GM 6.5 Turbo Diesel Build Up

[MrTailLight]

hello all, im new to the site, and saying hello!

i got a 94 6.5 TD Suburban with 191K...this is what i have for it:

full 4" exhaust with a 6" muffler, no cat!
80 HP chip
#9 resistor
GM 6.5 Turbo Diesel FSD PMD Cooler
instant heat glow plugs
triple gauge windshield post pod
3 Bully Dog gauge's:
1) Bully Dog EGT Pyrometer kit exhaust PRE TRUBO
2) Bully Dog Turbo Boost Gauge kit
3) Bully Dog Transmission Temp Gauge Kit
SSDiesel Performance Air Induction Kit (replaces the entire air box!)

just today i got in the last few parts for my long install project i have ahead of me.

i use the Suburban for basic daily driver 80% of the time, the other 20% of the time i tow a large trailer in the summer.

with the current miles, and the mods i have for it now, i was kicking around an intercooler, but there not cheap! what do all of you folks think?

[gmctd]

Charge-air cooler will not return much, unless you are towing\hauling at sustained Boost levels above ~10-12psi.
Your summertime use can qualify for that, but first would be the '97 cooling modifications, with HO waterpump, dual t-stats, 21" D-max fan, and reduced thermo-cut-in fan clutch.

Towing at those upgraded Boost levels will put you on the side of the road more often, waiting for engine coolant temps to cool down, even with charge-air cooler.

[MrTailLight]

good point! i was kicking around the SSDieselSupply water pump upgrade kit, and i think it is a must for the other goods i have for the ride.

do oyu know of a reasonable priced intercooler that is available?

[gmctd]

Unfortunately, they - all that are available - are unreasonable, because the 6.5 is obsolete, and very few are willing to flog a dead horse.

Kennedy and others sell the Spearco unit, which imo is the most efficient, thermally, of the available kits, which will fit and is relatively easy to install in the '88-up GM truck series.

You might check out the FAQ's for Turbine Doc's pictorial install, and upgrade path, and ronniejoe's dyno runs with similar equipment.

Just remember - the upgrades go hand-in-hand with, and should be based on, the coolant system upgrade.
Late '96 and up trucks got it from the factory for the proposed 215hp upgrade, which never occured.
Imo it was the lack of available space for a practical charge-air cooler that helped to kill the power improvement.

That, and the DMax......

[Billman]

MrTailLight

The Spearco/JK Intercooler is worth every penny.

Would you mind posting a picture of that SSDiesel Performance Air Induction Kit?

[MrTailLight]

sure, here it is. saturday i am painting the suburban, so next week i will get to install all the goodies.

[MrTailLight]

i tell ya though, the more i look the more i want the intercooler!

[quantum mechanic]

Just get a salvaged cummins or PS core ~$300 and remove the crossbrace and move conderser core toward the radiator(might help keep the leaf build up down). You'd have to plumb it yourself but a muffler shop could bend it out.

[MrTailLight]

well i guess i could build my own, and start out with this one on ebay. cant beat the price!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...sPageName=WDVW

not sure if it would work though being that the in & out are on diffeent ends.

here are install instructions for the $1300 kit:
http://www.turbotechnologyinc.com/65...structions.htm

[quantum mechanic]

I think it'd be easier to plumb an intercooler with the inlet and outlet on the passengerside or make your own upper plenum where the inlet faced the driverside for the spearco.