I was looking at a 89 the other day and it seemed to run good. Had the ats turbo kit on it and it seemed to hold its own. The thing only has 117000 miles and I am really considering it. But I want to know what can be done to make this truck have a lil more pep but still be reliable as a daily driver. plus i need some smoke to roll out the stacks. :smoke

Gauges
Pump
Injectors
Strait Exhuast
13 psi boost MAX!

It'll move

Wheres a decent place to look for these parts. The owner of the truck wants to trade me this 89 for my 94 for in my sig. plus give me 800 cash. so i may have some money to play with.

A good place to find the parts is not so easy I'm afraid.

I bought my pump and injectors second hand with about 3000 miles on them.
They were originally built by DPS Performance.

Some people have had issues and been really ripped off by Ken, others have had good, prompt service from him.

My stuff has been fine so far, and I will say that I needed a replacement injector because it loosened up and scorched the tip. I just called, and he got it sent out, no issues.

I have heard the same about dps. I was looking at the site. Why no more than 13 psi. I never really messed with an idi only powerstrokes. So I am new to the idi scene.

IDI and DI engines are COMPLETELY different in how they ignite fuel, and what peak cylinder pressures they can tolerate. Not to mention that 13 PSI is sans-intercooler, so the inlet air temps will be VERY VERY high at that boost level. This causes a LOT of additional heat aside from the extra fuel you would throw in....

gotcha... yea i work at the local dealer and we rarely see an idi in shop. hell we barley see 7.3s except for the usaul maint. and glowplugs and harnesses. I would like to get a powerstroke but i think i am going to try this idi. I have nothing to lose. I do not need a race truck just some extra pep and still be able to drive it.

Supposedly the crank is the weak point in the IDI's

13psi is the limit told me by people much smarter and more experienced than me, so I follow it.

If you can get your hands on it, look at the article in the March issue of "Diesel Power" magazine. It has a great technical article that you would find useful in tapping all available power out of these IDI engines. The article gives all of the ins-and-outs of the 6.9 which is the same as the 7.3. The 7.3 IDI was achieved by boring the cylinders larger for more displacement. The crank shaft and rods in these engines are all forged from 15B28H steel and hardened to a minimum 217 Brinell. In addition, there are several other features to these engines that lend them to being great for a turbo set-up. As previously posted, the biggest concern is the EGT and melting pistons from the higher intake charge temperatures. If you really want to cool the intake charge, you may want to consider a water/methanol injection system so that you can run higher boost and more fuel. Like you said, these things aren't dragsters.

Water injection for cooling would be okay but I would recommend AGAINST using methanol at all.

The only way IMO it would be remotely safe is to retard the timing to make up for the the advance and spike in cylinder pressures that meth will bring, how much is anybody's guess.

At least you would have to worry about blowing a head gasket, at worse crack a piston, break a rod, or snap the cranks.

Dave, I didn't find a thing about getting all the power out of our IDI's, all I found was the article about history and design, not a word on performance.

Fellro86, it is just that, but it is great for giving all the basics of the engine so if you have any experience with performance builds it gives you the ins and outs of the engine so you know how hard to push it. Essentially these engines are great building blocks for modest performance upgrades. Without going to the extent of exotic head rebuilds with stronger valves, possibly larger if they can be fitted, and perhaps forged pistons I wouldn't push the limits of the rotating assembly in stock form. These engines will give plenty of usable power with turbo and larger exhaust. May want to check on stouter transmission build with firmer/different shift points also. To me, the next best upgrade is a Gear Vendors auxiliary transmission (gear splitter). Costly but will help keep the engine in its power band.

I know of a guy that has more than lightly tweaked a 6.9, and th eonly thing he hasn't broke is the T-19 trans and rear axle. He hauls way more than I would attempt on a regular basis, and does so in the W Va mountains... I know my 6.9 does pretty good, but a turbo would be nice to have on it, but for now, the larger exhaust and intake are working well.

take it from a man who has been there if ya are running an auto trans and beef these engines up either go stick or find someone to build you a solid trans as solid and strong as the c6 is I smoked 2 in 18 months after putting a ats turbo 3 in open exhaust and tweaked the pump on mine finally gave up on slush box and went to a 4 speed for now looking for a 5 speed or better tho