What all can I do to upgrade an '88 7.3 IDI with a Banks turbo on it?

 

how much you want to spend?

 

As little as possible, but ya know how that goes; before long, you're working on your truck at 2 a.m. and eating top ramen.

 

hey now ramen is still good even after college. throw some real meat in with it and isnt to bad.


as for little as possible money wise. really isnt to much unless ur good at fab work.

can custom make a cold air intake, obviously free flowing exhaust, can turn pump up but not before throwing a pyrometer on it.

 

I have a pyrometer, and it has some kinda cold air intake that come out down by the driver's headlight (obviously NOT designed by anyone that grew up in dusty pastures or on dirt roads!) How do I know whether or not the pump has already been turned up? I could really go for more throttle response. I have plenty of horsepower, but the lag sucks. IDK if the turbo works or not, but I don't hear it whistling.

BEFORE one of you little peckers starts slamming me, I AM NOT A MECHANIC; I SUCK at mechanical stuff; I can cut, weld, and fab, but I don't know **** about engines.

 

throw a boost gauge on it to see if turbo is working..


to see if pump has been tampered with, look down on the pass side of the pump. there will be a little trangle plate with 2 screws. the screws should still have the tamper paint on the screws if they havent been touched. if the paint is missing, they have been off and pump has been turned up some. the paint is normally red or white.

 

So...... where is the pump?

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......like I said, I'm no mechanic.

 

on the top of the engine dead middle towards the front of the engine. youll see 8 metal injection lines coming into it. or if you still cant find it, locate an inject, follow the metal line back to the pump

 

Gotta wait until I get some gaskets from Banks; I just talked to their tech guy, and apparently, what I have is the predecessor to the Sidewinder; it was so early, it didn't even have a name! Before I go taking the box off the top of the engine, I wanna make certain I have the appropriate gaskets to seal it back up.
He's also sending me in instructions for turning my pump up; as it is right now, I hardly get any black smoke unless I'm cold starting. I take this to mean that I'm running fairly efficiently, but could maybe turn the pump up a bit more. Or, I could be completely full of ****.

 

I also have the early banks kit and am in the process of installing it. Here's what I've learned:

Because it's a non-wastegated turbo, you will have more lag but you'll have some good boost at higher RPMs(more power for towing). To reduce the lag a little, you'll want to make sure your Y-pipe from the exhaust manifolds to the turbo is wrapped with exhaust heat wrap. that will ensure your exhaust is not cooling/compressing before it hits the turbo. You also want to make sure you have really good flow after the turbo(reduced backpressure). the banks downpipe is ~2 7/8 diameter. you'll want this to flow in to a 3" - 4" straight pipe. You could try wrapping the downpipe as well to the point where it hits the larger exhaust. that might reduce backpressure after the turbo(i don't know, previous owner did that on mine).

So basically, keep the exhaust hot up to the turbo, have it free-flow after the turbo. turn up the pump for more fuel. and keep an eye on the EGTs and boost.

other note: adding an intercooler will increase lag time a little but will decrease your EGTs.