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all stock and need some more power

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I'm new to the forum.

I have a 1992 W250, 4X4, 5 speed trans, extended cab that's completely stock

with 175,000 miles on the old girl. It's time to put some money into her. I

have been reading and I know that there are a lot of parts out there. Some

ok, some not ok, some great and that's the one I would like to buy the first

time. I need more power to pull 29' toy hauler with all my gold mining

goodies inside. The California grapevine at 10 miles per hour is a little

slow. I would like to get a turbo with a waste gate, intercooler and 4"

exhaust or would a banks powerpack system 49247 be better? I like the looks

of PDR HX35 with 14cm waste gate housing. If I get initial parts, what do I

get and where can I get them? I need a little help. OK I need a lot of

help. With all the up grades do I need a larger radiator? Are autometer

triple gauges good ( pillar type)? I don't 500 hp just enough to pull the gold mining trailer.

Thanks,

Roy Arnold

Phoenix, AZ
 
Have you read the 1st gen power upgrades on this forum, anyway, you allready have an intercooler, I would defintely change the turbo, I am pleased with the PDR HX35/16 cm, but am thinking of upgrading to a B1, but, first you need to install guages, boost and pyro, then you can start sucking some free power out of the girl. So check back after you install the guages!

check this out for some edjumakasion!

http://www.dieselinjection.net/BC/booklet.html
 
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How much does your mining trailer weigh? I know there is a lot to mining equipment, but I am not that familiar with it all.



Anyway, read the forum stickies, and get some gauges. Genos sell gauges and mounts for our trucks, as does Diesel Injection Service. The pillar mount is by Autometer.



I'd shy away from the Banks stuff- not bad quality, but HIGH & PRICEY. You can get twice the HP and TQ, for half the money, and still get your MPGs.



I have a HX35-14 on my truck now, and I like it from a performance standpoint. Still having EGT issues, but that isnt the turbo's fault, I dont think.



I have limited experience with non-stock injectors, so someone else may chime in. I do like my DynoMite Diesel injectors, though. I got in on the group purchase last Feb, so prices are higher than what I paid.



I favor a 4" exhaust (Banks is only 3. 5")- reduce EGTs considerably, and pick up a little bottom end grunt.



Daniel
 
i cut the muffler off of mine helped alot and its cheap,change air filter to an after market of some kind. its alot cheaper might get what you need
 
I don't know that you would really need a wastegated housing, there is a big difference in price between gated and non-gated. I have one on my truck, and don't have it hooked up. I have my fuel screw in 1 1/2 turns and it's only making about 23lbs of boost. No need for a wastegate since the turbo isn't being over-worked. It depends on how much fuel you are gonna feed it I guess.

Travis. .
 
goldminer said:
I'm new to the forum.

I have a 1992 W250, 4X4, 5 speed trans, extended cab that's completely stock

with 175,000 miles on the old girl.



<snip> The California grapevine at 10 miles per hour is a little slow.



Something's strange here. With a stick shift, even the grapevine shouldn't be that much of a challenge, unless that's a really heavy trailer.



You might have a intercooler leak (or hoses to it) that's not allowing you to develop full power.



Need the gages (boost & pyro) to tell what to fix before you start throwing money at it.



Regards and welcome to the looney bin (. . forum). DBF
 
DBF, is that a lock up converter you are running? I'm looking at a 92 w250 here in town , but need to figure out how to get a lock up converter in there first! want a 5 speed again, but very few and far between ! should've kept the 93 w250CC I had, oh well!
 
TQ temporary thread deviation :)

MMeier,

I looked at many different TQ options before finding my 5sp, so this is from research, not experience. Our 518 trannys are not well suited for a full lock up TQ. You need valve body changes and I don't know if the conversion is even possible as a lockup TQ is thicker due to the clutches. ATS, DTT and others make HD lockup torque converters for the 94 up trannys and a non-lockup, but lower stall and less slip, for our 1st gens. Pastor Bob made some good observations regarding the DTT 91% vs 89% Torque converters. The 91% is so efficient that you need more than stock power to get much of a load moving. By his sig he is now running the 89% converter. I wouldn't think that 2% better coupling would make that much difference, but apparently it does.

Hughes, Suncoast, DTT, ATS, and more offer what appear to be good options at various prices. Everyone I have contacted (or read their posts) that has done any of those have been quite happy with the result. I had pretty much decided on the DTT 89% unit as it is in the middle of the $$ road for TQ upgrades.

It appeared to me that in order to go to full lockup, I would have to get a newer 47RE transmission.



I lucked out and found the 5Sp parts truck first.

