6.0L intercooler install in '92-'96 body

[Traveler]

I bought this intercooler a couple years ago now and finally getting it installed.

At the time it was the most efficient setup. Better cooling than the 7.3L coolers and supposedly as good as the Banks, or hypermax setup. Now they have the spearco intercooler that might be more efficient. Not sure.

There are a couple companies that make complete kits for this year truck. I don't know them all yet. Not even going to try and list them.

When I went in search of install articles I was very disappointed, Some write ups had okay instructions and poor pictures, then some had better pictures and little or no write up. There were some questions I just could not get clear answers too.
I will try to do a little better.

One thing I noticed on the different installs is that people seem to either be mounting them at different heights, or just not paying attention to where they are putting them. Maybe they just don't care.

This is of course on a 4x4, 2 wheel drives have a sway bar that has to be moved from what I have read.

I believe the 7.3L intercooler is also smaller and will eliminate that problem.
The 7.3L intercoolers came in two styles, early ones had plastic tanks that cracked over time. The aluminum ones were much better. Then came the 6.0L and it only had plastic tanks and from what I have heard has been holding up just fine.

I was worried about the tranny cooler mounting, from what I had read it was a nightmare, but really wasn't a big deal when it came down to it.

Some welding will be required to make the lower mounts. Beyond that a drill, and a sawzall is about the only tools you need over basic hand tools.

The entire photo album is here intercooler install

Before. You can see the location of the tranny cooler before the install.


Strip the front end. You need to remove everything. It isn't as hard as you think it is, just a pain to get to some of the screws.



Remove the lower AC condesor mounts.




Flatten them out.


Cut them



Re drill a hole in them. I went ahead and slotted it like it was before. Just quicker and easier to reinstall that way.




Reinstall them.



There are different versions of how to do the radiator/hood latch support. I took the original out of there and flattened it in a press.
I have seen other guys cut this off and weld a piece of strap in.



Reinstall. I had to cut about 1/2 inch off the botton, and re drill a new hole for it. The bottom is also now mounted inside the lip of the lower radiator support, instead of on the stud on the outside.


Start test fitting, trying to figure out where the tubes will stick through at.


Mark the holes where you need to cut. One thing I didn't see clearly mentioned in other writeups, you have to cut into the flanges on the radiator and lose the lower mounting holes. Moving them up a couple inches.
Not a big deal as the radiator is mounted securely at the bottom as well.

Rough marker outlines



Hack it out of there.





Test fit for any additional trimming.

[Traveler]

Start mounting it up. I first shimmed it in place. I set the lower mounts on 3/8 drive deep sockets seemed to be pretty close.
The upper mounts are vibration dampners I bought from Gringer, I have read where guys used old shock bushings. It is really the same thing.




Start building your lower mounts. I used a piece of 1.5" angle, 1" box tubing, and a piece of strap. Clamped it all together and welded it up.
There are other ways to build the lower mounts, I like this because it holds the intercooler tight and the mounting bolts are easy to access.



Tack it together and test fit it.


At this point I took it to the wash bay and cleaned everything up. Cleaning the radiator and condensor. Then I painted any bare metal to prevent rust. I also painted the frame horns.


Slip the boots on your intercooler. I used 2 3"x3" boots with constant torque clamps. You need to install the clamps now because there is no room to tighten them later.

The intercooler has what is now the outlet size of 3 1/4" There is a boot made just for that, but I did not have any trouble slipping the 3" boot over it.


Install it. You can see how the clamps are hidden. I had to remove it and turn one clamp a little so it wouldn't rub.




Last thing was the tranny cooler. I had seen where guys hung it off the header panel, bolted it to the bumper. I didn't like any of that. So I took a piece of 1" angle, cut it back a little and bent it to lay flat.
I drilled it so the bumper mounting bolts will hold it in place in stead of drilling new holes.




Placed the tranny cooler. I centered it, I thought it would look better than off to one side.
Bolted it up to the angles.


