hours for the install, and I guarantee it would take me a lot longer than that...plus I didn't really have/want to spend the time on that this week.

Seems like I know some of the guys at Wide Open, probably should have gone by to chat (though again, no time this week to really do that).

 

[blownsmok97]

The guys at G & R are great. You should be happy with there work.