5L-T build with a TD04L turbo in an 85 Pickup (1 Viewer)

[advlars]

Good input @gerg, and thanks for the feedback on the intercooler design. Even despite your wierd fixation on my red elbow hahaha.

To clarify, I havent advanced my timing from its stock position. I just put off retarding it until I got fueling more or less sorted out and fixed the problems I was having (fuel filter clogged, air leaks etc)

Im pretty happy with my intercooler core. Especially considering its nothing fancy. I would have liked one with a center inlet to (possibly) distribute the flow more evenly through the core, but the size should make up for that. I did have a really hack looking foam "shroud" around the top of the IC that sealed the IC to the hood and prevented air from flowing out around it, and over the intercooler, and I need to make a new one. I never reinstalled it and I can feel the intercooler is not cooling as well as it used to.

I dont know if theres anything I can do about the hood scoop. It took me foreverrrrr to find something that fit the body lines of the hood and I didnt hate, and now that the hole is cut i cant really go back.

I think I am going to try and source a fan as soon as possible. I have plenty of room under the IC. Its just been at the bottom of a long to-do list. Do you really think the cooling effect is that significant? Id love to run a bit more fuel and boost if it works super well. Did you ever get any EGT or temperature measurements off of fan setups youve used in the past to compare?

 

[gerg]

So from what ive read, intercooler efficiency plateaus around 40kmh over the core itself. I have tested my own top mount intercooler set up with a hood scoop that was embarrassingly large, middle of the hood right in the air stream, sealed to the core and it betrayed to me how challenging it is to get good flow. Given the surface area of the core and the opening area of your scoop inlet you would have to be travelling quite fast to max out your flow. Now that doesn't take into account resistance through the core itself. In short it very challenging to get enough flow through your core at anything other than highways speeds. I don't have any papers on hand that look at flow over the core and outlet temps but the concept is absolutely the same as your radiator for your coolant system except water air heat exchangers are generally thinner and create less resistance for air to flow across them. Just think if your intercooler was a radiator for your engine and would you be ok with its flow? Spal has some very cool small fans that are high amps that would give you some good air flow. If you wired it on a thermo or hoobs switch you would never have to think about it, but it is another thing to fit and build and fuss with. I just think you took such care fitting and nesting all the piping you should be able to enjoy the maximum benefit from it. Your core choice is actually very efficiently designed. Sorry bout the red elbow comments. I am use to it from my wife when I build stuff. And yes I did measure my inlt and outley temps and with a massive hood scoop I didn't get a noticeable cooling effect until around 70kmh. It is the reason I use FMIC now. Lots less complicated airflow wise. I know you probably don't have lots of room, but its just about air flow however you get it.

Just an fyi even though you haven't adjusted your timing mechanically or electronically you change it every time your turbo feeds the engine hot air. It thermally advances your timing. Something to consider.

 

[advlars]

Alright, youve got me convinced! Ive got an old temperature sensitive relay I used for a radiator fan on my last truck. If the temp range is suitable I could rig that up pretty easily. Its set up to run a 2 speed fan, so if I can fit them I can probably even run 1 fan at X-temp and kick on a second fan at Y-temp. And I think a buddy of mine has a spare mini radiator fan he might give me on the cheap as well...

After a quick googling the hobbs switch seems like an interesting idea too. I could see a downside to that being that it would not run offboost/idle, and would therefore not cool down a heatsoaked IC. Any reason the hobbs would be better than the thermo-relay?

When I get them installed Ill paint one fan pink and one fan green just for you Gerg

 

[gerg]

Hah! Pink is my 8yr old daughters favourite colour. She's convinced me to spray dip my 80 series rims pink as a summer project. What was I thinking.

So the thermo switches are usually to detect post intercooler pipe temps so that say 65mph their will be enough flow to not activate but if you start climbing a hill and slow down and hood scoop air flow drops letting intake temps rise the fan switches on to take over.

I prefer the thermo switches over the Hobbs as you can avoid using the fan when you don't need it.

 

[hiluxjeremy]

Mmm.. learning. Definitely sounds like gerg has a much greater understanding of what's really going on in there than I do. I see myself going to the same turbo and updating my intercooler setup in the near future. Sounds like when that happens I'll be putting my pump back where its more likely to belong. As far as boost goes I don't actually know. Whatever the ct20 wastegate was originally set at.

Bad form I know.. Boost gauge will go on before changing anything for a baseline. A buddy of mine with an original unmolested ct20 was getting 11psi on a different 3L.

 

[hiluxjeremy]

Driving impressions?