Good Luck with the decision. Search this forum and there are too many options. :)
 
MMeier said:
DBF, is that a lock up converter you are running? I'm looking at a 92 w250 here in town , but need to figure out how to get a lock up converter in there first! want a 5 speed again, but very few and far between ! should've kept the 93 w250CC I had, oh well!



Nope. Mine's a DTT 89% TC & a DTT VB setup. Quite stiff, but not locked up.



A few here have done conversions to a lockup TC. I believe they used a TC from 94-95 with the housing adapter from 94-95, which also calls for relocating the starter a few inches. Of course, you have to figure out a way of locking the TC when you want it locked (and unlocking it). Search thru this forum on "lockup" and "518" and see what you find.



Regards, DBF
 
So lets see if I have a grasp on you slushbox guys here, bear with me ! :-laf 89% ... meaning that it only "locks up" 89% of the way, correct? Also, its that way all the way through, not just after it hits 3rd or 4th gear ? Also, unlike a gasser, we want a "tighter" converter after doing mods, so we can access all that awesome Cummins torque down low!!! Am I catching on yet? :rolleyes:
 
I'll try to help out on this one..... ;)... ... please keep in mind that I'm not at my best right now...

Also keep in mind that the 1st gen transmission's do not have lock-up. That came in the later, 2nd gen trucks..... we are "fluid coupling only" in our rigs.



The pecentage value (eg: 89%) is the "fluid coupling" efficiency or amount of power the TC will transfer to the transmission. This is a rough explanation here..... the rating is the efficiency rating at a particular RPM and upward. the specific numbers are to some degree company secrets so to speak... .



Right now I'm running the 91% TC. It is tighter than the 89%.

You would find that the amount of throttle needed to get the truck moving is higher because the TC is not "loose enough" to allow the engine to gain RPM at the lower range depending on the unit/maker/application. Once it's rolling it's a whole different experience.



When you decide you are going to tow or race for example, you will then have the basics for deciding on the TC spec as well as the VB settings etc.

If you tow heavy then the 89% TC combined with a VB set up for towing is the way to go... . make the setup based on your usage a majority of the time.



My original 89% w/"Towing" VB (DTT) would allow the engine to gain a bit more RPM before it started to "tighten up". This worked well when towing or hauling heavy. As the engine gained RPM the TC tightened up (reached it's stall speed) and the connection got tighter as the throttle increased... (fairly quickly and not that far above idle value unlike the original units). The VB I had was set up to allow for "towing" or hauling efficiently. The combo was great for our engine's operating range. The more tweaking and HP you have the more efficient you can go with your TC because the engine will pump out enough HP/Torgue to get it moving.

It also works well if you are a weekend racer. The combo let the Cummins pick up some RPM before it started to "hold onto" the engine's output.

As you go up in efficiency value you can sort of equate it to starting out in second gear or third gear in a 5spd trans sort of thing...



If you don't have a big budget then you can dial it back a bit by getting a tighter TC, a valve body rebuild with shift kit and, some basic trans work to refresh some seals and so forth.

This would give you a nice and more efficient dialy driver without the big bucks of a full aftermarket setup.

If you don't already have one, put in an aftermarked trans oil cooler. These original trans. ran/run hotter than the later units so trans operating temps are critical. It is important to select the right gear and keep your RPM up. This will help with HP transfer and operating temps in the trans. If you don't have an trans oil temp guage you might be surprised at how hot these old girls run when working/racing/around town in traffic.



One last thing... ... if you are going to do some work on the TC/Trans/VB keep in mind that you are going to be placing more demand on the engine because of the higher efficiency system. This will mean that your cooling system and your intercooler setup should be given a good once over. Make sure you don't have any intercooler leaks, your IC boots/clamps are all in good shape etc.

This stuff will all work together to give you more usable HP/Torque. You will also benefit from a more active "shift management" aproach.

There is a text file ("how to") in here for the installation of a second gen shifter leaver with the OD button on the end. It makes gear choice much easier than that dumb dash button... .

You'd be amazed at just how handy that little booger is. It has certainly taken some of the load off my Overdrive unit because I am more actively selecting when I allow OD to kick in/out.

If OD come's in too early then you are just generating higher trans. oil temps and that is what you DON'T want.

You want to manage your work load/RPM/EGT's/coolant temps etc.



One of the things I found after I had the DTT/aftermarket system put in was the amount of throttle needed to hold speed, whether on the highway or around town, was noticably less. I gained a bit of fuel mileage too... about 1. 5 mpg or so without any other changes.



Ok that's it ... ...



pb.....
 
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