Tech Info: Ford Powerstroke Intercooler

"Reds Hot Air" Powerstroke Intercooler Install
Posted: 02/06/02
Email: [email protected]
newport news, va

DISCLAIMER:

This is not my car. This car belongs to "Reds Hot Air".
The following information was taken from a post that he made on www.turbobuick.com. For more info on the car and this installation, email him at: [email protected]
The owner of this site (Banning Cohen) has made some edits/additions to the original content.

Vehicle Specs (as of 2/4/02):
87 motor, Stock pistons with total seals , 204-214 speed pro cam, two steel shim head gaskets , ARP head bolts, now has pte-51 , JJ t/b, MSD 50's , self ported heads and intake, Powerstroke Intercooler with 2 1/2 plumbing, Walbro 340, stock d5 converter, boxed and polly bushed rear control arms.

- Best with ta-49 turbo 11:60 @121.5.!! with a 1.91 60
- Only street trim pass on JL 93 chip 12:07@114 with 1.95 60ft.
- Only full pass on JL 110 chip 11:[email protected] with 1.91 60 ft

Introduction:
People keep asking about pics well here are some pics. Feel free to copy them, print them or whatever just dont claim them. That was my experiment.

DISCARD THE RUSTY WATER UNDER THE HOOD
This car does not run hot. I just ran straight water due to going to the track. You can see in one picture that I have the wrong recovery tank, and every time I take off, it spills water on the fenderwell because the filler is at the rear of the tank instead of the center like it should be. But, I had to put on it with what I had at the time.

Parts List:

(All pipes are aluminized 2.5" mandrel bent exhaust tubing from JC Whitney)
(1) Stock uppipe
(2) 90* bend 2.5" pipes.
(1) "U" shaped bend 2.5" pipe cut in half.
(1) 2.5" to 2" reducer hose from Precision Turbo.
T-bolt hose clamps.
High pressure 2.5" hose.

Misc. Details:
Time on the install will vary. I did all the install in one night and the plumbing for it the next day... but I borrowed a plasma cutter which saved me a lot of time.

After all pipes are cut and fitted, all pipes need to have a bead of weld put around the ends of them to keep the hoses from blowing off.

I took my time and only cut what was needed around the headlight buckets and I was able to keep my high beams in. I wasn't able to keep the side to side adjusters so I moved the spring from the corner of the headlight bucket to the bottom center of it (directly below the top adjuster). Now, the up and down adjuster still works and if you drill the hole far enough back to put plenty of tension on the spring, you can set the side to side manually and they are tight enough that they shouldnt move. I have put just over 1,000 miles on my car since then and they havent moved yet.

I got an adapter hoses from presicion turbo and dropped to 2.5" at the Intercooler. It makes life a lot easier and will flow way more than the throttle body will. I'm still using a stock uppipe in my plumbing but it's the pipe coming off the turbo going towards the inlet of the i/c.

Note: All images open in a new browser window

Notice pipes. Stock uppipe comes off turbo. 90* "U" bend pipe that is cut in half is used for Intercooler inlet and outlet. The two other 90* pipes are used for the two-piece uppipe that goes to the throttle body.

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That pipe is aluminized 2 1/2 exhaust tubing. I used 2 of these mandrel bent 90's this one from the throttle body turning down, and the one it is connected to turning over toward the outlet of the Intercooler. I also had one 2 1/2" mandrel bent U-shape pipe that I cut in half in the center of the "U". One side is attached to the inlet of the Intercooler and the other half is attached to the outlet of the Intercooler.

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This picture didn't turn out well, but the tag has been proven many many times.

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You can see here where the inlet of the Intercooler goes through the radiator support and you can see were it sits on the frame.

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Same as other but this is drivers side.

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This one shows the reducer hose from Precision Turbo and the trimming I did to the inner fenderwell. Very right of the picture is the air filter... plenty of room there.

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Nasty picture but you can see here the trimming done to the passenger fenderwell and battery clearance

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Good picture of just how big this Intercooler is. See how I fit the plate back in above it and cut the ends off the plate to use for header support. This prevents the Intercooler from having any side to side movement.

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This is on the drivers side were I trimmed the bumper bracket back and used the tabs on the Intercooler to rest it on the frame. No way its going to fall out

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Passenger side Intercooler tab resting on the frame.

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Showing were I cut the end of the original bracket off and fit it back in. Notice where I split a piece of vacuum line and glued it to the edge against the Intercooler.

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(YUCK) here you can notice that I'm not running the oil cooler on the radiator right now. I did not find were it would be a problem, it is just out because the radiator was leaking.

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Close-up of Intercooler against top of radiator support notice how far the top was cut back .. it opened the front of the radiator support . it will have to be reinforced by welding spacers inside it to keep the plate that holds the hood latch from flexing or I ran four bolts all the way through with spacers in the middle to tighten the top back up... worked just fine.

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the other end of the factory plate beside the Intercooler

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Good shot off the outlet side plumbing going to the throttle body.

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The pipe right there happens to be my factory up pipe that was cut to fit.

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Showing the back of the header panel were it needed cutting behind passenger side high beam.

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Again header cutting around high beam on drivers side.

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This one is showing were after the install was done I cut the plate that goes from the header panel to the radiator support. This fills in the gap from the Intercooler up to keep some of the air from going over the Intercooler instead of through it.

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This is behind the high beam on drivers side. It is very tight back there. Notice were I put the spring for the headlight bucket. There is no side to side adjuster anymore, but with the spring at the bottom and the adjuster at the top it holds the light in place tight enough to set the side to side by hand and it stays in place. You just have to make sure to mount the spring far enough back to keep a good tension on it.

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This picture is with the headlight bucket in place. You get a better idea of spring location and how it works.

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Can't forget to clearance the hood. This is not easily noticed when people look under the hood. The hood seems to be very sturdy still, and it can't be seen with hood closed. I'll make it prettier when I start on body work and paint.

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Another shot of hood clearancing. Notice that it's basically body line to body line on the hood

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