To hold the whole assembly in place while I installed the bumper, I used a pop rivet on the upper angle.


Re run all of your electrical and tranny cooler lines now.


I have seen the hood latch bent different ways. I simply bent the tab up just a little. It still looks factory.



I still had the rubber flap below the radiator. I reinstalled it. It helps direct air flow through the tranny cooler, intercooler and radiator. It also helps keep and mud from splashing up in there.
I had to trim it at the bottom to fit.



Start installing the front end sheet metal.
The header panel has this little tab that needs to be removed. Not sure why it was there.



Hopefully you have been checking and rechecking your clearances along the way. It is a tight fit.

[Traveler]

Finished product.


It is not a hard job, but it is time consuming.

I have not started on my piping at all yet. I will probably make my own pipes out of exhaust tubing.
You can get Later model pipes and cut them to fit.
There is also the "spider" they call it that needs to be purchased or made. It routes the air out to the intercooler instead of directly from the turbo into the intakes.

Expected results are hard to predict, it seems different for everyone. Maybe 200 degrees cooling is what I hope for, but as I understand it, the long pulls is where it really pays off and that is what we really need.

More to come.

[SMOOTH]

Wow, great write up! Some day I'll get around to that, though I should probably get the turbo first!

Good work!

MoMo

[Traveler]

I have read some very impressive numbers for Intercooled IDI's We will do that on our '86 when we get that far. Too bad most of this info will be useless for that installation. LOL

[sheepman]

Looks Good!

Use a 99 or early 99 spider from what I read they fit the best!

[JKernan11]

Another great write up Great job and looks factory.

[BJS]

great writeup now I just need to get on the ball since I have an early '99 aluminum tank intercooler, tubes & intake spider with all of the boots sitting in the garage that I've had for 3 years :(

[sheepman]

great writeup now I just need to get on the ball since I have an early '99 aluminum tank intercooler, tubes & intake spider with all of the boots sitting in the garage that I've had for 3 years :(

Hey! Get to work or sale it to me.

[bob_95_psd]

Nice Job Eric!!!

That's an upgrade I'd like to tackle as well. Thanks for documenting your hard work!

[nightprowler]

i have the same intercooler in the garage all i need is the spider and some piping you did a great job on the install

[Traveler]

We finished up our intercooler pipes today. The spider was the most difficult part of the whole process. Making one is not for the faint of heart.

The pipes themselves were simple, just a matter of starting at one end and working your way to the other.

Here is a pic with all the parts we used to make everything we needed for the pipes. There is one 3" 90degree elbow missing from the pic.
So 4- 3" 90 degree long elbows.
2-3" Long 45 degree elbows.
1- 3" short 90 degree elbow
1- 2.5" 90 degree elbow
and 1-2.5" to 3" adapter.

All right off the shelf at NAPA.



We started at the intercooler and worked our way back to the turbo and intakes.
Doesn't really matter where you start.


Next cut the intake apart. Wanting to reuse the turbo flange and the lower portion you want to cut as high as you can without damaging the turbo flange.


We squared up the cut on the intake a little and started fitting the short 90 degree elbow to it. The intake is slightly egg shaped, so to help match it We bent the matching end of the elbow in the vice. It worked very well.







Now grind the edges to make the fit as tight as possible. Much easier for getting a good sealing weld.


Once they were done we moved onto the turbo flange side. It does not clear at all the way it came off.

I should also point out that the intake is reversed. What was the boot going into the driver's side is now going into the passenger side. It allows more clearance than there was. Still not enough though.


Not having any idea how we were going to do the hot side, I took the time to surgically remove the turbo flange from the housing and clean it up.



We clamped the flange back on and decided we would have to cut it anyway.
It is too long and not enough room. Which I didn't get a picture of it cut I guess.


With everything in place start tacking the pipes together. Remember to completely unhook the alternator when welding on the truck anytime and anywhere.
We did make sure there was clearance for the oil dipstick and removing the oil fill cap and that accounts for the poor angle on the cold side.



