i've figured out what i can on here in the FAQs and all so i've narrowed my curiosity down to a few questions...

1. should i be getting 3 gauges (tranny, EGT, boost) or just two (no tranny)?

2. when i get the gauges i plan on buyin the turbomaster and a ECM from heath. when you get rid of the vacuum pump how much shorter of a belt do you need?

3. i'm cuttin the cat out as soon as possible. how much louder will my pickup be?:D

4. i cant hear any turbo whistle. there is a new vacuum pump (4th one if i recall), and new vac lines. how come i still cant hear it?

5. and finally how hard is it to take the snorkle out of the intake?

dont worry i plan on gettin gauges right after i cut the cat out.

A few answers is well appreciated

i've figured out what i can on here in the FAQs and all so i've narrowed my curiosity down to a few questions...

1. should i be getting 3 gauges (tranny, EGT, boost) or just two (no tranny)?

Are you planning on towing at all? If so, get tranny as well, but no matter what, get boost and EGT.

2. when i get the gauges i plan on buyin the turbomaster and a ECM from heath. when you get rid of the vacuum pump how much shorter of a belt do you need?
I'll pass to someone who has done this...

3. i'm cuttin the cat out as soon as possible. how much louder will my pickup be?:D
Not that much at all. Consider gutting vice removal (for when you are offroad)

4. i cant hear any turbo whistle. there is a new vacuum pump (4th one if i recall), and new vac lines. how come i still cant hear it?
I have found I can't hear my turbo with several types of air filters and with others, I can here it very well. I am going with a cone type intake and building my own air dam to assist in not drawing so much underhood air. I will post pictures as I go.

5. and finally how hard is it to take the snorkle out of the intake?
Easy.. Much easier if you pull the passenger side battery. Pull the screw, and pull like heck on the snorkle.

dont worry i plan on gettin gauges right after i cut the cat out.

A few answers is well appreciated

Hope that helped.

i've figured out what i can on here in the FAQs and all so i've narrowed my curiosity down to a few questions...

1. should i be getting 3 gauges (tranny, EGT, boost) or just two (no tranny)?

2. when i get the gauges i plan on buyin the turbomaster and a ECM from heath. when you get rid of the vacuum pump how much shorter of a belt do you need?

3. i'm cuttin the cat out as soon as possible. how much louder will my pickup be?:D

4. i cant hear any turbo whistle. there is a new vacuum pump (4th one if i recall), and new vac lines. how come i still cant hear it?

5. and finally how hard is it to take the snorkle out of the intake?

dont worry i plan on gettin gauges right after i cut the cat out.

A few answers is well appreciated

#1 - Already answered by nvmtnlion

#2 - Believe the serp belt w/o vac pump is 1in shorter. Don't quote me on this.

#3 - Again, what nvmtnlion said.

#4 - Remove the snorkel and 'gut' the air box. Check kennedydiesel.com > Tech Tips for the details.

#5 - Again, what nvmtnlion said. #4 also applies here.

Getting rid of the OEM down pipe and opening up the exhaust will help too. I'd venture to say that opening up the exhaust is the first step in any 6.5 upgrade. I know it was the first thing I did. Purely from a 'set of the pants' perspective, it made a big difference.

I would think you could get by w/o the trans temp gauge. While it would be nice to have, I never had one on my 96. Mine had the factory cooler out front, PLUS it had an optional HD trans cooler that mounted behind the radiator. Trans temps monitored on the Tech 2 never crossed 200°f as the 4L80E is a pretty cool runner.

I prefer to retain the vacuum control as that is what the ECM is programmed to control pure and simple. Vacuum control is an elevation compensating device unlike the Turbo Master which is simply a back pressure regulator. Most repeat vac pump failures are using aftermarket pods or aftermarket complete pumps. Most OE pumps live well past 100k and given a shot of wd 40 or air tool oil thru the wastegate hose helps WG solenoid as well as pump life

Having done the cat gut and muffler removal myself, I'd suggest installing my 3.5" system. This system has been dyno proven to produce excellent results over a gutted cat/straight pipe system:


http://www.kennedydiesel.com/photogal/pages/65dyno.htm