Tom488

Started on my twin turbo installation today... loads o' fun. Pictures/comments can be viewed here: http://home.earthlink.net/~tlawrence52/pdr_twins.html

Blue600

Looks good

PowerstrokeThis

Hows does it run, any video's yet?

B.Law

I am so green with envy! That PDR kit looks like it goes together nicely, I may be swayed away from BD's kit now. We've gotta hear some sound clips of that bad SOB now! Nice job!

gatf4

Thats one of the best posts EVER!!!

Tom488

I really wish I could tell you - but it's still 6 feet in the air!


I hope to have it all finished by the end of the week. Like yesterday, I didn't get as much done today as I initially hoped. Ah well... better to go slow and get everything right, then to rush through it and screw something up.

Tom488

Just about finished with the install... I have to trim a bit from the fender liner, put the exhaust back on, and put the battery back. I updated my web page with the latest photos: http://home.earthlink.net/~tlawrence52/pdr_twins.html

faster_than_ford

Tom,

What mods did you do to support the power of the twins. What injectors did you go with?

Tom488

Twins don't make any power... so I could have stayed completely stock It's more like I put on a set of twins to support the power of the TST box. With the TST, an EZ (might think of switching this out for a Ramifier - I like the adjustability feature), and the turbos, I should be around 560-570RWHP. As for the rest of the mods, it's all in my signature.

Once DonM gets a little caught up on his backorders, I see a set of flux injectors in my near future. Until then, I'm still running stock injectors.

Bluedeviltorque

I really thought that the twins went in with a lot less modification and effort then it seems by the photos and discriptions. From the impressions I've gotten from the manufactures is that they almost bolt right up, guess not. Oh well, looks like its gonna be while before I ever get twins on my rig.

Tom488

Well, the only things I've had to modify have been the transmission dipstick, an A/C line that had to be bent a little, and a bracket (pieces included in the kit) that needed to be welded together. Aside from that, it has been a completely bolt-in kit. There's been no shortage of effort, however. It was advertised as a 10-hour install. Given a full-time helper, and a little familiarity with the kit, it can be done in that time. As it stands, I've got probably 14-15 hours into this. I've got maybe an hour left on the actual twins install (just need to put the battery back, reconnect the grid heaters, and put the wheel well liner back), then a little bit of time putting a new boost gauge in.

I do have to knock Piers a bit for not including any instructions at all. That's just not acceptable for a kit of this complexity. A good chunk of time was spent head-scratching and cross-checking with others who have installed this kit previously. A couple of pages of instructions could have saved 3, maybe 4 hours of work.

Asher

Are you guys running Twins, having any issues with cooking the paint on the hood of your trucks? It looks like stuff winds up VERY close to the hood and I would guess that the paint wouldn't stand a chance... Is this true, or does that top turbo run so cool that it isn't a factor?

Thanks
Dave

Gypsyman

Funny you should mention that. I was wondering the same thing as mine went in. I've been checking the hood for hot spots above the secondary visually and by hand. Can't seem to tell any difference in the temp of the hood above the top turbo versus the rest of the hood. When the engine compartment gets hot the whole hood seems to be about the same temp.

jm02

Richard

nickleinonen

that looks real good... makes me very tempted to get twins, but i'd need another vehicle to use while i install it [seems like i would spread it out over a week probably...]

Tom488

Given that I started this on a Saturday morning, and wrapped it up this Friday evening, I'd say a week's a pretty decent guess Had I pushed it, and had a reference like mine to go by, I probably could have scratched it out in a weekend.

Oh yeah, that reminds me.... THEY'RE DONE!!!!!

http://home.earthlink.net/~tlawrence52/pdr_twins.html for the latest pictures.

The truck fired right up, no leaks, good oil pessure, and good engine temps (or so I thought). I took a short trip to the parts store with the EZ disconnected, and the TST down at stock levels. She sounded fine (although a different turbo whine than I'm used to - a little more big-riggish), but smelled kind of funny. Given all the fluids I dumped over various components, I wasn't surprised.

On the return trip, I noticed the engine temp shooting past 200, quickly approaching 245°.F I pulled over, shut it down (knowing full well what was wrong), let it cool a bit, then limped back home. When I dumped all that engine coolant out, I re-filled the radiator, but there was a good-sized air pocket still left in the system. Did you know our trucks will kick into high idle when the engine temps are too high? Apparently trying to draw more air through the radiator. It would help to have some coolant in there to transfer the heat, but the ECM's not that smart...

After addressing that little problem, the second test drive went much better. Engine temps were steady, oil pressure remained good, and EGT's were now back to normal, if not a tad bit lower.

At stock power, the truck is an absolute dog off the line. Once the turbos spool up, it's OK, but man - that first on-ramp was a little scary. I hit the throttle, and the truck didn't do a thing.... thought I was driving a Ford for a minute

Once the requisite 50 miles were clocked (as per the turbo instructions), I started slowly dialing up the TST, eventually getting to 7/5. Still not wanting to use full throttle, I left a traffic light gently, smoothly applying throttle to about 3/4 or so. You can feel that lower turbo spool up and take hold. I looked at my boost gauge, which was somewhere between 45 and 50psi. In my mirror, I saw a good amount of smoke, and not all of it exhaust (actually, very little exhaust smoke). Nope - that was tire smoke, which would explain why the truck was pointing about 10° off the intended course of travel. Yeah - I broke the duallies loose on a rolling start, around 30MPH or so. Yikes...

I think I'm gonna like these turbos Tomorrow, I'll log some more gentle miles, then put the EZ back on for better low-RPM fueling. I'm also going to try out TST's twins program, and see which one I like better.

It's good to be back behind the wheel of a diesel.... those gas bills with my V10 were starting to hurt!