Turbo replacement

[GlennAmes]

What turbo do I upgrade to? I have 1995 pump reworked, 250hp injectors, wide open torque plate, and 16cm turbo for last 20 years. Mechanic says my turbo is making noise and needs replacing soon. Also I have a stock in take what should I upgrade too. Also have 4 inch exhaust no converter thanks

 

[Chief USA]

If you haven't already, before you upgrade much else in this department, I think I would upgrade to a good quality set of head studs before you upgrade the turbo or at least upgrade to head studs when you have a larger turbo installed. Might save you some grief down the road on a head gasket replacement and all that comes with that rodeo.

 

[Iron Duke II]

Chief USA makes good a point.

A call to Power Driven Diesel may be worth it. They don’t hard sell and can give you valid advice.
https://powerdrivendiesel.com/produ...-gen-12v/turbochargers-1994-1998-2nd-gen-12v/

 

[BigPapa]

In my opinion, studs aren’t necessary at his power level. My ‘95 never had the head off when I sold it at over 500K miles. At one time I had a Sled Puller 66 and a set of DD III injectors at 19* timing. I could peg out my 50psi boost gauge.

 

[Chief USA]

In my opinion, studs aren’t necessary at his power level. My ‘95 never had the head off when I sold it at over 500K miles. At one time I had a Sled Puller 66 and a set of DD III injectors at 19* timing. I could peg out my 50psi boost gauge.

Scott, you were VERY, VERY lucky.

I am not sure if the OP has the original 27 year old head gasket on his engine or not. Probably not but you never know. I would NOT want to test my luck on a head gasket that old that is probably rusted out and not far from failure. Most owners do not replace the engine coolant and brake fluid every 2 years like the maintenance schedule calls for. These areas suffer terribly from corrosion as a result. Ask me how I know. I was guilty of that. Just got busy and totally forgot about it. Won't do it again.

The wife's truck 2001.5 totally stock, previous owner always took it to the dealer for any maintenance. The head gasket just decided to let go not long after she pulled out of the driveway on her way to the dump. She babies that truck. When I had her head gasket replaced, she got ARP head studs, new Bosch 275 RV injectors, new Cummins crossover tubes, new valves, new springs, new guides, the head planed for level and plumb, a new Cummins top end gasket kit, pretty much new everything. Aside from replacing the entire brake system and regular scheduled maintenance, that is all that has been done to that truck in 21 years aside from installing a big line kit and moving the fuel pump to the frame near the tank.

Head studs ain't cheap, but neither was that head gasket replacement. I realize I could have done it cheaper but I wanted it done right. When you cut corners, it usually costs you in the end.

Even the guys at PDD install head studs on pretty much anything they give away or customer upgrades because they don't want the headache of dealing with a blown head gasket and all of the grief that can come with it. I limit my truck to no more than 32 lbs. of boost to stay on the safe side, usually much less. That is PLENTY of power and pull. Eventually, I may upgrade to compound turbo's and the old gall will get some head studs too.

Her truck got the standard green coolant. Mine got the Shell extended life coolant. Each oil change, I drain out a gallon and add a gallon of fresh new Shell ELC . Now her's does too. Highly recommend it. Even the logging company owner who allows me to piggy back ordering Shell products uses Shell ELC in all of their diesel equipment now. I don't think I would put 50 psi on a brand new head gasket unless it had head studs holding it down. That is a LOT of cylinder pressure. Not saying you can't do it and get away with it. It is what I would consider an unnecessary risk.

Scott, you contribute a heck of a lot here and have much more knowledge that I will ever have on these trucks. In this case, I am speaking from some expensive and hard learned personal experience.

 

[GAmes]

High turbo boost doesn't blow head gaskets, cylinder pressure does. Adding 15 or 20 psi boost to a combustion cylinder that has pressure in the thousands makes little to no difference. I'm with Scott, there aren't enough mods on that engine to warrant studs. Now if he advances the timing above 18 degrees BTDC and adds more fuel and air, then yes, probably need studs. When my original HG started leaking at about 195k I pulled the head, cleaned the surfaces, installed a new HG and reinstalled the original head bolts. Even with some moderate fueling, a better turbo and a small timing advance the HG was still perfect when I pulled the engine at 800k.

 

[Iron Duke II]

What turbo do I upgrade to? I have 1995 pump reworked, 250hp injectors, wide open torque plate, and 16cm turbo for last 20 years. Mechanic says my turbo is making noise and needs replacing soon. Also I have a stock in take what should I upgrade too. Also have 4 inch exhaust no converter thanks

https://www.thoroughbreddiesel.com/...MI0JutgJrc-QIVGcLCBB2t9gglEAQYASABEgLoTPD_BwE

Edit: Note the above cited drop-in turbo does not fit if you have an exhaust brake mounted behind the turbo.

 

[Signal73]

Honestly if the stock turbo is keeping egt and smoke in check I’d just get another holset. They are basically bulletproof and require nothing special to adapt to the truck. Same with the stock air box, you can get a filter anywhere and it functions as a cold air intake already. It seems like you are out and about quite often, if it were a high hp in town truck I’d make different recommendations but it seems you need dead set reliability over a hot rod 1 off custom setup.

Also what kind of “noise” is your turbo making? Usually if it’s making noise the compressor wheel is touching the housing and that should be fairly obvious with a 8mm wrench and 5 mins of your time.

 

[NIsaacs]

https://www.thoroughbreddiesel.com/...MI0JutgJrc-QIVGcLCBB2t9gglEAQYASABEgLoTPD_BwE

That should be a good turbo for the OP's power level, about 300hp. So is a stock HX35, he would be fine with another one. I have the K27 on my '01 @400/900.

