Intercooler?
 

I have a 97 f350 and ive been looking into getting an intercooler but they are so damn expensive. Would i be able to pull an IC from a newer model truck from a junkyard or something? if so what year would work best?

superduty 7.3 or the 6.0 is bigger.

will the 6.0 cooler fit?

It fits as well as the 7.3.

so would i be better off getting the 7.3 or the 6.0?

well it's up to you. the 7.3 has aluminum end caps, and the 6.0 has plastic. (some say that the made a 6.0 IC with aluminum end caps. i don't think this is true.) you will need a spyder pipe from a early 99 superduty.

spyder pipe? you mean the intake Y in the valley? I was going to ask the same question about which intercooler as well:tu:

Most all 7.3 intercoolers had plastic ends. E99 were the only ones with metal ends I think. I'm running a plastic ended IC from an 01 and it works great. As far as I know all 6.0 IC had plastic ends but I wouldn't worry about that unless you plan on pushing 50+ psi

No... My 2000 has metal ends... It's a mix in the 7.3 years...

Thought it was mostly the early SD but guess not.

get a 6.0 IC and get the intake plumbing from a '99

Doesnt matter if its a 6.0 or 7.3... You will not notice a differance between the two. Just get one.

Then you will need the EARLY 99 Y pipe and some sets of IC pipes... You will NOT just throw the IC in and bolt up the tubes, you will have to cut and fit the IC tubes to make it work... Its a full saturday full of work.

ive been looking at some people's trucks who have done the install you're right it is a lot, but its worth it to make the turbo last longer and get more power. I got a 7.3 IC I just need to get all the piping now

An intercooler has benefits for later upgrades, but you won't notice more power and I don't know why it would make your turbo last longer.

wont the IC provide slightly more power from getting the cooler denser air into the engine which will also give you lower EGTs, and from what ive heard keeping the EGTs lower will help your turbo last longer but thats what ive come to understand

EGT's have nothing to do with turbo longevity. The only reason we watch EGT's is to protect the aluminum pistons in our motors.

Adding an IC will net you lower boost levels, and lower egt's for sure, but you would not get a noticable bump in hp by adding an IC alone.

okay that makes sense, how hot is too hot for the EGT's to be at before we need to worry about damage?

1250 for an extended period of time, you can go over that for shot bursts.

what is the definition of a short burst? like a mile or less?

Its a time thing, not a distance thing...

Example...

Your cruising along at 600* for the last 5 hours and some jack hat decides to see what you have... It will take a LONG time for the pistons to reach that danger area, once you exceed the 1250* red line. How long- well that's up to you and the size of your balls, and wallet...

Second example...

Your towing 20k, been pulling most of the day at 1000* and come to a pass... Some jack hat (LOL) decides he wants to block you in behind a semi and you put your foot in it... Same thing but its going to take a lot less time to get the pistons to that danger area.

Few things to add to that... EGT stands for Exhaust GAS temp... It does not stand for Piston surface temp. You have alot of things working for you before you get the pistons so hot that they melt, crack or break... Fresh cool air is brought in with every stroke, cool (relatively) oil is sprayed on the bottom of the pistons with every stroke, and there is a thing called boundary air layer (there is always a layer of air that does not move or change and is like a "force field" at the top of the pistons...

Long post but it helps for people to understand EGT's...

Good example!

definitly worth reading!

thank you! very helpful :tu:

if your going to get a intercooler the cheapest one iv seen around is snow performance and there around $550 bucks

i got one from a junkyard for 200 bucks, the e99 spyder pipe for 85 bucks and the rest of the piping for 150

since you will need to modify the pipes, can you weld aluminum?

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make sure you go around the oil fill cap too. LOL. the riser from a SD will work on it.

yes i can, Sounds good i will have to get one of those.

Where'd you manage to find an e99 spider for $85? Any more where that came from?

It is a junkyard on eBay i found them when i was looking for the intercooler and I had to email them about it because they didnt have any posted. their user name is spaldingautoparts, they are very good to work with. :tu:

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im not sure if they have more, when i got mine they had 2 but one was the one i bought and one was not the e99

Thanks for the info man. I've been looking for one of those little buggers for quite a while now.

Edit: Do you have an email for them?

no problem, glad i could help...i never received a direct email from them i had to contact them through ebay