Remove the pipes and weld them up. Nice clean welds no pin holes.



On the ends of the pipes where the boots and clamps are, put a bead around there, spot welds or something to keep the boots from slipping off.
Then sand them a little to make sure there are no sharp edges before installing.


Start test fitting everything. See what you want to change if you still can.


If you think you are happy, then seal it up. We wanted to paint the pipes so we took them back off and cleaned everything up.


While the paint was drying we did the Crank Case Vent mod. There are a few ways to do it. I like the one where it is routed into the exhaust but have concerns on back pressure.
For now we just hooked a hose up and ran it up hill. Which should allow any oil to run back into the valve cover. It runs up over the airfilter and then down below the wheel well.
This used to be plumbed into the intake to the turbo, the only place there is really any kind of vacuum. You don't want any oil passing into the intercooler though so it needs to be moved.
I have read where guys use catch cans and filters on the end. Have to see how bad the oil is coming out of there first before I decided to do anything else.
There were also comments made about this creating leaks in other places, but that is not normal. We will see.


The CCV used to go up into the intake tube. That hole needs to be plugged. I made a plate to bolt in it's place.



We moved the MAP sensor. It was in the intake on the driver's side which now would be after intercooler. To reduce lag we moved it to the Hot side right off the turbo right next to the boost gauge. There will be a boost drop of 2-4 PSI after the intercooler. We really don't care as long as the EGTs drop.



Install the pipes and clamp them down.
We had to move the water lines to the heater core. Seems to still be plenty of clearance though.

[Traveler]

We still need to make some brackets to support the pipes. On the driver's side I want to support it off the AC compressor, the passenger side has a strap hanging out there I just wire tied to for now.
Everything seems to clear just fine. I never though that there was enough room.



That's it for the most part. We have a couple ends to tie up. Two of the constant torque clamps were wrong and they need to be changed out.
Have to make a couple supports for the pipes, and have to decide if we want to change the spider by welding both sides together or not.
No I haven't driven it yet. Too late tonight but I will get out and play with it soon.

[Bronco Biff]

Very nice job!

[JKernan11]

How much to make another set of pipes for me? Looks great as usual.

[Clydesdale]

Very nice... Like the black piping.

[SMOOTH]

Very nice! Could you, or anyone, elaborate as to what the 'spider' is?

MoMo

[sheepman]

Very nice! Could you, or anyone, elaborate as to what the 'spider' is?

MoMo

The Spider Splits the air to go the left and right heads from ether the turbo or CAC pipes. IDI's don't use um when Turbo'd, you will have to install a hat on the inlet of the intake manifold.

[Kasprzak]

Looks great, can not wait to hear how she runs, all these upgrades makes me wonder if it is not easier to bolt up a 6.4.....lol

[Traveler]

Thanks for all the compliments guys. It is always scary how something might turn out when you start a project like this.

How much to make another set of pipes for me? Looks great as usual.

I thought about it, it looks like it would be so easy. I would be scared too. Would hate to and find your requirements are just far enough off of mine that they wouldn't work.
We probably could make a few sets and pocket a little cash but really we have sooo many projects it just isn't realistic.
It would probably be cheaper to buy a set of take offs and modify them anyway.
As I understand it they only need to be shortened and from time to time see people giving them away.
The spider is probably the biggest cost.
I need to add up what I spent. I honestly have no idea, a piece here and there and you don't really notice it.

Looks great, can not wait to hear how she runs, all these upgrades makes me wonder if it is not easier to bolt up a 6.4.....lol

Yep I am sure it is. That usually holds true in so many ways with so many projects, but there is so much satisfaction in building it yourself and seeing the results. You know what that is like.

Was showing it to a guy here this week and he says the only reason he can tell it isn't factory is because they are the cleanest parts in the engine bay. That's what we like to hear, That we didn't cobble it up, or that it looks bad.