Head studs....be careful with them, easy to over clamp the head. The stock head gasket can squirt out with high torque studs. Most head gasket fails are coolant leaks not blown fire rings. 120# on course thread bolts v/s 120# on fine thread studs is way more head clamp.

I feel part of the issue with countless head gasket leaks is the high rpm of the Dodge/Ram. The engine is built as a medium duty or 2500 rpm. Dodge has upped that about 3 times since the 1st gen. The 24 valve seems to be the worst offender @3100 rpm. The coolant pressure is way up there and if your heater core is partially plugged that adds to the problem. The heater core is one of the bypass reliefs.

Another big issue with head gasket fails is bad coolant. I was guilty of that until I learned better. Just because it looks nice and clean, don't mean it is not wasted.

Stock original Cummins torqued head gasket on the left. Head studs on the right, failed at 3k miles. Note the head imprint on the gasket surface.

 

[petersonj]

120# on course thread bolts v/s 120# on fine thread studs is way more head clamp.

I am taking this to mean that the fine threaded studs would have more clamping force with the same applied torque (which seems right to me).

The way it is worded, it sounds like it is the other way around.

- John

 

[Joe Mc]

Might consider having present turbo rebuilt. Unless you're looking to upgrade...

 

[GlennAmes]

A little additional info, new NV45 & Luke clutch, it use to put out 37 pounds boost over the last couple years it has reduced to only 30 pounds. One of the engineers at TDR told me years ago it was probably putting out about 450 hp with the 16cm on it. It’s mostly used around town and towing several different iteams, wouldn’t mind more power back to where it was before, is there a better turbo more power and reliable? Thanks

 

[NIsaacs]

A little additional info, new NV45 & Luke clutch, it use to put out 37 pounds boost over the last couple years it has reduced to only 30 pounds. One of the engineers at TDR told me years ago it was probably putting out about 450 hp with the 16cm on it. It’s mostly used around town and towing several different iteams, wouldn’t mind more power back to where it was before, is there a better turbo more power and reliable? Thanks

So, the 250 hp injectors must be over and above your stock 175's? If yes, then a bigger turbo is in order.

 

[GAmes]

Actually "250hp injectors" means nothing. 12 valve injectors (and probably all injectors) are sized by number of holes, hole size and spray angle. The stock injectors for a 215 HP 12 valve are .0105 X 5 with a 45 degree spray angle. They are commonly called 215 injectors. It's anybody's guess how "250hp injectors" are sized.

 

[GlennAmes]

What would be the next step up inHP & torque above the HX35, would like to increase boost? But how do reduce the EGT from 1700 degrees under load on a hill? Does the big air intakes help with power and drop the EGT or do I need a bigger inter cooler. I still have the stock intake manifold, thanks.

 

[Diesel Gunner]

Scott, you were VERY, VERY lucky.

I am not sure if the OP has the original 27 year old head gasket on his engine or not. Probably not but you never know. I would NOT want to test my luck on a head gasket that old that is probably rusted out and not far from failure. Most owners do not replace the engine coolant and brake fluid every 2 years like the maintenance schedule calls for. These areas suffer terribly from corrosion as a result. Ask me how I know. I was guilty of that. Just got busy and totally forgot about it. Won't do it again.

The wife's truck 2001.5 totally stock, previous owner always took it to the dealer for any maintenance. The head gasket just decided to let go not long after she pulled out of the driveway on her way to the dump. She babies that truck. When I had her head gasket replaced, she got ARP head studs, new Bosch 275 RV injectors, new Cummins crossover tubes, new valves, new springs, new guides, the head planed for level and plumb, a new Cummins top end gasket kit, pretty much new everything. Aside from replacing the entire brake system and regular scheduled maintenance, that is all that has been done to that truck in 21 years aside from installing a big line kit and moving the fuel pump to the frame near the tank.

Head studs ain't cheap, but neither was that head gasket replacement. I realize I could have done it cheaper but I wanted it done right. When you cut corners, it usually costs you in the end.

Even the guys at PDD install head studs on pretty much anything they give away or customer upgrades because they don't want the headache of dealing with a blown head gasket and all of the grief that can come with it. I limit my truck to no more than 32 lbs. of boost to stay on the safe side, usually much less. That is PLENTY of power and pull. Eventually, I may upgrade to compound turbo's and the old gall will get some head studs too.

Her truck got the standard green coolant. Mine got the Shell extended life coolant. Each oil change, I drain out a gallon and add a gallon of fresh new Shell ELC . Now her's does too. Highly recommend it. Even the logging company owner who allows me to piggy back ordering Shell products uses Shell ELC in all of their diesel equipment now. I don't think I would put 50 psi on a brand new head gasket unless it had head studs holding it down. That is a LOT of cylinder pressure. Not saying you can't do it and get away with it. It is what I would consider an unnecessary risk.

Scott, you contribute a heck of a lot here and have much more knowledge that I will ever have on these trucks. In this case, I am speaking from some expensive and hard learned personal experience.

Chief, get a coolant testing kit and save yourself a ton of money (unless your boss is paying for it. LOL)
I use Delo ELC (same stuff by Chevron) and test it yearly. Been in there for 5-6 years so far and tests good. In fact, I have not added but about 8 ounces of coolant in that time. Run the same in my wife's '11 taurus and the '17 Mustang GT is about to get the same.

Of course, it's your mule, treat it as you wish. But I would recommend that you put your drain coolant back into that new bottle and sell it. As you have only used about 75/10,000ths of its service life.